"They're here!"
Grandfather's roar was thunder in the shattered doorway and swirling dust! The heavy, iron-banded door, after enduring a second terrifying, invisible impact, finally surrendered with a tortured groan, exploding inward! Splintered wood flew like shrapnel, revealing the ink-black night outside and the three figures silhouetted in the ragged opening, radiating cold, predatory malice!
The attackers weren't uniformed agents of some shadowy order. They looked like twisted nightmares clawed from the abyss!
The leader was colossal, towering over seven feet tall. His bare torso was slabs of muscle under sickly grey-green skin, crisscrossed with thick, worm-like dark veins. His head was misshapen – a massive, protruding brow ridge over a receding jaw. His dull yellow eyes held no emotion, only pure killing intent. He wielded no weapon, but his knuckle-duster-sized fists, covered in thick keratin, promised bone-shattering force. A Flesh Golem! His heavy tread crushed splintered wood underfoot.
Close behind slithered a leaner figure, moving with unnerving, serpentine speed. Clad in tight-fitting dark grey combat gear, a metal visor covered his face, revealing only eyes that glowed with cold, inhuman red light. His hands were replaced by articulated metal claws shimmering with a venomous blue sheen, dripping viscous, foul-smelling green acid. A Toxin Claw! He entered silently, a poised viper.
Last stepped the hooded figure from the gallery – Shadowweaver! The wide hood still obscured his face, revealing only a sharp chin and thin, pressed lips. He lacked the raw physical menace of the others, but the viscous, icy aura of decay and psychic oppression he radiated flooded the shop like freezing water! His hands, hidden in sleeves, were wreathed in ink-black energy. His gaze, like poisoned daggers, instantly locked onto Alan, shielded behind Grandfather, and the ancient sandalwood box clutched protectively against the old man's chest!
"Target confirmed: Harmonizer. Secondary objective: Sealed Scroll. Execute 'Crow Strike'!" Shadowweaver's rasp hissed directly into Alan's mind, cold and devoid of inflection.
"ROOOAAARR—!" The Flesh Golem bellowed, an enraged prehistoric beast. Its massive fist, trailing an air-ripping shriek, aimed a crushing blow straight at Grandfather blocking the path! Force enough to crumple steel!
In that split second, Grandfather moved!
His speed defied his frail appearance! Blindingly fast! He slid his left foot back half a step, his body swaying like a willow branch, narrowly evading the mountain-shattering fist! Simultaneously, his right hand, still cradling the box, darted from his wide sleeve – fingers pinching three hair-thin silver needles, glowing faintly with emerald light!
"Strike!" Grandfather barked, wrist snapping!
Shink! Shink! Shink!
Three near-silent whispers cut the air! The glowing needles, guided with uncanny precision, struck three critical, hidden acupoints exposed as the Golem swung – the armpit, the inner elbow joint, the lower ribs! As needle tips met the grey-green skin, the emerald glow flared brighter, sinking inward like liquid mercury!
"Urgh?!" The Flesh Golem's berserk charge faltered! A flicker of momentary confusion and rigidity passed through its dull yellow eyes! The force behind its blow dissipated significantly, the fist crashing into the floor beside Grandfather, cratering the wood, sending splinters flying! The protective energy field Grandfather had woven flared violently, bluish-green ripples surging, barely absorbing the shockwave.
"Eastern… meridian disruption?" Shadowweaver's voice held surprise, laced with icy disdain. "Parlor tricks! Rend him!"
The Toxin Claw struck! Capitalizing on the Golem's stumble, it became a grey blur, reeking of acid, claws slashing lethal green trails towards Grandfather's throat and heart! Speed exceeding human limits!
Grandfather's eyes narrowed. His left arm still shielded the box; his right hand became a blur, fingers dancing like butterflies. More emerald needles shot out, targeting the Claw's wrists, shoulder joint, and the neck beneath the visor! His footwork flowed, body weightless as dandelion down, twisting and dodging with desperate grace in the confined space, narrowly avoiding eviscerating strikes! Needles pinged off the Claw's armor, most deflected, but one found a gap at the shoulder joint!
"Hsss!" The Toxin Claw's movement hitched almost imperceptibly, its red eyes blazing brighter, attacks growing more frenzied!
"Grandfather!" Alan crouched behind him, back pressed against the herb cabinet, heart hammering against his ribs. The fight was beyond comprehension! Grandfather's ghostly speed, the pinpoint needles, the shimmering shield resisting impacts… it shattered eighteen years of belief. Grandfather wasn't just an herbalist. He was… an Animate! A powerful one!
Seeing Grandfather barely holding his own against the two brutes, the stooped figure dodging crushing blows and lethal venom, Alan burned with helpless urgency! He couldn't just watch! He had to help!
Calm… focus… like before… Alan desperately grasped for the feeling from the gallery, trying to channel the "Harmonizing" power. He stopped suppressing the churning energy, pouring his focus into protecting Grandfather! A faint, chaotic ripple of power began to leak uncontrollably from him.
It was then Shadowweaver struck! The viper, coiled and watching, targeted the distraught, power-leaking Alan!
"Disruption source… priority neutralization!" The rasp hissed in Alan's mind! Shadowweaver's hidden hand snapped up, palm aimed! A bolt of condensed, soul-rending black energy, reeking of decay, shot silently but blindingly fast towards Alan's forehead! A Soulrend attack!
"ALAN! MOVE!" Grandfather, caught between the Claw's frenzy and the Golem roaring back to full fury, saw the lethal strike out of the corner of his eye! He abandoned his own defense! Wrenching his body, he shoved the sandalwood box clutched in his left arm towards Alan! A pulse of soft green energy enveloped the box as it flew. Simultaneously, Grandfather moved like lightning, placing his own frail back squarely in the path of the oncoming darkness!
THOOM—!
A sickening, wet impact!
The black Soulrend bolt tore through the weak shield of green energy Grandfather had barely conjured over his back and slammed into his spine!
"AAAGH—!" A choked cry of agony tore from Grandfather! His body spasmed violently, arching backwards! All color drained from his face, leaving it waxen. A gout of dark crimson blood burst from his lips, arcing through the air! The fierce light in his eyes guttered like a dying candle!
"GRANDFATHER—!!!" Alan's scream ripped through the shop! He saw it! Saw Grandfather take the blow meant for him! A maelstrom of volcanic rage, bottomless terror, and crushing guilt erupted within him!
KA-BOOM—!!!
As grief and fury overwhelmed Alan, the "Harmonizing" power he'd been straining to control detonated! Not the precise null-wave of the gallery, but a chaotic, uncontrolled blast! An invisible shockwave of raw, discordant energy erupted from Alan, uncontrolled and omnidirectional!
The chaotic blast swept through "Bai Cao Tang" like a hurricane!
CRASH! SMASH!
Herb cabinets rocked violently! Porcelain jars, wooden boxes filled with precious ingredients flew, shattered! A blizzard of dried leaves and colored powders filled the air!
Grandfather's already strained protective field, hit from within by the chaotic surge, *shattered* with an audible crack! Gone!
The Toxin Claw, closest to the epicenter, took the full brunt. It flew backwards as if hit by a battering ram, slamming into the wall with a crunch, blood leaking beneath its visor!
Even the hulking Flesh Golem staggered, thrown off balance by the unexpected energy surge!
"Fools! Subdue him! Get the box!" Shadowweaver, forced back a step by the blast, snarled from beneath his hood, his voice laced with fury.
The Toxin Claw scrambled up, red eyes blazing, lunging again at Alan, now weakened and kneeling from the outburst! The Flesh Golem roared its fury, massive foot crushing floorboards as it charged!
Yet, in that blinding instant, one figure moved faster!
Grandfather!
Mortally wounded, blood streaming from nose and mouth, consciousness fading, the instinct to protect his grandson drove his final act! As Alan's chaotic blast momentarily staggered the attackers, Grandfather, with a burst of dying strength, threw himself forward! He landed heavily, using his last ounce of life to cover the sandalwood box, now lying near Alan's feet, with his own broken body! His frail, wounded form became the final shield over Alan and the box!
"Not… my… grandson…" The words were a breath, yet held the weight of mountains.
The Toxin Claw's venomous talons and the Flesh Golem's crushing fist descended simultaneously! Aimed to pulverize the fallen old man and the terrified youth beneath!
"Hmph! Meddlesome relic! The scroll!" Shadowweaver hissed, appearing like smoke beside Grandfather. He didn't strike Alan or Grandfather. Instead, his sleeve flicked, tendrils of viscous darkness snaking out to coil around the box pinned beneath the old man! At the same time, his other hand thrust towards the charging Claw and Golem! A powerful Psychic Shove blasted out, physically forcing both brutes back several steps!
RIIIP!
The dark energy tendrils, alive with malice, pried Grandfather's weakening arms away and wrenched the ancient sandalwood box free! A final groan of anguish and defeat escaped Grandfather's lips.
"NO—!" Alan's cry was pure despair, watching the box, the source of the nightmare, torn from Grandfather's protection!
"Primary objective secured! Withdraw!" Shadowweaver didn't spare a glance for the dying old man or the broken youth. He shoved the box inside his robes and flowed backwards like retreating shadow, vanishing through the ruined doorway into the night!
The Toxin Claw and Flesh Golem snarled their frustration but obeyed instantly, melting into the darkness after their master, leaving behind only devastation and the stench of ozone, blood, and shattered herbs.
"Grandfather! Grandfather!" Alan scrambled forward on hands and knees. The old man was deathly pale, breathing shallowly. Where the Soulrend bolt had struck his back, the cloth was charred and torn, showing no obvious wound, but a chilling, destructive dark energy radiated from within, devouring his life force. Blood still trickled from his lips, staining the wood and herbs beneath him.
"The… box…" Grandfather's lips moved weakly, eyes unfocused, filled with despair and profound worry. "…Alan… run… they… will return… your power… hide it… only… last resort…" His words trailed off. His head lolled, consciousness extinguished, only the faintest rise and fall of his chest showing life remained.
"Grandfather! No! Wake up! Please wake up!" Alan cradled the cold body, tears streaming uncontrollably, mixing with grime and blood on his face. Grief, helplessness, and rage threatened to consume him. He hated his weakness! His loss of control! The monsters who had taken everything!
As despair threatened to drown Alan—
WHOOP-WHOOP-WHOOP!
A sharp, distinctive siren, unlike police wails, cut through the night! Beams of intense white light, marked with glowing runes, pierced the shattered windows and doorway, illuminating the wreckage of "Bai Cao Tang"!
"London Wardens! Secure the area! Drop your weapons!" A cold, familiar female voice commanded from outside.
Lena White appeared in the shattered doorway, electro-shock baton ready, clad in dark grey Warden gear, face a mask of icy professionalism. Behind her, armed Wardens in tactical gear, wielding specialized energy weapons and shields, fanned out. Technicians with portable scanners followed.
The harsh light swept the scene: shattered wood, overturned cabinets, scattered herbs and debris, the massive dent and claw marks on the wall… finally settling on Alan, kneeling amidst the ruins, cradling his unconscious grandfather, his face a mask of tears and utter desolation.
Lena's sharp eyes scanned rapidly, confirming no immediate threat, then locked onto Alan, the grievously injured old man, and the palpable aura of despair. She saw the charred hole in the old man's back, sensed the lingering, chilling residue of the Soulrend energy, and saw the fathomless pain and confusion in the young man's eyes.
No attackers. Only victims and the brutal aftermath. Alan Shaw had clearly endured a nightmare.
"Med team! Stabilize the injured! Tech team, lock down the scene! Full spectral and bio-residue sweep! Level One contamination protocols!" Lena snapped orders, her voice still crisp, but her gaze, when it met Alan's tear-filled eyes, held a flicker of something more complex than assessment – gravity, intense scrutiny, and a trace of… somber acknowledgment of the tragedy before her.
Wardens sprang into action. Medics in protective suits, carrying specialized equipment, rushed towards Grandfather. Alan clung to a medic's arm, babbling incoherently through sobs: "Save him! Please! Save my grandfather!"
Lena approached Alan, crouching nearby but not touching him. Her ice-blue eyes held his tear-blurred gaze, her voice low and direct. "Alan Shaw. Tell me. Who attacked? What did they take?"
Alan looked up at Lena's stern face, then down at his grandfather's ashen features. Grief and confusion choked him. Attackers? Ouroboros? Shadowweaver? The box? The scroll? Grandfather's secrets? His own power? It all tangled into a knot too tight to speak. All that escaped was a raw, wounded whimper as he buried his face back into his grandfather's cold tunic.
The London night deepened. Within the shattered shell of "Bai Cao Tang," only the beeping of medical equipment, the clipped orders of the medics, and the muffled, heartbroken sobs of a shattered boy remained.