The bolt of darkness came at Kai like a living thing, tendrils of void essence reaching toward his chest with deadly intent.
Kai threw himself sideways, his body rolling across the rough stone floor. The darkness struck where he had been standing and the stone simply ceased to exist, not shattered or burned, but erased, leaving a perfectly smooth void in the floor.
He came up without a weapon, his shattered practice sword scattered in fragments around him. The masked cultivator advanced with measured steps, already gathering another attack between its hands. This one was larger, darker, pulsing with concentrated death.
Lin's voice cut through the chaos. "Kai, catch!"
A sword flew through the air toward him. It was not a practice weapon this time but a real blade with steel gleaming in the crystal light. Lin must have had it hidden in her equipment as emergency backup.
