Tai: "Let's begin the plan."
Amal: "If we pull this off, we won't even have the strength to stand… or drink."
Tai: grins faintly "Then I'll protect all of you."
Amal: "You better."
Sai sits down, flames gathering in his chest. His voice is steady, but his hands tremble.
Sai: "If my heart burns out… I'll die. And I'll drag all of you down with me."
Amal: "Lower your control. Let me show you what perfect mastering looks like."
She sits cross-legged, focusing her ash in her right hand and her life energy in her left.
Xei closes his eyes beside them, breathing slowly.
Xei: "Are you still there?"
The wind howls around them as if something ancient is listening.
Flora: "Yes."
Xei: "I need your help."
Flora: "I can't."
Xei: "You didn't even hear what I was going to say!"
Flora: "I already know. One who holds the Green Ash cannot wield a sword."
Xei: "Then how am I supposed to cut down a mountain?"
Flora: "With your hands."
Xei's voice grows desperate.
Xei: "Flora, please… I'll do anything you say, just help me."
Flora: "If you use a sword, you are no longer natural. The Green Ash is life itself — and life creates, it doesn't forge."
Xei: "My sword is my life."
Flora: "Then let it go… and create a new one. Not of steel, but of nature. A blade no man has ever seen."
Xei lowers his head, breathing deeply. His eyes glow green — brighter, wilder. The wind shifts, carrying whispers of leaves and roots breaking through the stone.
Xei: "Tai! I'll be back in an hour! When I return… I'll be ready."
Tai looks at him — and though worry flickers in his eyes, he nods.
Tai: "Go. I trust you."
Xei sprints upward, disappearing into the misted peaks.
A few minutes passed. The air grew heavier — silent, but alive.
Tai's eyes narrowed. His body tensed.
Tai: "Something's wrong."
He stood, turning toward the shadows that twisted behind the rocks.
Tai: "No need to hide. Come out — there's no point in an ambush."
Three dark shapes emerged from the mist. Scales, claws, and glowing eyes. The ground cracked beneath their steps.
Beast 1: "So you sensed us."
Tai: "Yeah. Hard not to with all that ugly energy you're leaking."
The tallest one hissed, its tongue flicking like a blade.
Beast 1: "We are the Three Brothers. I am Snake."
Beast 2: "I am Serpent."
Beast 3: "And I am Cobra."
Tai smirked, cracking his neck.
Tai: "Amusing. Guess this mountain's full of family reunions."
Snake: "We don't need to know the name of a dead man."
The wind howled — the mountain trembled. Behind Tai, Sai's flames flickered, and Amal's ash began to stir.
Tai: "Dead man, huh? Then you better make sure I stay that way
Amal: "Tai, we can't fight! We still need to build up our power!"
Tai: (smirking) "Leave this to me, Snake."
He stepped forward, his cloak whipping in the wind. Poison seeped from his palms — thin trails of dark smoke dancing around him like serpents of his own making.
Snake: "You think you can face all three of us alone?"
Tai: "Alone?" He chuckles, eyes glowing gold. "I am never alone. The blood of kings flows beside me."
With that, he charged.
The first clash was thunder. Tai moved like a storm — blades of poison cutting the air. Snake struck first, fangs flashing, but Tai caught his jaw mid-lunge and slammed him into the ground.
Tai: "Bow to your King!"
Serpent lunged next, tail slicing through stone. Tai twisted, the poison on his arm solidifying into a curved blade. He sliced through the tail's scales, black mist spilling into the air.
Serpent: screaming "You'll pay for that!"
Tai: "I already have. Every scar, every drop of venom — it's the tax of royalty."
The three beasts surrounded him now — their eyes burning with primal rage. Tai stood tall, chest heaving, but his grin never left.
Then came Cobra — silent, faster than lightning. Its fangs sank deep into Tai's shoulder before he could turn.
The venom spread instantly, black veins creeping up his neck.
Amal: "TAI!"
Sai: "No!"
Tai stumbled but didn't fall. He wiped the blood from his mouth and glared at Cobra.
Tai: "You dare bite your King?!"
He roared, energy bursting out like a shockwave — the ground cracking beneath him.
Even poisoned, he fought like a god of wrath — every move slower, but heavier, more commanding. His voice thundered through the valley:
Tai: "I am your King! I command you to die!"
He unleashed a final blast — a wave of poison so dense it melted the rocks around him. The beasts staggered but pushed through, ready to strike again.
Just then — a blinding green light cut through the clouds.
Xei landed between them, his eyes glowing, a sword unlike any other in his hand — alive, grown from nature itself, leaves swirling around the hilt.
Xei: "Sorry I'm late."
He pointed the blade forward. "This sword's not made of metal… it's made of life itself."
Cobra hissed, but before it could move, Xei dashed forward — one clean swing, faster than the eye could see. The blade cut through air, scale, and soul alike.
All three beasts fell — their bodies dissolving into ash.
Tai dropped to one knee, clutching his wound.
Tai: "Heh… not bad, soldier."
Xei: "Rest, dear King. It's my turn now."
Amal and Sai ran to him, but Tai just smiled weakly.
Tai: "The King still breathes… poison can't kill pride
Far Away…
In a dark chamber lit only by gold's reflection, Greed lounged atop a mountain of coins.
He flipped a single coin between his fingers, catching it with a lazy smile.
Greed: "A real perfect plan…"
He laughed softly — calm, knowing, dangerous.
The coin fell — echoing through the halls like fate itself.