The night was pitch-black, the moon swallowed by heavy, swirling clouds.
In a quiet corner of the Mistveil Forest, bodies lay piled like broken toys, the air thick with the stench of blood. Wolves and scavengers prowled closer, jaws snapping as they tore into the dead.
"Ugh…"
A weak groan broke the silence, rising from the heap of corpses. The beasts froze, ears twitching, then crept toward the sound.
Thump!
Two bodies flew aside as a blood-soaked figure clawed free. The animals flinched, startled, but their hunger surged back. They lunged, teeth gleaming, ready to rip the life from this lone survivor.
But the young man sat frozen, blind to the danger. His eyes, dull and distant, stared at his trembling hands. "Is this… me now?" he whispered, voice rough.
Once, he was Lian Veyre, the Eclipse Sovereign, a titan of the Celestial Dominion whose Umbral Weave could twist shadows and bend fate. The Codex of Eternal Dusk, a forbidden relic, promised power beyond the heavens—strong enough to tempt him to abandon his cultivation and start anew. But before he could choose, Wei Shen's betrayal and the Seven Sovereigns' ambush forced his hand.
Now, trapped in the frail body of Yun Taro, a lowly Yun Clan servant, the Codex's secrets burned in his soul. A fresh body like this could unleash the Umbral Weave's true might, perhaps even surpass a Celestial-grade technique.
Yun Taro's gaze sharpened. He shoved another corpse aside, revealing a wounded man—a Yun Clan guard, barely alive. The guard's eyes flickered open, and a weak smile crossed his face. "Taro? Thank the stars. I owe you. I'll make it up when we get back to the clan."
Yun Taro's lips twisted into a cold, crooked grin. "Why wait? Pay me now."
The guard's heart skipped. He knew Yun Taro, a meek servant of the Yun Clan, but this… this wasn't him. Those eyes gleamed like a wolf eyeing prey, sharp and hungry.
"Taro, what's wrong with you?" the guard stammered, inching back.
Yun Taro ignored him, his smile darkening. He muttered, "Not bad. Second layer of Mist Condensation. A solid start."
Unlike other arts, which drew energy from the world, the Umbral Weave was cruel. It stole power from others, siphoning their cultivation to fuel the user's rise. But stealing required a broken target, too weak to fight back.
Back on Obsidian Fang, Lian Veyre had hesitated to restart his cultivation. If no chance like this came, he'd have been a powerless mortal forever. Even the ancient Monarch of Dusk, creator of the Codex, had feared such a risk.
Yet here, among the dead, fate had handed him a perfect gift—a new body and a wounded cultivator. The heavens themselves seemed to bow.
The guard's face paled as Yun Taro's gaze pierced him, like a thief eyeing a prize. "You're not Taro!" he shouted, voice shaking.
Yun Taro's laugh was low and chilling, echoing through the blood-soaked forest. "Correct." He leaned closer, his shadow writhing like a living thing. "I am the Celestial Dominion's Eighth Sovereign, Lian Veyre—the Eclipse Sovereign.