Why hadn’t she come herself?

Dross, Lindon asked, how long before he makes contact?

Two seconds, maybe less if he has some kind of technique.

Lindon was very conscious of Little Blue on his shoulder. If Daji’s attack connected, the Riverseed would be in danger.

Thanks to the frozen world, Lindon had plenty of time to feel anger.

Gratitude, Dross. I’ll take it from here.

Report complete.

“Blue!” Lindon called, and she heard his intentions. She slapped the side of his neck, pumping him with deep blue cleansing madra.

Before even looking up, Lindon unleashed the Hollow Domain.

[I just want to say,] Dross said, [I’m very happy we’re calling it that.]

Blue light surrounded Lindon in a ball. The madra in his cloud dispersed and he started to fall, but he maintained his balance as he looked up.

Daji was covered in a version of the same armor he’d used back in the Night Wheel Valley: a suit of smooth gray plates with liquid silver or yellow showing through the seams. Yellow light shone within the visor, and he had two swords lifted to slash as he fell toward Lindon. His spirit, fully unveiled, radiated fury and pressure.

Until he landed inside the dome of the Hollow Domain.

The sparks of lightning dancing around his blades disappeared. The madra powering his armor faded, sputtering as Lindon’s pure madra washed it out.

The Soul Cloak sprang up around Lindon, and he caught Daji in his Remnant hand.

They both fell as his cloud dispersed, and Daji completed his blow in midair. The sword clubbed the side of his head, but he barely felt it.

He gripped the prince by the neck as they hit the sand, and he activated the hunger binding in his arm.

Without Little Blue empowering the Heart of Twin Stars, he couldn’t make much use out of the power he took from the armor, but in only a few seconds it went from hampering Daji’s movements to weighing him down completely. He was trapped in the armor, struggling only with his raw strength as an Underlord.

Lindon, meanwhile, had the Soul Cloak. He pushed Daji down against the rolling sand, pulling his helmet off with his left hand.

Daji stared up at him with fury in his dark eyes. His hair was matted with sweat, and he snarled like a wolf. The prince struggled against Lindon physically and spiritually, but made no progress on either front.

The field of pure madra around them had already begun trembling. Lindon hadn’t practiced the technique enough to keep it stable for long.

So he drove an Empty Palm into Daji’s midsection.

A massive palm-print was imprinted over his own hand as he shoved enough madra into the technique to penetrate the armor. The technique sunk in, erasing Daji’s control over his own madra even as the Hollow Domain dissipated.

Lindon’s first instinct was to kill him.

“What were you thinking?” he demanded. “You could have killed these Golds!”

“You deserve to die a thousand times!” Daji shouted, but Lindon had no time to waste.

“Okay, that’s enough.” He ran his perception through Daji’s armor. Lindon had already examined the pieces of Seishen armor that he had scavenged before, so he was familiar with its construction, and it didn’t take long to find the scripts he was looking for.

Running his pure madra through the suit, he triggered the clasp holding on Daji’s breastplate and pulled it off. In seconds, he had peeled the armor away.

Fortunately, Daji was wearing a tight gray outfit beneath. He might have to abandon this project if it meant stripping an Underlord naked in front of dozens of allied Golds.

“I’m keeping this,” he told Daji. “And if you give me one more reason, you’re coming with me.”

“I will—”

He shook the prince. “Do you understand that Fury would execute you for this?”

Daji still looked furious, which only stoked Lindon’s own anger.

What right did he have to be angry?

“Do you really think I wanted Kiro to die?” Lindon demanded. “Why does everyone blame me for defending myself? Would you like it better if I rolled over and died? Should I have let Kiro kill me because he was your brother? He gave me no choice!”

[Wow, Lindon, look at that grip! Really impressive, truly, I’m impressed.]

He realized he was squeezing the sides of Daji’s arms so hard that a Truegold’s bones would have broken, but the prince’s glare was uninterrupted.

Lindon didn’t know why he was bothering talking at all. He stood up, his anger fading quickly. “I have a choice this time. I’m letting you go, just like I tried to let Kiro go, and just like…”

He became conscious of new presences around him.

His team had arrived. Some of them, at least.

Pride stood not far away, and Grace was coming up behind him. He didn’t look up at them, but he felt their spirits, and he knew that purple eyes were watching him.

So he stopped himself before he said Harmony’s name.

“Anyway, you’re free to go.” He drew on Blackflame for the strength to speak the next words, making sure he looked Daji in the eyes. “This will be the only chance you get. Now get out.”

Daji shot to his feet, and suddenly the prince’s anger seemed hollow. Fragile. He dashed off, and even weakened and disarmed as he was, he still ran across the moving sand with more agility than any of the Golds.

Two swords sat on the ground nearby, and he realized he’d almost left them.

He’d have to make room in his void key.

Pride landed by him as Lindon began opening his void key, shifting things around to make space.

“The bounties have been finalized for Abyssal Palace,” Pride said stiffly. He had seen what happened, but he didn’t want to talk about it. Lindon could appreciate that.

“Apologies, but would you mind telling me?”

“Seven points for an acolyte mask, twenty-five points for a priest, and one hundred for a high priest.”

Lindon nodded. “And when are they projected to get here?”

“Just after sundown.”

“Gratitude. If you’ll take these workers back, we can prepare tonight and be ready in the morning.”

Pride nodded, but didn’t leave. After a moment, he said, “It is better to put enemies in your debt than to kill them.”

“Tell that to them,” Lindon muttered.

Yerin woke in the middle of the night to a strange sensation in her spiritual perception. She couldn’t put a name to it, it was just…strange.

When she saw the shape of a person sitting in her room, silhouetted by moonlight against the window, Yerin’s body reacted before her mind was fully awake. She had already rolled out of the way, sweeping her sword up in a hand and leveling it at the intruder.

She froze when she realized it wasn’t a stranger.

It was the most familiar intruder in her life.

The Blood Shadow sat with its back to her, hunched over something that it held in its hands. Empty bottles, fruit rinds, husks, seeds, and pill wrappers dotted the floor—it had gotten into the advancement resources that the Winter Sage had left for Yerin.

That wasn’t what disturbed Yerin. The Sage could afford it.

But the Blood Shadow had escaped on its own. Without even waking her.