5 ： Sadows of Betra
thedawnofanewdaybroughtasenseofcalandhopetothesallvilwheresukie，hanfenglg，andihadfethevilrshadbeencrediblykd，food，shelter，andabriefrespitefrotheirarduojourneyyet，theshadowofthedarklrogpowerloodoverthe，andsukiekheirtiofpeacewasfleetg
asthefirstlightoffilteredthroughthedow，sukiestretchedandgotoutofbed，feelgasenseofdeterationtodaywasthedaytheywouldgatheroretellinthedarklord’spnsandfurthertheirissiontosavethekgdooflianshedressedicklyandietly，noantgtowakei，whowasstillundasleep
steppgoutside，sukietookadeepbreathofthecrispair，savtheontarytranilitythevilwasgtolife，withvilrsbegngtheirdailyroutes，unawareofthedanrofathergonthehorizon
hanfenglgwasalreadyup，sharpenghisswordbythefirehelookedupassukieapproached，hisfacebreakgtoawarsilethatadeherheartftter
“good，”hegreetedher，hisvoicefilledwithwarth
“good，”sukiereplied，returnghissile“didyoleeell?”
hanfenglghoughhiseyesheldahtofwearess“aswelisliketheseareyoureadyfortoday?”
sukie’sexpressiongrewserio“yes，iaweofdouhatthedarklordispnngandshibeforeit’stoote”
hanfenglgreachedout，takgherhandhis“we’lldoittother，sukienoatterwhat，we’llfaceittother”
theirtenderonasterruptedbytheundofhurriedfootstepstheyturoseethevilleader，theelderlyanwhohadweledthe，approagwithalookof
“hanfenglg，sukie，”hecalledout，hisvoiceurnt“there’sthgyouosee”
theyfollowedthevilleadertotheoutskirtfthevil，whereagroupofvilrshadgatheredaroundafigurelygonthegroundastheyphedthroughthecrowd，sukie’sbreathcaughtihroatthefigurewasaldier，badlyjuredandbarelyscio
“hestubledtothevilthis，”thevilleaderexped“hekeptaskgforyou”
hanfenglgkbesidetheldier，hisexpressiongri“peoyou?whodidthis?”
theldierughed，hisvoiceweak“thedarklord…he’spnnganattackhehasaneon，thgpowerfulyouhavetoshi…beforeit’stoote”
sukie’sheartraced“whereishepnngtoattack?”
theldier’seyesflickered，hisstrengthfadg“thecapital…hewantstotakethecapital”
withthosewords，theldier’seyesclosed，astillhanfenglgstood，hisjawsetieratiotothecapitalifthedarklordtakesit，theentirekgdowillfall”
sukienodded，herrelveunwaverg“thenwehavenotitowasteweogatherouralliesaothecapitalidiately”
thevilrs，overheargtheversatiooururaongsttheselvesfearanduatyrippledthroughthecrowd，buttherewasalasenseofdeterationthevilleadersteppedforward，hisvoicesteady
“wewillhelpyouanywayweeaybesall，buehavebravenandwonwillgtofightforthekgdo”
touchedbytheiroffer，sukieandhanfenglgthahevilrsandbeganakgpreparationsforthejourneyaheadi，sensgthegravityofthesituation，approachedsukie，hereyeswidewithdeteration
“iwanttohelp，”shesaidfirly“i’notafraidiwanttofightforyfailyandforeveryoneelsewhohassuffered”
sukiekdown，pgahandoni’sshoulder“you’reverybrave，iwe’llneedalltheheletbutreber，yoursafetyistheostiportantthgstaycloseto，andwe’lltthroughthistother”
astheysetoutforthecapital，asenseencypropelledtheforwardthejourneywaslongandarduo，buttheirdeterationneverwaveredalongtheway，theyenteredroupfvilrsandrebelswhojoiheircae，swellgtheirranksandbolstergtheirspirits
onenight，astheycapedbyariver，sukieandhanfenglgsatbythefire，theirhandsiwiheflickergfscastawarglowontheirfaces，andforaont，theyallowedtheselvestorexandenjoyeachother’spany
“doyoueverwonderwhatlifewillbelikeafterallthisiver?”sukieaskedftly，hereyesreflegthefirelight
hanfenglglookedather，hisexpressiontender“idoidreaofaworldwherewelivepeace，withoutfearordarknessaworldwherewebuildafuturetother”
sukie’sheartswelledwithlove“idreaofthattooandibelieveweakeitareality”
hanfenglgleaned，pressilekisstoherlips“withyoubyyside，iknowwe”
theirontofpeacewasshatteredbytheundofrtlgthebhesstantlyalert，hanfenglgdrewhissword，andsukiereadiedheragicafigureerdfrotheshadows，andtheywerebothrelievedtoseeiaheirsuts
“we’vespottedagroupofthedarklord’sldiersnearby，”thesutreported“theyseetobesettgupanabh”
hanfenglg’sexpressionhardened“weodealwiththebeforetheyattackgatherourfordprepareforbattle”
thecapsprangtoa，theairfilledwiththeundfpreparationsastheyovedthroughthedarkness，sukiefeltasenseofunityandpurposetheywerenotjtfightgfortheselvesbutforeveryonewhohadsuffereduhedarklord’styranny
theabhwasswiftandbrutalsukieandhanfenglihechar，theiroventsperfectlysyheyfoughtsidebysidethedarklord’sldierswerecaughtoffguard，aleicklyturheirfavor
theidstofthefight，sukiespottedafailiarfacetheleaderoftheldierswasherthantheanwhohadattackedtheiroutpostandtakeni’sfailyasurofanraerationfilledher，andshefoughtherwaytowardshi
“you！”sheshouted，hervoicefilledwithfury“you’regawaythisti！”
theleadersneered，raisghisswordtoetherattack“you’reafooltothkyoudefeat”
theirswordscshed，thesgthroughthenightsukiefoughitheverythgshehad，heranraerationfuelirengthhanfenglg，seeiruggle，ovedtosupporther，hispresencegivihefidencesheneeded
tother，theyoverpoweredtheleader，theirbirengthtooutohahafal，powerfulstrike，sukiedisardhi，herswordathisthroat
“tellwherei’sfailyis，”shedeanded，hervoicesteady
theleadergredather，buttherewasfearhiseyes“they’rebegheldthedarklord’sfortressyou’llneverreachtheti”
sukie’sgriptightenedonhersword“we’llseeaboutthat”
withtheleadersubdued，therestoftheldiersicklysurrehebattlewaswon，butsukiekheirjourneywasfarfroovertheyhadtoreachthecapitandsthedarklord’sattadtheyhadtorescuei’sfailyfrothefortress
astheyregrouped，hanfenglgpcedareassurghandonsukie’sshoulder“we’llsavethe，sukieiproise”
shelookedtohiseyes，herrelvestrengtheng“iknoillandwe’llsthedarklordondforall”
theirjourued，eachstepbrggtheclosertotheirgoalthechalleheyfacedweredauntg，buttheirloveaeratioheovgforwardastheyhecapital，theyuldseethesignftheipendgattack:ldierspatrolliskirts，fortificationsbeied，aensiontheairpalpable
oneeveng，astheycapedwithsightofthecapital’swalls，sukieandhanfenglgsattother，theirheartsheavywiththeweightofthetaskaheadi，sensgtheirubesidethe，hersallhandslippgtosukie’s
“we’regogtowiwe?”iasked，hervoicefilledwithhope
sukiesiled，herheartswellgwithloveforthebravegirl“yes，iwe’regogtoandwe’regogtosaveyourfaily”
hanfenglgnodded，hiseyesfilledwithdeteration“we’veethisfar，andwe’renotgivgupnowtother，we’lldefeatthedarklordandbriothekgdo”
astheypreparedforthefalbattle，theirbondgrewevenstroheykhahateverhappeheywouldfaceittothertheirloveandtrteachotherwereunbreakable，andtheywerereadytofightforthefuturetheydreadof
thenightbeforethebattle，sukieandhanfenglgstoodonahilloverlookgthecapital，thecitylightsklgthedarkheyheldeachotherclose，dragstrengthfrotheire
“we’vebeenthroughuch，”sukiewhispered，hervoicefilledwitheotion“butnoatterpenstoorrow，i’gratefulforeveryone’ve
shared”