Lian Xue's breath came in ragged gasps, his chest heaving with every step. The smell of damp stone and human refuse mixed in the dark the dark passageway between the buildings of the Raven's Cradle, the dirty gut of the Empire of Nine Heavens. It was a labyrinth, a rotting cesspool where outcasts, rebels, and the forgotten souls of society roamed. To the Empire, it was a place to be purged, but to those who lived here, it was home, a grim and filthy home, but a home nonetheless.
He dashed into another narrow passage, his worn clothes slapping against the cobblestones as his body screamed for rest. But rest was no luxury he could afford. Not this night, no.
The Hounds were mercilessly on his trail. They had tracked him down for days, scenting his weakness, his fading power. Once, he would've laughed at such a pursuit — the Empire's best hunters couldn't match the precision of his own senses. But that was before.
Before the fall.
Before the betrayal.
Lian Xue's fingers brushed against the cold stone walls, his eyes narrowing as the flickering shadows danced before him. His memoory flicked back to the moment of his greatest betrayal. How had it come to this? Once, he had been an Immortal Prodigy, a brilliant disciple of the Tianlan Sect, feared and respected across the lands. He had bonded with the Ashling of Time, a legendary concept beast that had gifted him dominion over the currents of time itself. But now… now he was a hunted dog with a sealed cultivation, his soul shackled by invisible chains.
The memory left a lingering taste of discomfort in his dry throat.
But there was no time for helpless thoughts. His enemies were closer than ever.
Lian Xue squeezed through a crack in the alleyway, his body bending and twisting with the grace of a shadow, evading the deadly pursuit. His steps grew quieter, softer, until even the air itself seemed to hold its breath. He had learned to move like this after years of running. To become one with the shadows.
But this time, it wasn't enough.
A cold laugh echoed from behind him, a familiar, venomous sound that caused his heart to tighten.
"Lian Xue," the voice rang out, thick with mocking amusement. "You think you can outrun me? You haven't changed a bit, old friend."
Lian Xue stopped in his tracks.
His head snapped to the side, his eyes locking onto the figure that emerged from the darkness. It was a man, tall and imposing, with eyes like black pools of endless night. His features were sharp, aristocratic, and the aura of power radiated from him. The very air seemed to bend around his presence.
Yun Fei, once his closest comrade, now the Empire's Immortal Iron Enforcer.
Lian Xue's hand brushed the hilt of his blade a motion as natural as breathing. But his blade felt heavier than ever. The weight of his sealed powers, the weight of his failure, threatened to crush him.
"You..." With a low rasp, Lian Xue started. It had been years since the day his world fell apart that he had last seen Yun Fei. He was standing in front of him now, exactly as he had been on that fateful day. Yun Fei's lips formed the same ruthless, cunning smile.
"Don't waste your breath, Lian," Yun Fei remarked with an unsettling calm. "I did not come to discuss. I came to finish what we had started."
The Heaven Hounds closed in from behind, their growls forming a low, guttural symphony. Lian Xue's heart raced, and his thoughts became sharper.
He could not let them capture him. Not now. Not ever. He still had some questions to answer. He still had a purpose, one that the Empire had taken from him.
He had to fight back.
But his strength... it was gone. He could barely muster the energy to stand, let alone take on Yun Fei and his pack of beasts.
Yun Fei raised a hand, signaling the Hounds to halt. "I'm curious, Lian Xue. Do you think you can still be of use? After everything? Or are you just a ghost of the past, clinging to the remnants of your former self?"
Lian Xue clenched his jaw. The words stung, but they were true. He was nothing now, nothing but a broken shell.
But that didn't mean he would lie down and die. Not yet.
A burst of force rushed through his veins, not his natural strength, but something older, deeper. It sprang from the blood oath he had taken long ago, before his fall. A forbidden power that runs deep throughout his psyche.
Lian Xue's hand shot forward, his fingers curling as if grasping at something unseen. And then it appeared.
The faintest shimmer of an image.
A concept beast.
Not the glorious, impenetrable Ashling of Time, but something far darker—a beast made of shadows and remorse. It was just a reflection, an echo of the strength he once possessed, but it was enough to cause a ripple in the air and rattle the walls around them.
Yun Fei's eyes expanded. "Impossible…"
But the power wasn't sufficient. Lian Xue sank to his knees, breathing in frantic gasps. He lost his energy just as quickly as he gained it. He couldn't even get the strength to rise.
Yun Fei stepped forward, his smile gone and replaced by a terrifying feeling of determination.
"I will give you one chance, Lian Xue," Yun Fei said coldly. "Join me, and I will restore your power. "Help me rid the Empire of the weak, and I will restore your authority."
Lian Xue twisted her lips into a scowl. "The weak... you act like you've never been one of them."
Yun Fei's eyes widened, and the tension between them became excruciating.
But Lian Xue knew the truth—Yun Fei was correct. He was weakened now. And it burnt like poison in his veins. But this was not the end. It could not be.
He would get his retribution. He would reconstruct. And he would begin by discovering the forbidden guidebook buried deep within his psyche.
The slaughter path awaited.