The Lotus did not take long to whisper Lin Zhen's name.
Within days of his arrival, his shadow stretched across the halls. Wolves carried stories like plague.
"He spoke back to Crimson Flame and lived."
"He solved Widow's riddle in breaths."
"Iron Hand tested him with gauntlets, and he caught the strike without trembling."
Each retelling made him larger, sharper, brighter.
Lin Zhen moved through the compound like he had always belonged. He bowed deeply to captains, joked with wolves, listened intently when others spoke. His confidence was effortless, his charm steady. Where others fought tooth and nail to be noticed, Lin Zhen drew eyes without trying.
He was what the Lotus loved: a wolf who smelled like a captain already.
* * * * * * * * *
I watched from the shadows of the training yard.
My wolves gathered with me, each reacting in their own way.
Wei Lan sat perched on the wooden rail, tossing a knife from hand to hand. Her smile was sharp enough to cut steel. "He shines too bright, Leader. Like a flame in oil. Flames like that…" She flicked her knife, embedding it into the wood beside her. "…they're fun to cut down."
Qiao Han's jaw tightened as he gripped his saber. "He's dangerous. Every word earns him trust. Every gesture makes wolves follow him. In a year, he'll have a hundred at his back."
Shen Yu crouched on the ground, ink dripping as he scratched characters into a torn scroll. His voice was hushed but urgent. "Brother devours brother. Brother shines, brother bleeds. One burns, one binds. Blood remembers."
Their voices pressed against me, but I said nothing.
My eyes stayed on him.
Lin Zhen.
My brother.
The man who had slid a blade through my spine in another life.
Now he stood there, smiling, listening to a group of wolves like a leader, already stronger than most.
And he didn't even glance at me.
* * * * * * * * *
The captains encouraged it.
Ink Widow tested him with venom, placing a cup of poison-laced wine in his hand. He drank it without flinching, his face calm, his words steady. Later, whispers spread — he had used qi to neutralize the toxin, something most wolves couldn't even attempt.
Iron Hand struck at him in the yard, gauntlet descending like a hammer. Lin Zhen caught it, his knees buckling but his back straight. He smiled even as his arms trembled. Iron Hand laughed, clapping him on the shoulder.
Even Silent Reed allowed his silence to part once, acknowledging Lin Zhen with a faint nod.
The message was clear.
The Lotus was watching him.
* * * * * * * * *
Wei Lan leaned closer, her breath hot on my ear. "Leader… why don't you let me slit his throat? Hmm? One flick, one scream, and all this brightness ends. You'd smile again, wouldn't you?"
Qiao Han shot her a glare. "Idiot. The captains are testing him. If we touched him, Reed wouldn't save us. We'd be erased before his blood cooled."
Wei Lan pouted, twirling her knife. "So what? Worth the fun."
Shen Yu scratched deeper into his parchment, eyes glazed. "Chains bind brothers. Wolves bleed red. Leader trembles. Brother shines."
I clenched my fists until my nails drew blood.
Not yet.
To kill him now would be suicide. He had too many eyes on him, too much favor.
But every time I looked at him, every time his smile caught the light, the vow in my heart tightened like a chain around my throat.
This time… it will not be me who dies.
* * * * * * * * *
The whispers among wolves grew with each passing day.
"He's the one who'll replace Black Vulture's throne."
"He already has Widow's smile."
"Even Iron Veil speaks to him."
In taverns and corridors, Lin Zhen's name spread faster than my own shadow ever had.
And I realized something bitter.
In my past life, he had betrayed me in shadows.
In this life, he would drown me in light.
* * * * * * * * *
That night, when we returned to our quarters, silence weighed on my wolves.
Wei Lan sprawled across the mat, flicking her knives into the ceiling beams. "So, Leader, what do we do? Sit and watch while your shining brother steals the hall?"
Qiao Han crossed his arms. "We wait. You're not strong enough yet. Not to face him, not to face the captains who shield him. If you want him dead, you'll need patience."
Shen Yu pressed his ink-stained hands to the wall, whispering as he scrawled: "Blood binds vengeance. Blood devours flame. Brother drowns brother."
Their eyes all turned to me.
But I said nothing.
Inside, my blood roared.
Chains quivered, begging to be called. My veins burned, my chest ached, my hands shook.
Obsession. Vengeance. Betrayal.
Every breath I took in this cursed life reminded me of that night in the past — his blade in my back, my blood spilling, his words cold.
If Lein is born from obsession…
Then I would feed mine until it strangled the heavens.
* * * * * * * * *
Night fell heavy on the Lotus compound.
The halls whispered of Lin Zhen's rise — wolves muttered, captains measured, the air itself bent toward him.
But I had no light.
I had only blood.
* * * * * * * * *
I sat alone in the training yard, the lanterns dim, the moon pale above. My wolves lingered in shadow nearby, silent but watching.
A blade rested across my knees. My hands trembled, but not from fear.
From hunger.
The hunger to bind, to strangle, to drown the memory of betrayal in crimson threads.
I drew the blade across my palm.
Blood spilled hot, slick, thick.
I clenched my fist, forcing the wound open wider. Pain surged, but I welcomed it. I needed it. Pain was proof I was still alive. Pain was the fuel my Lein demanded.
Threads flickered.
Thin crimson strands stretched from my palm, quivering in the moonlight like spider silk. They wavered, collapsed, vanished into air.
I bled again.
This time the chains lasted longer, twisting into fragments of links before shattering.
Every failure burned my veins raw. Every collapse tore my chest tighter.
But with every cut, the flicker grew sharper.
* * * * * * * * *
Wei Lan's voice broke the silence, soft and delighted.
"Mmm… you bleed so beautifully, Leader. Each drop sings. Do it again."
She crouched near, her eyes wide, pupils dilated like a predator in heat.
Qiao Han's tone was harder. "You'll kill yourself. Every drop you lose makes you weaker. If you keep cutting—"
I ignored him.
I dragged the blade deeper, this time across my forearm. Blood poured down, hot rivers dripping to the stone floor.
Chains snapped into existence, thick enough to bind my wrist. For three breaths they held, gleaming, sharp, cruel — then shattered with a spray of red sparks.
I gasped, blood soaking my sleeve, but I smiled through the pain.
Progress.
* * * * * * * * *
Shen Yu scrawled faster on his parchment, ink dripping down his fingers. His voice rose in a chant, half-whisper, half-prophecy.
"Blood binds vengeance. Blood devours light. Brother strangles brother. Wolves drown in red."
His eyes burned fever-bright, his hand never stopping as he wrote.
Wei Lan licked her lips, crawling closer. "Yes… yes, Leader. Let it consume you. Let vengeance wrap around your bones. Only obsession can birth a chain strong enough to strangle fate."
Her words echoed my own thoughts.
Obsession was not weakness. It was the only truth.
The captains had their obsessions — poison, flame, chains, silence. Each had surrendered to madness, and from that surrender they drew power.
Why should I resist mine?
Why should I pretend my blood was not screaming for vengeance?
* * * * * * * * *
I closed my eyes.
I let the memory come.
That night.
The snow falling.
The blade in my back.
His whisper: "Only one brother may live."
Hatred surged so hot my chest felt like it would burst.
Blood erupted from the wounds, and chains tore free — five, six, seven, each link sharper, heavier, more real. They lashed against the ground, cutting grooves into the stone before collapsing into mist.
My wolves stared.
Wei Lan laughed wildly. "Beautiful! Yes, Leader, yes! That was real, that was power! Again!"
Qiao Han's face was pale, but his voice was steady. "You're bleeding too much. If you keep this up, you won't have enough left to stand."
Shen Yu scribbled faster, his voice breaking into a scream: "Blood remembers! Brother binds brother! Chain devours light!"
I panted, blood soaking my clothes, my vision swimming — but the chains had lived for seven breaths.
Seven breaths of power.
Seven breaths closer to vengeance.
* * * * * * * * *
A shadow fell over me.
Reed stood at the edge of the yard. Silent. Watching.
His presence froze my wolves. Wei Lan fell still, Qiao Han stiffened, Shen Yu went silent mid-chant.
Reed's gaze rested on me, then on the blood pooling at my feet.
At last, he spoke, voice soft, measured, suffocating.
"Good."
The word cut deeper than my blade.
Reed stepped closer, his silence pressing down like chains of its own. His eyes lingered on the faint crimson sparks still fading from the air.
"You bleed well. Your chain sharpens."
I met his gaze, trembling, but did not bow.
He tilted his head slightly. "But remember, Lin Xuan… Lein are not gifts. They are curses. The stronger your obsession, the more it devours you."
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"Obsession births monsters. Will you be a wolf? Or the monster that devours them all?"
He left without another word, silence trailing behind him like a blade.
* * * * * * * * *
I sat there long after he was gone, the blood drying on my skin, the ache burning deeper than bone.
His words echoed in my mind.
Monster.
Wolf.
Chain.
I looked at my trembling hands, still stained crimson.
And I whispered to myself.
Monster, then. If it takes a monster to kill my brother… then monster I will become.