The Golden Portal
The golden light tore through the Himalayas, swallowing snow, ash, and scarlet trails in a blinding flash.
Ishita stumbled, gripping Li Wei's arm as the world twisted.
The wind howled, not cold but heavy with urgency.
> "Hold on!" Li Wei shouted over the roar of shifting air.
"We're almost there!"
With a final pulse, the portal spat them out into a dark, cavernous chamber — a place that smelled of smoke, incense, and ancient stone.
The Aura Council's chamber was smaller here, intimate, yet oppressive. Every stone hummed with old magic.
And at its center lay Master Arashi.
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Arashi's State
The once-mighty Aura Leader was weak, frail on a stone dais, robes tattered, chest rising and falling with difficulty.
His Soul aura, normally golden and unyielding, flickered like a candle in the wind.
> "Master Arashi…" Ishita whispered.
Rehan rushed to his side, hands glowing with golden aura.
> "Hold on, Master! We're here!"
But Arashi barely opened his eyes, and when he did, they were calm, almost accepting.
> "I… I am too late," he rasped. "My aura… it… cannot hold."
Li Wei stepped closer, studying him carefully.
> "Your aura… fading faster than we calculated. What happened?"
Arashi's breath was shallow.
> "The threshold… the demons… they gather the harvested auras. I can no longer control the balance. The Lord Ghost Demon… he will awaken… soon."
Ishita's scarlet aura flared faintly at her sides.
> "Then we have to stop him!"
Arashi shook his head weakly, faint pain etched across his face.
> "Not yet… it is too late for some… But there is truth you must know before the end…"
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The Council Reunites
One by one, the others teleported in — Akira, Zahir, Ethan, Hyejin.
Each appeared tense, aura pulsing in response to the faint, dying light of Arashi's soul.
> "He's… this weak?" Ethan muttered, anger and disbelief mingling in his tone.
> "Yes," Arashi said, voice barely above a whisper. "Even a master… cannot resist the harvest when the Lord stirs."
Akira's hand instinctively rested on his blade.
> "Then I will hunt them down! I will kill the Upper Demons myself!"
Arashi's weak hand shot up, stopping him.
> "No… it is too late for that. Their harvest… has begun. Precision will not save what is already taken."
Zahir's sand aura flickered violently.
> "Then what do we do? Do we wait to die?"
Arashi's eyes flickered with sorrow, decades of experience and loss in one gaze.
> "No. You prepare… you understand… you carry the oath of the fallen. But the Lord… will not be stopped by strength alone."
Ishita stepped forward, scarlet flaring brighter, hands trembling.
> "Then tell us, Master… tell us what we must do. How can we survive him?"
Arashi's lips barely moved.
> "Before death… you must know the truth… the past of the Lord Ghost Demon… and the price of awakening."
The room went silent. Even the air seemed to hold its breath.
The distant pulse of crimson mist outside pressed against the chamber walls like a living thing.
> "Soon… the harvest will reach its threshold," Arashi whispered.
"And when it does… the Lord Ghost Demon will walk again."
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The Ominous Pulse
The chamber vibrated faintly as if responding to an unseen presence.
Hyejin's frost trailed the floor, reacting to the subtle aura waves, while Rehan's golden light grew frantic, reaching toward Arashi as though trying to stabilize him.
Ishita's scarlet flared instinctively, responding to the faint echo of death in Arashi's weakening aura.
> "I feel it," she murmured.
"Something… is waking. Something terrible."
Li Wei's eyes narrowed.
> "This is no ordinary fight. The awakening has begun. And if we fail… the world will pay the price."
Arashi coughed, blood staining his robes, but managed a faint smile.
> "Then… listen carefully… for history repeats itself… and truth… is the only weapon that may stand against the Lord."
The room held its breath.
Outside, crimson mist swirled faster, curling over distant mountains like the fingers of death.
The Dying Master had spoken.
And the world trembled with what was to come.
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Next: Chapter 67 – The Final Words of Arashi
Emotional revelation.
Arashi explains the inevitability of the Lord Ghost Demon's awakening.
Ishita, Li Wei, and the others must absorb the gravity of the moment before the past unfolds.