Chapter 14: The Gathering Storm

The cold gusts still howled around Li Yan as he stood frozen, the Ice Trial behind him. The blue gemstone in his hand pulsed with cold, steady throbbing, the energy of ice combined with firestone he'd obtained previously. He could feel the two within him—ice and fire, opposites combined. But there were trials yet to come.

In front of them, the landscape shifted. The white plain creaked and shuddered, opening into scarred cliffs and bottomless valleys below. Black clouds stormed overhead, flaring with veins of purple lightning. The air grew thick, heavy with force, so that every breath was wading through a thick syrup of anticipation.

A narrow bridge of stone stretched out before him to a towering spire of dark rock. At the top of it, a storm brewed, winds swirling around it in a frenzy. Li Yan could sense the power emanating from it—this was his next trial.

He breathed deep and stepped onto the bridge. The moment his foot touched stone, the tempest reacted. A deafening crack resounded through the air as a shaft of lightning strobed mere feet in front of him, incinerating the earth. The wind howled in rage, battering him as if to drive him back. But Li Yan did not waver. He advanced step by step against the wrath of the storm.

In the middle, the air trembled. A heavy, booming voice called out amidst the storm. "You have the power of fire and ice, but will you survive the fury of heaven?

Out of the boiling clouds came a form. Unlike the guardians of fire and ice, this beast was not made of a single element. Lightning danced upon it, its eyes blazed with two stars, and winds churned about it as if it were lord of the heavens.

Li Yan clutched his sword firmly. "If this is my next test, then I will face it directly."

The storm guardian lifted an arm, and the winds bellowed back. With a snap of her fingers, lightning shot toward Li Yan. He only had just enough time to jump out of the way as the explosion tore through the stone bridge he'd just left.

The storm guardian did not wait, striking again. Li Yan dodged once more, but the gusts shifted wildly, leaving him stumbling. A flash of lightning crackled in the air, striking precariously close. His muscles tensed with the residual charge, his movements lagging.

He must devise a plan.

Fire raged, ice persisted, but the storm was chaos itself. It could not be mastered like the other elements—only learned to adapt to. Recognizing this, Li Yan breathed deeply and did the one thing he shouldn't have.

He froze.

The storm raged about him, lightning flashing closer, the wind shrieking in his ears. But he did not fight against it. Instead, he attuned himself to its rhythm, feeling its strength, its wild haphazardness. He joined with it, moving not counter to the blast, but with it.

The guardian hesitated for the briefest moment. And in that moment, Li Yan struck. Leaning upon the power of the wind, he propelled himself forward, his blade charged with fire and ice. Cutting downward, a fusion of fire and cold burst forth, striking the eye of the tempest.

The impact was tremendous. The air tore apart, lightning bursting out in wild arcs. For one moment, everything was white, a blinding burst of strength.

Then stillness.

After the light had faded, the storm guardian was gone, and in its place floated a purple gemstone in front of Li Yan. The wind was still, the storm no longer raged. The sky, once full of it, lay quiet.

As he reached out and took the gem, a final whisper echoed through the sky.

"You have embraced the storm. Now, discover the depths."

Li Yan exhaled, weariness creeping into his limbs. He had passed another trial, but the journey still lay far in front of him. Drawing on his reserves, he looked ahead to the next path, ready to confront whatever lay in store.

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The highway post-hurricane was not one that Li Yan was familiar with. The air grew wet and heavy, redolent of earth and sea salt. Rocky outcroppings slanted down, giving way to a vast sweep of dark rolling waters. The sea stretched on and on out of sight, its face rippling under the dim light of a hidden sun.

Li Yan stepped forward warily, his boots finding wet stone. Tired as the storm trial left him, he had no chance to rest. Another trial beckoned below beneath the waves.

A voice deep and weighty as the restless tide spoke down. "Fire burns. Ice encloses. The storm fluctuates. But do you carry the weight of the abyss?"

Taking a big breath, Li Yan gripped his sword tightly. He did not yet know what was beneath the surface of the water, but he would find out soon enough. Without hesitation, he took a step forward—and plunged into the unknown.