Molting the Mortal Coil

Like thunder crashing across the sky, the sound of the monster’s hooves smashing the dirt assaulted Sage’s eardrums. The monster lowered its clearly visible spinal column, and revealed a little hitch in its step. The creature gathered its legs beneath it in order to deliver a powerful blow with its lowered head. Not just intending to drag the sharp point of its horn across his body, but putting its all into a fully loaded tackle. The sharp point of its largest horn perfectly lined up with his bellybutton and pierced through Sage’s body like a needle popping a balloon.

At least it did in one of the possible futures that he saw. Watching what the monster was going to do allowed him to react before an event even occurred. He knew where the horn would be seconds before it ever got there. With practice, Sage had become more and more experienced with the Timeless Eyes, most especially Foresight. It created many illusion-like existences in his sight, reacting to his own intents and showing him many visions of what might be. He had to clearly maintain his current intent as the longer he stuck to a course of choice the visions would grow more concentrated.

The more committed he was to his current course of actions, the more focused Hindsight became. Less and less of the illusory futures would appear and narrow down the possibilities further. So, when things were truly dangerous he had to commit to something and follow it through until he ran out of options. Being indecisive and deliberating over a course of action did the opposite, creating so many branching paths it became extremely difficult to make good predictions. It was still useful for seeing things that were extremely unavoidable, like a landslide, or the herd of beasts heading over like a tide. It was also quite useful on very straightforward, calculating, or willful opponents. The mercurial ones that always lived in the instant and didn’t plan anything were almost made stronger by the sheer flood of possibility.

Waiting till the very last moment made the future the most clear. It also put him within a hair's breadth of danger. He had to brave the feeling of being near in order to wait until the last instant to act differently than the future he saw. The sooner he changed what he was doing the more scattered the future. Sage was standing still, staring down that skeletal rhino-horse like he was made of stone. Then at the very last instant he threw himself to the side and ducked the swipe of the monster’s horns.

As it charged past, Sage quickly spun to put both the creature and Hei Bai in his view. The most dangerous thing to his use of Foresight was that he could only see the future with his eyes, if something happened behind him, he’d have no way to see it coming. He spun to face the both of them and then backpedaled, getting some distance to keep them both in his line of sight. With another terrible neigh, it ran in a smooth half-circle and came galloping back towards him.

While the monster was threatening to get into his blindspot and surround him, the same was happening for Hei Bai. She couldn’t move, but her eyes watched the ground moving to her side and then back behind her. Annoyed, she started to whip her head back and forth, staring at something underground intently.

Of course, what she was looking at was Sage’s Soul Clone. It was flying around underneath the ground and she was watching it closely. He didn’t dare to send the Soul Clone anywhere near the terrible aura surrounding the old woman, but the Soul Clone sure made it seem like it would. He only intended to distract the woman, at least long enough for his friends to back away. With her current high level 50s strength, Xiezi should be able to beat Hei Bai. Tujiu was only in the first stage of fifth rank, but with the body of a Demonic Beast he was still far stronger than others at his level would be.

The rhino-horse made a few more charges towards him, only managing to catch a corner of Sage’s clothing once. The little rip of cloth was the only mark the monster had left on him so far. He planned to keep it that way, quickly counter attacking with a few quick spitting sounds. Different types of poison were shot out like darts at Hei Bai and her directed Yin Bone. The poison splashed against the bones, but completely sizzled away when it came into the area of her wicked aura.

After dodging the monster for the fifth time, he made his move. An oily black looking humanoid appeared next to the skeletal beast as it turned around between passes. The dark figure leapt up and landed on the back of the monster, grasping hold of many of its bones to stay planted. A Blacksilver Pawn, it hid itself using Sage as a shield to allow it to secret itself away among the dirt. Hei Bai had not seen him use the combination of her former Heavenly Material along with his own. The Blue Icesilver and Black Enhydros were both now being combined and smashed into both the horse and Hei Bai herself. The second Blacksilver Pawn had appeared later than the first, and just as it leaped out it stumbled and tried to retreat. Making the two surprise assaults at the same time had made the future unclear and it was too late to pull back the second Blacksilver Pawn.

The first one held the rhino-horse’s back, causing it to start trying to buck and throw him off. Contrary to that success, the other one was falling backwards to try and scuttle out fearsome aura that came surging towards it from Hei Bai. Unfortunately, it was not fast enough and the terrible power smashed against the Blacksilver Pawn and instantly snuffed the Soul Fragment that was guiding it. The black tar looking flesh and silvery ice bones lost their cohesion and splash onto the ground. Without the Soul Fragment to drive it and transfer over Sage’s Qi it lost not only its controller but its power source.

Sage had seen it happening, but he was committed till too late and lost to Hei Bai’s surge of strength. He had no idea what the limit on that aura was. There was no way to tell if even now she was just playing with him and that deadly power could come towards him. Even if the old woman had not moved yet, it didn’t mean she couldn’t. That might also be another trap she’d placed. That was why Sage only dared to send in a Blacksilver Pawn. Compared to the half of his Soul Power that was in the Soul Clone, the fragment in the Pawn was a small loss. He’d also been given some inspiration towards the source of that dreadful energy. When it struck the Blacksilver Pawn it passed through the Black Enhydros and Blue Icesilver layers like they weren’t even there. Not a mark was left on its oily flesh layer and only the Soul Fragment was affected.

So, does it only affect spiritual things?

Thinking this way, a large crossbow appeared in Sage’s hand and he started firing off bolts towards the old necromancer.