At the second island, Corvin was looking at the core in his hands. An emerald Ravager core. It was like an emerald sun sitting in his palm, and Corvin was starstruck by what he was looking at. It was glowing.
"Orson, look at this. We will be set for a long time before we stress ourselves about money, and with the other cores we can pay our debt."
But as Corvin talked, he was just looking at the core, not at Orson.
And Orson was sensing the energy coming from the core. It was similar to the energy in the air—spiritual energy—but this energy in the core was pure and brimming with power.
Just then, a loud explosion was heard from high above the sky.
Corvin looked shocked as he looked up—lightning was cracking overhead on the island. Just as Corvin looked up, Orson saw his moment. He moved, using both legs to kick Corvin as he used his hand to snatch the core from him. Corvin’s body moved back toward the portal Sen had created for them as Corvin watched Orson smile and shout, "I will return it, don’t worry!"
Just as the portal closed shut, Orson looked down at the core. The energy was pure. He could use it to enter the first realm of cultivation. He let out a long breath.
But just then, lightning rained down from the sky onto the islands. Orson looked up at the third island, his eyes fixed on the sky above.
Then—
CRACK!
Lightning tore through the clouds. The island above him was releasing lightning, bolts crawling across its surface before several of them broke away and slammed toward the island below.
Orson’s expression changed. He immediately turned and ran. He had to get off the island.
BOOM!
A bolt of lightning struck the ground behind him, sending rocks and dirt flying through the air. Another bolt suddenly came straight for him. Orson threw himself backward, performing a backflip as the lightning passed beneath him by mere inches before he landed on his feet. He didn’t stop. He ran Faster.
Move.
Another bolt came from the side. Orson twisted his body and narrowly avoided it.
BOOM!
The ground exploded beside him. Another bolt followed. Then another. Lightning continued crashing down around him as Orson sprinted across the island. He could already see the edge.
Almost there.
Just as he reached the path leading off the island—
CRACK!
A massive bolt of lightning slammed directly into the path. The explosion caught Orson head-on. His body was thrown through the air. The orb slipped from his hand.
"Shit—!"
He crashed onto the ground and rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.
Silence.
For a moment, Orson didn’t move.
Then his fingers twitched. His senses were ringing. His vision blurred, and the world around him began to spin as he struggled to focus. He could barely tell where the ground ended and the sky began. Yet the lightning was still falling from the third island.
Meanwhile, on the main island where the breach was located, an older man looked up at the lightning cracking around the island. He had a glass on his face as he smiled at the display.
"Wow. An Eclipser."
"Mister Steven, we have to move, don’t we?" a younger man asked beside him.
"No rush, really. Why don’t we get closer and see how the fight is going?"
"But what if they spot us?"
Steven just smiled. "That bastard Sen already knows I’m here. And besides, since I know now that the great houses are coming here to play, I have to start making my move. So start stepping up the array while I watch an Eclipser at work."
With that, wings appeared out of the man beside Steven as he grabbed Steven and flew up to the sky. As they moved, Steven looked down—the ground was leaving him slowly, and the second island was coming into view. Just then, Steven used his glass and saw it. An emerald core on the ground. Some guy there as well. He tapped the hand of the man carrying him and said, "Tell them to get the core on the second island."
With that, they flew higher into the sky toward where the lightning was coming from.
After snapping out of his daze, Orson shook his head as he stood up from the floor. The ground was still shaking, and lightning was still being released toward the ground. So Orson moved and picked up the core he had dropped.
Just then, a blast sent him flying again, and as he looked up, a man in a big suit was looking at him. There was something written on his body. Orson looked down at the words and looked up. This was one of the people Corvin talked about—the non-awakened that enter breaches to steal cores.
The man smiled as his metal gloves moved around before settling into place. "Hand over the core and no one dies. Although I don’t like making promises."
Orson looked up as he tapped his ring. It glowed, and he pulled out a sword that was glowing with starlight.
The man looked at the sword. "So I guess that’s yours."
With that, he blasted two energy balls toward Orson, and Orson used the blade to block. But the balls did not explode like he thought. They just kept pushing Orson more and more back. Orson tried to circulate the energy he had absorbed before, and the moment he did, unimaginable pain shook his body as the balls sent him flying and the sword fell ten meters away.
Orson coughed out a mouthful of blood as he held his chest.
Poison, he thought. This body was poisoned. Was this what killed the last owner?