The Collapse

The Beast lunged.

Shen An met it head-on. His sword clashed with the Beast’s claws, sending sparks flying. But the black karma in his meridians slowed him down. He was a second too late.

The Beast’s tail whipped around and slammed into Shen An’s ribs.

* Crunch.*

Shen An flew backward, crashing into a dead tree. He hit the ground and didn't get up. He coughed, blood staining his white robes—black, tar-like blood.

"Shen An!" Luo Yi scrambled toward him.

"Don't," Shen An wheezed, trying to rise. "Stay... stay back. My luck... it’s gone. I can't protect you."

Luo Yi dropped to his knees beside him. He touched Shen An’s wrist. The pulse was erratic, thumping against a wall of sludge. The bad luck was killing him.

"You idiot," Luo Yi sobbed, tears cutting tracks through the dust on his face. "You absolute, stoic idiot. You’re the Golden Boy. You’re supposed to ascend. You’re not supposed to die in a ditch for *me*."

"Worth it," Shen An whispered. He reached up, his bloody hand cupping Luo Yi’s cheek. "You... talked to me. You made me tea. It was enough."

The Karma Beast prowled closer, savoring the despair. "The gold is tarnished. Now I feast."

Luo Yi looked at the Beast. Then he looked at Shen An.

He realized then that he loved him. Not as a joke. Not as a shield. He loved him with a terrifying, calamitous intensity.

And because he loved him, he had to leave.

"No," Luo Yi said. He stood up.

He placed his hand on Shen An’s chest.

"Forbidden Art: Karmic Severance."

Shen An’s eyes widened. "Luo Yi, don't—"

Luo Yi pushed. A burst of violet energy exploded from his palm. It didn't heal Shen An. It violently broke the connection between them. It pushed Shen An away, sliding him across the ash, out of the clearing, toward the safety of the perimeter.

At the same time, Luo Yi acted as a lightning rod. He screamed, drawing all the ambient bad luck in the forest—and the corruption inside Shen An—back into his own body.

"Come and get me, you ugly rug!" Luo Yi screamed at the Beast.

He turned and ran.

He didn't run toward the sect. He ran toward the cliff edge, toward the Bridge of the Red Thread.