Chapter Nineteen – Storm of Blood and Shadow
The night split open with thunder.
Lightning crawled across the sky like veins of white fire, illuminating the sprawling courtyards of the Scarlet Moon Sect. The rain fell in sheets, drenching the stone paths and turning every breath of wind into a howl.
And through that tempest, Ken Miles walked.
His robes were soaked crimson — not with water, but blood. His skin glowed faintly red beneath the stormlight, the veins along his arms pulsing like molten iron. Every step left a faint scorch mark on the stone.
The Blood Reversal Seal had transformed him. His once-handsome face was now hollowed, his eyes burning with an eerie, unholy light. Each breath he took exhaled mist that smelled faintly of iron and decay.
He looked up toward the distant peak where the inner court's lights still burned.
"Jesse Jordan," he hissed, voice rough with fury. "Come down from your throne."
The storm answered him with thunder.
---
At that same moment, Elder Morris stood within his meditation chamber, eyes closed, sensing the flow of qi through the sect. The storm's rhythm was wrong — the energy twisted, distorted.
He frowned. "So the fool really awakened the seal…"
A faint disturbance rippled through the air behind him. Jesse stepped through the doorway, rain clinging to his shoulders.
"He's calling for me," Jesse said.
Morris turned, gaze sharp. "The Blood Reversal Seal burns life to fuel vengeance. If you fight him, you may have to kill him."
Jesse's expression didn't change. "He chose this path."
Morris studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Then face him. But remember what I taught you — balance the void, or it will devour more than your enemy."
Jesse inclined his head, gripping Voidfang. "Understood."
When he stepped out into the rain, the night seemed to bend around him.
---
They met at the Lower Courtyard, where the moon's reflection shimmered faintly through the stormwater.
Ken stood in the center, his aura like a bonfire of blood, heat radiating in violent waves. The crimson glow burned against the darkness like a curse upon heaven itself.
Jesse approached silently, his black-gray robes plastered to his frame, Voidfang humming low. The faint flicker of jade and shadow along the blade clashed against the red glow of Ken's curse.
For a heartbeat, neither spoke. Only rain filled the silence between them.
Then Ken smiled — a cruel, broken smile. "You stole everything from me. My honor. My place. Her eyes."
Jesse's voice was calm. "I didn't steal anything. You lost them yourself."
Ken's laughter cracked like glass. "Still arrogant. Still pretending to be above us! I'll show them what you really are — a demon wrapped in flesh!"
His qi exploded.
The air warped as crimson mist surged outward, forming hundreds of floating runes of blood. Each one pulsed like a heartbeat before firing toward Jesse.
Blood Reversal Art – Crimson Spears!
Jesse moved.
The world seemed to slow. The void inside him pulsed once, and the rain around him froze midair. He stepped through it, sword flashing in smooth arcs. The jade light trailed behind the blade like liquid moonlight, each strike dissolving a crimson spear into vapor.
The final strike met Ken's chest.
Ken roared, blocking with both arms. The impact threw him backward, smashing him into a stone pillar that cracked under the force. Blood splattered the rain.
But he didn't fall.
Instead, his aura flared brighter, the crimson curse crawling across his face. "You can't kill me!" he bellowed. "The seal feeds on death itself!"
Jesse's eyes narrowed. "Then it's time to starve it."
He raised Voidfang. The fractured blade pulsed — half jade, half black — as if the void itself drew breath.
Void Sutra – Second Fold: Eclipse of Balance!
The ground beneath him shattered, releasing a pillar of shadow and light that collided with Ken's blood aura. The courtyard became a maelstrom — red and black, life and death, tearing at the air like rival gods.
Lightning struck, igniting the rain midair.
The clash sent shockwaves rippling through the sect, shattering tiles and windows. Disciples scrambled from their quarters, eyes wide in horror as the two figures danced within the storm — one burning like a dying sun, the other cold as a collapsing star.
---
From the distance, Daisy Mellon watched, clutching the talisman against her chest. Her breath caught as the two auras collided again and again, shaking the mountains.
"Stop it…" she whispered. "You'll kill each other."
But neither of them heard.
---
Ken roared, slamming both hands into the ground. Blood qi surged upward, taking the form of a monstrous wolf made from congealed hatred. It lunged, its fangs wide enough to crush stone.
Jesse's eyes flashed. Voidfang cut upward — the blade passed through the beast like wind, but the air itself folded. Space rippled, and the wolf disintegrated into nothingness.
Ken's scream tore through the rain. "You think you can erase me like that?! I'll show you what the seal truly is!"
He pressed his palms to his chest, forcing the crimson veins to burn brighter. The blood runes carved into his skin ignited, consuming his lifeforce. His qi spiked, surging to a level no human should reach.
Elder Morris, watching from afar, muttered darkly, "Fool. He's sacrificing everything."
Ken's form twisted, bones cracking, his hair turning white. His pupils vanished, replaced by pits of scarlet flame.
He lunged again — faster than lightning.
Jesse met him head-on. Their blades clashed, one bleeding, one void-forged. For a moment, the world held its breath.
Then—
BOOM.
The courtyard exploded in a storm of light and blood.
Both figures vanished into the blast. Rain vaporized. The ground split, cracks spidering across the mountain.
When the smoke cleared, Jesse stood at the crater's edge, breathing hard. His robe was torn, blood trickling from his lip — but his eyes burned steady. Voidfang hummed, faint but alive.
Ken knelt in the crater's center, trembling. His hair hung wild over his face, his body flickering with dying light. The seal had nearly consumed him.
"Why…" he rasped. "Why won't you fall?"
Jesse approached slowly. "Because I don't need vengeance to stand."
He raised his sword — but instead of striking, he reversed the blade and drove it into the ground beside Ken.
"Your fight is over."
Ken looked up, confusion flickering briefly through the madness. "You… pity me?"
"No," Jesse said quietly. "I understand you."
The blood mark on Ken's chest flared once, violently. His eyes widened in realization. "No—!"
The seal detonated.
A surge of red flame erupted, engulfing his body. Jesse barely managed to shield himself as the blast tore through the courtyard. When it faded, nothing remained but ashes swirling in the rain.
Jesse stood there silently, rain streaming down his face.
He whispered, "Rest."
---
High above, the Sect Master watched from the Grand Hall's balcony. His robes fluttered in the storm wind, his gaze unreadable.
"So," he murmured. "The void's heir chooses mercy."
Elder Ryn stepped beside him, his voice sharp. "He chose weakness. The boy should have struck the final blow. He hesitated—"
"—and yet he stands," the Sect Master interrupted. "While the cursed one perished. Tell me, Ryn… which of them was truly weak?"
Ryn clenched his jaw, silent.
---
When dawn came, the rain finally ceased. The sect's disciples gathered around the ruined courtyard, whispering.
"He killed Ken Miles."
"No — the curse consumed him."
"Either way, he's cursed too. Did you see his eyes during the fight?"
Rumors spread like wildfire. By midday, Jesse Jordan's name was once again on every tongue — half in awe, half in fear.
He remained silent through it all.
In the aftermath, he stood alone on the courtyard's edge, looking out at the rising sun. Voidfang rested across his back, silent.
Daisy approached quietly, her steps hesitant. "You're hurt."
He didn't look at her. "Not as much as he was."
She frowned. "You can't keep doing this alone."
He turned to her then, his expression unreadable. "The path I walk doesn't allow company."
"But that doesn't mean you have to become what they fear," she whispered.
Jesse looked down at his hands — pale, trembling slightly from overexertion. The void inside him stirred, whispering softly.
Forward… deeper…
He clenched his fist until the shaking stopped. "Fear is better than pity."
He walked past her, leaving her standing in the rain-damp courtyard, staring after him.
---
Later, in Elder Morris's hall, the old man sat cross-legged, watching Jesse in silence.
"The Blood Reversal Seal was not of mortal design," Morris said. "Its energy touched you. I can feel traces of it in your core."
Jesse nodded. "It tried to take root, but the void rejected it."
Morris's gaze sharpened. "Be cautious. Even rejection leaves scars."
Jesse looked toward the window, where sunlight cut through the mist. "Scars remind us we survived."
The elder's lips twitched in faint amusement. "True. But too many, and even the strongest forget what it means to feel."
He rose slowly. "Rest, Jesse. The next stage of your path will not come from fighting others. It will come from conquering yourself."
Jesse bowed slightly. "Yes, Elder."
As he left, Morris watched him go with an expression that was equal parts pride and worry.
"Void-born…" he murmured. "May the heavens have mercy on you—because the world will not."
---
That night, the storm passed. But over Scarlet Moon Peak, a strange stillness lingered. The clouds parted to reveal the Scarlet Ember Moon, glowing unnaturally bright. Its light reflected off Voidfang, resting beside Jesse's bed.
He sat awake, staring at the blade. The hum within it was deeper now, like a heartbeat merging with his own.
He whispered, "How much longer until you break me too?"
The sword gave no answer—only that steady pulse of shadow and jade.
Outside, the wind carried faint whispers through the darkened halls of the sect.
Change was coming.
And the void was far from done with its chosen.