The cave shook, pebbles raining from the ceiling as the ground rumbled beneath their feet.
"Lotus and serpent, take your posts—seal the Formation!" Master Tai Chu's voice cut through the chaos like a blade. Above, a stone gate carved with lotus motifs came crashing down, sending dust pluming through the air. Below, the array etched into the cave floor erupted in golden-green radiance—vines snaked up from its glowing lines, coiling around the entrance like hissing, living serpents. The Lotus-Serpent Symbiosis Array snapped shut, a barrier of light flaring to life as it trapped Tong, Erlang Shen, and Ne Zha inside.
The air turned thick, heavy with the low hum of the array's power. The three villains' faces darkened, their expressions shifting from surprise to cold fury.
"Old man! You dare trap me?!" Tong lunged at the entrance, fists clenched—only to be thrown back by a burst of lotus light. The green veins on his palm sizzled and burned, and he fell to his knees, screaming in agony.
Ne Zha cackled, spinning his fire-tipped spear until it blurred with searing flames. He lunged forward, driving the spearhead into the array wall—only for the fire to rebound, exploding in a searing burst that singed his sleeve. He hissed, but a wild grin spread across his face. "Finally! Something that fights back—not those weaklings we crushed earlier!"
Erlang Shen's third eye glowed with molten gold, its light piercing the air as he tried to peer into the array's core. But the Naga power thrumming within the lines shoved him back a step, a jolt of pressure sending a flicker of surprise across his features. For the first time, a hint of gravity crossed his face.
Inside the array, the team moved like a well-oiled machine. Tan Kai and Yara stood at the center, their palms pressed tight together. His golden lotus energy tangled with her green venom light, winding around each other like threads of fate as they flowed along the array's glowing lines. Bright and Nam guarded the sides, hands flying as they hurled lotus-dew-soaked stones at Tong's men. The stones burst on impact, billowing into green mist that clung to the attackers, slowing their movements to a crawl.
"Once you're in my array," Master Tai Chu said, flipping lotus talismans between his fingers with practiced ease, "you play by my rules."
The fight erupted in earnest.
Tong's face was now crawling with green veins—Moon Venom Qi had overtaken his senses, turning his eyes a sickly shade of jade. He roared, gathering a ball of stinking green venom in his palm, its acrid scent making the air sting. With a snarl, he hurled it straight at the array's core.
Yara's arm suddenly burned, the venom mark on her forearm glowing like a beacon. It hummed in resonance with the venom ball, a pull she couldn't ignore. Without thinking, she lifted her hand—and the ball bounced off the mark, spinning back toward Tong like a homing missile.
He couldn't dodge. The venom scorched his chest, eating through his robes and searing his skin. He crumpled to the ground, howling in pain as the venom ate away at his strength.
Erlang Shen stopped hiding his power. A blinding beam of golden light shot from his third eye, aimed straight for Tan Kai—the array's living heart. Master Tai Chu moved in a blur, throwing a talisman that burst into a wall of lotus light. It collided with the beam, and a shockwave rippled through the cave, knocking loose chunks of rock from the walls.
Ne Zha swept his spear in a wide arc, sending a wave of flames roaring toward Bright and Nam. Nam's hand flew to her pouch, grabbing her last lotus-dew stone. She hurled it forward, and the stone shattered, mist billowing out to douse the fire in a hiss of steam. Bright swung his wooden staff with a grunt, cracking it against the skulls of two of Tong's men and sending them crumpling. "Nam! These stones are way better than my mango bombs—wish I'd crammed my pouch full of 'em earlier!"
Tan Kai's eyes narrowed as he saw Erlang Shen lunge for Master Tai Chu. He squeezed Yara's hand, and their energies tangled instantly—his golden lotus qi winding around her venom-green light, pouring into the array as one. Their joined palms blazed, the golden-green glow seeping into the array's lines like blood into veins. The lotus-serpent patterns on the ground spun faster, shooting out threads of light that coiled around Ne Zha's spear. He yanked so hard his arm muscles bulged—all in vain. The weapon wouldn't budge, locked in place by the array's power.
"Damn array! It can even trap weapons?!" he snarled, yanking again to no avail.
"I can hold on a little longer!" Yara panted, sweat stinging her eyes as it dripped down her forehead, soaking the collar of her tunic. Her arm throbbed like it was on fire, but she squeezed Tan Kai's hand tighter—we can't fail, she thought, jaw set. Their energy wouldn't waver, not while the array still stood.
Tong struggled to his feet, his body shaking with rage and pain. He glared at Erlang Shen and Ne Zha, who'd all but forgotten him in their rush to break the array. Rage flashed in his eyes—how dare they treat him like trash? He gathered his last bit of venom, his fingers trembling as he prepared to sneak attack Erlang Shen from behind.
Erlang Shen sensed it before Tong could strike—his third eye flickered, and a bolt of golden light shot backward, slamming into Tong's chest. He went flying, crashing into the array wall with a sickening crack. "Trash," Erlang Shen hissed, not even glancing back. "You dare scheme against me?"
Ne Zha snarled, yanking his spear so hard his arm muscles bulged—all in vain. "Dog eat dog. Cute. Too bad the dog's too weak to bite." He slammed the spear's butt into the array wall, hard enough to make the ground shake. The lotus patterns dimmed, spiderwebs of cracks snaking across the light.
The tide turned—for the worse.
Tan Kai and Yara's faces paled, their breaths coming in ragged gasps; their energy was fading fast, the golden-green glow of their palms dimming to a sickly yellow. The array's light flickered, sputtering like a dying flame. Master Tai Chu fought off both Erlang Shen and Ne Zha, his robe scorched by fire and his sleeves torn, but he was slowing. Bright and Nam had run out of stones, forced back step by step by Tong's remaining men, their arms growing tired from swinging.
Things were slipping away—fast.
Master Tai Chu closed his eyes, his fingers moving faster than the eye could follow as he muttered incantations. A whisper escaped his lips, soft but steady:
"Heart as lotus, body as array—I, a mortal, anchor the divine Formation!"
A soft green light wrapped around him, glowing like sunlight through leaves. He seemed to melt into the array wall, his form fading until only the light remained. At once, the array's glow stabilized—back to that bright, unyielding golden-green—its cracks sealing shut as his power merged with its own.
Then—Yara's arm exploded with green light.
It pulsed in perfect resonance with the array, a thrumming that shook the cave. Golden mist billowed from the ground, coiling upward, and a low, rumbling hiss filled the air—deep, ancient, and full of power. From the mist, a giant silver-green Naga phantom coiled upward, its body looping high above them, scales shimmering like polished jade as they rippled faintly. Its eyes were slits of cold starlight, narrowing slightly as it took in the cave—a guardian spirit, roused from ancient slumber at last.
Its gaze swept over everyone in the cave.
For those with evil in their hearts, it felt like being seared by fire.
Tong curled into a ball on the ground, his green veins twitching as the gaze washed over him, burning away his venom. Ne Zha clutched his chest, his flames dimming to embers as he staggered back, a look of genuine fear crossing his face. Erlang Shen narrowed his third eye, jaw tight as he forced down the searing pain, but even he couldn't hide the flicker of unease in his gaze.
The Naga phantom exhaled a breath of golden-green air, sweet with lotus and sharp with venom. It washed over Tong, and his green veins faded, the venom drained from his body. He collapsed, limp and powerless, his chest rising and falling in shallow gasps.
Erlang Shen and Ne Zha stepped back further, their faces tight with caution. Ne Zha's spear dimmed completely, as if the weapon itself feared the phantom's power.
"Finally… you've woken," Master Tai Chu's voice echoed from the array, soft but strong. His figure reappeared against the wall, pale and weary but steady, the green light still clinging to his robes.
Tan Kai and Yara stared up at the Naga, their joined palms glowing faintly—their energy was still resonating with the phantom, a silent bond. The Naga's cold starlight eyes softened as it looked down at them, a flicker of recognition in its gaze before it slowly coiled tighter.
But the resonance didn't end in the cave.
Far away, in the murky depths of Serpent Moon Grotto—where venom thickened the water until it was almost syrup, and darkness clung to every corner—silver-green scales glinted in the blackness. A low, rumbling hiss stirred the currents, sending ripples through the venom, and a pair of slit-pupiled eyes, cold as moonlit steel, snapped open.
The wind outside the grotto turned to a serpent's hiss, carrying the scent of lotus and venom on its breath.
Nagasith Varamon's chest burned, a familiar ache throbbing in time with the phantom's power—so loud it shook the water around him. He stood slowly, silver-green venom coiling around his body like silk, weaving into glowing patterns that made the surrounding venom boil.
"Tai Chu…" he whispered, his voice cold enough to freeze water. "You've woken it. Now I must come for you—and take back what's mine."
Back in the cave, the Naga phantom faded, its form dissolving into golden-green mist that sank back into the array's lines. The array's light blazed to life once more, brighter and stronger than ever, a barrier of lotus and serpent that hummed with renewed power.
Tan Kai and Yara collapsed to their knees, exhausted but grinning, their hands still clasped together. Bright and Nam cheered, scrambling over to them, their tired faces lighting up as they clapped the two on the shoulders.
But Master Tai Chu's face remained grave. He turned toward the cave entrance, his eyes narrowing at the faint silver-green mist oozing in—slow, sticky, coiling along the ground like venomous smoke, inching closer to the array's edges.
Erlang Shen and Ne Zha exchanged a look, calculation flickering in their eyes. They'd wait—let the Serpent King break the array for them. Then they'd take what they'd come for, once both sides were weakened.
"Not yet," Master Tai Chu said, loud enough for everyone to hear, his voice cutting through the relief. "The real trouble is here."
Outside, the hissing grew louder, closer—almost at the door. Silver-green light flickered at the entrance, casting long, snakelike shadows across the cave floor.
Tan Kai squeezed Yara's hand, and the faint glow of lotus light returned to his palm. She squeezed back, a determined look in her eyes.
The final battle—between lotus and serpent, mortal and divine—was already breathing down their necks.