Deep within Sky Tiger's sealed sanctum is a grand, array inscribed underground hall, carved in black spirit jade. A dozen high-ranking elders of the Sky Tiger Clan sat in a half circle. Azadus walks in flanked by two enforcers, his expression calm but cold. The torches burn blue. A projection of the island hovers in the air.
"Elders. The timeline has shifted. The relic realm is stirring faster than we predicted. The beast tide is only the surface ripples. There's more. Much more." Azadus said firmly.
"You believe it will open early?" One of the elders said with a narrowed expression.
"It will open within three weeks. Maybe less. I've seen the energy spirals near the northeast quadrant—where the Iron Sky Sect claim they haven't set up their experimental arrays." Azadus replied.
"Do you still intend to wed the girl? This… Princess Leah?" Another elder asked.
"No. She'll serve better as a concubine." Azadus said with a smirk.
"What exactly does she possess that attracted you to her?." Another elder asked.
"A flood dragon lineage, although dormant and in a sealed state." Azadus replied.
"Flood Dragon…? That's a mutation class bloodline—unstable, savage, hard to control. She is to be your furnace." The elder who asked could not help but stiffen at the thought.
"Exactly. That's why she'll remain a concubine. Contained. Observed. And used as I want as I climb towards the martial peak."
"Now to the true reason I gathered you." Azadus said as he waves his hand and a new projection overlays the map—a red swarm of spiritual signatures heading toward the island center.
"The relic realm requires sacrifice. Spiritual blood, chaos, and death. The sect is offering its outer court and low-ranked elders as tribute. So we'll let them." Azadus continued.
"Won't they fight back if this gets exposed." An elder asked.
"It won't matter. Once the relic gate forms, let the desperate flood in first. They will trigger traps, uncover paths, and serve as living guides. We observe and follow behind." Azadus said.
"Cowardice or not, that's efficient." Another elder said with a smirk.
"Our clan would not move blindly. We arrive only when the realm stabilizes. Once the weak and impatient are gone… we swoop in and take it whole." Azadus said maniacally.
A deep hum suddenly trembles through the walls. The flames flicker. A figure emerges from the shadowed entrance—tall, broad-shouldered, cloaked in black and gold. His face is lined, his gaze is thunder.
"Father." Azadus said as he bowed slightly.
"Welcome back Patriarch" All the elders stood up and bowed in unison.
The patriarch speaking slowly like a grinding stone said "I heard your plan. And I reject it."
The room becomes quiet and the elders exchange glances.
"Sigh… I rushed back initially because I feared you all would want to explore the realm but you're not aware of the true dangers. Normally, it's right if we scavenge the remnants of an unstable relic gate but in this circumstance, we are only courting death." The patriarch said.
"Father, with respect—" Azadus said calmly.
"No, you listen now. Do you know what this island truly is?" The patriarch interrupted.
"A tomb of a powerful cultivator or a secret location of a forgotten sect?." Azadus said looking around for justification.
"Wrong. It's a trial. The realm it self is a type of treasure or weapon, it's said to possess its own conscience. And apparently, the real scary part, is that we are already on the foundation level of the treasure and once it fully opens, everyone on the island will be pulled in." The patriarch said.
"A trial and a treasure. What sort of godly thing is that?." One of the stunned elders said.
"If the relic realm opens fully, it will not be as sweet as you think. It will be a bloodbath. The beasts know this. That's why they're converging—to die, and to awaken that conscience within." The patriarch said.
"And if we leave it alone, won't another force claim it. Or worse—Draven's ghost will." Azadus said.
"You fear a ghost?"(pauses, then coldly) "You should. Because if that boy survives, he may be the reason for our demise in the future… he already holds the key that unlocks the most important thing which I have no idea of." The patriarch said.
"What should we do, father?." Azadus asked.
"Our clan will not enter the realm. We're pulling our clan back. We will observe from afar and return after 50 years. You, Azadus, will take the princess and key Iron Sky figures and artifacts—then leave." The patriarch said.
"Why 50 years clan leader?." One of the elders asked.
"That's how long the realm will be open, and after that we would make the entire island our secret base." The patriarch said.
"You would walk away from power?" Azadus said with clenched fists.
The patriarch sighed and placed his hands on his sons shoulders and said "First of all son, we're warriors and cultivators and we possess higher life spans than normal humans, secondly, can you compare short term benefits to long term benefits. So No, I would wait to claim the real power. After the storm breaks. After the trash and weaklings die. When only our clan remains."
"What about the masses?, we could do with some slaves to accompany us to the main continent." One of the elders said.
"Do as you please." The patriarch said and turned around to leave and without looking back before he disappeared into the darkness and said "when the realm finally opens….even I might die, you'd best be all on your way off the island by then….especially you son."
Azadus could not help but be conflicted. He believed the treasures of the realm could help him stand shoulder to shoulder or above the geniuses of the main continent.
In a vaulted chamber within the sect's grand hall. Golden torches flicker over the round stone table at the center. Only trusted elders are present. Princess Leah sits beside the Sect Patriarch, her face composed yet wary. Tension lingers like smoke in the air.
"We have two days until the wedding. After that, the sect begins migration. No delays. No stalling. Everyone here will finalize who departs with us—and who stays." The sect patriarch said.
"The Inner Elders will be prioritized. Array and Formation masters and the forgers. All the talent we can't afford to lose." The grand elder said slowly.
"And the outer court? They'll panic once they notice we're moving elite resources." One of the inner elders said.
"We won't tell them. Not yet at least. We'll say we're preparing for the beast tide defense drills. That should buy us a day or two at most." Princess Leah interjected.
"It still feels like betrayal." One of the inner elders said with a sigh.
"Call it what you want. Loyalty dies with the weak. Only the strong evolve and survive." The sect patriarch sneered.
Leah nods and said "…Then take the following: The Four core Disciples, the Six Hall Commanders, and their most elite inner circle. Everyone else stays behind."
As the discussion was about to be done, a sect guardian enters with a glowing jade slip and bows. "A private transmission from Young Master Azadus… to the Princess." Leah takes it, activates the jade, and Azadus's voice projects into the chamber with unnatural clarity.
"My beautiful and lovely concubine. The beast tide accelerates, and so must we. After our wedding, we leave immediately. No fanfare. No goodbyes. My clan's ship will depart at dawn the following day."
(pause)
"And one more thing: do not attempt to gain anything from the relic realm. My father forbids our clan from interfering directly. I suggest you listen."
"The relic realm is not a land of treasures. It's a graveyard of the previous indigenes of this island. You send your people in—they are practically courting death."
(silence)
"Oh… and feel free to leak its existence to the masses. Let the chaos unfold."/
The message fades. Cold silence follows. Just then, a young female spy rushes in, gasping for breath and kneeling immediately.
"Your Highness! Patriarch! An urgent report…" The female spy said.
"Speak!"
"There's a rumor… it's spreading like wildfire through the outer zones and the commercial districts." The female spy continued.
"Rumor? What rumor?" The sect patriarch asked.
"That the Iron Sky Sect is abandoning its disciples. That the wedding is just a cover. That you're using the outer court as fodder… to open a relic realm." The female spy said with her voice shaking.
The room was stunned into silence.
"What? How the hell did this leak!?" The grand elder asked.
"No one knows the source. They're calling it information leaked by… the 'Ghost Disciple.'" The female spy replied.
The moment the words left her mouth, everyone looked towards Princess Leah.
"That bastard…" Leah said angrily with clenched fists.
"You think it was him?" The grand elder asked.
"Yes. He is likely the source of the rumor." Leah replied with her fists clenched harder.
"This ghost again! We should have torn the sect apart to find him." The sect patriarch snarled.
"It's too late for that now. With this rumor out, order will collapse by nightfall." The grand elder said.
"…Then we can't wait. We leave right after the wedding. Just like young master Azadus told us. No speeches. No posturing of any kind." The sect patriarch said.
"Agreed. We'll enact evacuation protocols for the chosen elite tonight." Leah nodded and said.
"As for those who'll realize they've been left behind. They will be food to the beasts or pathfinders. Either way--they will serve a purpose." The sect patriarch said coldly.
Later that evening, in Leah's quarters. The Patriarch enters alone. She sits quietly by her window, staring into the dusk light.
"Leah. Look at me." The sect patriarch said quietly.
"Yes, Father?" Leah replied as she turned slowly towards her father.
"You've been… different. Since yesterday. You smile too quickly. You flinch when you walk. Your aura is slightly off." The sect patriarch said sternly and continued "…You gave your body to someone, didn't you?"
Leah's face goes pale. She looks down. She doesn't deny it.
"…I did." Leah replied softly.
"Was it Azadus?" The sect patriarch asked with a stiffened expression.
"No."
"Then who?" The sect patriarch asked with gritted teeth.
"The ghost disciple." She replied quietly with an aggrieved expression.
The sect Patriarch staggered for a moment when he heard her reply and said "what? You let him seduce you?."
"No. I chose to let him in. But I didn't know who he was at the time. I thought he was just a brave disciple. An admirer. He changed his face. His voice. His everything…" Leah replied but deep down she knew the ghost disciple never had the intention and she was the one who led him on.
"…Until it was too late." She choked out.
The sect patriarch immediately started boiling with rage and said "That impure bastard. He defiled you and humiliated the sect."
"…He didn't force me. I thought I was in control. But I think… he was always ten steps ahead." Leah said with tears falling silently.
When the sect patriarch saw the tears and although he was still furious, there were bigger issues to face and fix at the moment.
"Then so be it. We will leave. But before the realm awakens, I will find him. And he will not die quickly."
At the commercial district in one of the most solicited taverns around. The tavern hums with low murmurs, mugs clinking, and the occasional clash of dice. A group of common disciples and local traders sit around a fire-lit booth, chattering about the circulating rumors. A few cloaked figures sit at nearby tables, silent but attentive, their eyes dimly glowing beneath their hoods.
"I'm telling you, the ghost disciple is real! They say he walks through walls and slays elders in silence! Just last week, Elder Yu from the Inscription hall—vanished!" A half-drunk disciple said.
"Feh! Vanished? Probably slipped out to avoid debt or hiding somewhere. But… I did hear something strange. The jade scroll market has gone cold. Buyers are hoarding, and formation tags are vanishing off shelves." A trader said.
"Not just that… rumor is, the sect's inner circle is planning to abandon us. They say the beast tide is arriving early—weeks earlier than expected!" A disciple said in hushed tone.
"And there's more… someone saw Princess Leah sneaking out at night. They say she was followed by a masked man. Then suddenly she announced her wedding—and looked like she hadn't slept in days." Another drunkard chipped in.
At a corner table, four robed individuals sit in silence. Their auras are hidden expertly—clearly high-level cultivators. One taps a jade ring, activating a silent barrier.
"So… it begins. The boy survived after all." Said one of the cloaked individuals with a calm and aged voice.
"I told you we should've killed Lucas outright. Letting the sect imprison him was a mistake." Said another but from her voice one could tell it was the voice of a woman.
"We were paid to deliver him. The sect betrayed his brother. Their internal feud isn't our business." The third amongst them said coldly.
"Yet if this 'ghost disciple' is who we think he is… and if he's really alive and operating beneath their noses, then he may already know we were involved." The last amongst them said grimly.
"I highly doubt that but anyways we should start making our own plans. and if our assumptions are correct, it really doesn't matter. Our focus is to survive." The calm aged voice said again.
Days passed, and its the day of the wedding. The sun barely crested the horizon, spilling golden light over the fractured spires of the Iron Sky Sect. Mist clung to the treetops like ghostly fingers, swirling gently in the windless morning.
Inside the Inner Sanctum, the sect's highest-ranking elders stood in a semi-circle, all staring at the same floating scroll. Its runes flickered erratically.
"No trace?" the Grand Elder growled, his voice barely hiding the tremor underneath. "You mean to tell me the entire Treasure Pavilion vanished from our lands—overnight—without a single formation being triggered?"
Azadus stood by the window gazing down at the sect, arms folded behind his back. Clad in ceremonial robes of black and gold, he was the picture of cold elegance. "The Pavilion was and will always be neutral. Always has been. Perhaps it no longer saw profit in our alliance."
His father—a man with the same glacial eyes but decades of more composure—sighed. "Or perhaps someone tipped them off about the coming bloodshed."
The Patriarch slammed a hand on the jade table. "Enough speculation. The wedding proceeds. We've invested too much to back down now."
"But sir—"
"The Sect must appear united." His eyes narrowed. "Any display of weakness will invite the vultures. Including those watching from the Beastkin cliffs."
Azadus turned slightly. "What of Raqin Draven?"
The room chilled instantly.
One elder scoffed. "A dead man in all but name."
"Then we'd best pray he stays dead," Azadus muttered, voice flat.
Meanwhile, the faint echo of the sect's wedding drums seeped through the rock like the heartbeat of some bloated beast above him. Each thump was steady, ceremonial… fake.
Perfect for masking the quieter rhythms that mattered — the metallic click of a sniper's bolt, the soft hiss of an energy coil heating to lethal precision.
Raqin sat cross-legged in the dim cavern, weapon resting across his lap. The rifle was ugly — a patchwork of scavenged alloys, reforged beast bone, and modified array-cores — but it hummed like it wanted blood.
SAM: Pulse harmonics stable. Long-range energy dispersion will not trigger known sect-detection arrays.
Raqin: "Good. Don't want them knowing who gutted them before it's too late."
SAM: Correction: They will know. You simply won't be here when they do.
He almost smiled. The AI was right. This wasn't a quiet theft. This was a strike meant to burn itself into memory.
But why?
His father's voice — long gone but never far — slipped into the cracks between SAM's sterile reports.
"Never let them think you've forgiven. Never let them sleep without remembering you exist."
The Iron Sky Sect thought they'd buried him in menial labor, stripped him of name and future. Today they would learn that patience was not forgiveness. Patience was sharpening the knife.
SAM: Projected chaos levels during wedding ceremony: 72% probability of high-level combat, 54% probability of beastkin interference.
Raqin: "Then we'll make sure the combat tips in our favor… or at least against theirs."
SAM: Clarification: Are we still following Plan C?
Raqin: "Plan C is robbery during distraction. Plan A is kill the Grand Elder and make it look like fate. Plan B…"
He trailed off, sighting through the scope. The faint outline of the sect's upper plaza appeared in glowing relief — spiritual energy signatures rendered as shimmering heat-maps.
Raqin: "…Plan B is what happens if they see me."
He took in the scene. Guards in ceremonial armor — relaxed, laughing. Disciples bustling about with flowers and banners. Somewhere above, the Pavilion's absence was likely causing frantic whispers in polished halls. He wished he could see their faces.
Not yet.
First, the kill. Then the vaults. Then his uncle.
And if the world decided to collapse in on the Iron Sky Sect afterward?
Well… he'd just call it good timing.
The wedding drums shifted to a heavier, more triumphant beat. Above, the crowd's cheers swelled — the kind of hollow joy only cultivated under the gaze of sect law.
Raqin adjusted his scope, sweeping the ornate platform where the Sky Tiger Clan and Iron Sky Sect elites gathered.
SAM: Target — Grand Elder Vorun — confirmed. Estimated energy density indicates recent breakthrough. Recommend instant kill shot.
Raqin: "You think I'm here to wound him?"
SAM: Observation: Emotional satisfaction levels appear high.
Raqin: "You're learning."
A ripple of movement at the plaza's edge drew his attention — not sect disciples, but leather-clad mercenaries, their tattoos glowing faintly with beast-blood. Behind them, hulking figures in crude armor — low-level beastmen clans, tusked and snarling — filtered into the crowd.
The sect guards noticed them too late.
The first spear was thrown — an ugly, black-iron shaft that skewered a ceremonial banner before pinning a guard through the chest. The wedding procession froze. Then, like a dam breaking, the unknown people charged in.
From his vantage, Raqin saw the battlefield blossom — steel meeting steel, beast roars cutting through human shouts, the stench of blood already drifting on the wind.
SAM: Chaos index: 89%. Noise level sufficient to mask high-energy projectile discharge.
Raqin: "Good."
He sighted the Grand Elder again. The man had moved to the edge of the dais, barking orders, spiritual pressure slamming into the weaker disciples like a physical weight. For all his power, his back was turned to the shadows.
Raqin's finger tightened on the trigger.
The rifle's core arrays flared, lightning and killing intent braided into a single, precise line. The shot left no sound, no flash — just a ripple through the air that crossed the plaza in less than a breath.
The Grand Elder staggered mid-command. His head turned, confusion flashing in his eyes… then his skull burst like a melon under a hammer. The plaza erupted into screams.
Raqin was already moving. The rifle collapsed into segmented plates, sliding into his pack. He sprinted down the cavern's side path toward the hidden tunnel that would spit him into the vault quarter.
Above, the alliance of mercenaries and beast men pressed harder. The Sky Tiger Clan's young master, Azadus, was a blur of silver claws and killing intent, ripping through beastmen with ruthless precision. He fought like he meant to paint the plaza red.
SAM: Projection — Sect and Clan forces will push the alliance back within 12 minutes.
Raqin: "More than enough time to bleed them dry."
Somewhere deeper in the sect, his uncle still rotted in a cell. The vaults still held the treasures they thought untouchable.
And Raqin — for the first time in years — was hunting openly.
The hidden tunnel spat Raqin out into the service corridors beneath the Iron Sky Sect's vault quarter.
The stone walls here pulsed faintly with defensive runes — layers of spiritual arrays designed to keep intruders out and treasures in.
SAM: Detection — primary vault wards engaged in passive mode. Suggestion: Overload from anchor node three for silent breach.
Raqin: "Anchor node three… you mean the one right under the wine cellar?"
SAM: Affirmative. And… you appear to enjoy the irony.
He moved quickly, boots silent over carved stone. Above, muffled battle-cries filtered down, accompanied by the rhythmic concussions of Azadus tearing through enemies. Each explosion was another second bought for Raqin's operation.
The wine cellar was empty — everyone who mattered was either fighting or watching the fighting. He crouched beside a carved lion-head drain, pried out the false mouthpiece, and slid the miniature array detonator into place.
Three seconds later, the vault ward shivered. The blue glow in the stone guttered and died.
The main doors to the treasure vault were ornamental — the real defenses were gone now. He pushed inside.
Gold talismans. Spirit stones the size of his fists. Weapon racks lined with blades still humming from their forging. And at the far end, sealed chests that practically screamed forbidden.
SAM: Recommend priority acquisition: spatial rings, jade slips containing cultivation manuals, high-grade ores for slime-forge integration.
Raqin: "Grab the sweets, skip the sugar uhnn….but that doesn't matter, ill be taking all."
He swept items into his dimensional pouch with mechanical efficiency. This wasn't greed — it was investment. Every stolen resource was one more nail in the coffin of those who thought they could control him.
When the last pouch clicked shut, he pivoted toward the prison wing.
The prison was less protected than the vaults. Iron Sky Sect believed fear was security enough.
He found his uncle chained to the wall, gaunt but still carrying the same dangerous glint in his eyes.
"Raqin… you shouldn't be here."
"That's becoming a theme." Raqin knelt, slotting a key into the shackle locks.
Chains clattered to the ground. His uncle rolled his shoulders, and the air in the cell grew sharp — like a blade testing its own edge.
They were halfway to the exit when shadows detached from the corridor ahead.
Four cloaked figures, their auras masked but unmistakably lethal.
SAM: Energy readings — all four are peak 9th level bone and tendon refinement realm or higher. Intent: hostile. Sub-intent: theft and assassination.
Raqin: "Guess we're not the only ones looting the sect."
The cloaked intruders struck first, blades whistling through the air. His uncle met them with brutal economy — parrying, twisting, and returning strikes with bone-snapping force. Blood sprayed against the walls.
One assailant went down screaming, clutching a stump where an arm had been. Lucas recognized the face — Vander, the rat who actually sold him out to be captured.
Lucas drove a palm strike into Vanders' chest that left him coughing blood and half-crippled.
They burst out of the prison into daylight — and the air itself seemed to shudder.
A deep, resonant BOOM rolled across the island. Birds scattered from the treeline. The ground trembled underfoot.
On the horizon, a wall of movement — fur, scales, horns — poured toward the sect. The beast tide had come.
And yet… it didn't come straight for them.
The tide curved, rushing toward a point in the central. Then, as if possessed, the beasts turned on each other. Claws ripped flesh, tusks pierced hides, roars became screams. Blood soaked the ground until it pooled, swirling into a perfect, unnatural pattern.
SAM: Alert — formation detected. Blood array of unknown origin. Energy spike imminent.
Raqin: "That's not natural. it's a trap."
Light erupted from the blood array, a column stabbing into the heavens. On the main continent, hundreds of miles away, cultivators would be pausing mid-breath, feeling the shift in the world's pulse.
The island trembled. The light flared blinding-white — and in an instant, everything vanished.
The sect. The jungle. The battlefield.
Gone.
Only those already on the evacuation ships remained, staring at the empty space where an entire island had been.
Azadus stood on the deck beside his clan members and the few that could make it out of the slaughter, the taste of iron still in his mouth. The sect patriarch was on the other side, face pale, jaw tight — not from fear of the beasts, but from the knowledge that greed had nearly buried him with the rest.
"It's gone. The whole damn island is… our home is gone."
"Impossible. That… that's impossible! So many beats… that damn alliance … even the treasury couldn't be emptied—" Leah said trembling, clutching her robe.
"Dead. All of them. Whatever array activated swallowed the island whole. The ones left behind are corpses drifting in another realm… if not erased outright." Azadus muttered to himself with his fists clenched as he stared back at where the island was before it disappeared.
"That rat Raqin Draven… at least the abyss swallowed him too. If I can't have satisfaction of killing him with my own hands, then may he rot wherever he is." Leah said bitterly glaring into the void.
"Don't be so certain…" Azadus said.
Azadus eyes flickered faintly as he remembered the way raqin looked at him, his calmness amidst the chaos. If it weren't the distance between them and the ones he was up against he would have loved to take out a potential future threat right there. Now something tells him such a person won't die so easily.
As the ship turned slowly towards the main continent. An array suddenly lit up on the ship and 4 individuals appeared, one was the patriarch of the sky tiger clan and the other 3 were beast men also but their distinction still kept traces of their bestial side like the ears, eyes, tail and nails while the rest were human. Their auras terrified everyone on board. At a glance azadus could tell that none of this 3 are weaker than his father.
"Seemed I made it back on time. Son, come over and greet your uncles".
"Senior brothers, this is my son azadus. Although average in talent please take of us as we journey back." Both father and son bowed.
"No need for all that… it's our duty and we are all fellow clansmen with the tiger bloodline. With your family branch and your followers rejoining the imperial family, I believe our family might supersede the other imperial families sooner or soonest" one of the three spoke.
When azadus's father looked in the direction of the island, he sighed and placed his hand on his sons shoulder " I'm glad I made it back on time…hope everything went the way you planned"
"No it didn't….although the main objective has been met" azadus replied.
"Tell me everything"
Azadus proceeded to mention everything that occurred from the assignation of the grand elder by a weird method, the intrusion and attack of the alliance of mercenaries and surviving beast men race, the disappearance of the treasure pavilion, the abnormality of the beast tide and the island disappearance.