Shackled Exalted

Kai

Kai inadvertently took a step back.

…What the hell am I looking at?

His mind shook at the incomprehensible sight before him. The masked figure cladded in black was immolated in their own flames. Using their body as a vessel, the fires bloomed to a monstrous form, bearing a vague resemblance to the demonic beasts of folktales. As the flames flickered, the burning crackles from its growth sounded like wicked laughter.

"It's the Flame Weaver," Theo muttered in disbelief.

Kai shot him a sidelong glance for an explanation. The moniker was unfamiliar to him.

"Keep this to yourself. The Council has been searching for an arsonist who allegedly burned down one of their research facilities. Flame Weaver is their alias for this criminal. House Nacht was interrogated about them before."

"And you think this is the same person?"

Theo scoffed as his eyes scanned the vicinity. "Is there any doubt? Well, I guess there could be multiple arsonists lurking in Azure City, which is a worrisome possibility to consider." He cracked his neck and massaged his wrists. His eyes bored deep resentment. "Either way, it doesn't matter. Our job is the same—take this bastard down and make him pay!"

The monstrous inferno stirred at Theo's declaration. A sharp whine split the air as the flames suddenly expanded. Without warning, the blaze rushed at them with primal fury. Kai's vision was filled with bellowing waves of heat.

Mana swirled from his Azurite earrings. The flames continued to storm across the ground, leaving behind scorching ash in its wake. Kai could feel the sweat and oil crawling down his face as the inferno grew close. Like a voracious beast, its maw opened wide in anticipation of a feast.

"Torrent!"

A jet of high-pressure water erupted from the condensed mana around him. The torrent clashed into the oncoming flames. A screeching sizzle pierced the air. Heat sent the water boiling in an instant, shrouding the entire battlefield in a curtain of steam.

Shit!

Kai lunged back, pulling Charlotte with him as they retreated from the scorching vapors. The flaming monstrosity had been stopped for now, but the steam blocked their advance.

"I'm heading in!" Theo suddenly said.

"Wait!" Kai called out. But it was already too late. Theo's body vanished in a flash of blue. His Gift was called Blink. As its name suggested, it gave him the ability to cross short distances in an instant. Theo could use the Gift in rapid succession with minimal delay as long as he had the mana to sustain it.

Does he think he can fight that monster alone?!

"We're following him!" Kai said as he conjured a watery veil around him and Charlotte. Together, they jumped head-first into the steam. Kai grimaced at the rush of hot air. The discomfort rapidly grew as heat blistered along his skin even under the protection of his veil. His arms trembled—the agony lingering as they made it onto the other side.

Theo was face-to-face with Flame Weaver. The masked figure launched a fireball. Theo blinked away from the attack, instantly teleporting to Flame Weaver's blind spot. Flame Weaver spun around in response—just to be rebuffed by another invocation of Blink.

"Charlotte!" Theo called out in the midst of this cat-and-mouse.

"Got it!" Charlotte yelled back. The two of them must have planned something in advance. Upon Theo's next invocation of Blink, Charlotte used Mirror Image.

Theo materialized in Flame Weaver's periphery. The masked figure hesitated for a split second, confused by the sudden emergence of four other identical copies. The deception worked. Theo lunged at the opportunity and slashed with his sword.

Flame Weaver leaned back. Theo drew blood.

But even Kai could tell the cut was shallow at a distance—the blade swiped too cleanly across the enemy's chest without resistance.

Mana stirred.

"Get back!" Kai warned as he caught the violent collapse of ambient mana.

Theo vanished just as the area suddenly exploded into flames. Flame Weaver stomped the ground. A scorching maelstrom rippled across the earth at the call of his footstep, spewing flaming salvos upon their general direction. Theo was nearly caught by a stray barrage when he materialized.

"Swell!"

Kai materialized a wall of water. Theo re-emerged beside him as the salvos collided against the deluge.

"I told you to wait!" Kai cursed while maintaining the wall, "We need to work together! Your strike was shallow, wasn't it?"

Theo clicked his tongue. "Yeah. Sorry, I was trying to catch him off guard. I judged that was our best chance." He shook his head in dismay. "I think the Flame Weaver has experience fighting against my Gift. There was no panic in their movements while I was probing for openings."

"I'll create the opening for you. Get ready when the opportunity arises!"

Kai motioned for Charlotte and Theo to step aside as he dropped the water wall. The rest of the flaming salvos rained down on his location. He ducked and weaved between the narrow gaps of space while channeling mana.

Once he was ready, he beckoned towards the sky. A large cluster of mana emerged above his head. Energy cackled as an arsenal of water shivs fanned into existence.

Kai snapped his fingers. The first barrage unleashed. Sharp slices of air echoed in his ears as the skies were suddenly crowded with projectiles. The water shivs raced towards their enemy. Kai continued to release his shivs at disjointed timings and varied angles. It was a deliberate choice to avoid a wide-area attack nullifying his entire barrage.

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Flame Weaver extended his hands. The monstrous flames consuming his body suddenly transformed. Wisps of the inferno detached, sharpening into individual thin missiles. The fire lances shot out to meet the water shivs head-on.

Dissonance filled the air as the clash of phenomena ensued. Kai and Flame Weaver appeared to be evenly matched—neither party able to gain any footing in the projectile battle. But Kai held the advantage. He attacked first and so he controlled the flow of the encounter. Flame Weaver was on the backfoot, forced on the defensive as he had to react to oncoming barrage.

Kai sped up his attacks. With the initiative firmly in his grasp, he advanced, stepping forward to close the distance. The more the gap between them narrowed, the less time Flame Weaver had to react. As if realizing their predicament, Flame Weaver suddenly dove out of the path of the projectiles.

"Now!"

Theo blinked into melee range.

Kai ceased his attacks to avoid collateral damage. Theo swiped at Flame Weaver's legs. Clank! The masked figure parried his attempt with a quick draw of their sword. Theo feinted another slash before blinking away mid-swing. With their sword raised against nothing, Flame Weaver was slow to respond as Theo rushed at their flank.

"Argh!"

Inexplicably, it was Theo who was sent flying. Kai watched as Flame Weaver delivered a blind kick to his rear. The unexpected attack barreled into Theo's chest. The man was thrown like a ragdoll by the powerful blow before blinking away to safety.

Flame Weaver suddenly broke into a mad dash.

The sight of the masked figure on the offensive caught Kai off guard. He belatedly launched a few water shivs in their path. Projectiles of water and fire crowded the airspace again as phenomena collided with violence.

What are they—

Kai realized their intent.

"Charlotte! Run!"

The masked figure was quickly closing the gap. Charlotte had separated from Kai and Theo when they went on the offensive. In the midst of the chaos, she was suddenly isolated on the battlefield.

"Torrent!"

Kai unleashed a jet of water at Flame Weaver's position. The masked figure responded by erecting a wall of flame in its path. Steam filled the air as water crashed into the conflagration, blocking his view of Flame Weaver's advance.

Shit!

Kai cursed. His Gift was supposed to be a favorable matchup against Flame Weaver's fire. But the situation and the unexpected interaction of their Gifts suddenly placed their group at disadvantage. The clash of water and fire muddled the visibility of the battlefield and made it difficult for them to coordinate. Flame Weaver preyed on this interaction to remove their numbers advantage.

I realized it too late!

He rushed to Charlotte's aid. Both Flame Weaver and her were hidden behind the veil of steam. Suddenly, he heard a scream.

"Charlotte!"

His heart dropped. Kai tore through the scorching vapors. The heat on his face was agonizing, but he clenched his teeth and pushed through. The situation on the other side of the veil came into view.

Theo was on the ground—Flame Weaver's sword plunged into his abdomen. The man appeared to be unconscious as he made no efforts to retreat. Meanwhile, Charlotte had used Mirror Image on herself. With a sword in hand, five copies of her simultaneously lunged at Flame Weaver.

The masked figure stepped to the side. Their body collided against one of the Charlotte's as she dispersed into a cloud of mana. An illusion. Flame Weaver lashed out with a vicious kick. The mirror images disappeared immediately as the real Charlotte collapsed.

"Halt."

A deep masculine voice echoed underneath the mask. Kai froze. Flame Weaver had pulled out his sword from Theo's abdomen and dangled it before Charlotte's neck. The implication was clear.

"Drop the sword."

Charlotte did as she was told. She was winded, clenching onto her stomach and struggling to breathe as she laid pitifully on the ground. Theo was still unresponsive.

"H-How?" she managed to ask.

"If your goal is deception, then your Gift leaves much to be desired," Flame Weaver muttered, "One, your illusions have no shadows. Perhaps that's a limitation of your Gift. But two, these eyes of mine can perceive mana. Once I realized the nature of your illusions, it was easy to discern which was the real one."

Charlotte winced. She squirmed with discomfort. In response, Flame Weaver pressed the sword closer to her neck as he beckoned her to remain still. Kai flinched, baring his teeth at the villainous display.

"Why are you doing this? Do you have some vendetta against House Nacht?" Kai demanded. The fight was over. There was no way he could make a move when Charlotte was being held hostage. Theo was also bleeding profusely from his wounds—Kai had no idea if he was still alive.

Flame Weaver scoffed. "Are you unaware of how House Nacht made its wealth?"

Kai narrowed his eyes. "What are you implying?"

"I see. You're ignorant." Flame Weaver trailed off as he gazed into the distance. Bellowing plumes of smoke permeated the airspace above the Nacht mansion. The remains of the smouldering fire had been extinguished, presumably from the efforts of the Lionhearts. A thin blue light suddenly pierced the sky.

A signal from the Lionhearts?

"Soon, you'll see the ugly secrets that House Nacht has been harboring," Flame Weaver said. Kai frowned at the cryptic message. Without warning, the masked man inexplicably withdrew his sword and turned around. "Don't pursue. It's not worth your life dying for a house destined to fall."

"What?!"

Confused, Kai could only watch as Flame Weaver disappeared into the blazing grove. His partner, who Kai had defeated earlier, was also nowhere to be found. Behind him, the sound of Lionheart reinforcements arriving trampled over the crackling flames.

Mia

There's no time.

The stampeding footsteps were getting closer. Mia stared at the bleeding corpse of the brute in front of her. There was nothing she could do to hide the fact that she had just slain one of the people operating this dungeon. Even if she came up with a reasonable excuse, she doubted that her captors would believe her side of the story.

Instead, she grabbed the bloody machete and retreated to the far end of the cell. She leaned against the wall and hid the weapon under the hems of her dress. She covered her face with her bloodstained hands. She shivered, forcing herself to look pitiful and terrified. If she was lucky, she might be able to catch one or two of her captors off guard.

The source of the footsteps arrived. Mia eyed the corridor from the gaps between her fingers. Contrary to her expectations, she found herself looking at a group of armored warriors. The vivid plates on their bodies were a stark contrast against the barbaric appearance of her assailant.

Soldiers?

She noticed the colorful insignia engraved on their chest piece. Mia didn't recognize the symbol, but she knew enough to know that her captors didn't wear such a thing. Still suspicious, she maintained her façade. The soldiers turned towards her cell. The person in the lead was a young woman with a dispassionate gaze. She looked uninterested by the bloody corpse sprawled out in front of her.

"Open it," she ordered.

One of the soldiers beside him stepped forth. Mia barely caught the flash of steel as the bar of the cell door suddenly fell apart. Was it a Gift? Or the soldier's natural prowess? She had no idea. All she knew was that she had no chance of fighting her way out if these people were malicious.

The young woman entered the cell. She ignored the blood pooling on the stone floor and stepped over the goliath's corpse.

Mia stared at her in awe. She couldn't have been more than two years older than her. And yet, their circumstances couldn't be more different.

"It's okay. I'm not here to harm you," the young woman said. Despite her frigid expression, her voice was surprisingly gentle. It was neither comforting nor nurturing, but each word echoed with a quiet strength and authority. "My name is Diana. I'm here on Her Highness Aoife's orders. We're here to rescue everyone that has been kidnapped by House Nacht."

Mia felt her shoulders relax. The machete dropped to the floor with a dull clank.

I hate this.

Relief quickly warped into jealousy. And then it turned into guilt for harboring this bitterness towards her savior.

I know it's selfish of me, but am I always going to be this weak? Am I always going to be at the mercy of someone else?

Emil's face flashed into her head.

The boy who raised her in the slums. The man who continued to protect her even as their circumstances diverged. The sole person who she considered family. She couldn't fathom how he lived as an Exalted. The suffering that he must have endured. The pain and torment that he experienced. She knew it must have been arduous and dangerous, and yet—

Do I always have to wait for someone to rescue me?

She no longer wanted to be a damsel-in-distress.