The skies over Heaven were calm that day, painted in silver clouds and golden mist. Di Kun, the God of the Dragon Realm, walked alone through the Celestial Gardens. The sound of rustling leaves echoed softly, but beneath that peace, something stirred something dark and ancient.
As he passed the Fountain of Eternity, a faint whisper brushed against his ear.
"Justice must be served… The Flower God has sinned…"
The voice was cold, smooth, and eerily familiar. It wrapped around his mind like smoke, twisting his thoughts, feeding on his sense of duty.
Di Kun froze. "Who's there?"
No answer. Only silence and then another whisper, clearer this time.
"He hides behind beauty… behind false smiles. End him… before he ends Heaven itself."
A sharp pain shot through Di Kun's head. His vision blurred. The world around him seemed to distort. Logic faded, replaced by rage and confusion. The once calm god's golden eyes turned crimson.
Moments later, Di K was wandering near the Sky Pavilion, humming a light tune as flower petals followed his every step. Suddenly, a blade of lightning cut across his path, narrowly missing him.
"Dikun ?" Di K blinked in surprise. "Are you out of your mind?"
Di Kun's face was pale, twisted with fury. His sword gleamed with dragon fire.
"Silence!" he shouted. "Today, I will deliver justice. For the sin you've committed!"
Di K's smile vanished. "Dikun, what are you talking about? I've done nothing wrong!"
But Di Kun didn't listen. His sword came down in a flash of divine energy. Di K blocked it with his fan, sparks scattering like stars. Though Di K was skilled, he couldn't bring himself to harm his beloved brother.
"Stop!" he pleaded. "Please, something's wrong with you!"
Di Kun roared and attacked again, his movements growing wilder, faster. Tears filled Di K's eyes as he barely dodged another strike.
The Eldest Sister's Arrives, just then, a surge of phoenix fire burst through the clouds.
"Enough!"
Di Jun descended like a blazing star, her aura filling the heavens. With a single wave of her hand, she deflected Di Kun's sword and encased him in golden flame.
"Wake up, Di Kun!" she commanded, her voice trembling with both power and sorrow.
For a brief second, clarity flickered in his eyes. But then the dark whisper returned, louder, crueler. He screamed, clutching his head in agony.
"Make it stop!"
Before either of his siblings could reach him, he vanished teleporting in a storm of chaos.
The North Valley
The forbidden land where monsters and ancient demons were sealed for eternity.
Di Kun appeared there, trembling, his mind half-lost to corruption. The dark voice urged him forward.
"Open the gate. Free them… only then will your pain end."
With a cry, Di Kun struck the ancient seal. The valley trembled as enormous chains shattered. One by one, monstrous roars echoed across the heavens as thousands of sealed creatures were unleashed into the realms.
The sky turned black. The air burned.
As the gate burst open, Di Kun fell to his knees. Blood dripped from his lips, and his strength faded. For a brief, tragic moment, his vision cleared and he realized what he had done.
"Di Jun… Di K…" he whispered, tears falling onto the cracked earth. "Forgive me…"
And then, the God of the Dragon Realm—once the most loyal brother collapsed beneath the crimson sky.
In the heavens, Di K felt his brother's divine energy fade. His knees buckled, the world spinning around him.
" Dikun…" he whispered brokenly, clutching his heart.
Beside him, Di Jun's phoenix eyes burned with grief and rage. "Whoever did this," she vowed, "will answer to me."
Far away, watching from the shadows, Sen Ruyon smiled faintly.
"So," he murmured, "the game has finally begun."
Judgement at the Celestial court
The Hall of Ten Thousand Lights was quieter than it had any right to be. Candles suspended in midair bowed and shimmered; tapestries of woven starlight fluttered without wind. At the throne, the Heaven King sat like a still mountain, his robe of dawn folded around him. Before him lay the fallen form of Di Kun—the Dragon God—his breath already thin, the light in his chest guttering as if a lamp starved of oil.
"Heaven King," Di Jun said, her voice steady though the ash of grief colored every syllable. She stood rigid as carved jade at the edge of the dais, eyes bright with restrained fire. "My brother was not himself. He was taken possessed by some unknown force. He would never have opened the North Valley of his own will."
The king's face was a mask of sorrow and disbelief. "Di Kun… the most trustworthy of our blood. Do you realize what wrong you have done?" His words were not only for the fallen god; they struck the emptiness left behind in the throne room like a cold blade.
Di Jun drew a slow breath and answered without flinching. "Your Majesty, his actions were not of his own choosing. There is a mastermind behind this. If the Ghost Realm learns what happened—if the rumor of our weakness spreads—they will seize it as an opportunity. We cannot let outsiders know. We must act swiftly and quietly, and we must bind the clans together to hunt this shadow."
A low murmur ran through the courtiers. The king's fingers tightened around the arm of his throne. He had ruled for a thousand years, but the ancient code of realms was brittle an exposed tooth of politics waiting to be pulled.
He sighed, a great, weary sound. "Very well. Organize the search. But do so with caution. We will not invite war upon ourselves."
From the edge of the great hall came the soft, careless voice of Di K. He leaned against a pillar with that indifferent grace he always wore like a second skin. "Your Majesty," he said with a tilt of his head, "allow the students of Gusu to join. They may be young, but they are clever and numerous. Let them serve as scouts and traps—at the very least they will catch low-ranked demons. And for many of them, this would be the trial of a lifetime."
Di Jun turned to him, eyes like flint. "Nonsense. They are not ready. Sending them would be to send lambs into a wolf-chef's cauldron.
I will not see Gusu blood spilled because of your—" She stopped herself; admonition curdled to grief.
Di K's smile was faint, almost apologetic. "They're not lambs, Jun. They're sharpening themselves against fate. Better now than later." He glanced once at the king, then at the shrouded body of Di Kun, then back to the assembly. "We can use more hands."
The Heaven King regarded them both; behind his great patience there was a ruler who knew the balance of prudence and boldness. "Di K's suggestion is practical," he said slowly. "Gusu's minds are unbroken by fear; their numbers will stretch our forces without revealing the heart of our weakness. I consent."
Di Jun bowed her head, the phoenix within her weathering. "I dare not speak against your will, Your Majesty." Her voice was small, but her eyes did not yield.
"Then it is settled." The king's decree fell like a bell. "Send envoys. Call the clan leaders. Keep this within the inner circle. And Di Jun watch over the students yourself. If this was a contagion of the mind, I want those closest to it guarded."
Di Jun's jaw clenched; she offered a single, curt nod. Di K's fingers toyed with a fallen lotus petal, amusement and sorrow braided together in the motion. In a corner of the hall, unseen by most, a small, pale shadow unfurled like smoke and for an instant, Sen Ruyon watched through a slit of shadow, the faintest of smiles playing at his lips.
So the plan took shape: clans would marshal, a quiet hunt would begin, and the students of Gusu—bright, unpredictable, untested would be drawn into a war they did not yet understand.
Outside the glass walls of the court, the sky burned with the aftertaste of the North Valley's breach. Somewhere, monsters stirred. Somewhere, an unseen hand counted the hours until chaos became opportunity.
And in the heart of the Hall of Ten Thousand Lights, the gods prepared to move.