Chapter 38 - Siege of the Obsidian Fortress

The Obsidian Fortress loomed like a blackened fang thrust from Emberfire's scorched heart, its thorned spires piercing perpetual twilight skies. Walls gleamed slick with blood-moat residue, pulsing crimson runes that hummed reversal fields—qi-draining vortices warping air into howling voids. Lava catwalks bridged moats bubbling viscous horror, gates reinforced blood-forged iron groaning under Michael's initial qi-quake. Abraham stood vanguard, lean frame taut sinew and scars, Plum Blossom sword humming anticipation. Fortress breathes cult venom, he thought, relic syncing warnings. Breach outer, shatter core. ��Michael anchored beside—colossus seven-foot yoke-broad, crimson-veined armor cracked shoulder-deep exposing veined muscle glistening sweat-blood, gauntlets knuckle-split oozing. His coal-void eyes burned fortress-ward, breath ragged but fury leashed thunder. Disciples flanked—Li Wei wiry-vigilant jade-slip clutched, arm gashed bandaged; others mud-robed resolute, qi flickering Plum echoes. Horns wailed defiance; gates shuddered.Siege ignited cataclysmic. Abraham signaled: "Zenith dome—advance!" Twenty-Four Blossoms peaked, qi-petals layering radiant barrier absorbing arrow-volleys laced ichor. Disciple screamed toxin-graze, Violet Cloud renewal purging; Li Wei Storm-unleashed petals overwhelming archers. Michael charged meteor-impact—fists cratering earth, crimson qi exploding geysers pulverizing gates. Iron buckled boom!—shards flying, reversal backlash yanking footing unstable.Defenders surged blood-golems viscous towering, limbs reforming severed; assassins veiled shadow-daggers venom-dripping. Abraham Cascade Bloom ghost-feet evading claws, Eclipse Descent crescent cleaving golem cores—ichor spraying copper-steam. Reversal feeds ambient—disrupt flow. Inner command: Petals scatter, Sovereign sleeps. Golem limb grazed thigh, burning marrow-deep; meridians screamed but Barricade bloomed shield.Michael rampaged hurricane—fists smashing golem torsos porcelain-thunder, qi-backwash vaporizing ranks. Towering frame splintered bone-armor alike, split-lip snarling: "Break!" Crimson domain flared, reversal fields inverting harmless—golems imploding self-devour. Disciple skewered flank; Abraham Pinnacle pierced assassin heart, petals exploding viscera.Courtyard breached—totems central pulsing drain-heart, cult adepts chanting blood-rites veins bulging black-red. Abraham vaulted catwalk slick-lava, boots sizzling; Throne Ascendant dragons spiraled shield-volleys, coiling serpent-strikes decapitating chanters. Kaien watches—traps layer. Adept reversal-palm exploded qi-pull, yanking Abraham forward; Violet Cloud renewed mid-air twist, sword bisecting torso gore-fountaining.Li Wei rallied remnants Storm-petals overwhelming totems; Michael fist-quaked central—CRASH!—stone shattering, fields collapsing scream-harmonic. Casualties mounted—two disciples toxin-fallen foaming; Abraham gashed shoulder-deep axe-graze, blood hot trickle. Unity bleeds; hold. Inner steel: Hua's grace tempers machine-fire.Inner sanctum beckoned—thorned doors rune-veiled, Kaien's silhouette parapet laughing guttural. Horns blared reinforcements; blood-knights thorn-armored charging. Abraham signaled retreat-regroup ridge: "Flanks converge—core strike dawn." Disciples dragged wounded; Michael rear-guard pulverizing pursuit.Camp ridge-overlook, lava-glow illuminating grim faces. Li Wei bandaged: "Totems down—fortress cracks." Abraham cleaned blade ichor-smeared, meridians raw-throb: Siege grinds; Kaien's gambit unfolds. Flashback surged: Han's betrayal knife, Vorath peak-shatter. Trust fractures; will binds. Michael grunted wound-poultice, rare vulnerability: "Warlord waits throne. End him."Dawn brewed plans refined: disciples feint east, Abraham-Michael core breach. System chimed: "Siege progress: 40%. Tactical adaptation rewarded." Qi surged minor-boost. Abraham addressed: "Fortress falls tomorrow—cult ends." Disciples chanted low: "Twin Demons prevail."Siege second wave ignited fiercer—lava catwalks buckled under catapult ichor-bombs exploding corrosive mist. Abraham Zenith-dome shielded advance, petals corroding harmless steam; Michael qi-quake toppled siege engines rubble-avalanche. Knights clashed courtyard—Abraham Cascade evading thorn-lances, Pinnacle illusory-thrusts piercing joints gore-spraying. Grace vs brute—Plum prevails.Michael bisected knight colossus-fist, armor crumpling foil; crimson backlash incinerating flanks. Li Wei Storm disrupted rites, petals totem-shattering. Inner sanctum doors groaned open—Kaien awaited throne, aura eclipse-dark. Abraham paused threshold, sword raised: Gambit peaks—face nightmare.