Huo Feng awoke with a sharp gasp, her heart pounding at the kingdom's morning call.Here, dawn did not come with sunlight—there was no sun at all—but with the sudden rise of blazing violet flames erupting across the sky, their roar deep enough to rattle bones.
Still unsettled, she made her way to the Throne Hall.The masked Emperor was waiting for her, silent, yet his eyes carried a weight of unspoken questions. She understood him instantly—especially after she noticed the fear tightening the adviser's face beside him.
Before either of them spoke, she answered the question hanging between them.
"Yes… I found the location of the Soul Vessel last night."
The adviser froze, bewildered...What did I miss?
Huo Feng caught the confusion on his face and allowed herself a small, teasing smile. She turned back to the Emperor, her gaze wandering over the towering walls carved with ancient myths.
"And you know I can't enter it without your permission."
The adviser leaned forward, unable to mask his impatience.
"And… did you accept the price you must pay in return?"
His tone shifted, excitement leaking through.
"The Forbidden Incantation… will you bring it back?"
Her voice remained calm.
"Are you deaf? I told you yesterday—I am already here. And yes, I'll bring it… right to your hands, Adviser. Oh? Is it you who wants it?"
Terrified, he glanced at the Emperor."N-no. It's not me."
Huo Feng's knowing smile widened.
"Ah… so it's—"
But she never finished.The Emperor flicked his hand, and a brutal force hurled her into a dark opening in the dark wall.
The void swallowed her whole.
Inside the Void...
She tumbled into an endless black—no light, no shapes, not even the promise of a shadow. Only sound drifted around her: whispers, sighs, sobs… maybe laughter. It was chaos without a face.
Then she felt it...A pull at her identity, as if the darkness were peeling her existence away, strip by strip.
Fear surged. Instinctively, she tried to summon a flicker of fire in her palm.
A voice stopped her. A voice she knew.
"No need to call the light.If your spirit doesn't shine, flames are useless here.Your little tricks cannot stir my darkness… old friend."
The word friend struck her. She squeezed her eyes shut—the darkness behind her eyelids was kinder than the one around her.
The voice came again, low and amused.
"Old friend… have you come to settle our unfinished debt?"
Her thoughts scattered. Memories flashed—blurred, broken—until one scene sharpened:
The first attempt of the Shadow Emperor to forge the Copying Spell using little Fuu's soul.
Her former self had appeared suddenly...Breaking the ritual, Pulling Fuu from the trap, Extinguishing the Point of Darkness—the fragment that allowed Darkness to manifest physically.
Huo Feng snapped back to the present, head throbbing."You… you… I—"
Darkness cut her off.
"Yes. You.You miserable, weakened thing.You drained me centuries ago.You sealed the rift I breathed through.You stole the soul meant for my spell.You erased my first form in the mortal realm.Do you think I forget?You wounded the Darkness, Huo Feng—And Darkness does not forget."
Though her legs trembled, she lifted her eyes in fragile defiance.
"So you're the one who wants the spell… Li and the Emperor—they act on your orders."
"They serve," Darkness said simply, "but not me. Their own desires bind them more tightly than chains."
Her breath faltered. Weakness seeped through her limbs.
"But you're powerful. Why would you need the spell?"
A strange tremor flickered through the void—regret, maybe.
"I do not need it," it said quietly."But I want it."
She swallowed hard.
"So you've decided what you'll do with me."
"And what do you believe I will do?"
"You'll consume me… or—"
"Or what?"
"…or I'll consume you."
A thunderous vibration shook the void—whether laughter or rage, she couldn't tell.
Darkness spoke again.
"Why not remain here willingly?We could be as we once were.Companions.Perhaps then I might forgive you."
She answered at once.
"I don't believe you. Something inside me won't let me. I doubt I ever belonged here. I think I was always your enemy—the insect that crushed your pride."
Then realization hit her. Her eyes widened.
"You want the spell to copy the light…You want it to keep you company."
Silence fell.
"You've uncovered my secret again," Darkness murmured."Another reason to devour you."
She lifted a shaking hand.
"Wait. You want me imprisoned here with you? How selfish."
The air tightened brutally, biting into her skin. Pain crawled across her body like burning frost.
She reached for her power… then hesitated.
The Furnace's destruction?Lin Hui's life-force?The forbidden copying spell?
Each choice threatened a different kind of ruin. Dark flames tightened around her bones.
"Have you chosen?Or will you repeat your past mistake?"
Her vision blurred.
"Did I fight you before…?Or… did I surrender?Yes… I think I… surrendered…"
Her body collapsed inward.
The serpent inside her screamed:
"You cannot break your promise!You swore you'd avenge me—restore my life!"
Huo Feng whispered:
"But surrender… feels easier…"
Darkness moved to devour her—
But a spark awakened.
A glowing thread—her bond with Wuxin. His unconscious voice reached her from the Heavenly Kingdom, steady and warm. It anchored her. She drew a breath, steadying herself, feigning weakness. Then she felt it—the Soul Vessel.
With a drop of her blood as bait, she called it forth. The jade coffin-like vessel flew toward her. She caught it and pulled it into her wound. Then she froze the blood Darkness had tried to steal into an earring and placed it on her ear—unaware he had slipped a fragment of himself inside.
Darkness spat her out like something foul. She crashed to her knees before the Shadow Emperor.To him, she had been gone no longer than a blink.
Without speaking—exhausted beyond words—Huo Feng stood and walked away.
Where she would go… no one yet knew.