A thick fog clung to the air, swallowing what little color remained. The cracked, ashen ground stretched endlessly, like the withered skin of something long dead. Somewhere in the distance, an unearthly sound drifted through the mist—half a wail, half the howling of wind through jagged stone.
This place… was no home to the living.
Inside a narrow cave lined with black moss, a young man lay motionless. His breaths were heavy, his body stiff like a corpse yet to grow cold. Slowly, his eyelids trembled open. His vision was blurred; dark spots danced at the edges. He tried to lift a hand—only for pain to spread through every joint.
Cold.
It seeped into his bones.
Even his blood felt sluggish, reluctant to move.
Then, a voice—alien, emotionless, resonating directly within his mind—spoke.
[Status: Soul Conversion – 74% Complete]
[Warning: Shadow Vein Slot — Empty]
"S…oul conversion?" His voice was hoarse, the words strange yet somehow stirring something deep within.
Memories—faint, jagged—began to surface.
The heavy voice of an old man, cold yet firm, echoed through the haze:
"From this moment forth, you are Yan Zhi… a shadow without a master."
Yan Zhi.
The name felt like a chain… and yet, also like a pair of wings waiting to unfurl.
More fragments surfaced.
A flash of light on an altar… the emotionless gaze of his father… the heat of blood in his mouth… and then, darkness swallowing it all.
Vague, yet sharp enough to tighten his chest.
The flat, unfeeling voice returned.
[Explanation: Shadow Awakening]
This is the first step on the Path of Shadows. At this stage, a cultivator forges their 'Personal Shadow,' binding it to their soul. This shadow becomes the source of one's earliest power—but left untamed, it can also become a traitor. Without a personal shadow, the path of shadow cultivation can never begin.
Yan Zhi drew a long breath. His body might be broken, but his gaze sharpened.
If this was his new life, then he would walk it without looking back. Not as the discarded son of a clan, but as a shadow that would one day consume their light.
But before he could move, the air behind him rippled like disturbed water. His shadow stretched… shifting on its own, without his command. It twisted into something formless, a haze of black mist struggling to rise.
[Warning: Shadow Entity detected… Not under Host's control]
Yan Zhi's eyes narrowed.
"In that case," he whispered, "this is where we begin."
---