Elsewhere, far from the modern-day battlefield torn apart by the undead and shrouded in lightning, a similar desperate struggle for survival was unfolding beneath the silent gaze of an ancient moon.
"Your Highness! Please make your escape now!" a soldier shouted, his voice hoarse and ragged, barely managing to rise above the violent cacophony of clashing steel and agonized cries.
Amidst the chaos of blood-soaked earth and fallen leaves, Ji Xuan, the Second Prince of the Yu Kingdom, stood with his blade drawn, surrounded by the remnants of his loyal guard. His chest tightened with every heartbeat as he watched brave men, his loyal men, fall one by one to the blades of faceless assassins. The moonlight filtered weakly through the canopy above, illuminating the smoke and shadows of battle. Steel struck steel, sparks flew, and the forest floor ran red with the blood of the fallen.
"Go! Now!" another guard bellowed as he stepped forward to intercept a deadly thrust aimed at Ji Xuan's heart. The clash sent the assassin stumbling back, but not before the soldier took a deep slash across his shoulder. He gritted his teeth, face contorted with pain, yet refused to retreat.
Ji Xuan's jaw clenched so tightly it ached. These men, his devoted protectors, weren't just soldiers. They were brothers-in-arms, men who had followed him without question through countless campaigns and court intrigues. And now, they were dying for him. Dying because of one woman's insatiable thirst for power.
The Empress.
That venomous serpent of the inner court had finally shown her fangs. She couldn't even wait for his father—the emperor—to die of old age. No, she had to seize control now. And what better way to do it than by removing one of the most politically dangerous thorns in her side: him.
"Retreat?!" Ji Xuan hissed through gritted teeth, bile rising in his throat. The very word tasted like shame. To run now, leaving his comrades to be butchered while he fled into the darkness? His honor, his pride, wouldn't allow it. But deep inside, he knew—the battle was lost. They were outnumbered, ambushed, and completely surrounded.
A shadow flickered from the corner of his eye. Without hesitation, Ji Xuan spun around, his sword raised just in time to parry a vicious blow. The assassin was swift—clad in tight-fitting black robes that rustled like whispers of death—and merciless. The glint of the blade under the moonlight was the only warning Ji Xuan had before their swords clashed, ringing through the forest like a bell of doom.
"You spineless coward," Ji Xuan snarled, his muscles straining as he shoved back against the assassin's relentless assault. "Hiding behind shadows and masks, obeying the whims of a poisonous woman. Is this how you serve the empire?"
But the masked killer gave no response—only a silent, cold persistence that made Ji Xuan's blood boil. The strikes kept coming, fluid and calculated, pushing him back step by step as sweat dripped down his temple.
Elsewhere in the melee, General Liang, Ji Xuan's most trusted commander, fought like a man possessed. He faced two assassins at once, his breath heavy, his strikes powerful yet slowing. His robes were torn, his armor bloodied, but his voice remained resolute.
"Your Highness!" he called out, catching Ji Xuan's gaze mid-swing. "You must live! We will not last much longer!"
Ji Xuan hesitated, torn between his duty to survive and his loyalty to his men. Just as he raised his sword again, prepared to fight his way through, a deafening crack split the air.
The sky above rippled as if the heavens themselves had torn open.
Ji Xuan's breath caught in his throat as he witnessed the unbelievable sight before him.
The ground shuddered violently beneath their feet. Trees groaned. The wind howled. And high above the forest canopy, a swirling vortex tore open the night sky like a gaping maw from the realm of gods and monsters. The air became charged with raw, pulsing energy, thick enough to taste. Lightning forked across the rift, painting the forest in harsh flashes of red and gold.
Every warrior, assassin, soldier—friend and foe alike—froze mid-battle. For a single breathless instant, the mortal quarrels of men were silenced by something far beyond their comprehension.
"What in the heavens…?" Ji Xuan whispered, eyes wide, his grip tightening on the handle of his sword.
From that spinning vortex of chaos and unnatural light, two figures exploded out of the center, and they were locked in a brutal, mid-air struggle. They hurtled toward the earth with a force that shattered the silence once again. The impact was deafening. Trees were uprooted. Dirt and shattered stones erupted into the air. The ground cracked and groaned under the force of their landing.
The shockwave sent Ji Xuan and the others staggering back, nearly losing their footing as their visions blurred from the dust.
When the dust finally settled, Ji Xuan's eyes were wide with disbelief.
A crater now lay where the two figures had landed. At its center stood a figure—tall and commanding, surrounded by a flickering golden light. Her clothes were torn and covered in ash, but she radiated an otherworldly power. Even in the dim moonlight, she shone like a celestial being summoned from the void. Sparks leapt from her fingertips, humming with raw power.
And across the crater, on the opposite side, lay the second arrival.
A grotesque monster, barely recognizable as a humanoid shape. Its limbs were long and twisted, its flesh bloated and blackened like rotting meat. Its face—or what remained of it—twitched and snarled, leaking putrid darkness as it twitched in agony. Its presence reeked of decay, its aura a foul storm of death and chaos.
It was as though a demon had been cast from the heavens alongside the golden angel.
Ji Xuan stared, heart thundering, unable to move. What had just descended into his world?