CHAPTER 44: SHADOWS AT THE BORDER
"And so... it finally begins. The Nexan War."
Nexan Capital, Urug:
A knock came at the palace council chamber door.
"Enter," commanded Swain without looking up.
The door opened, and in stepped Sun, her long, straight hair falling over her shoulders, calm yet alert. The border guardian's uniform was lightly dusted.
Swain stood up the moment he saw her.
"Sun! Where were you? I sent you to receive Kai, but he arrived before you!"
Sun bowed respectfully and began to speak, her voice calm but earnest:
"My King, I took the route Kai was supposed to come from. But I never encountered him. I waited for a while, but he didn't come. So I returned, and now I'm here."
Swain thought for a moment before replying:
"Sun, Kai returned to the palace before you. He's resting in his room right now."
Sun's eyes widened in surprise:
"But how is that possible, My King? I went the exact route he should have taken. We never crossed paths."
Swain shook his head with an understanding expression. He had no doubt about Sun's loyalty.
"I understand, Sun. He must have taken a different route. I'm not blaming you. You carried out your duty." Swain's voice softened but became more emphatic. "Now, return to your primary duty. Being a border guardian... is a sacred responsibility. That's why I entrusted this duty to you. I have no doubt you will protect the borders of my kingdom."
These words honored Sun. A gleam appeared in her eyes.
"Thank you, My King. Your words honor me." She bowed again and quietly left the room.
The moment the door closed, the calm expression vanished from Swain's face. He immediately shouted:
"Guard!"
The door opened immediately, and a guard entered. "Command me, My King!" he said, bowing respectfully.
"Summon Po and Terex for me. Immediately."
"As you command, My King!" The guard quickly left the room to carry out the order.
Ice Kingdom - Northern Pass:
Meanwhile, Morde had already reached the hidden pass nestled among glaciers in the far north of the Ice Kingdom. The air was sharp with cold and a deathly silence.
"Here," he murmured to himself, his breath forming cold vapor. "From here, I'll cross directly to the border. After killing the guardian... the Nexan War will finally begin. And my plan too."
Without hesitation, he moved toward the dark mouth of the glacial cave and vanished inside. A momentary pressure, a sense of void... And he suddenly found himself elsewhere.
But this place was eerily quiet. There was no one around. Only the howl of the wind and distant bird calls.
Morde looked around in confusion.
"How can there be no one here? Isn't this the border? What kind of nonsense is this?"
He advanced a little. And then, he saw what stopped him.
Before him, rising toward the sky, was a massive, pure white wall. Fifty meters high, smooth, seemingly impregnable.
An understanding expression appeared on Morde's face.
"Ah... Now I understand. I'm still on the Ice Kingdom border. Behind this wall... must be Nexan." A cunning smile played on his lips. "Now I understand why King Task said I had to kill the guardian. These walls are nearly impassable."
His eyes scanned the wall.
"But that doesn't apply to me."
He raised his right hand. Right above the top of the wall, a sharp shadow created by the sun appeared. Morde instantly materialized there, within the shadow. The shadow remained below; he had teleported himself using the shadow.
He stood on top of the wall in the icy wind. The view was impressive: on one side, the endless frozen realm, on the other, Nexan's green valleys stretched out. Just ahead, on the wall, he noticed a small watchtower and a gate.
"What's this gate doing here?" he thought aloud. "Could the guardian return through here? I can't risk it. I should wait here."
Just as he had that thought, the gate suddenly glowed faintly. A figure emerged from it.
Both froze simultaneously, staring at each other in shock.
It was Sun. Returning from her duty.
Sun recognized Morde immediately. Her eyes instantly went on high alert, the calm on her face replaced by icy fury.
"You..." she hissed, her voice dangerously low. "You're Morde. You killed our enemy, Riyo. And I will kill you. Prepare yourself."
Morde twisted his face into a psychopathic grin. His eyes gleamed with pure battle lust.
"So you know me. Come, then. Let's fight to the death, with everything we have. Let's see who's stronger."
Sun wasted no time. She drew the strangely glowing, metallic-wooden staff from her back. She attacked immediately.
"Triple Clone!"
Instantly, two more copies appeared from Sun. Three Suns, in the same stance, with the same staff, surrounded Morde from three sides.
Morde's mind was seriously confused. His eyes darted rapidly between the three.
"Which one is real? Which one should I attack?"
Then, all three Suns began to speak simultaneously, their voices overlapping, echoing:
"Each of my clones has the same strength as me. This is a real '1 vs. 3' clash. So... you can't win. Give up."
Enraged by these words, Morde stopped thinking. He acted on instinct.
"Dark Shock!"
This time, he didn't throw a punch. He sent a black, vibrating energy shockwave from his palm. The wave hit all three Suns at once.
The clones, not being truly alive, were largely unaffected. But the real Sun felt a momentary dizziness and nausea. Her balance was disrupted for a second.
"Ah! How? What kind of attack is this?"
At that very moment, Morde lunged forward with "Dark Fist." His fist shot toward the real Sun with lethal speed.
Sun, her mind scattered, realized she couldn't dodge. With a final move, she used the "Swap" technique. Instantly, she swapped places with the clone on her left.
Morde's dark fist shattered the clone. The clone dissipated like black smoke.
"WHAT?" Morde roared in surprise. "I was sure that was you! How?"
Right then, the real Sun and the remaining clone attacked from behind Morde.
"Dance of the Triple Staffs!"
Both Suns raised their staffs simultaneously and struck at Morde from above in a coordinated assault. This was no ordinary attack; each blow cutting through the air had the power to easily kill a person.
Morde sensed the danger. Instinctively, he activated "Dark Defense." A thick, black, wavy energy shield appeared around his body.
BAM! BAM!
Both staffs struck the dark defense at the same time. The dark defense held, though strained, but the shock of the impact sent Morde stumbling back a step. Sun and her clone were knocked back.
Sun and her clone spoke simultaneously, their voices cold and challenging:
"You are strong. But let's see... how long you can last."
And they immediately attacked again.
"Triple Consecutive Assault!"
The two Suns began swinging their staffs in rapid, relentless succession. The attacks were so fast and dense that the top of the wall seemed to tremble slightly. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Morde tried to dodge and change position using "Dark Leap," but it was futile. Sun's speed and the clone's coordination had him cornered. Finally, three consecutive blows landed on Morde: one on his head, one on his stomach, one on his shoulder.
GUH!
Morde was sent flying through the air. He skidded across the top of the wall before managing to stop. Blood sprayed from his mouth with a cough. He struggled to his feet, his breathing ragged.
"Ugh... ugh... ugh..." His eyes were fixed on Sun. "You... are truly strong. Grant me your name. When I defeat you... I will remember your name."
Sun answered with a slight smile:
"My name is Sun."
"Sun..." Morde repeated with bloody lips. "A good name. But I must defeat you."
And he lunged forward again. This time, more aggressive, more lethal. He threw coordinated punches and kicks in rapid succession. Sun and her clone easily dodged these attacks, constantly shifting position.
But Morde had noticed something. Sun swapped places with one of her clones at every critical moment. There was a pattern.
Just as Sun threw a punch and Morde's counterattack was coming, Sun prepared to swap places with the clone on her right again.
Morde seized the moment he was waiting for.
"Now!" he roared.
He aborted his punch. Instead, he planted his foot forward and shouted with all his might:
"DARK SHOCK!"
This shockwave was many times more powerful than the previous one. Black energy flowed toward Sun like a wave.
Sun raised her staff horizontally to shield herself, but her balance was already compromised. The dark shock struck the staff.
VUUUOOM!
Massive energies of black and pale yellow erupted. The two powers clashed atop the wall. From below the wall, it would look like two giant energy forms were battling on the summit. The light illuminated both sides of the wall.
Morde poured all his strength, all his hatred, all his ambition into his fist. Veins bulged in his neck, his eyes turned bloodshot.
"I... AM THE STRONGEST! NOW... DIE!!!"
With a final move, he pivoted his entire body, putting all his weight and energy behind the punch.
Sun, already off-balance, could withstand no more.
CRACK!
The punch shattered the staff in two. As fragments of the broken staff scattered, the punch continued unabated, striking Sun squarely in the chest, right over her heart.
BOOF!
Sun was sent flying like a ragdoll. She tumbled across the top of the wall, skidding until she crashed into the entrance to the stairs leading down from the wall, finally stopping. The door, made of white concrete, turned to dust.
Morde stood panting, tired, but upright. He straightened up to watch his victory.
But then his eyes widened in shock.
From within the dust cloud, Sun was slowly getting up. Half-conscious, one eye swollen shut, her face covered in blood. Blood gushed from her mouth with every breath. But she didn't look like she was about to give up. On the contrary... there was a strange, calm determination in her eyes.
"Mo... Morde..." she spoke with difficulty, spitting blood with each word. "Now... I'm serious. Fight... accordingly."
Then, she raised both hands. She stretched them toward her two remaining clones.
She closed her eyes.
"Clone Recall."
The two clones instantly melted like liquid and flowed toward Sun as two streams of bright energy. As Sun's body absorbed this energy, she glowed faintly. The wounds on her body began to heal slowly but visibly. Cracked bones realigned, tears closed, bruises faded.
Seeing this, Morde flinched in genuine astonishment.
"So... you can heal yourself. Your power is truly impressive." His face held a mixture of admiration and even greater anger. "But against me... it's insufficient."
Morde slammed his fist down. This time, not on the wall, but on his own shadow.
"SHADOW SOLDIERS, RISE!"
Instantly, ten human-sized, black, shapeless creatures with only two red dot eyes appeared around Morde, rising from the ground.
Morde stretched his hand toward three shadow soldiers. "Energy Transfer."
The three shadow soldiers instantly dissipated like faint smoke and flowed into Morde as black energy. Morde's tired body straightened, his wounds healed rapidly, his eyes gleamed anew.
Grinning, with renewed energy and increased confidence, he looked at Sun.
"The battle... has only just begun, Sun."