The Sorceress: Blossoming Power

Everyone saw a great light above them and looked up. There, they saw the condor's chest lit up and ran like electricity to every part of his body, and heard a loud roar. When the light abated, the condor was no longer there but a giant lion with scaled tail, wings with talons and feet of a dragon. He made a mighty resounding roar in the oncoming darkness. The controlled people's bodies and the animals hiding in the forest, shivered with the sight of him. 

"Stop this, or else I'll make you his dinner" Xinyi warned him from above. Nianshi grinned eerily as he put out his tongue and licked his lips, savagely looking at Mafan. However, inside him, he made a blech sound, feeling disgusted. 

'I prefer animals, not a human'

'Just cooperate.' Xinyi reminded him.

Mafan tried his best to act tough but he couldn't hide his fear but he was confident in the stone and his trump card in the name of Anghus in his sleeve.

"Let me remind you, I have the people's minds in my hands, including the person who knew the illusion's formation. If you dare touch a hair of mine, I'll order these people to kill one another." Suddenly the soldiers aimed their weapons on each other's throats. The old and young did the same. 

"And will kill the man holding the illusion forcing the secret to be forever buried in his grave."

Ming immediately remembered Qinfen, he gritted his teeth and hardened his knuckles but he couldn't do anything with the blackness on his hand moving upward faster.

Gib, Tyriece, and Lofey moved their heads to search for Anghus, but nowhere from their sight. Tyriece stealthily crouched down and moved to look for the said man. Lofey saw this and didn't show it by staring straight at Mafan and would distract the vile man if needed, so no one would notice Tyriece's absence. 

"You're still human in all sense. You can't stop a mighty dragon," Xinyi shouted back. Nianshi flapped his huge wings as strong as Ming's last tornado to blow the people covering Mafan. The soldiers cried in fear inside and their knees wobbled obviously while they stood. They wanted to run in fear but their bodies wouldn't listen, but then a sudden boom entered their ears. Nianshi clearly knew that sound. It was the illusion disrupted.

Mafan laughed, watching Nianshi's wings slow down. 

"Go ahead, if you dare. Let your great beast continue and the people will die and their blood will be in your hands." He said with a mocking tone, sending Xinyi's rage into flame. 

At that moment, Xionmao's ears perked up he could sense her anger and that something bad was going to happen. He had doubts about getting involved, but he knew he had to if the Sorceress was the person involved. He had sensed that she couldn't control her powers and if that happened he couldn't handle the situation anymore. He hurriedly ran out the cave to salvage her or else…

Xinyi jumped down on her own feet with the Hutyuns as a glistening sword in hand. She stood in front of the soldiers encompassing Mafan.

"Get out of my way." She commanded at the men as the Hutyuns shoved them away, opening a path for her. 

"Mafan, I will kill you if you don't stop this right now, and when I do. I'll make sure that you squirm in pain" A bright flame covered her body, stronger than General Lofey's human torch. Everyone who saw it gaped in awe or fear or mix of both. 

Somehow, deep within her, she struggled from keeping her sanity intact. Something inside her was bursting out, but she didn't know what she did her best to be calm but each second was like a bomb ticking. 

Mafan's hair stood on end. The stones in his necklace and the dull one in his pocket trembled. Mafan felt something tugging his neck and saw the pendant floating, trembling and trying to fly away, as if the stones were alive and in agitation to get away from the metal holding them in place. 

"What the hell is this? I haven't read about the stones being alive." He shifted to Xinyi and was starting to get scared.

"What kind of Chiangda are you to summon these stones?" Then a portion of General Lei Ming's diary flashed in his mind, mentioning, "and the Sorceress has the power to control the stones but..." He couldn't remember the rest.

"Is she... the Sorceress?" Mafan breathed heavily watching her. This time, he could feel his blood go cold.

She tried to hit the soldiers with the sword but hesitant to hurt them. She could feel that somehow a part of her had changed. A powerful force overwhelming her senses, but half of her was still conscious. She still knew of her surroundings, not like in the cave of truth where she was not.    

While Xinyi hesitated, her movements stopped and the Hutyuns stood still, affected by her. She didn't notice that a soldier was about to stab her with trembling hands.

"Watch out!" Sir Gib was nearby and saw it. He sent his wind to throw the knife from the soldier's hand, however, another person came with a sword. Part of the Hutyuns left Xinyi, instantly killed the man, and attached back with the sword. 

However, more men ran from different directions attack Xinyi. General Lofey sprinted to help while sending his fire to hit the ground, burning the grass, thinking Mafan would let the men retreat, but Mafan had no mercy and let them continue. Men were now burning. Lofey had to extinguish the fire to save the men.

"Damn this! Watch out, lady," he shouted as he hurled his big arms to stop the rest from reaching her. He grappled and threw punches while running toward Xinyi. 

Horror gripped his heart, when all the soldiers moved, heading into one direction, Xinyi. Nianshi swooped down, transformed into a gorilla, and joined Lofey. The latter glimpsed towards the haired creature equal to his height beside him and nodded.  

Unknown to them, Mafan orchestrated the chaos to cover his escape. He had left the field and went nearer the gate, going to where he hid Anghus. 

Gib was now looking after Xinyi's back. His arm got worse as well, weakening his body. He might fall like Ming anytime. Thus, when a soldier hurled a spear at her, he jumped right at her back. Thankfully, the power in Xinyi let part of the Hutyuns formed into a shield, protecting them both. 

Unknown to them, three more soldiers struck their swords at her from different directions. The Hutyuns defended the two but didn't notice the third one. Gib used his body as a shield and got stabbed in his ribcage. 

Gib loudly groaned as his body fell against her. This awakened Xinyi a bit and saw Gib kneeling on the ground. She hurried the Hutyuns to pull the sword out from him while the others hit the soldier's head, sending him to sleep. 

"Why did you...? You shouldn't have done that." Xinyi cried as she tried to stop the bleeding with her palms.

"Don't worry about me. Go for Sir Lei Ming. He needs you badly." He whispered. She turned her head around, looking for Ming and saw him crawling toward her with hand extended up, reaching for her. She darted towards him and let his head rest on her lap. 

"Ming…," she wept.

Somehow, Ming's strength ebbed with his blurring eyesight. He couldn't see much but the light. The injury was not the cause but the moving blackness in his hand. It had invaded his shoulder and slowly going to his chest. 

His heart began to get heavy like someone was squeezing it. The bleeding Ming stared at her before blindness totally took over his eyes. Fear crawled in Ming's heart, he was dying, and this time it was real. It wasn't a test nor was it a dream this was very real but what he feared the most was what would happen to Xinyi recalling what had happened to his dream. He tried his best to speak,

"Please Xinyi, Control yourself."

"Don't speak." Frantic Xinyi looked around for help but Nianshi and General Lofey were busy. He opened his eyes again and spoke, but Xinyi could not comprehend his words. His body weighed heavier, his hand had slowly fell and he closed his eyes. Xinyi could feel his temperature went cold. 

"Ming," she called him out in a hushed tone, then called him again practically yelling out this time. In that instant, her anger took over, turning her eyes red. It was in that moment she had finally lost it. She didn't understand herself anymore. She stood and as she did, the ground shook. The birds around the area had flown away in fear and the animals had sensed the danger near their area.

In Xionmao's cave, blazing light filled Shijan's room.