Min Shuei always had a striking appearance, a youthful woman whose white hair and robes stood out against her tanned skin, but Charity usually found that the Sage’s volatile emotions made her seem childish.
Now, those emotions had been distilled into murderous rage and focused on Charity. Who no longer found that the Winter Sage looked childish at all.
One of Charity’s owls whispered in the woman’s ear. “Min Shuei, wake up! This is the Dreadgod!”
The owl exploded into silver-and-purple feathers, then the Sage of the Frozen Blade disappeared.
Charity ignited the technique on the first page of her Book: the Will-Heart Resonance.
The mental Enforcer technique harmonized with surrounding dream aura. It had several effects, but the pertinent one was that it made Charity hyper-sensitive to the intentions of others.
Charity bent backwards and sliced Soulsever upwards.
An instant later, Min Shuei appeared above her and stabbed out. Charity’s sickle struck her white-bladed sword and shoved it upward.
The Winter Sage came in with a palm blazing with icy madra, but Charity felt it coming and spun out of the way. More madra filled her body as she filled herself with her other Enforcer technique: the Whispershade Veins. Flecks of shadow flew off her like flames as she moved, but she drifted easily under the power of the full-body Enforcer technique.
With the two combined, she was a ghost.
The Winter Sage couldn’t touch her with palm or sword, with Striker or Forger or Ruler techniques. Even when Min Shuei lashed out at her surroundings by freezing them at once with a blizzard full of her authority, Charity spun out of range like a flower petal blown by the wind.
She Forged more owls, calling Min Shuei’s name.
“We should not fight each other,” her owls said on her behalf. “Fight the Dreadgod!”
The Winter Sage snarled and powered the binding in her sword. The world froze for a hundred paces in all directions, and snowflakes hung suspended in the air, each a small nexus of sword madra. The entire aura of the place locked Charity down.
She could move by force, but fighting against the authority of the Winter Sage would weaken her. While Min Shuei could chase down her prey with impunity.
Sure enough, she rushed forward in a blinding burst of speed, slashing at Charity’s neck.
The sword struck sparks as it skidded off amethyst armor.
Charity seized Min Shuei’s neck in one gauntlet.
She didn’t speak, but her owl spoke for her. “I’d rather not fight…but I am my father’s daughter.”
Book of the Silver Heart, Charity thought. Page seven.
A mass of silver power shot from her soulspace into Min Shuei. It was a Forger technique so dense and intricate, and requiring so many resources, that it was almost a Divine Treasure in its own right.
In her spare time, Charity harvested the minds and wills of Remnants, molding their essences together into a sort of construct. It had many uses, from bringing specially made vessels to life to attacking spirits from the inside.
The technique was called Sculpt the Soul, and the resulting product a Silver Heart.
Now her Silver Heart pulsed within Min Shuei, attacking the Dreadgod power binding her. Together, the wills of two Sages clashed against the technique of the Silent King.
The halo flickered. The Winter Sage’s eyes began to clear.
Someone came down on them from above.
On the back of a Thousand-Mile Cloud, Lindon swooped down like a diving hawk. He seized Min Shuei’s halo in his right hand before it could disappear and Consumed it.
The technique was devoured in seconds. He clenched his fist and revolved his Heart of Twin Stars, cycling the power.
Couldn’t he have done that sooner? Charity thought to herself.
The young man loomed over the two of them and bowed his head. “Apologies. I was late.”
Then he zipped off.
Min Shuei gasped and looked around as she realized the technique on her mind had faded. Her eyes landed on Charity’s face and widened in awe.
“That was…I mean, I sensed…”
Charity let her armor fade to essence. The situation was urgent, but she wanted to hear the Winter Sage acknowledge that she owed Charity a debt.
“…he saved me!” the Winter Sage cried. She waved after Lindon. “Thank you!” Then she turned back to Charity, looking pleased. “Maybe I was wrong about him.”
Charity stared at her.
Not every battle between Sages was fair.
The Remnant of the Sun Sage shone as it peeled away from his body. The Sage of Fallen Blades and the Sage of Steel Dust both wore white circles, and they were pushing back a Herald surrounded by Forged vines of life madra.