The Vermillion Cloud Sect's silence was no longer peaceful—it was oppressive.
The fog never lifted, not even during the noon sun. Birds refused to nest. Spirit beasts near the outer perimeter had begun migrating. And worst of all, disciples had stopped speaking Raizen's name aloud.
They feared it would make him appear.
---
Outer Pavilion – Early Morning
Senior Disciple Lan Zhi stood at the edge of the mist-covered courtyard, blade drawn.
She hadn't slept in two days.
Not because of nightmares—but because she could feel someone watching her.
"Form a barrier," she told her squad. "Level three suppression array. No one enters."
One of the juniors hesitated. "Elder Zhi, there's no confirmation Raizen is even ali—"
A black mist slithered into the disciple's mouth mid-sentence.
He froze. Eyes widened. Then fell, spasming violently.
By the time Lan Zhi turned, the boy had carved one word into his chest with his own fingernails:
> "RAIZEN."
---
Inner Sect – Sect Master's Hall
Elder Mo stormed through the grand doors.
"Enough of secrecy!" he shouted. "He's not a ghost—he's a cultivator. A corrupted one, but still bound by rules!"
Sect Master Qian Zhou did not lift his eyes from the incense altar.
"He is no longer just a man."
Mo slammed his palm on the floor. "We banished him to the Ravine. He survived. Now he returns, and instead of rallying our strength, we cower?"
Qian Zhou opened his eyes.
"What if this is what he wants?"
Mo paused.
The incense smoke twisted into Raizen's face for a second—grinning.
---
Ravine Temple – Below the Sect
Raizen sat in the lotus position upon the throne of bones he had constructed—made from the remnants of spirit beasts and corrupted Qi.
The Abyss System pulsed around him, threads of nightmare and dread spiraling from his spine like blackened roots.
> System Notification:
Sect Fear Level: 31%
Lian Fei – Corruption 42%
Elder Mo – Resistance Wavering
Lan Zhi – Susceptibility Detected
Event Triggered: [First Crack]
He opened his hand.
A black lotus bloomed in his palm.
With a whisper, he released it into the wind.
---
Mid-Peak Garden – Meditation Chambers
Lian Fei was in the middle of a purification ritual.
Incense burned. Divine talismans surrounded her. A formation of light spun slowly around her body.
Suddenly, the wind shifted.
A single petal floated in—black as void—and landed on her chest.
The formation sputtered.
The light flickered.
> "You were always so gifted, Fei..."
His voice again.
She screamed and tried to dispel the phantom.
But it wasn't a phantom anymore.
Raizen stepped through her mental barrier—like slicing through paper.
"You don't belong to the light," he whispered. "You belong to regret. To ruin."
> Mind Leash Activated: Waking Echo – Stage II
Subject will now subconsciously sabotage allies during moments of emotional stress.
Lian Fei's eyes went blank.
---
Disciplinary Hall – That Night
Two patrol units went missing.
A dozen wards malfunctioned.
Lan Zhi saw a shadow standing on the roof of the main pagoda—wearing the sect's robes, but with eyes like midnight stars.
She gave the order to pursue.
Three cultivators followed.
Only one returned—bloodied, shaking, muttering:
> "He knew our names... our fears... our regrets... He made us see them."
Elder Yao tried to silence the story, but it was too late.
The first real crack had opened.
Now, even the bravest were questioning:
> "What if the Sect deserved this?"
---
Abyss System – New Feature Unlocked
> Echo of Doubt:
Allows projection of selected hallucinations into multiple targets. Seeds chaos in group combat.
(Warning: Can permanently shatter weaker minds.)
Raizen exhaled slowly as the Sect's spiritual resistance fractured further.
Not with fire.
Not with blades.
But with doubt.
He stood, his presence causing shadows to twist and roots to writhe around him.
"I don't need to fight them," he murmured.
"I just have to remind them."
---
Final Scene – Sect Leader's Tower
Sect Master Qian Zhou opened a scroll from the Grand Oracle of the Eastern Summit.
It read:
> "The cursed one walks again. His name is death. His heart is void. If his vengeance is not answered with blood…
the heavens themselves may turn."
His hands trembled.
And from the corner of the room, a shadow that hadn't been there before whispered:
> "You finally remember me… Master."