The Endless Promise

79. Despair

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(warning... there shall be violence!)

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Meanwhile, the dust cleared to reveal Luoyin standing beneath an aged pine, the brilliant sun rays boldly peeking through the leaves.

'This is...' He looked around. 'The hunting grounds...

'Not good!' His eyes suddenly widened in realization, as a feeling of anxiety washed over him, and he hastily searched the area.

"Yanyan!" He called out. She had just been with him on the platform, but he couldn't even sense the slightest hint of her aura right now. "Yanyan!!"

He had expected the attack, but hadn't considered that they might send them into an alternate space, and not just he and Weiyan, but likely anyone who had been on the platform at the time.

If the enemies went as far as sending them in here, then there were bound to be countless dangers awaiting, and the cold fingers of fear crawled around Luoyin's heart.

He hadn't felt real fear since his awakening, but it gripped him now, nearly clouding his vision, forcing him to recall those he had lost thirty thousand years ago, and those he might lose even in the present, their faces swimming before his eyes...

Xu Weiyan. Xu Min. Xu Wen. Xu Lian. Xu Lin. Tao Yun. Even Xu Haoyuan for Sect Leader Xu's sake...

'Not again...' Luoyin froze, falling to his knees in a moment of despair. 'I was stupid... I was careless!'

Who was he to come here and endanger these innocent people?

Like in the past, would his existence lead to the death of those closest to him...?

Would he fail to protect them, like he had failed to protect his father, older brother, little sister, and,

'Weiwei...' Her name came to his mind, but the name which escaped his lips was,

"Yanyan!" The thought of losing Xu Weiyan snapped Luoyin out of his frozen state, and he shook his head, rising to his feet.

What was he doing wasting time like this?!

'The air is poisoned!' He realized, and quickly held a hand up in a seal. It was a rare and powerful poison which filled one with anxiety, heightening their most innate worries and fears.

"Lunar Clarity!" Luoyin whispered, using a technique to dispel the air around him with a mild but constant flow of aura surrounding him.

He didn't fool himself... Poison or no poison, the fear of losing those around him was a real inner demon- a demon born of ancient events, but that 'demon' was only powerful as long as he was helpless.

Not now...

Now he would try his hardest to protect those who had drawn close to him!

'Cleanse!' He thought, and then instantly shuddered as a surge of poisoned blood poured from his lips.

It was then he saw it... A reverse summoning talisman tagged to the base of his robes.

'Oh?' Someone had wanted him to appear here specifically, and he had sensed a specific aura right before they disappeared from the Arena.

He tore off the talisman, then straightened, wiping his bloodied lips with the back of his free hand.

"Aren't you going to come out?" He asked aloud, his irises moving towards his left. "You went through so much to invite me here..." He turned.

"Right? Mo. Zhen." He finished, as the talisman burned between his fingers.

A light snicker filled the silence, and a familiar face stepped out from behind a tree.