The first blade pierced his shoulder. The second sliced through his ribs. The third nearly took his heart.Chen Mo didn't scream. He didn't run. He didn't even flinch. He just stood there, his scales cracking, his blood spilling onto the marble floor."What is he doing?" one of the Executioners demanded. "Why isn't he fighting back?""He's lost his mind," another said. "He's given up.""No." The lead Executioner's eyes narrowed. "He's planning something."Chen Mo smiled. It was a terrible, beautiful thing."You're right," he said. "I am planning something."He grabbed the blades embedded in his body. His hands closed around the enchanted steel, ignoring the searing pain. The Executioners tried to pull back, but the blades were stuck. Trapped in his scales."What... what have you done?" the lead Executioner demanded."I've trapped your weapons," Chen Mo said. "And now, you're defenseless."

"I'm not strong enough to fight him. But I'm smart enough to hurt him." Meng Yao's voice was steady, determined, absolutely certain. She stood on the edge of the shattered palace roof, her daggers drawn, her eyes burning with shadow fire. Below her, the abomination raged, its massive body tearing through buildings, its crimson eyes fixed on Chen Mo. "Yao!" Chen Mo shouted. "Yao, get out of here! It's too dangerous!" "I'm not leaving you!" "You can't fight this thing!" "I don't need to fight it. I just need to distract it." She moved. The shadows consumed her, wrapping around her body like a second skin. She became invisible, intangible, a ghost in the chaos. "Where did she go?" the abomination demanded. "Where is the shadow?" "Right here," Meng Yao whispered. She appeared behind the abomination, her daggers driving into its back. The dark scales cracked, but the creature didn't even flinch. "Pathetic," it said. "You're nothing but a gnat." "A gnat with a sting."

"It's beautiful. In a terrible sort of way." Meng Yao's voice was barely a whisper, her eyes fixed on the massive spatial tear that had opened above the palace. The sky was bleeding light, golden and crimson and violet, as something pushed through the wound in reality. "Beautiful?" Chen Mo said. "It's a nightmare." "Nightmares can be beautiful. If you're brave enough to look." "I'm not brave. I'm terrified." "Then you're smarter than most." They stood together on the ruined palace roof, their hands intertwined, their hearts pounding. Around them, the city was silent. The cheering had stopped. The celebration had ended. Everyone was watching the sky. "What is that?" Kael demanded, his massive body trembling. "What's coming through?" "I don't know," Chen Mo said. "But I think we're about to find out." The spatial tear ripped wider. A pi