Dragged beneath the surface,
Snow Kui entered the world of deep water.
Behind him, the pressure of the lake pressed like a mountain,
threatening to crush him into paste —
a sensation not unlike being swallowed into a slime's gelatinous body.
In the pitch-dark depths,
two colors cut through the void:
the dragon's burning amber pupils,
Snow Kui's cold, ghostly azure.
Here in its birthplace,
the water dragon moved like lightning.
Snow Kui… did not.
Breathing was not a necessity for him,
but movement underwater was another matter entirely.
The pressure dragged at his limbs; every motion cost strength.
He flexed the wings on his back.
Too slow.
The resistance made them useless.
He shed them without hesitation — ice dissolving into dark water.
Even when he spotted the black blur slicing toward him,
his parry was half a breath too late.
Clang!
Ice spear met something sharp.
The impact sent him spinning, blood trailing behind him in a crimson ribbon.
The dragon bared its claws and fangs.
Before he could stabilize himself, another blow struck —
a violent shock that flipped him end over end.
The massive beast harassed him with swift, precise hits,
avoiding commitment, testing distance,
probing weakness.
It feared him.
Feared the power that froze its world still.
But Snow Kui's wounds closed as quickly as they appeared.
Even skinned and bleeding, he did not falter.
Yet he could feel it—
the dwindling of his elemental strength.
Again and again he adjusted his approach.
Again and again the dragon slipped away.
And then Snow Kui abruptly swam upward.
The dragon froze.
Then realization crashed over it—
the yaksha was escaping.
Panic flashed in its bestial eyes.
In its own domain, how could it allow that?!
The dragon surged after him.
They collided.
But this time—
Snow Kui moved like a phantom.
He twisted to the side, letting the horned head sweep past him.
Their eyes met in the passing current—
the dragon expecting fear.
Instead, it saw utter calm.
Snow Kui lifted one hand.
Two fingers extended.
Three curled into his palm.
A gesture.
A seal.
The dragon suddenly felt weight.
Something clung to its body—
thin, cold, suffocating.
It looked down.
Pale light.
Lines.
Bindings.
Behind it, Snow Kui surged forward—
not swimming, but being dragged along.
From his fingers, strands of ice formed into a pale ribbon,
looping around the dragon again and again.
The frost-ribbon tightened.
Snow Kui yanked it hard.
The dragon jerked violently.
Its long body slammed against itself, folding inwards,
coiling tighter and tighter—
wrapped into a ball of scale and ice.
Snow Kui let his broken spear drift away,
watching it dissolve.
In his hands, a new spear formed—
etched with runes.
Rune power truly is useful.
Whether as traps or to strengthen a weapon—
Both worked perfectly.
He gripped the spear with both hands,
pulled it back like a polearm ready to strike.
For a heartbeat, the dragon had an illusion—
that the tiny figure before it
was the one towering over it.
That the yaksha was massive.
That he was the small one.
Snow Kui's eyes opened wide,
filled with unrestrained ferocity.
"Die."
The spear swung.
Not as a point.
As a wall.
Water split.
The dragon's massive body was hurled upward,
dragged from the abyss like a caught fish.
Flashback — Training
"Morax, I have a question."
In human form, the future Geo Archon paused mid-spar.
Snow Kui gestured with the spear.
"Martial techniques seem useless against something that dwarfs me in size.
If my weapon can't pierce its hide, what's the point?"
Morax rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Then use your elemental power."
Snow Kui blinked.
"…Isn't this a martial arts question?"
Morax sighed.
"We study martial arts to defeat our foes,
not to become the greatest practitioner under heaven."
"If martial arts alone cannot solve the problem,
then combine everything you know."
Snow Kui processed that quickly.
Morax continued:
"Treat your elemental power as an extension of your body.
Shape it. Expand it.
Let your strikes grow to the size of your enemy."
He paused.
"In other words—don't make your spear stronger.
Make your blow larger."
Snow Kui nodded.
And then—
BOOM.
Morax snapped his head toward the sound.
A nearby cliffside had caved inward,
a massive concave crater smashed into the stone.
Snow Kui stood in front of it.
"Like this?"
Morax stared.
"…What?"
Advance Chapters available on P@treon
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