Oxygen—the life molecule. Constituting 21% of Earth's atmosphere, it sustains 99% of our planet's biomass, including plants.
In typical atmospheric conditions, oxygen remains stable. However, at chilling temperatures below -361.1 degrees Fahrenheit and under pressure five times greater than that at Meridian Bay, it solidifies into oxygen crystalline, or "blue ice." This mesmerizing blue ice resembles a polished aquamarine.
While breathtaking, it's so unstable that it can explode from touching coarse sandpaper. Its primary use is for cryogenic cooling, but oxygen crystalline has another significant application—
—rocket fuel.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
An earsplitting explosion sent shockwaves rippling through the air, rendering Wanda and Evalyn unconscious as they catapulted into bull shark-infested water. As they floated, the sharks circled the area, searching for ways around the deadly frozen slush threatening all with hypothermia.
Hypothermia, predation, asphyxiation—they faced multiple threats. Unconscious, it was a race against time to awaken or be rescued.
Despite the danger, Evalyn felt a comforting warmth as she lay facedown in the freezing slush. In her trance-like state, the prospect of sleep sounded pleasant—peaceful, even. Still, her mind held on, clinging to something abstract.
[Where am I?]
"Calvin!" a muffled voice yelled.
[Calvin?]
"General Skye's in the water; we need an extraction!"
[That's right, Calvin Olman, my new assistant. Why is he here? Oh, that's right… I'm near the base….]
Evalyn attempted to move, but her body felt numb and unresponsive in the rocking tide. She knew she was in the water and couldn't breathe, but it didn't feel uncomfortable.
[Heh. I'm in the water, so they need someone to fly to avoid the sea life.]
"Calvin! She's going to die!"
[Ask someone else. Calvin's the enemy; that suicide trigger won't make him fight his people. He still has hope, hope that someone will defeat Kaze and allow him to return to his loved ones.]
Something about that concept lit a fire within her, bringing vitality back to her limbs. It felt like there was a purpose within her, something she was supposed to be doing.
"CALVIN!" the muddled voice yelled. "YOU ARE A FILTHY CULTIVATOR, AFTER ALL!"
[No, Calvin's doing the right thing; that's the issue. He's loyal to his family, friends, and leader, as he should be. Calvin needs a reason to join us—that's something Kaze didn't provide him.]
Fire welled within Evalyn, reminding her of something she couldn't quite grasp. There was something she needed to give others—something she used to offer.
…splash.
[Asphyxiation, fear of imminent death, pain, thirst, greed, hunger, fear of impending death, mental confusion, and emotional conflict. The most potent motivating factors share one commonality: they are temporary.]
…splish! Splish! Splish!
pαndα-noνɐ1,сoМ [Purpose, belief, hope, and vision. A reason to live: that's what converts people and makes them fight for you, even against insurmountable odds. Yet…]
Confusion and chaos swirled within her, twisting her insides as she sought the answer to an unknown question. Wait.
Splish! Splish! Splish! "General Skye!"
[What's my purpose? Without my soul Qi, I'd be dead—so why am I here? Why am I not fighting for my life? Why am I acting like Calvin? What drove me forward in my previous life the way I now expect of others?]
Splish! SPLISH! SPLISH! "GENERAL SKYE! CULTIVATORS!"
A torrent of scorching emotions blazed within her.
[Cultivators? Why won't it end? Why won't it ever fucking end!? I want to exercise that power complex by ripping it out of people's throats! That's reason enough!]
Scalding energy pulsed through her meridians, warming her blood and muscles. As the heat returned, so did the biting cold, assaulting her nerves like razor-sharp blades.
SPLASH!
"GuuUUAH!" Evalyn gasped, inhaling deeply before choking and coughing up water. Moments later, a pair of hands seized her shoulders and hoisted her up.
"General Skye!" a concerned man exclaimed, shivering from the cold as he checked her pulse.
"Denzel?" she mumbled, her vision clearing to see the man pulling her up by her arms. "What about the cultivators?"
He turned and pointed to the east.
A single bloodied cultivator soared slowly above the water, moving with determination. "Wanda!" he shouted, hastening despite his injuries. The man bore minor burns and puncture wounds from ice blades.
It was Baltman, the third cultivator Evalyn had pursued. While he could have been easily killed, she needed to prioritize the other two. Now he was descending to retrieve Wanda.
At least he hadn't appeared unharmed and started slaughtering indiscriminately. That would have forever tainted the soldiers' willingness to consider the people as allies. Kaze planned to do just that, so indiscriminate killing would shatter relations right before integration.
Then a three-way social crisis would ensue during the merging of the two groups. It would be catastrophic.
"WANDA!" Baltman yelled, swooping down to grab the half-scalped brunette. He held her in shock, seeing half her face severely burned and the rest crimson from the cold. "She's breathing…" he whispered, listening intently.
"You're all dead," Baltman sneered, turning to Evalyn and Denzel. "If not today, then in a month. I'm going to every base we have to report your location so someone can inform our military of your whereabouts. Look forward to it."
Without expending further Qi or engaging in conversation, he flew toward the ocean, circling a football field's length into the sea before turning west.
Evalyn gritted her teeth, recognizing him as a serious threat. They were weak scouts; if Killian learned that a mortal possessed a divine technique, he could send a genuine army.
They'd have to eliminate the scouts if he escaped—but who would do it?
And what would happen when Killian discovered a thousand scouts had perished?
Wouldn't that be worse?
The general's mind raced as the man flew past the shipping yard with Wanda in his arms. It was a grave problem.
WHoooOOoshHHhhooOOoshhHhhshoooOoooOosSH!
Ice General Skye's heart pounded as she saw hundreds of arrows shoot over the shipping yard's docking wall. "Please…"
"What the hell!?" Baltman yelled, witnessing arrows filling the sky, warping and animating it as if it were alive. "Get away!"
The cultivator zigzagged upwards, veering toward the ocean.
"What is this!?" he screamed, seeing the arrows pursuing him. "How is—GahhHHhhHhH!" An arrow pierced his shoulder, with dozens more whistling past his ear.
Baltman slowed time with adrenaline, evading arrows one after the other until he couldn't hold on. "Sorry!" he cried, dropping Wanda into the ocean.
SPLASH!
With his hands free, his speed and evasive maneuvers multiplied instantly, allowing him to dodge the dozens of arrows coming his way. "Get away!" he snarled, "Get—"
Baltman's eyes widened in terror as he dodged the wave and turned back, only to see thousands of Guided Arrows flying toward him. The sheer number made it seem as though the city was submerged beneath a twisting, translucent ocean.
"No…." Baltman whispered, fear gripping his heart like a vice. "How do I dodge… that?"
Evalyn took a sharp breath as hundreds of Guided Arrows veered off course at the last second, tearing the man apart like a pinata and sending blood streaming into the ocean.
The water below him boiled as dozens of arrows plunged into the dying female cultivator's body.
"When did they get so vicious?" Evalyn whispered in disbelief, watching the gruesome sight.
═─┈─═
—August 11th, 2032—
"So you managed to kill all the cultivators from the East base?" General Michaels asked.
"Correct, there were fifty confirmed casualties," Evalyn replied solemnly.
"Does that mean our people died?" Veronica asked, her face resolved.
The blonde shook her head slowly, taking a deep breath, "While there were heavy injuries and Lieutenant Captain Aaron lost an arm from a tourniquet, we managed to keep all the Immortals alive."
"Then what happened while you were away?" Kylie asked with a sharp breath, anxiety coursing through her veins.
Evalyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
═─┈─═
A pair of hands abruptly grabbed the blonde from above and yanked her out of the water, soaring upward. "Calvin?"
"I'll be back for you, Denzel," a female voice said to the black man before glancing down. "No, Calvin's inside."
"Of course that's the case," General Skye chuckled weakly. "It was stupid to think he'd be the one helping us."
Martha's expression turned grim, "Calvin did fight for you."
Evalyn felt her heart pound like a blacksmith hammering a sword, "What did you just say?"
"It's best if you just see," the brunette said, flying skyward above the wall.
The blonde's eyes shook with horror when they crested the wall, and she could see inside.
"This…." General Skye muttered, looking at thousands with arrows surrounding the civilians. Dead bodies were on the containers, around the edges, and in the corner. "What happened?"
"A group of cultivators sent here to keep tabs on us attacked," Martha said ruefully. "We stopped them almost immediately—just not without casualties."
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