Time shook. The walls of reality were torn apart, as countless waves of energy escaped from the spiritual world to the world of the living. Those who did not have a strong mind would be capable of falling into madness after a long exposure, while feeling how their bodies were burning despite the freezing climate of the room. Gongzhu was playing with death itself, a deadly and dangerous game.

Then, a silhouette materialized before the eyes of many. A shadow that emanated from the golden portal, like a being called from beyond that was little by little sucked in by forces that it was not able to understand. Traces of dark magic tore the golden flow of the universe, dragging along those who refused to be subdued. But in vain.

Then he appeared. A legend, a hero. The one who gave his life for the woman he loved and sacrificed himself to purge the plague from the streets of Gongmen. (If you want to understand this you will have to read the Spin Off I did) There was no one like him... Tai Lung himself.

Gongzhu: - Tai Lung... I'm your fan. At least... the one you used to be. -

But the snow leopard said nothing. It only took a quick glance to understand that something was definitely not right. Tai Lung had no idea who that chameleon could be, but the fact that she was carrying the Staff of Wisdom in her hands was more than enough proof that he had to face her and stop her... From whatever she was doing.

Gongzhu: - Fence... Apparently I woke you up from a pleasant dream. -

Tai Lung: - Where did you get that staff from? .

Gongzhu: - This one? An old friend of yours gave it to me. -

Tai Lung: - Po would never willingly give Oogway's staff to someone like you. -

Gongzhu: - Who said he went voluntarily? -

Then the hard stone beneath his feet shook. The entire room began to shake, while colossal mechanisms made the walls move against all natural logic. Hidden sections rose like infernal rings around them, where dozens of these cages could be seen imbued with ancient black magic. Magic that not the Dragon Warrior himself was able to break.

Tal Lung even felt a chill run through his already dead body, as by act of mere reflex he moved his right leg backwards, involuntarily taking a combat stance. While he analyzed the hundreds of armed reptiles that surrounded him as quickly as he could.

Tai Lung: - What do you want from me? -

Gongzhú: - I want it all... -

With a simple sign from the chameleon, every armed being in the room launched itself at the snow leopard. Dozens of deadly halberds were thrown at Tai Lung, who was not willing to check whether his spiritual body materialized in the world of the living could be affected or not by mundane weapons. Even so, no one present was at his level in the fight.

The halberds were not able to reach his body. The metal twisted before the ferocity of his spiritual fists, and the wooden shafts were miserable stalks of reeds before the precision of his kicks. The reptiles flew through the air from the ferocity of Tai Lung's blows. Then... something went ridiculously wrong.

Tai Lung stopped dead when his right leg did not respond to his will. With a quick glance, he saw a strange black shadow clinging to his limb like thorns on his skin, binding him to the ground like vines around the trunk of a tree. The snow leopard only had to look at the chameleon's strange eyes to know that this was the work of her witchcraft, but he had no time for distractions.

The dozens of reptiles still standing lunged at him. Bound to the ground, dodging the sharp blades of the halberds became extremely difficult, claiming all his focus on avoiding a fatal slash. Maybe too much. Enough to not be able to dodge the next attack.

From among the sea of ​​sharp metal blades, a serpentine silhouette darted towards Tai Lung. It was so fast that the snow leopard was not able to see it or avoid it, which impacted directly on its face. I had already lost.

The strange attack turned out to be nothing more than the chameleon's enormous tongue, which, imbued with an ancient dark magic, tore the warrior's spirit, while his chi was taken from his body, being devoted to the dark sorceress.

Gongzhu devoured the great warrior's chi, causing his body to burst into clean, pure energy, which was quickly corrupted by his own evil magic. The chameleon was now bursting with energy, while Tai Lung could do nothing but fall to the ground, defeated and lacking every iota of strength.

Tai Lung: - What...? What did you do to me? -

Gongzhú: - Like I said... I took everything from you. -

Tai Lung had neither the skill nor the reflexes to stop her. Without changing its shape, the chameleon hit him right in the middle of his chest, launching the snow leopard like a cannonball against the wall of the place. His body felt physical pain once again after so long, and he couldn't even move when two army reptiles grabbed him and threw him into one of those enchanted cages with particular contempt.

Gongzhu: - Yes... Finally... I have the power to destroy... everything. -

Tai Lung: - What are you...? Why are you doing this? - He spoke with the little strength he had left in his body.

Gongzhú: - To claim... my revenge. -

The chameleon turned around. She no longer needed anything from him, and now she saw him as no more than a miserable insect. With the Staff of Wisdom in his hands, he once again focused his sight and his thirst for revenge towards the portal to the spirit world, and a Machiavellian laugh involuntarily escaped from his face.

Gongzhú: - Bring me to maestro Rino. -

And so, one by one, the great masters of Kung Fu and bearers of exceptional chi, were defeated and their life force stolen by the implacable sorceress. The dozens of cages were filled one by one, and none of the masters of old had the power to confront him. And now, a single cage remained empty, waiting for its next prisoner.

Gongzhú: - Bring me... Master Shifu. -

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Meanwhile, walking with peculiar fury on the endless stairs that led to the city castle, the Dragon Warrior was not intimidated by either the cold or the constant rain and lightning that hit the land. Nothing could stop him. He would recover the staff and stop the chameleon at any cost, and no mortal being would be able to stand in his way. Or so I thought.

Upon reaching one of the landings of the stairs, Po saw her, her silhouette illuminated by the light of lightning behind her, while his spirit felt the shock at the idea of ​​betrayal. For starters, because this was all his fault after all.

Zhen: - You.... You are alive... - He said almost out of breath.

After: - You have the courage to show up right now. -

Zhen: - Please Po... I'm sorry... I know I was wrong... Now I know. -

After: -You weren't the only one who made a mistake. - He said without taking his inquisitive gaze off her.

Zhen: - I... I know I was wrong, Po. I didn't think this would happen... I didn't expect that... -

After:- Move. - He interrupted her with particular fury.

Zhen: - No... If you go... You don't... You can't beat her... She's too strong. -

After:- I said... Move. - Sentence

Zhen couldn't blame him. She herself would act like this if she were in his place. But I couldn't let it go. I couldn't let him go to his certain death. He had to stop him at any cost... Although he knew he wouldn't be able to do it.

The fox got into a combat pose. If I had to stop him by force I would do it. Even knowing that she was no match for him. But I would. She couldn't let the only one who extended a hand to her even though she tried to bite her continue on his way to his disastrous destiny... He just... He couldn't.

Zhen: - No. -

After: - So... so be it. -

Zhen's suspicions came true in less than a split second. Just as he assumed, in their confrontation in the Hall of Heroes, Po wasn't even fighting seriously. The Dragon Warrior, now wielding speed impossible for his size, charged forward and would have been able to crush every bone in Zhen's body in a single blow. The panda's fist did not find its rival due to its quick reaction, but the ground under its feet shattered before the fury of its knuckles. She could only swallow dryly at such force.

Zhen launched himself into the attack, trying to land an accurate blow. She wasn't used to fighting without weapons, but the last thing she wanted was to hurt him. He tried to attack his face and vulnerable point, but Po's defense was an impenetrable wall.

The rain fell on their fur while lightning illuminated their confrontation. Po fought against her and against himself, trying to calm his fury so as not to hurt her, because he didn't want to kill her after all. But betrayal loaded his knuckles and kicks with contempt and anger.

Zhen couldn't do anything. His sore hands and feet were far surpassed by the teacher. Even using his most prominent plundering techniques, he was unable to stand firm against the very manifestation of Kung Fu, the Dragon Warrior. She tried to cover her body with her hands, but in the same way, Po's attack with the palm of his hand sent her flying against the stone steps.

He had already resisted too much... He had already reached his limit... He knew from the first moment that he would not be able to stop it and so it happened. But he wouldn't give up. With the little strength he had left he managed to stand up, even though his body shook, and his right arm did not respond. But that was it, and after a couple of seconds, she just fell over her own weight, exhausted.

Seeing her defeated, Po broke his combat pose and looked at her one last time. Conflicting thoughts saturated his mind, but he couldn't stop to try to resolve his conflicts. His right hand took a step forward, resuming his path to stop the chameleon. Zhen was in the middle, but he didn't have the strength to stop him, so he simply walked past him in the deathly silence that was only interrupted by the rain and thunder.

Then a hand gripped her kimono, a hand weak and feeble. Po stopped as soon as he left Zhen behind, only to see how the fox had used what was left of her strength to stretch out and make one last effort in vain to try to stop them. His eyes begged the teacher not to continue on his way.

Zhen: - Please... Don't... go... -

Po looked at her from the corner of his eyes, but he couldn't obey her words. I understood his concern, but he was the Dragon Warrior. He had a role to play and that was above all else. Even above his own life.

Zhen didn't have the strength to hold onto the black kimono as the panda continued on its way. And he could do nothing but clench his fist and teeth at the helplessness of watching him walk away into the dark night. Now, he was experiencing a pain that he had not felt in years... The pain of loss.