The cave's walls rumbled.
Silver-green venom mist poured in like a flood, swallowing the entrance. Then—crack! The array wall shattered. Nagasith stepped through, his scales glinting like cold metal. Nine silver-green serpent tails coiled behind him, slamming into the ground. The stone crumbled, eaten away by venom.
He flicked his tongue, the air thickening with sickly sweetness. The array's golden-green light dimmed, sputtering like a dying flame. Tan Kai's palms burned where he pressed against Yara's—their lotus energy wavered, seconds from breaking.
Tong scrabbled to his knees, forehead pressed to the ground. "Master! I-I was going to get the lotus for you!" His voice shook, eyes glued to Nagasith's tails.
Erlang Shen and Ne Zha stepped back, their defenses up. Erlang's third eye glowed brighter; Ne Zha's spear blazed, but the flame flickered—fear, plain and simple.
Master Tai Chu stood before them all, his robe flapping. "Nagasith. A millennium gone, and you still thrive on poison."
Nagasith laughed, a cold, hissing sound. His snake-like eyes locked on Tai Chu. "You've guarded that lotus for centuries, yet you still don't understand—poison is what's truly in every heart."
Before the words faded, his tail lashed out. A silver-green venom whip sliced through the air, aiming for the array's core.
Yara screamed. The venom mark on her arm burned, throbbing in time with the whip. Her grip on Tan Kai slipped.
"Hold on!" Tan Kai gritted his teeth, pouring every last bit of lotus energy into her. Their palms blazed again, just enough to steady the array. But Bright and Nam were already coughing, doubled over from the venom mist. They stumbled back, gasping.
The fight exploded into chaos.
Nagasith ignored Erlang and Ne Zha. He struck Tong first—his tail pierced the man's shoulder, venom flooding into the wound. Tong shrieked, his body convulsing as the green veins spread. "Worthless," Nagasith spat, yanking his tail free.
Then he turned to Tai Chu. A ball of silver-green venom formed in his palm—glowing, pulsing. He hurled it at the array. The patterns cracked, inch by inch.
Erlang Shen saw his chance. He nodded at Ne Zha. Together, they moved—Erlang aimed a golden beam at Tan Kai, targeting the array's heart. Ne Zha lunged at Nagasith's back, his spear ablaze.
"Look out!" Bright coughed, grabbing a pouch of lotus dew powder. He threw it at Erlang. The powder burst into mist, blocking the beam's path.
Nam snatched a wooden stick from the ground. She ran at Ne Zha, slamming the stick into his spear. The weapon veered off course, the flame singeing Nagasith's scales.
Yara saw Erlang's beam reaim. She grit her teeth, forcing her venom to surge. A green shield flickered in front of Tan Kai. The beam bounced off— but the backlash hit her hard. She doubled over, spitting up blood.
"Yara!" Tan Kai yelled.
The array was breaking. The venom ball had torn a hole in the patterns. Nagasith's tails lashed again, widening the gap. Tai Chu's face was pale, but his eyes were steady. He looked at Tan Kai, at Yara, at Bright and Nam—his students, his family.
He stepped forward, placing his hands over Tan Kai and Yara's joined palms.
"Lotus heart as guide, array soul as bond," he said, his voice calm.
Golden light exploded from his body.
Tan Kai reached out, desperate to grab him. But all he caught was a wisp of warm lotus light, fading between his fingers.
Tai Chu's form melted into the array.
In an instant, the cracked patterns healed. The array blazed—no longer just golden-green, but a brilliant mix of the two, like lotus petals wrapped around serpent scales. Nagasith's venom ball hit the array wall and shattered, bouncing back to singe his own arm.
He roared, shocked. "Impossible!"
Tan Kai stared at his empty hand. The warmth of Tai Chu's light lingered. Then—he felt it. A whisper in his mind, soft but clear: Lotus and serpent are not enemies. They are one.
Yara panted beside him, her blood staining the ground. But when he looked at her, at the venom mark now glowing in time with his lotus energy, he understood.
He took her hand, not to push his energy into her—but to let theirs mix.
Golden light from him, green light from her. They twisted together, winding like vines. The array pulsed in response.
From the center of the array, mist billowed. Not just mist—the Naga guardian. This time, it was real. Silver-green scales, golden lotus petals coiled around its body. Its eyes blazed, and when it looked around—
Pain exploded in every evil heart.
Tong screamed, the venom in his veins burning away. Erlang Shen clutched his third eye, blood trickling down his cheek. Ne Zha's spear flame died, leaving only cold metal.
Nagasith stumbled back, his scales smoking where the guardian's gaze touched them. "No! Lotus and serpent cannot coexist!"
He threw his arms wide. Venom mist erupted from his body, covering the cave in a thick, choking cloud—the Serpent God's Venom Domain. The array's light dimmed again.
Tan Kai and Yara stood together, their hands still joined. The guardian's eyes met theirs.
"Lotus and serpent as one," Tan Kai said, his voice steady.
"Purge the poison, break the darkness," Yara added, her strength returning.
Together, they yelled: "Symbiosis—unite!"
The array shot up a beam of golden-green light, piercing the venom cloud. It hit the center of Nagasith's domain, and the mist exploded.
Nagasith was thrown back, scales tearing off his body. He landed hard, his tails twitching. "Tai Chu! This isn't over!" he snarled. "The debt from two hundred years ago—I'll make you pay!"
He vanished in a burst of venom mist.
Erlang and Ne Zha knew the fight was lost. They fled through the broken array wall, glares sharp as blades.
Tong lay unconscious, his venom gone.
The array's light faded. The Naga guardian vanished, sinking back into the stone.
Tan Kai and Yara collapsed, exhausted. Bright and Nam ran to them, their coughs finally stopping.
Then—they saw him. A faint, glowing figure in the array: Master Tai Chu. His form was wispy, but his smile was warm.
"I'm not gone," he said, his voice echoing softly. "I'm part of the array now. When you uncover the lotus's secret—when you learn of what happened two hundred years ago—I'll return."
Tan Kai's hand brushed his chest. Something hard pressed against his skin. He pulled it out—a half-carved wooden pendant, its surface glowing with faint lotus light. He'd never seen it before.
Tai Chu's eyes softened. "It's time you knew the truth."
Outside, the sun rose. Golden light streamed into the cave, chasing away the last of the venom mist.
Yara's arm tingled. She looked down—the venom mark was gone, replaced by a small, glowing pattern: a lotus wrapped around a serpent.
Bright grinned, slapping Tan Kai's shoulder. "We did it! Kinda. Mostly. Okay, Tai Chu did the big part—but we helped!"
Nam rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Yeah, yeah. Now let's tie up Tong and find some mangoes. I'm starving."
Tan Kai looked at Yara, then at Tai Chu's glowing figure. He grip the pendant.
Two hundred years of secrets. A lotus, a serpent, a debt unpaid. And a promise to bring his master back.
The fight was over—for now. But the journey to uncover the truth had only just begun.