The air in the valley smelled of hot iron and fear.
Hundreds of cultivators filled the cracked stone stands. In the center of the jade platform, a young master raised a flaming sword, shouting about the new era he and his peers would build now that the ancients had disappeared.
The shout died halfway.
Two points of light descended from the sky without warning.
A woman with golden hair floated with her arms crossed under her chest. Her sleeveless dark golden silk dress was slit on both sides all the way up to the top of her thick thighs. Beside her stood a woman with ocean-blue hair that reached down to her heels, her pearly dress swaying in the wind. Her smile was sweet. Almost gentle.
For a moment, the entire valley fell silent.
The cultivators froze where they stood. Some dropped their weapons without realizing it. Others fell to their knees on instinct, as if their bodies had recognized something their minds could not yet name. The air seemed to grow thicker, harder to breathe.
The young master was the only one who did not kneel. He swallowed hard. The sword trembled in his hand.
"Come down here, fairies…" his voice came out hoarse, his eyes glued to the golden-haired woman's body. "I can teach you your place in this new era. My tents are big enough for both of you."
The golden-haired woman tilted her head. The corner of her mouth twisted in pure disgust.
She vanished.
She reappeared one step in front of him.
Her bare heel touched the jade platform with a sharp crack.
The entire arena sank.
The jade floor cracked and collapsed ten meters downward in a crash that made the valley tremble. The young master tried to raise his sword, but the steel melted before it could even touch her skin. With two fingers, she flicked his forehead.
His skull exploded backward in a red mist. His entire body was dragged by the force, turning into a wet paste at the bottom of the crater. The shockwave continued in a straight line, tearing through the northern stands and opening a crack in the mountain behind them.
Panic erupted.
Screams. Feet trampling over each other. Bodies falling from the stands.
The golden-haired woman walked slowly through the carnage. Every step made her heel crush skulls like ripe grapes. An elder in torn robes dragged what remained of his body across the ground, leaving a thick trail of blood behind. His legs had been crushed by the shockwave.
He raised his filthy face when she stopped in front of him.
"Demons!" he spat, his voice choked. "We didn't do anything! What's the justification for this?! Where is the justice?!"
The golden-haired woman stopped. She tilted her head to the side, thoughtful. Her bare heel rested in a puddle of blood. She raised her right hand and touched her blood-stained index finger just below her lower lip.
She remained silent for two seconds.
Then she shrugged.
"Yeah… you're right," she said in a light, almost childish voice. "We don't have any reason at all."
A spark of hope lit up in the elder's eyes.
"But my fists were just itchy," she added, flashing a wide, cute smile that revealed her canines.
Before the old man could respond, she brought her open palm down on his chest. Her fingers pierced through flesh, bone, and lung as if it were wet paper. She pulled her arm back with a sharp tug, and the elder's hollow body collapsed to the ground.
While wiping her hand on her dress, the blue-haired woman raised one of her pale hands. Her sweet smile remained on her face.
"The ground needs to be washed from time to time, sister," she said in a melodious voice.
The water inside every cultivator still running boiled at the same time.
Their bodies contorted. Their skin turned red, blisters burst, and eyes popped from their sockets. Scalding steam escaped from their mouths and noses. Men fell vomiting hot blood. Women screamed as their own entrails cooked from the inside. The smell of cooked meat rose thickly through the valley.
The golden-haired woman laughed quietly, licking a drop of blood that had splashed onto her lip. Her chest rose and fell with lazy satisfaction.
The massacre lasted only a few minutes.
When the last gurgle faded, the valley was nothing but pools of coagulated blood, curled-up bodies, and exposed bones gleaming amid melted flesh.
The two women cleaned their hands with silk handkerchiefs, like someone who had just finished serving tea.
The golden-haired woman raised her gaze to the sky. The lazy, spoiled smile returned to her face.
"My heaven…" she murmured, her voice shifting in tone, now rougher and more devoted. "We're done. The space is clean."
The blue-haired woman tilted her head, her eyes shining with the same reverence.
"We're ready to return," she whispered, like a prayer.
The air behind them tore open. A silver-black rift opened in the void. The two floated toward the passage without looking back. Not a single drop of blood stained their skin.
They disappeared.
------
Thousands of kilometers away, on a peak protected by ancient matrices, a courtyard of white stone and bamboo rested in silence.
The two landed. The golden-haired one walked ahead, her body still vibrating with recent euphoria. The blue-haired one glided right behind her.
They approached the man in the charcoal-gray tunic waiting in the center of the courtyard.
The golden-haired woman threw her arms around his neck, pressing her voluptuous body against his broad chest with shameless affection.
"My heaven…" she purred against his skin. "They were so weak. So noisy… But I cleaned everything up for you."
The blue-haired woman nestled against his other side, holding onto the sleeve of his tunic with her small fingers. She raised her face and whispered against his shoulder, her voice sweet and low:
"The silence has returned, husband… They won't disturb your senses anymore."
The man slid one large hand around the golden-haired woman's waist, pulling her firmly against him. The thumb of his other hand traced the blue-haired woman's jaw with heavy slowness.
"Good," he murmured, his deep voice reverberating through both of their bodies. "There's still a lot of space left to fill."