The jade chamber lay in ruins.
Burnt corpses of puppet disciples surrounded Liu Shen and Yu Meixing—ash mingled with jade dust.
And at the center, where Mo Chenshui's vessel had disintegrated, was only a black mark etched into the stone.
It pulsed faintly.
Once every ten seconds.
Like a heartbeat.
---
Yu Meixing Steps Forward
> "What is that…?" she asked, her voice low, almost reverent.
> "A prison," Liu Shen murmured. "But not for mortals."
He knelt beside it.
The pulse slowed as he neared. His demonic flame flickered unnaturally.
> "This is the seal he warned about," he said. "Killing him triggered its decay."
Yu Meixing looked at the surrounding walls—sigils now visible with Liu Shen's flame active.
Each one contained ancient celestial script, unfamiliar even to her.
> "Can you read this?"
Liu Shen traced a finger along the nearest one.
> "Some."
He narrowed his eyes.
> "Below lies what Heaven dared not kill—only silence."
> "Sovereign Class: Forbidden Entity."
He looked up.
> "They weren't just running a secret army."
> "They were guarding something that shouldn't exist."
---
The Forgotten Sovereign
Suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled.
A wind with no source blew through the ruined jade halls.
And then… a voice.
Low. Resonant. Ancient.
> "You wear his flame…"
> "The boy who defied the Pact…"
Liu Shen's hand moved to his sword hilt. His flame coiled instinctively.
> "Who are you?" he demanded.
The voice echoed with amusement—and madness.
> "I am the first sovereign they could not kill."
> "The Serpent's Brother."
> "The one who looked into the Abyss… and smiled back."
Yu Meixing stumbled as a flash of memory surged through her—not her own.
A dark throne beneath a shattered sky. A man with serpent eyes who sang to the void.
Liu Shen gritted his teeth.
> "This seal isn't just a prison. It's a tether."
> "He's waking up."
---
The Flamekeeper Responds
Back at the Sect's central peak, the Flamekeeper jolted awake from her meditation.
The Sky Ember Array—a defense system tied to the very foundation of the sect—had activated for the first time in five centuries.
> "No…"
She whispered a name she had not spoken since before Liu Shen's first life.
> "Qin Wuhen—the Abyssal Sovereign."
She vanished in a streak of flame, racing toward Jade Wind Hall.
---
Liu Shen's Choice
The pulsing mark began to fracture. Crimson and violet cracks snaked through the stone.
Liu Shen's flame surged in resistance, forming a barrier of sovereign fire around the sigil.
> "I can hold it—for now."
Yu Meixing stepped beside him, sweat glistening on her brow.
> "How long?"
> "Not long enough."
The entity below laughed again.
> "You're too late, child."
> "The Pact built this prison. But your fire… unlocked the door."
> "Soon, Heaven's Heirs will kneel once more."
---
Outside: A Sky of Stars Cracking
Above the sect, the sky dimmed. Not from clouds—but from heavenly seals breaking like shattered glass.
One by one, ancient protections tied to the sect's core began to dissolve.
And in the center of the crumbling Jade Wind Hall…
A black flame began to rise.