Deep within Twilight Academy's Archive Pavilion, Elder Luo's wrinkled hands hovered over an ancient record box—one sealed by nine locking talismans and reinforced with dragonbone iron.
"This shouldn't be here," he muttered.
He wasn't alone.
A shadow flickered behind him—Sage Investigator Lian, a cultivator from the Court of Truth, known for uncovering forbidden legacies.
She stepped forward. "You said you found traces of the janitor's aura in the Sect's ancient disciple registry?"
Elder Luo nodded and tapped the box. "This seal predates the current Headmaster. It's over a thousand years old."
With a flick of her jade fan, Lian unraveled the locks. The box creaked open.
Inside lay a single scroll—its paper aged, yet unburnt, protected by time and terrifying energy.
She read it aloud. "Han Li… admitted under the alias Yun Fei. Status: Black-Class Cultivator… Exiled by Heaven's Order."
Elder Luo froze. "That's impossible. Black-Class doesn't exist anymore—it was purged after the Godfall War!"
Lian stared at the scroll. "He was one of the lost sovereign candidates…"
Her voice dropped. "He was there when the Nine Sky Gates fell."
A silence heavier than death filled the room.
Then, a faint ripple surged through the entire Archive Pavilion. Candles snuffed out. Shelves trembled.
From the scroll, a voice echoed—calm, mocking.
"Curiosity is a fine way to die."
Elder Luo collapsed, blood running from his ears. Lian gritted her teeth.
"Who are you… janitor?"
—
Far away, Han Li sipped tea in the garden. His students trained nearby.
His gaze turned upward. "They're digging."
The broom beside him hummed faintly.
"Let them."
In the clouds above, the Sky-Eater shifted… watching both prey and predator begin to awaken.