Hand XII
It wouldn't be long before she found a gap, and when that happened… Cypher would be decapitated.
And when Cypher fell—Alex knew he would follow.
She's tearing through him… faster than I expected, he thought, cold sweat beading at his temple. If she breaks through completely, I'm finished.
His mind raced.
I could use the Time Dilation Sphere… it'll freeze everything around her for just a moment—just long enough for a fatal strike.
A faint glow sparked in his hand as the Time Dilation Sphere began to form, swirling like a slow-turning galaxy.
But she's fast. Too fast. That sphere is slow. She'll never let it hit her.
He clenched his teeth.
Still… I have to try. It's my only shot. Or I die here.
Alex watched with cold calculation as Madam Gao struck from multiple angles—her hands blurring in mid-air like blades of a master martial artist. Each movement was clean, precise, and infused with dark chi. The blows landed on Cypher with terrifying force. Cracks spiderwebbed across Cypher's carapace, and fragments of its shadow armor began to fall like shards of obsidian.
She's not just fast, Alex thought, eyes narrowing. She's dissecting Cypher like a surgeon. If this keeps up, I'm next.
He inhaled sharply and whispered under his breath, "Shadow Shift."
A ripple of distortion burst from his position as he vanished in a blur of darkness, teleporting behind Madam Gao with speed just outside the human eye.
His hand reached forward—fast, desperate—holding the unstable Time Dilation Sphere, the silver-blue energy pulsing like a heart made of stardust. As he appeared behind her, he thrust it forward, aiming for her back.
But Madam Gao sensed him.
With reflexes that didn't make sense, she twisted—an elegant spin born of decades of mastery—and tried to dodge.
Tch. Too fast!
Alex didn't flinch. He didn't chase her movement. Instead, he calmly let go of the sphere.
The Time Dilation Sphere detonated mid-air.
A radiant pulse expanded outward like a reversed explosion—light blooming in eerie silence. Time itself slowed drastically in a 3-meter radius.
Madam Gao's form—once swift and untouchable—froze mid-dodge. Her hand was outstretched, her legs coiled mid-air, her expression locked in surprise. The sphere had caught half her body—immobilizing her from the waist down.
Her eyes, however, moved. She was still conscious, aware, trapped in the slow-motion crawl of distorted time.
Alex's heart pounded. She didn't get away completely. Good.
But he knew it wouldn't last long. Time Dilation was powerful—but unstable. At best, he had three seconds to act before the effect collapsed.
Cypher was already reacting.
Split apart by her assault, the creature's core essence reformed behind Alex in a serpentine shadow swirl, then surged forward with a screech that sounded like a chorus of whispers. It dove toward Madam Gao's immobilized form.
Her upper body still tried to move—still fought to react.
But Cypher was faster.
With a clean, slashing motion, a shadow claw carved through the barrier of her chi aura and cleaved through her torso diagonally—cutting her upper body away from her frozen lower half in a flash of black and red.
Blood sprayed against the warehouse walls, suspended briefly in the time-warped air like crimson mist.
As the Time Dilation Sphere collapsed, the sound returned in a violent rush.
BOOM.
Madam Gao's bisected body hit the floor—the top half gasping, twitching, already failing.
Alex exhaled slowly.
I didn't want to use that card here, he thought. But it was her or me.
Cypher pulled back, growling low, its form shifting protectively in front of Alex.
He stepped forward and stared down at Gao's fading form.
"Where's Sue?" he asked quietly.
Madam Gao, her face pale and blood trickling from her lips, gave a faint smile. "Still… too late."
Her head fell back, breath fading.
Alex narrowed his eyes, her final words echoing in his mind."Still… too late."
"What did she mean by 'too late'?" he muttered, stepping forward to check her body for any clues.
But Cypher suddenly leapt onto Madam Gao's corpse, blocking Alex.
"What is it?" Alex asked, confused.
Cypher turned its head toward him, its mouth splitting unnaturally as a guttural word escaped its inhuman throat."Feed."
Alex blinked. "You want to eat her?"
The shadow creature didn't reply. It simply lowered its head and snarled softly, the hunger radiating from it like heat from a furnace. Alex hesitated—then remembered the room, the smell.
The room Gao had lured him into was surrounded by bloodstains, bones, and the broken remains of young women—likely sacrifices. Bound and drained. A slaughterhouse in every sense.
His fists clenched, but his voice was cold."Do it."
Cypher wasted no time. In a swift, horrifying motion, it engulfed her body entirely—tearing through her with jaws made of shadow and smoke. There was no scream. No resistance. Only silence as the body vanished into the creature.
A pulse of dark energy surged through Cypher, and a glowing symbol—twisted and arcane—flickered across its chest before fading into its carapace.
A series of whispers entered Alex's mind.
[Cypher has consumed: Dark Chi User]
[Dark Chi synchronized]
[Skill Acquired: Dark Chi Manipulation]
[Effect: Grants ability to leech life-force, disrupt standard chi techniques, and corrupt ambient energy]
Alex felt the surge instantly—like a wave of cold fire spreading through his veins. His connection with Cypher deepened, the shared power more potent than ever.
He smirked faintly, feeling the sharp, unnatural chi in his palm."Hm… I guess even my worst enemies can become useful after death."
His eyes glinted with renewed determination.
"Now, let's find Sue—before too late becomes real."
***
A few days earlier…
Sue moved quietly through the Sam's old warehouse, her steps careful and precise. The place had been abandoned for years—or so it was supposed to be. The intel she received said otherwise.
Hidden beneath floorboards wrapped in aged parchment and some kind of seals, she found it—a sealed black case with a crimson serpent etched across it.
Inside: a single vial.
Deep red. Viscous. Alive.
The Serum.
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