The Verdant Maw breathed around them. Thick vines coiled from limb to limb, moss-covered branches whispered in a tongue older than words, and somewhere distant, a spirit beast howled—a cry of both warning and invitation.
Feng Xian moved quietly, the ember in his chest flickering, not with fire—but with resonance. He could feel it now, the rhythm Nai'Esha had taught him to hear: the pulse of beast Qi, living and ancient, guiding his steps like silent drums.
Beside him, Nai'Esha moved without sound, her vine-draped form gliding over the roots, fox-beast "Whisper" trotting in silence. Her blindfold hid her eyes, but not her focus.
"We are close," she said, voice hushed like wind through leaves. "The Moon Root Pool lies beneath this canopy. But… something is wrong."
The scent of the jungle shifted. Sour. Disturbed.
Qi scars—sharp, acidic threads of corrupted aura—hung in the air like venom. Nai'Esha touched a dying flower, its petals blackened.
"Serra spine poison," she whispered, voice laced with anger. "They're here."
—The Rival Appears—
At the edge of the Moon Root Reflection Pool, the water glimmered unnaturally, shadows rippling across its surface as if fighting to rise.
Kneeling beside it was a figure cloaked in scaled crimson cloth, his eyes glowing gold, and his arms marked with serpent patterns pulsing with liquid Qi.
"Azhur the Vile blood."
Elite disciple of the Serra spine Brood.
A beast core swallower.
A hunter of legacies.
His back turned, he addressed the pool in a low growl.
As he reached forward to plunge his hand into the sacred waters, the jungle itself seemed to recoil.
Nai'Esha stepped forward, her vines bristling.
"You poison the cradle of reflection. Leave… or be rooted here forever."
Azhur turned slowly. His smile was full of hunger—and madness.
"Moon spawn… and a fire whelp?"
"Perfect. Two legacies for the price of one."
Azhur releases serpent mist, summoning venomous spirit snakes from his body, attacking the grove and trying to corrupt the reflection pool.
Feng Xian holds the line with flame, but his fire flares uncontrollably, threatening to damage the grove itself. Nai'Esha tries to stabilize the pool using Moon Phase Illusions, but she's losing ground.
Then, the Moon Root Pool responds—not to the attack, but to Feng Xian's inner struggle.
A glowing root lashes out and drags him into the water.
In the reflection, Feng Xian sees beasts within himself—a great horned tiger, a burning hawk, a silver-eyed ape—but they fight, wild and unbalanced.
Then he sees a fourth: a beast made of flickering ember and obsidian fur—his Beast borne self, incomplete and chained.
A voice echoes:
"Balance us. Or burn with us."
On the outside, Nai'Esha stares as the pool turns from silver to burning gold. The vines part, and Feng Xian rises, eyes glowing with calm flame—not rage, but resonance.
Behind him, the jungle responds.
Azhur snarls.
"You… bonded with it."
Feng Xian: "No. I listened to it."
The battle isn't over—but now, Feng Xian is a different kind of threat.