Skyfire Avenue

Where it met the clouds they parted. Where it encountered rain the droplets broke – a stairway to heaven built on a shimmering rainbow lane.

The darkness was destroyed as the primordial essence borne by the swords swept through. The rainbow aurora hung in the air for what felt like a long time before finally dissipating.

Lan Qing had awoken from his meditations long before and gaped at the scene with unabashed surprise. Almost incapable of believing what he saw, he watched as the boundless destruction of the Terminator’’ Domain fractured into dust. The ultimate convert employed nearly all of his power to keep himself from being swallowed up by the prismatic aurora, and that was when it curved up – piercing the comet-casted ceiling and into the sky.

The Terminator kneeled on the ground, covered in a hundred tiny wounds. Droplets of blood coated him like a sheen of sweat. His wide eyes stared in disbelief at the two figures appearing in the distance.

He hadn’t used his full strength, and in fact the Terminator had held back. But he could feel it clearly, even the totality of his abilities wouldn’t have been capable of saving him from that power.

Harrowing... the memory of that power was seared into his mind. The sense of uncaring finality he’d felt lingered in his heart. What in the world was that sword technique that resulted in such staggering power? How could two Adepts produce an attack like that?

Qianlin’s sword had vanished. She leaned into Lan Jue’s protective embrace. Lan Jue’s face was pale as he fell to his knees, still managing to support his beloved. Both were soaked with sweat.

The Terminator had questions, but Lan Jue didn’t have answers. He didn’t know such awesome intensity could be summoned from their efforts. All he knew was that in that moment, it felt as though he and Qianlin were one inexorably tied entity.

It went beyond the body. The connection through blood and the Arrow of Compassion fused their very souls. Sharing every bit of each other also caused their swords to combine, and in their fusion the marvelous supernova had been produced. To Lan Jue it felt like a dam had burst, a great door had opened somewhere inside Captus. Although it had closed once the strike was delivered he could feel that it had fundamentally changed the godblade.

Was that... the Harmonious Swords technique?

He recalled the tales of Jun Yongye, telling him of the ancient days when the Harmonious Swords were an invincible reality. Through his and Qianlin’s efforts it was a reality once again. Jun Yongye had called it the strongest force besides the Banishing Strategy.

At the time Lan Jue thought the sword-spirit was exaggerating. But just then, that wild animus channeled all of their energy, even their psyche into the strike. Like the Terminator, that sensation had left a profound impression.

At last they’d succeeded. At last they had achieved the Harmonious Swords. It had just been a moment, but a truly marvelous moment. If he had not used all his strength to divert the flow at the last minute Lan Jue feared it would have swallowed the Terminator. The only thing Lan Jue could compare it to was the attack Jue Di delivered to the aliens out in the Starfields, Upender. That was the only other attack he’d seen that could overturn reality, blot out the sun and moon.

But could Lan Jue really use such a potent ability already?

In that moment his comprehension of protogenia had also changed. This would have a significant impact on his future breakthrough. More and more he sensed the time approaching. More and more he found it hard to hold the power back. He prevailed only through the blood-connection with Qianlin and the Arrow of Compassion.

When the two of them joined he could also sense Qianlin’s spirit. Her soul pulsed with intensity, and in that brief moment of total fusion he felt his own power pull Qianlin along. Like he had dragged her Discipline to a higher level.

He needed to experience it again to learn more, but Lan Jue already knew that this enigmatic power would play an important role in the growth of their Disciplines.

Lan Jue hadn’t anticipated something like this would happen. Lan Jue’s focused flow and Qianlin’s ten thousand swords as one were techniques they’d employed for a while already. Through the help of their respective sword-spirits they had grown well versed in the styles.

The strength of their cultivation, their understanding of the Banishing Blades, deeper protogenic comprehension, and the flood of immortal qi between them all coalesced to their benefit. Jun Yongye had told them it was time to attempt the Harmonious Swords technique, and he’d been right.

Although technically not a Paragon, the immortal qi and All-Heaven lightning empowered Lan Jue’s attacks. He fought with no less force than a first-degree Paragon, maybe stronger. Qianlin was not quite as strong, but also benefited greatly from the immortal qi they shared. That is what allowed them to attempt this legendary sword technique.

Lan Jue’s interest in this fight had been to give the style a try. The foundation of the Harmonious Swords was the binding of a man and woman soul to soul, shared devotion and unequivocal love. Beyond that they needed a deep familiarity with their respective styles. Both prerequisites they’d met.

Still, it shocked Lan Jue how smoothly it’d happened. More shocking was just how indomitable the attack had been.

Only once he’d used it himself did he understand the power of the Harmonious Swords. Everything within him had focused to a single burning thought. His love for Qianlin.

Through that love their souls combined, closer than ever before. Captus and Demortus follows suit, being as much a part of them as their spirits were. Together they rose to a sublime place of perfect union.

In that union Captus and Demortus had awakened. He remembered a similar feeling from Occisus when the Pharmacist had ascended to Paragon. He and Qianlin’s swords pulsed with it as they joined, it the source of their staggering power.

Lan Jue’s uncertainty lay in whether he could call upon that state again. He felt so weak that even moving his fingers was a herculean task. It felt like the sword had drained him to his core.

The Terminator’s muscles chest heaved. The shock in his eyes refused to abate.

“What... what the hell was that?” He could help but ask.

Lan Qing had come to Lan Jue’s side. Although he didn’t expect the Terminator to take advantage of their weakness he nonetheless was there to protect them. However, the look in his eyes was no less dumbfounded than the Terminator’s. The only thing he could deduce from what he’d witnessed was it was not something taught by their father. Jue Di hadn’t taught his younger brother whatever that had been.

Lan Jue fought to steady his breathing and racing heart. He dropped his head and placed a tender kiss on Qianlin’s lips. She vanished.

He felt strange, for it was the first time they’d joined and he felt no increase in Discipline. It wasn’t a blockage, rather there was no higher place for them to reach.

Lan Jue coughed weakly. “Your Majesty, do you happen.... To have something here to eat? I think... I need sustenance. Something to give me strength.” He struggled mightily to get to his feet. He could only manage by leaning heavily on his brother.

The Terminator’s face twitched. “Yes, wait a moment.” The host of cuts along his body had, over time, healed and left no trace. Harming a Paragon was no easy feat, and through his constant upgrades the man had tougher skin than a Bastion ship.

The Terminator left with long strides. Once he was gone Lan Qing helped his brother back to the ground. He looked at him with a curious expression.

“That technique...”

Lan Jue responded with a wry smirk. “I couldn’t tell you. It’s something we were taught from Demortus and Captus. Jun Yongye and Xuanyuan Shishi told us this was an elite style handed down from ancient times. Weaker than your Prajna style and my Taiji, but joined together it creates an incredible force. What you witnessed was called the Harmonious Swords technique.”

“But at our level of cultivation, calling on the technique was only just manageable. The swords we use are too potent. We’ll only be able to command the full breadth of the swords’ abilities when we break through to Paragon. Although, if this accident revealed anything it’s that we may not be able to command it even when that happens. It’s strong, but incredibly draining.”

He calmly described what had happened, but he did not let the potency get to his head. There was always a great cost for the use of great power. Without a doubt, however, the Harmonious Swords would make a wonderful ace in the hole.

A flood of energy flowed from his chest to enervate the rest of his body. It supplemented what he lost and made him stronger. The immortal qi that filled him, that made his Discipline more than a common power, pulled him from the cusp of collapse. Its subtle influence strengthened him, transforming him into something greater.

By the time the Terminator returned with some food, Lan Jue was back to normal. At least, he looked completely recovered.