Where were you when this city burned? Where were you when I held our sisters in my arms as they breathed their last? If I must burn a thousand nations to avenge them, then I will bear that burden. Every man, woman, and child of Daying was judged by the light and deserved the misfortune I inflicted upon them for taking my sisters from me. If you think that makes me changed, Iru'e Jinshi, then you never really knew me at all. -The Darkened Moon to the Sword Saint during the latter's attempts to mediate peace before the Battle of Moonfall

I held my breath, watching with horror as one of the men in dark robes stepped over the line. His friends stayed behind, clearly waiting to see what would happen to any who ignored my warning.

At first, it was as if even the beacon itself was holding its breath in anticipation. The man took another step…then another…

"Didn't the armillary strike at Satoro when he approached?" Lin wondered quietly as we watched from our hiding place.

Before I could answer, the orb of qi surged like a disturbed nest of snakes. In my vision, threads of voidlight curled outward from every angle before striking at the intruder on his third step. They wrapped around him for the briefest moment before coursing down his body to his feet.

He shrieked in pain, and I could hear the snap of his ankle resonate throughout the park. There was a thud as he slumped to the ground. I winced on his behalf. No doubt the artist was at least Bronze, maybe even Iron. That he stepped in just the wrong way that his foot slipped enough to break the bone went straight from 'unfortunate' to 'downright impossible.'

"At least he didn't open a void tear?" I muttered.

Lin nodded. "Bad luck, but not the worst."

"What do you think they're trying to do, anyway?"

My mind went to the silver pendant that Xinya had brought me on the day of the Blackout. The sliced moon insignia was the mark of the Shattered Moon Sect, and, from this distance, it seemed to match those around the necks of the hooded figures playing around my danger line. If these people were truly members of that sect, then whatever they were doing to my armillary couldn't be good.

The four remaining artists peered over the danger line at their friend as he lay moaning beyond their reach, completely unfazed by the danger he was still in. I could see the threads of misfortune. They'd retreated only slightly after the broken ankle halted his approach, but now, they crept back, slowly but steadily. His companions only watched.

"Idiots," I muttered. Lin nodded his agreement, and in an instant, we were moving. Only I could step safely over the line, and if the artist's friends weren't going to help him, then it would have to fall to me.

"Get him out of there!" Lin shouted at the four. I watched the threads as they crept closer to the cultivator's boots.

Yet, rather than listening to Lin's warning, the four remaining cultivators moved between us. The message was clear, even if the reason behind it was not.

"You have to help him! It's not too-"

I was interrupted by the ground rushing up to meet me. The chains which normally trailed behind my left leg had slid forward enough to tangle around my right ankle.

"Yoru?" Lin asked, slowing his pace and turning to me.

"My pride is fatally injured," I muttered just loud enough for him to hear as I pushed myself to my knees. I kicked the chain to the side with a frustrated huff.

On the other side of the Shattered Moon cultivators, the threads of misfortune struck. This time, the man's fortunes were even worse. Reality ripped like fabric, and a dark hole opened next to him. His screams were swiftly silenced as the void dragged him through.

I narrowed my eyes and stood to face his 'friends.' "If the honored sect cultivators would kindly step aside, I need to close that tear."

"So, you're that void spirit," said the tallest of the group. He stepped forward, and, beneath the hood, he was a rather large oni with dark horns. "You're the one who 'restored' the armillary."

"It's what anyone with my abilities would have done," I answered, peering at the void tear over his shoulder.

"It's a crime to interfere with public infrastructure, especially that which was created by our master." He snarled at me, trying to seem intimidating as he towered several feet taller than me. I only raised an eyebrow at his feeble attempts. Everyone knows that the bigger the oni, the weaker they are.

"Your master?" I asked calmly.

One of his companions giggled before she spoke. "You must be new in town. Everyone knows we serve the city's founder."

"Is that so?" I mused, a bit surprised. "I didn't realize that the Shattered Moon in your sect's name referred to the Lunar Prince himself."

The Oni lunged suddenly, swiping at me with a great fist. I dodged, albeit barely, without the help of Flash Forward.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"How dare you insult our god by mentioning that pitiful wretch!"

I just blinked in shock before turning to Lin for some kind of explanation. He had none and looked just as confused as I was.

"You said you served the city's founder…?" I repeated back. "I believe it's common knowledge that the Black City was once Half-Moon Hearth, the home of the Lunar Prince." I pointed behind me to the barren pedestal. "The plaque on that one says so."

This time, I was ready when the large oni took a swipe at me. He missed, and I took a deep breath. My patience with these villains was rapidly draining. First, they leave their friend to die, then they have the audacity to argue with me over a subject that I know better than anyone else alive.

"The Lunar Prince was nothing. He was destroyed by our master. It's the Darkened Moon who founded this city, alongside his queen, the Void Herald."

Heat surged inside me as a rush of anger roared in my ears. I couldn't even count the number of things that were wrong with what he'd just said.

Starting with the perverse idea that I was somehow married to the Void Herald. Shi Reili was like a sister to me. How dare they imply that I was in any sort of romantic relationship with her! The very idea of it was infuriating when statues of both Reili and Jinshi stood less than a hundred yards away!

Lin put a hand on my arm. "Easy, Yoru. They aren't worth punching."

"I strongly beg to differ," I hissed.

"What? Have a problem with our master?" The female cultivator stepped forward, removing her hood. She looked mostly human, save for a dark mark on her forehead that could only be left by the resentful qi of a yokai. She grinned at us. "You know, you look kind of like an oni with your horns and ears, but I think you'd tear like paper if you fought a real one. At the end of the day, you're just a little yokai who is too small and weak to defend himself and too stupid to recognize his elders."

I lunged. Half-Moon Harbor was already the enemy of the Shattered Moon Sect, thanks to our refusal to pay the ridiculous protection fees. A fight with their members wouldn't change that. Besides, they struck at me first.

My chain flung from my hand and slammed right into her nose. The woman staggered back, holding her hand over her nose as it gushed with ashen blood.

"You! You!" she stammered, unable to get words out through the blood that cascaded from her broken nose.

"On your right!" Lin called. He ducked in behind me, using his relatively small stature to dart behind the oni's defenses as a blow sailed towards my head. It never made it close to its mark, as a single punch from Lin knocked the wind out of the oni, disrupting the attack. The two remaining yokai moved to flank us. Lin and I stood back-to-back, each tracking two of the Shattered Moon disciples.

"You foul bits of void trash!" the woman shrieked. "We are inner disciples of the sect! You're interfering with official Shattered Moon business!"

"And what kind of business is that?" I asked. "Turning off the lights? Murdering whole families with the broken and pained void spirits who would flood the streets?"

A sword appeared in her hand. "If you must know, we are serving our master's will. The darkness will blanket the city in its sweet embrace, and filth like you will be washed away."

With the introduction of a weapon into the fight, Lin and I responded in kind. His sword flashed from its sheath just as I nocked an arrow to my string.

"Four on two, eh?" I said to Lin.

"The Chained Fury was a tougher fight than this will be," he answered coolly. "I imagine a similar tactic will work here."

"What, you mean the part where I saved you from being dissolved by the void?"

He rolled his eyes. "Who was it who ended that fight nearly dead in my arms?"

"It was necessary!" I said, laughing.

As one, we moved. Lin darted inside the oni's reach, drawing the blade upward across his chest before jumping and kicking off the hulking brute. A hail of seeds rained down from his hand in a technique that had quite a few familiar elements to it.

"Hey, remind me to teach you about Heaven's Rain, sometime!" I called as I moved away. "I think you could learn a thing or two!"

"Yoru, I've been watching you fight for over a year, now," he protested. "I picked up a thing or two!"

"You think you've learned it all?" I grinned back at him. "Let's see what you think of this!"

I sprinted a few paces away from the fight before leaping at the bare pedestal that once held my statue. Springing off it, I drew back the string, infused the arrow with light, and loosed it.

It sailed forward, streaking in a blue-silver comet through the air. The arrow split itself until fifteen shining copies streaked in parallel to the original. They shifted course, spinning and wheeling until they slammed into their targets, with four arrows pinning each of the four Shattered Moon Disciples.

"You've been practicing," Lin praised.

"Eh, just have more qi to use at Silver," I admitted. "It's hardly my greatest trick."

Lin dragged the tip of his sword across the earth in a swift flick. Dirt flew at the face of one of the hooded minions, along with a few vibrant qi-infused seeds. The yokai clawed at its face, trying to dislodge the seeds that were trying to grow into its skin, but it would never get the chance. Lin's sword swiped down in a clean slash across its chest and stomach. It fell without another sound.

"Was that Mist-Bound Moonlight?" I asked, shocked. That was another one of my old sect's techniques, one that I never used since it was specifically a technique for swords and polearms.

"Kansi Ren taught me the basics before we left Saikan," he called back, dodging at the woman's sword as she lunged at him.

"You've clearly made it your own!" I praised. It filled me with pride knowing that he was doing well in his cultivation. Just a few weeks ago, he'd been so frustrated with his lack of progress that I was starting to worry that he, and by extension me, would never progress.

"Do you think her master would approve?"

"Without a doubt."

Jinshi was never one to hoard secrets, at least, not as long as I was at his side.

The oni struck, punching out with one great fist. It burst into flames just before it reached Lin. The wood artist hissed as his sleeves were caught in the attack. While he frantically patted himself, trying to put out the flames, the last remaining hooded disciple lunged with a pair of daggers.

An arrow fell from the heavens, twinkling with voidlight like a falling star before burying itself in the throat of the hooded disciple. I trotted forward, putting another arrow to my string. Patting the last of the flames out on his shoulder with my free hand, I stood at his side. We faced the remaining two disciples.

"I think you'll find that your goals with this district's armillary have been thwarted several times over," I announced. "You can either leave here with your lives, or I'll toss you to the mercy of the void tears."

The oni and the woman shared a look before setting their eyes in determination. The woman reached into her cloak with lightning speed, pulling out a large stone that shimmered with moon qi.

"I think you'll find that Shattered Moon Disciples do not bring shame to our sect by tucking our tails and running," she hissed. Then, holding the stone high, she called out in a clear tone. "Oh, Darkened Moon, Master of the Night, Demon of Misfortune, Bringer of the End Times! Grant this disciple your favor and bless her with one of your own divine champions!"

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