Duality of Shadows

The space began to shatter around the reflection, and all the laws bowed before the apocalyptic union of the three powers. All the power transformed into a sacred gold and then settled around the reflection like an imperial aura. Soon, it gave a wicked smile, taking a step forward. Even the primitive crystals on the ground twisted, with faint cracks forming in them.

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Contrary to all the reflection’s expectations, something sprouted from the void, and thousands of runes floated around the Alm and Bruno, pulsating with energy. The reflection halted its step and looked at the whale, its instincts seemingly saying something; then, it saw a supernatural violet in the whale’s pupils.

BOOM!

A volcano of flames erupted around the reflection. The entire world around it was swallowed by a dark red that resembled the flames of hell.

The reflection stood still in contemplation, and all the power around it only flickered briefly; that flame didn’t represent any danger, but a strange feeling made it take a step to the side.

WHOOSH!

In the midst of the fiery chaos, the reflection witnessed only a black shadow passing by it, cutting through the air with lethal precision. Its runic body took a lateral step, and another black shadow slid silently. If any wicked cultivator saw this shadow, they would be shocked—it was the physical form of infernal laws. Soon, a succession of infernal shadows advanced, one after another, while the reflection skillfully dodged, moving with supernatural agility.

The continuous repetition of these movements raised an unsettling question within the reflection: why was it dodging? In an instant of perception, a strange sensation enveloped it. Why retreat in the face of the unknown? It was then that it felt, at the core of its chest, within the threads of its runes, a violet layer advancing slowly, penetrating like poison into its essence. When it finally noticed it, its instincts screamed in alert.

In a swift and decisive gesture, the power surrounding it exploded, dispersing the voracious flames and everything else far away. In seconds, the entire place went dark, without any trace of the infernal runes.

Around the reflection, a thin layer of golden power still existed strongly. But its expression was twisted, and in its eyes, violet lines appeared. It couldn’t understand at all; even with this power, how were its defenses corroded?

The reflection carefully sensed the entire environment; there was no trace of the real whale. But the sense of danger still lingered in the air. Then, it smiled again, and the golden power vibrated. Want to hide? Let’s see if you can.

BOOM!

The golden splendor radiated in all directions like an overwhelming manifestation of destruction. Amidst the chaos, in a dark corner, the reflection smiled, seeing a shadow take form and flee.

Without hesitation, it launched itself in that direction with all its power. From the darkness emerged the whale, seemingly fleeing with determination. However, it abruptly stopped and turned around. In an instant of eye contact, smiles formed on both faces.

The golden wave from the reflection advanced relentlessly, being only a meter away. Yet, on Alm and Bruno’s forehead, a spatial rune lit up. At that moment, the golden power trembled as if being sucked into a black hole, and a gap opened in the golden torrent attack used by the reflection. In that interval, Alm and Bruno jumped, delivering a punch with their whole body, while blood exploded in the air.

BOOM!

The impact was visceral, and the fists collided in an explosion of titanic forces. Sounds of bones and runes exploding into pieces echoed, reverberating throughout the place. The Alm and Bruno’s feet trembled, its body crumbled, and it flew to the opposite side. The boom, like thunder hitting a wall, resonated in the environment, marking the brutal impact.

Seconds passed. Even as the reflection perceived the whale’s life slowly slipping away, there was no victorious smile on its face. Its body remained petrified, fists extended, unable to move.

Then, its eyes turned to a violet line running along its arm, followed by thousands of violet cracks spreading across its body. Around it, the temperature abruptly rose, and fire runes sprouted from the void, lighting up. In a matter of seconds, the reflection was engulfed by flames that mercilessly burned every rune. In a fleeting spectacle, its being turned to dust and disappeared completely.

At the same time, outside, below the stairs, Langrum and the fifteen women had expressions of terror as they watched Ruri and Almin completely unconscious, with expressions of profound pain and agony. Just a minute ago, both were perfectly fine, chatting and looking serious at the top of the stairs. But suddenly, they trembled as if their lives were being sucked out of their bodies and passed out.

Initially, Langrum felt their bodies and concluded, incredulously, that they experienced a Qi depletion. But how? It didn’t make sense. Now, seeing their expressions, something even more abnormal was happening.

Above the stairs, inside the room, a cold silence lingered for several minutes. Near the wall, fallen on the floor, the whale trembled. It was its last involuntary muscle tremors before death. Then, it stopped.

Seconds passed, and an oddity permeated the air around the whale. Soon, something changed subtly.

A subtle life energy suddenly sprouted around the round figure. Then, a loud boom exploded from within its body, and a drum began to beat frantically. Its heart was active again, and its eyes opened like those of an undead brought back from hell.

"Holy shit! I thought it was all over," Bruno commented with a sigh. "Finding a new body and starting from scratch would be troublesome."

Alm remained silent, reflecting deeply, while Bruno took an even deeper breath, feeling the fragmented body of the whale.

"When we were in despair... what were you thinking?" Bruno asked, already knowing the answer.

"About everything... and everyone..." Alm said, avoiding going into details. Bruno nodded.

Before the power of the reflection completely merged and became that golden energy, there was only one thing on their minds: If they died there... Almin and Ruri would be doomed. At that moment, the array emerged without them consciously thinking about it.

The reflection couldn’t replicate the array. They already knew that. But what could they do with Ruri and Almin’s power in this battle? Even so, in an incomprehensible way, they triggered the array with all their might. Everything was drawn from their subjects until nothing remained. Then, they understood.

"We haven’t learned anything, have we?" Bruno murmured. "Our lonely and nefarious past is still rooted in us. We gained so much, and in the end, we used only a small part of it and clung to what we already knew. That’s why we never realized how truly powerful the Behemoth bloodline was."

Alm remained silent while Bruno continued. "We didn’t even take the technique we were projecting seriously, and any celestial reflection could bring out its real power better than we could ourselves..." Bruno sighed.

"Almin’s fire couldn’t kill, but the curse’s power could interfere with the senses by attacking with infernal laws. Ruri’s mental power couldn’t directly affect a reflection, but it could be used in conjunction with the fire curse to invade the reflection’s runes, interfering with its strength and reasoning power." Bruno analyzed calmly.

"In the end... if we had trusted in their power that was at our disposal, everything would have been easier. We instinctively can’t really trust anything other than our own... we don’t even trust our own bloodline, thinking of it as something external. And we avoided studying it seriously." Bruno continued.

Then, Alm sighed heavily and spoke, feeling the whale’s body. "We should have died... no, this body died. But the array can transfer life energy between its users, and it brought us back."

"Thankfully, we advanced in physical cultivation, so we only need a minimal amount of life energy from them for the body to react. Otherwise, Ruri might have had her life decreased a bit, but Almin would have been in serious trouble." Bruno added with some relief.