Mira took a deep breath; the creeping darkness pressed in from all sides, suffocating and relentless. She swung her scythe again, but it was like slashing through water. The shadows dispersed momentarily, only to reassemble, darker and more formidable than before.
From the ever-shifting mass, sharp tendrils emerged, lunging at her. Mira twisted and dodged, her movements a blur, but one tendril caught her ankle, yanking her off balance. She crashed onto the cold stone floor, her scythe skidding away.
Rolling to her feet, she summoned her Qi, wrapping it around her like a protective cocoon. The cavern resonated with an ominous hum, and the shadowy beast seemed to pulsate with anticipation.
A cold realization hit her. Her usual attacks were futile. She needed a new strategy.
The beast lunged again, this time faster, its entire form barreling towards her. Mira focused on her breath, allowing her mind to tap into the very essence of the runes within her. Her nine tails swirled, their tips glowing with intense, multicolored energy.
With a ferocious roar, she released a shockwave of pure, concentrated Qi. The beast recoiled, its form disintegrating slightly, but it was not defeated. If anything, it grew angrier.
Determined, Mira tapped deeper into her power. From her core, a cold energy surged, enveloping her in a frosty aura. The very ground beneath her froze, spreading outward like a web of ice. The beast, caught off guard, struggled as its form became sluggish.
Seizing her chance, Mira raced to her scythe, its blade gleaming ominously. She remembered the message from the pond: "Find stability in the unstable." The memory strengthened her resolve. She would not be bested.
Using the icy terrain to her advantage, Mira glided across the floor, her movements fluid and graceful. She danced around the beast, leaving trails of frost in her wake. With each pass, she sliced at the creature, chipping away at its form.
The room filled with the echoing sounds of Mira's battle cries and the beast's angry roars. It tried to reconstitute itself, but Mira's relentless assault and the cold environment hindered its efforts.
But it wasn't enough to kill the creature.
Suddenly, a realization hit her.
'Primal Energy!'
How could she forget?
Focusing on her new heart, she channeled the Primal Energy through her meridians into her scythe.
Energy rippled around her like a storm, Primal Energy much harder to control than normal Qi.
The stormy aura around Mira intensified, becoming an almost palpable force. Primal Energy, raw and untamed, flowed through her, threatening to overwhelm her. But with clenched teeth, Mira began to harness it.
Every swing of her scythe now trailed a brilliant blue flame. The beast, sensing the change in her power, grew even more frenetic. Its tendrils reached out to strike, but Mira was ready.
The first tendril met her scythe, and upon contact, the primal flames consumed it, eradicating the darkness. The cavern echoed with the beast's screams of pain, but Mira pressed on, her strikes becoming rhythmic and deadly.
The shadow beast tried to retreat, but the confines of the cavern denied it any refuge. It was trapped with an adversary it had underestimated.
Determined to end the battle, Mira drew upon every ounce of her strength, merging her Qi and the Primal Energy. A brilliant orb of blue light formed at the tip of her scythe. With a fierce shout, she hurled it directly at the beast's core.
The impact was cataclysmic. A shockwave of energy emanated from the point of contact, and the chamber was illuminated with a blinding light. The shadows shrieked, their form dissipating, unable to withstand the might of the Primal Energy.
As the last remnants of the beast vanished, the cavern grew silent, save for Mira's ragged breathing.
She stumbled slightly, weakened from the immense energy expenditure. The aftereffects of using Primal Energy were evident; her body felt like it had been through a crucible. But she'd won. The darkness had been killed.
She turned her attention back to the scroll she had found earlier. It still lay there, undisturbed, its mysteries waiting to be unraveled.
Tucking the scroll securely into her storage space, Mira ventured further into the depths of the cave.
While she was walking, she attempted to regenerate her lost Primal Energy, but it was harder than she thought.
Drawing upon Primal Energy was not like siphoning from the familiar reservoirs of Qi. It was ancient, wild, and unpredictable. Mira, despite her formidable abilities, had only touched the surface of its vast potential.
She soon realized that regaining Primal Energy wasn't a matter of sheer will. It was an intricate dance of understanding, balance, and respect. The energy within her didn't merely flow; it roared, surged, and demanded attention.
As she moved deeper into the cavern, the darkness seemed to lighten slightly, and ethereal luminescent plants began to emerge from the walls. Their soft glow pulsed with an energy she recognized – Primal Energy. Mira approached one, the delicate tendrils of the plant reaching out to her, brushing against her skin.
A gentle, tingling sensation enveloped her, and she felt a slow but steady stream of Primal Energy being absorbed into her being. The plant seemed to share its essence with her willingly, and with each passing moment, Mira felt her strength returning. It wasn't a full recovery, but it was a start.
The glow from the plants ebbed and flowed as Mira delved deeper, revealing a corridor that stretched into a labyrinth. The walls were inscribed with intricate runes, eerily similar to the ones she bore. Their pulsations matched the rhythm of her heartbeat, drawing her in.
A faint hum caught her attention. Veering to her left, she found herself in front of a massive stone altar. Atop it rested a scroll, its edges worn but its secrets intact. Guarding the scroll was a beast unlike any she had encountered before – a creature of stone and flame.
It was difficult to tell its strength since it didn't follow the conventional cultivation path, but her instincts told her it was strong. Strong enough to pose a threat.
Its eyes flared, sensing her presence. The ground trembled as it lunged. Mira's instincts took over. Ducking and weaving, she barely evaded its fiery grasp. Every move was a calculated dance, one misstep, and she'd be scorched.
Learning from her past experience, she now understood how to control Primal Energy better and was able to smoothly take down the creature. With her second scroll in hand, Mira walked deeper into the cave.
Another altar came into view, this one guarded by a creature of air and lightning, its form barely tangible, its strikes unpredictable. Mira's scythe met crackling energy with every swing, her movements a symphony of agility and precision.
As she conquered each beast, she claimed the scrolls, each filled with forgotten knowledge. They spoke of the ancients, of realms beyond her understanding, of Primal Energy in its purest form.
Yet, every victory was costly. The weight of fatigue pressed heavily on her, and her reserves of Primal Energy waned with every skirmish. But Mira was undeterred. She had come too far to yield now.
Others should have joined her on the island by now. She couldn't allow a single one of them to snatch these scrolls!
The last chamber was the grandest of all. At its center stood a colossal altar, bathed in an ethereal light. The final scroll awaited, but its guardian was the most formidable. A creature forged from the very elements of the earth, water, air, and fire, its presence was a force to be reckoned with.
Mira steadied herself, drawing upon every shred of her being. The beast roared, a cacophony of elemental rage, and charged. Their clash was titanic, echoing through the caverns.
She moved with a fluidity. The beast countered with raw power. Stone met steel, flames danced with Primal Energy, and torrents of water clashed with icy killing intent.
The chamber became an arena of chaos, elemental energies colliding in a storm of power and wills.
And then, in a heart-stopping moment, Mira found an opening. Channeling her remaining Primal Energy into her scythe, she struck at the beast's core. The world exploded in light.
Silence.
Mira stood amidst the settling dust, the beast reduced to scattered elements. Exhausted but triumphant, she approached the final scroll.
With the scrolls secured, Mira found the exit on the other side of the altar and walked through it. The luminescent plants now shone brighter as if acknowledging her triumph. Their energy caressed her, rejuvenating her weary soul and Primal Heart.
As soon as she stepped out of the cave, she appeared on the other side of the floating island, directly in front of the sun.
However, she wasn't given a moment of rest when she realized she wasn't alone.
Hearing voices and the clashes of metal in the background, Mira frowned, realizing she wasn't alone anymore.
"YOU! IT WAS YOU WHO STOLE EVERYTHING!" She heard someone shout at her and looked over.
In an empty garden, a large man with a sword at his waist pointed at her while yelling, catching everyone's attention.
Mira was going to ignore him at first, as she didn't have the time to deal with morons.
However, a thought crossed her mind, causing a smirk to play on her lips.
"And? What can you do about it?"
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