Chapter 13: Fractures in Blood
The world seemed to still as Lee Kung stared into the eyes of his twin brother. The once-familiar warmth that had once glimmered behind those eyes was gone—replaced by a coldness so deep, it could rival the abyss.
"Don't do anything stupid," Lee Kung said firmly, his voice unwavering despite the weight of the moment. "You know how this ends if we fight. It'll only bring sorrow to both of us."
Lee Kang tilted his head slowly, his expression unreadable. A slight smirk curled on one half of his face—the human side. The other side, darker, pulsed ominously with shadow, veins of dark energy crawling like vines across his neck and down his arm.
"Who is your brother again?" Lee Kang said mockingly, his voice laced with venom.
The words struck harder than any blade. Lee Kung's breath hitched for the briefest second. He opened his mouth to reply, but the words stuck in his throat. Before he could find his footing again, Mia stepped forward, her voice rising like a spark of light in the gloom.
"He's gone, Lee Kung," she said. "That's not your brother anymore. The darkness... it's wiping him out completely."
Lee Kung turned to Mia, his eyes flickering with desperation and pain. Then back to Lee Kang, who stood poised like a puppet held by invisible strings. But something in those eyes—just a flicker, a blink—hinted at resistance. A shred of the brother he once knew, still buried beneath the corruption.
"I don't believe that," Lee Kung said quietly, his sword dimming in his hand. He took a step forward, lowering his blade. "Lee Kang... it's me. Your brother. Remember?"
The tension in the air thickened. Lee Kung continued, his voice softer now.
"Do you remember Azura? When we used to sneak past Master Po to race in the courtyard? Do you remember the time we got caught stealing honeybread from the village baker?" He let out a small laugh, even as tears threatened the edges of his eyes. "You covered for me. Took the blame. Said you were the older twin."
Lee Kang's smirk faltered. His eyes flickered. For a second, just a second, the shadows around him seemed to waver.
Lee Kung stepped closer. "You're not gone. I can feel it. You've just... forgotten."
Suddenly, the swirling darkness around Lee Kang recoiled, like a snake burned by the sun. His breath came in short gasps, and he stumbled back a step, clutching his head. The spectral wings behind him shimmered and flickered, and for a brief heartbeat, his corrupted arm twitched as though fighting against itself.
"I... I don't..."
"You're still in there," Lee Kung pressed. "Fight it."
The storm above them calmed slightly. The darkness thinned. Hope flickered in Mia's eyes.
But then—
A flash of red.
Pain.
Lee Kung gasped, looking down.
Lee Kang's hand, dark and clawed, was buried deep in his stomach.
Blood trickled from Lee Kung's lips. He staggered, eyes wide with disbelief.
"No..." Mia cried, rushing forward.
Lee Kung's sword dropped from his hand, clanging against the stone.
Lee Kang leaned in close, his voice a whisper only his twin could hear. "I told you, brother. The balance is a lie."
Then, with a burst of darkness, Lee Kang launched backward. The corruption returned in full force, spreading over his body like wildfire. His wings stretched out wide, crackling with shadow energy. He flew upwards with ultrasonic speed, vanishing into the clouds.
The ship above shimmered, then disappeared in a blink—leaving only silence and a trail of blood behind.
Mia reached Lee Kung just as he crumpled to the ground, blood seeping from the wound that Lee Kang had left behind. Her hands trembled as she held his body, her heart pounding in her chest like a war drum.
"Lee Kung—no, stay with me!" she cried, her voice cracking.
Lee Kung gritted his teeth, his eyes half-lidded. The pain was unlike anything he had felt before. It wasn't just physical—it was emotional, spiritual. The blow hadn't just come from his brother's hand; it had come from the shattering of everything he had believed in.
"He... he remembered me," Lee Kung said weakly, a faint smile ghosting his lips. "Just for a moment... I saw it."
"Don't talk," Mia urged, tearing fabric from her cloak and pressing it to the wound. "Save your strength."
Sio Jun knelt beside them, her silver eyes glowing with quiet rage. "He'll pay for this."
"No," Lee Kung said, his hand reaching out to stop her. "He's... not lost. Not completely. The darkness has him, but not all the way. We can still save him."
Mia's eyes welled with tears as she tried to apply pressure to the wound. "You're not going to die here. You can't. We've come too far."
Lee Kung coughed, and more blood stained his lips. But even then, the light in his eyes didn't dim. "We have... a path now. Three more... warriors. We can't stop. The Realms depend on us."
Thunder rumbled overhead as if the heavens themselves were mourning. The trees around the village swayed violently in a sudden wind, and the ashes of the dead stirred gently, whispering their sorrow into the morning air.
Sio Jun stood. "We need shelter. He needs to rest or that wound will kill him."
Mia nodded quickly. "Help me."
Together, they lifted Lee Kung and moved him to the remains of a house on the outskirts of the village. It had been spared the brunt of Lee Kang's silent massacre. Inside, they laid him on a makeshift bed of old furs and straw.
Hours passed. The day wore on.
Lee Kung drifted in and out of consciousness. His fever spiked, and strange dreams came to him—visions of fire and frost, of Lee Kang as both protector and destroyer. He heard voices that weren't his own: ancient whispers telling him to rise, to claim his destiny, to abandon mercy.
But one voice cut through the noise.
Mia's.
"I'm right here," she said, brushing hair from his forehead. "You're not alone. Not now. Not ever."
When he finally awoke, it was night again. The stars shone above through the broken roof, and the forest beyond the village was alive with the hum of nature. Sio Jun sat nearby, sharpening her claws with a piece of obsidian. Mia was asleep, curled up beside the makeshift bed.
Lee Kung stirred, wincing at the pain.
Sio Jun looked up. "You survived."
"Barely," he muttered, then forced a weak smile. "Thanks for not leaving me behind."
She shrugged. "Didn't think you'd make it. But Mia insisted."
"She always does."
Sio Jun stood and approached the bed. "You were right about him."
"Lee Kang?" he asked, his voice cracking.
She nodded. "He hesitated. Only for a second. But it was there."
Lee Kung's eyes narrowed. "He's not beyond saving. That means something."
"Maybe," Sio Jun said. "Or maybe that hesitation is what makes him even more dangerous."
A silence stretched between them. Then, Lee Kung asked, "Any sign of the ship?"
"None," Sio Jun replied. "It vanished completely. No trails, no shadows. Like it was never here."
Lee Kung clenched his fists. "He's planning something. And whatever it is—it's tied to Dehaska."
Sio Jun stepped back, her arms folded. "Then we should get moving. Find the next warrior. You saw what he's capable of. We're running out of time."
At that moment, Mia stirred, waking from her light sleep. Her eyes lit up when she saw Lee Kung sitting up.
"You're awake!" she whispered, rushing to his side.
He caught her hand and held it gently. "Thanks to you."
"We have to get stronger," she said. "For what's coming. We need allies, knowledge, weapons—anything we can get."
Lee Kung nodded slowly. "Then let's start by returning to the scroll. The path it revealed—it's our next lead."
Sio Jun looked to the horizon, where the dawn was beginning to break once again. "Then we move at sunrise."
Elsewhere, deep in the Shadow Realm...
Lee Kang sat alone in the bowels of the hovering ship, surrounded by darkness so dense it swallowed even the faintest light. His corrupted side pulsed violently, still reacting to his encounter with Lee Kung. A burning pain spread across his chest—the remnant of his brother's words echoing inside him.
"You're not gone."
His fist clenched.
"He doesn't understand," he muttered to himself. "None of them do."
Footsteps echoed behind him. From the shadows, Dehaska emerged.
"You faltered," the demon said, his voice like oil and ash.
"I didn't," Lee Kang growled. "I weakened him. That's all."
Dehaska chuckled. "You stabbed him. And yet he lives. Your human half grows stronger."
Lee Kang turned sharply, his crimson eye glowing. "I'm in control."
"Are you?" Dehaska stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "You bear my gift. But gifts must be used, not resisted. You are my blade, Lee Kang. Blades don't hesitate."
Lee Kang's expression darkened. He said nothing.
Dehaska placed a clawed hand on his shoulder. "The Realms are cracking, little prince. The guardians are waking. The time will come when you must choose again—family or power. You cannot have both."
Lee Kang looked to the reflection of his own face in the obsidian wall—half light, half dark.
He didn't answer.
Back in the Earth Realm...
At sunrise, Lee Kung stood again.
He wasn't fully healed, but his will was stronger than the pain. Mia helped him strap his armor back on. His red sword pulsed lightly, sensing his determination.
They stood at the edge of the destroyed village, looking out into the mountains beyond.
"We move toward the first figure in the scroll," Mia said. "The one called 'The Healer of Realms.' If she's still alive, she might be able to do more than just heal wounds. She might be able to mend the Realms themselves."
Lee Kung nodded, his eyes fixed on the path ahead.
"And if she can't," he said, "then we'll keep moving. Until we find all of them. Until we find a way to bring Lee Kang back."
Sio Jun transformed slightly—just her eyes glowing, her ears sharpening. She sniffed the wind. "I sense something... a trail. Cold. Distant. But there."
"Then we follow it," Lee Kung said.
They began walking.
The path forward was dangerous. The war between shadow and balance had truly begun. And though their bodies bore the scars of betrayal and bloodshed, their spirits burned brighter than ever.
The Realms had champions once more.
And they would not stop until balance was restored—or until every star burned out in the skies above.