The dawn came thin and pale over the Frostgale Pass, its light barely breaking through the heavy clouds. Mo Lianyin stood at the cliff edge, letting the cold wind batter his face. He hadn't slept much—Blackwater Duan's sudden appearance had left old wounds aching like reopened scars.
Qingxue stirred behind him, rolling up her bedding.
"You didn't rest," she said softly.
"I don't need to."
She wanted to argue, but the way his shoulders were set—hard, unyielding—warned her away. Instead, she asked, "Where do we go now?"
"North," Lianyin said. "The Fifth Forbidden Art is hidden in the Abyssal Chasm. But the path is guarded."
---
They hadn't walked half a league before the silence of the pass broke. A deep, thunderous crack echoed from the ice ahead, and from the split in the glacier, figures emerged—men and women clad in black armor etched with silver veins, their faces masked.
At their head stood Blackwater Duan.
"Leaving without me?" Duan called, his voice carrying easily over the wind.
Lianyin drew his sword in one smooth motion. "I told you to stay away."
Duan's smile was slow and dangerous. "And I told you—you can't do this alone."
---
The armored warriors surged forward, weapons raised. Lianyin moved like lightning, his blade flashing arcs of silver in the cold light, each strike dropping an enemy into the snow. Qingxue spun behind him, loosing a wave of frost from her palm, freezing two attackers in place.
But the enemy's numbers were greater than they'd thought, and Duan wasn't just watching—he was directing them.
---
"Your enemies are my enemies!" Duan shouted, parrying a blow meant for Lianyin. For a moment, they fought back-to-back—Lianyin's sword cutting down a halberd-wielder, Duan's shadow-coated fists shattering an enemy's ribs.
It felt almost… natural. Too natural.
---
Qingxue's eyes darted between them as she fought. The way they moved together—anticipating each other's strikes—wasn't the rhythm of strangers. This was the coordination of warriors who had once shared battlefields, perhaps even trusted each other.
The question burned in her: what had gone so wrong between them?
---
The battle reached its peak when the glacier split again, and from the chasm crawled something vast—a guardian beast of the Abyssal Chasm. Its form was serpentine, armored in obsidian scales, its eyes molten gold. It roared, sending a shockwave through the air.
Lianyin leapt toward it without hesitation, his sword igniting with the Heaven-Crushing Pulse. The blow split the air like a falling star, striking the beast's head with a force that shook the mountains.
The serpent shrieked, twisting violently. Duan joined in, his shadows snaking up its body, binding its movements just long enough for Qingxue to drive a shard of frozen moonlight through its throat.
---
When the beast collapsed into the snow, the three of them stood panting, their breath clouding the air.
Lianyin sheathed his sword without looking at Duan. "This doesn't make us allies."
"No," Duan agreed. "But it does make us alive."
---
As they caught their breath, Duan's gaze shifted to Qingxue. "You're not just a companion. You're carrying something important." His tone wasn't a question.
Qingxue's hand twitched toward the Moon-Silencing Seal under her robe.
Lianyin stepped between them, his voice low. "Touch her, and I'll finish what I started years ago."
---
Duan only smirked. "You'll try. But remember—when the Abyss awakens, you'll wish you had me at your side."
And with that, he vanished into the shadows of the glacier, leaving behind silence heavy enough to choke on.
---
Qingxue stared after him, then turned to Lianyin. "He's not going to stop."
"No," Lianyin said, starting north again. "And neither am I."