Chapter : The First Petal
The mountain winds carried with them the scent of black lotus blossoms—sharp, alluring, and laced with mystery. Night had not yet fallen, but a hushed twilight had settled across the Silk Lotus Sect, casting long shadows through the stone courtyards and across the vast banners embroidered with the heavenly demon's silk lotus sigil.
Yan Xue stood in silent reverence before the Grand Pavilion's sanctum.
His cultivation robes—silken, soft, edged in lotus threads—fluttered around his body, now far more delicate and refined than it had been mere months ago. And though his form had changed, though his presence had begun to inspire awe, it was the weight of devotion in his heart that pressed on his thoughts tonight.
He stepped past the grand doors and into the sanctum.
Inside, Ryu Yeon-Hwa stood before the altar of obsidian, one hand resting on the hilt of a ceremonial sword, the other cupping an incense flame that did not burn, but shimmered—pure black, like the lotus itself.
Yan Xue knelt.
"My Lord."
Yeon-Hwa turned slowly, his crimson gaze falling upon the disciple with calm power. "Rise, Yan Xue."
Yan Xue obeyed, but his hands remained clasped at his chest, unsure how to phrase the question lingering in his mind.
"Speak," Yeon-Hwa said, sensing it.
Yan Xue hesitated, then looked up. "How many… direct disciples will you take?"
A strange quiet filled the chamber. The flame dimmed, as if listening.
Then, Yeon-Hwa raised his hand and conjured a single lotus bud of blackest shadow. It floated above his palm, pulsing with quiet power. As Yan Xue watched, the petals began to bloom—slowly, deliberately.
One petal unfurled first, dark and elegant.
Then two.
Then three.
Then four.
Then five.
Then six.
And then it stopped.
"The black lotus," Yeon-Hwa said, "blooms with six petals. No more. No less."
The petals shimmered briefly, each one humming with a unique energy.
Yan Xue's breath caught. "Six… That's how many direct disciples there will be?"
Yeon-Hwa nodded. "Six petals. Six disciples. You are the first. The one who proved worthy through suffering, transformation, and unwavering love."
Yan Xue's gaze dropped, overwhelmed by the honor. "Then I… I am the first petal."
"Yes," Yeon-Hwa replied, stepping forward. "The first. The proof that the Silk Lotus path is real. That devotion can become divinity."
Yan Xue's lips parted. "Then the others… do they need to love me?"
Yeon-Hwa smiled—not warmly, but like a god answering a child's innocent mistake.
"No," he said. "They need not love each other. They need not desire you. They must only revere me. Their bodies, their minds, their fates—all must belong to me."
Yan Xue nodded slowly. "Then I am just an example. A goal."
"The ideal," Yeon-Hwa said, cupping Yan Xue's chin. "You show them what perfect devotion looks like. Your path, your transformation, your surrender—all of it will guide them. But their love must be for me. Absolute. Singular."
Yan Xue's chest filled with pride. "I understand. I will make them envy me—not only for my beauty or strength, but for the way I worship you."
A rare spark of amusement touched Yeon-Hwa's eyes.
"That is why you were chosen first."
But Yan Xue's mind, though now steadied, carried another question. One that had tugged at him for weeks.
He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a pamphlet—one of the hundreds sent out during the Heavenly Demon's silent campaign across the realms.
"Then why…" he said, brows furrowed, "why haven't those who carry these… been allowed to enter?"
Yeon-Hwa's gaze turned to the pamphlet—black ink on blood-hued parchment,wrapped in black lotus petals. each etched with a unique Qi signature that responded to those fated to join.
"They believe it is a summons," he said. "But it is only an invitation to wait."
Yan Xue blinked. "To wait for what?"
Yeon-Hwa turned and gestured at the blooming lotus, still floating in the air.
"For the flower to be complete. Until six petals have bloomed—until I have six disciples bound to me in spirit and Qi—the sect cannot take in others. Without the full bloom, the roots would rot. The structure would collapse. The elders must come before the masses."
Yan Xue felt a shiver run down his spine.
"So… even those who are desperate to join—those who already kneel in hidden corners of the realm, chanting your name—they must wait?"
"Yes," Yeon-Hwa said firmly. "Their time will come. But first, I must build the spine of the lotus. The six. My six."
He turned to Yan Xue again. "And when they are all gathered, when the Silk Lotus blooms in full, the sect will open. A floodgate. Thousands will come. Tens of thousands. Not just for cultivation, but for surrender. For purpose."
Yan Xue's hands tightened around the pamphlet. "And we… the six petals… we will be their guides."
"You will be their elders," Yeon-Hwa confirmed. "Each one of you will oversee a path of devotion. Each will carry my teachings into a corner of the realms. All of those whose hearts and flesh are mine will have the company of the petals of my existance. Only six can touch the core."
Yan Xue swallowed. "And then?"
"They will serve under your shadow. They will kneel in the temples built in your image. They will chant your names, but love only mine."
Yan Xue trembled again—this time not from fear or confusion, but realisation.
"I see," he whispered.
Yeon-Hwa raised his hand and placed two fingers at Yan Xue's forehead. "You are the First. You are the first petal of thus Blooming."
Suddenly, a black glow shimmered across Yan Xue's skin. A lotus sigil appeared at the center of his collarbone—six tiny petal outlines, only one of them glowing. The others remained dim.
"The moment a new petal is found, you will know," Yeon-Hwa said. "Each of you will feel the resonance. Each of you must test the new disciple before they can be accepted."
Yan Xue looked down at the mark, heartbeat quickening. "So I'll feel them… before they even arrive?"
"Yes. As they draw closer to surrender, the second petal will stir."
He placed a kiss on Yan Xue's brow, the mark pulsing in response.
"You will not be alone for long."
Yan Xue smiled—softly, sweetly. "I don't mind being alone… if I'm with you."
A flicker of approval crossed Yeon-Hwa's gaze. "That is why you are the first."
Silence followed. Sacred. Full.
Then, with a flick of Yeon-Hwa's hand, the lotus dissolved into black mist and returned to the altar. The six glowing petal outlines hovered above it for a moment—one shining bright, five dim. The sanctum pulsed with energy, as if preparing to welcome the next.
Yan Xue turned to leave, the mark on his chest still warm, the lotus pamphlet still in his palm. But before he stepped away, he turned back.
"One last thing," he said, voice hesitant. "If… if one of the six petals dies…?"
Yeon-Hwa did not blink. "Then the bloom withers. And I burn the root."
Yan Xue nodded once. "Understood."
He stepped into the cool night air, the stars glittering like diamonds above the grand Silk Lotus Pavilion. In the distance, beyond realms, beyond barriers, beyond mortal awareness, someone stirred.
Another chosen one… was waking.
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