Chapter 3 — Whispers Beneath the Veil
Night blanketed Lianshan Village in soft indigo shadows, pierced only by the faint glow of spirit lamps that floated lazily above tiled rooftops. Crickets chirped among bamboo thickets, unaware of the danger sliding ever closer beneath the surface of the world.
Aorin sat cross-legged beneath a moonlit tree, breath calm, fingers wrapped loosely around his yo-guard. Cyan energy spiraled slowly around him, threading like ribbons of mist through the grass. His senses, newly attuned to the deeper layers of spiritual flow, detected the silent pulse of life — of hidden rivers of power — humming beneath the earth.
Sayuri stood nearby, blade resting at her side, flute tucked into her sash. She didn't speak. She rarely did during these hours. Her eyes were fixed toward the southern ridge.
"They're watching," she said quietly, her voice like wind over ice.
Aorin opened his eyes. "The beasts?"
She shook her head. "No... something worse. Something that once was human."
A faint rustle echoed from the trees, and without hesitation, Sayuri snapped her flute into blade form, spiritual energy erupting from the steel like falling snow.
From the shadows, a form stumbled into the clearing.
Not a beast. Not corrupted.
A scout.
Aorin rushed forward, catching the boy as he collapsed. His robes were singed, his breathing ragged. On his arm was a torn insignia — a fading emblem from one of the Five Remaining Supercolleges.
Sayuri knelt beside them, her voice cold and sharp. "Where did you come from?"
The scout coughed, spitting blood. "East... the mist forest... They're breaching the outer rings. Dark fire. Black vines. They're looking for a—" He gasped, clutching at his chest. "They're searching for someone... marked by the flow…"
Aorin's eyes widened. "Flow-marked? You mean—?"
But before he could finish, the scout's body trembled — then exploded into ash.
No sound. No cry. Just… disintegration.
Sayuri froze. "Demonic seal. He was cursed."
They stood in silence, the wind carrying the ash into the night.
Aorin clenched his fists. "Someone sent him here to die. Just to deliver a warning."
"Or a trap," Sayuri said grimly.
Above them, a spirit lamp flickered out.
---
Elsewhere…
In the depths of the corrupted lands — once called America — a vast city of bone and steel rose from the red dust.
This was the Demon Sovereignty — a shattered imitation of civilization, where power ruled and morality was carved out of existence.
Inside the obsidian throne hall, General Karax, a former Stage 78 warrior once human, now barely recognizable, knelt before a cloaked figure. His body was twisted — sinew stretched over blackened bone, eyes glowing crimson.
"The scout reached them," Karax hissed. "And he perished as expected."
The cloaked figure's voice was smooth, androgynous, and calm. "Good. Let them feel hunted."
Karax bowed his head. "We still search for the Flowbearer."
"He's hidden. Spiritlocked. But he's awakening. That village — Lianshan — must burn. Quietly."
Karax nodded. "And the Eighth City?"
The figure was silent for a long moment.
"That city cannot fall. Not yet. We need it whole... to break it from within."
---
Back in Lianshan
Elder Renshu stood in the center of the ancestral shrine, dozens of candles flickering around him. Ancient texts hung on the walls — scrolls bound in dragon silk, inked by the forebears of the pre-collapse era.
Aorin and Sayuri knelt before him.
"It is time you knew the truth," Renshu said. "About your lineage... and the power sleeping in you, Aorin."
Sayuri's eyes narrowed. "His lineage?"
Renshu gestured to the central altar, revealing a hidden symbol — an old seal. It bore the mark of one of the Original Flow Anchors, ancient human artifacts that predated even the collapse.
"You are a descendant of the old Guardians," Renshu said to Aorin. "Your blood carries an inheritance meant to awaken only when the world neared its second collapse."
Aorin swallowed. "I'm just... from a village. My parents were spirit healers. They never—"
"They were placed here," Renshu interrupted. "To guard you. The Eighth City knew of your birth. You were to remain hidden... until now."
Sayuri stood up slowly. "You knew this all along?"
Renshu didn't flinch. "And so did your parents. They agreed. That's why your engagement was arranged — not just for love. But for protection. Sayuri, your bloodline is tied to the Song Path. You are his guard and his anchor."
Aorin looked at her, stunned. "Sayuri…"
She looked away, conflicted.
"I didn't know," she said. "Not until now. But it changes nothing. We're still us."
A tremor shook the earth.
Renshu's eyes snapped open. "Too late."
From the southern ridge, the skies cracked open. A vast plume of black mist surged upward — a beacon of corruption.
A Demon Commander had arrived.
And the village was no longer safe.
---