The air was still as stone. The scent of wet grass, the faint trace of smoldering smoke, and the whisper of wind came together like a mother's hand soothing a child lost in sleep.
Khanh stood in a place he didn't recognize.
The sky was neither bright nor dark. A dim, uncertain light poured down from above—whether sun or moon, he couldn't tell. He wasn't sure if he was awake or dreaming.
Beneath his feet lay green, moss-covered flagstones, worn smooth with age, forming a neat path toward a wide open space. Around him stood countless figures—men, women, elders, children—tall, dressed in ancient garb, hair bound, robes long, hands holding seals, swords, or scrolls.
Yet all their faces were blurred.
No one moved. No one spoke.
Their rigid formation was unnerving, as if part of a solemn ancestral rite.
Khanh realized he stood in the very center.
An invisible pressure from afar drew his gaze to the head of the stone courtyard.
There—a towering figure stood, motionless.
No beam of light touched them, yet the courtyard trembled faintly from the force they exuded.
It was not vicious. Not aggressive.
It was the quiet strength of something so vast it could crush you without intent.
Their aura… needed no display. One breath could devour the sky.
The figure did not look at Khanh.
Nor did anyone else stir.
It was a silent ritual, as if a memory of blood and lineage had been given shape.
When Khanh tried to take another step toward the great general, the scene began to unravel.
The figure faded. The murmur of water rose in his ears. And then—
He woke with a jolt.
The first thing he saw was brittle treetops and a sliver of mountain moon.
His back was pressed against a slender but steady shoulder. Vy's shirt was damp with sweat. She was carrying him along a rocky path.
"You're awake?" she said without looking back.
Khanh groaned softly.
"Let me… rest a bit. My legs feel broken…"
Vy halted, lowered him onto a flat stone.
He glanced around—this was a small clearing where the trees thinned, the moonlight spilling in a long silver beam.
She set down her three-section staff, breathing out:
"When I saw you collapse, I carried you here. It's brighter, easier to keep watch."
Khanh lowered his head, inhaled deeply. "I… had the strangest dream…"—then stopped.
Vy sat beside him, the moon catching one side of her weary yet alert face. She was silent for a moment before speaking, as though deciding to reveal something she never had before:
"I came from a merchant family. My mother traded goods, my father was a soldier. But from a young age, I wanted to follow my father, learn martial arts. I even secretly practiced with his weapons."
Her eyes grew distant.
"When I was five… in the blink of an eye, a humanoid demon wiped out my whole family. When it was about to kill me, a sorcerer appeared just in time. I could do nothing. I was too weak."
The moonlight reflected in her eyes, now darker.
"After that, I trained under him. Later, he told me I wasn't a spirit wielder. But, by chance, I was 'empty-bodied'—able to harmonize with demonic energy. He gave me this staff and sent me to study at The Heaven's Fracture."
Silence settled again. The mountain wind carried a chill and the earthy scent of damp soil.
Khanh suddenly asked:
"Your staff… why did it light up when I released my qi? It was drawing it out of me."
Vy frowned at the weapon. "He once said: 'This isn't for the strong—it's for the ones who survive.' Maybe… it only reacts when it must."
She gave him a sharp look.
"And you? What exactly did you unleash back there? You're not supposed to have any power."
Khanh gave a wry smile. "I don't know either. I just… gambled once. Lucky your staff could take it."
Vy was silent for a moment.
"If I hadn't been there, you'd be dead?"
He nodded.
"And if I die tomorrow?"
Khanh didn't answer. He just stared into the darkness ahead.
Vy rose, dusting off her trousers, the moonlight cutting along the bridge of her nose.
Khanh remained seated, his eyes distant as if looking through the void. In his mind, he gathered everything—the slums, the gaze of old Ly, a wordless death, the nameless beasts, the dream just now, and the sound of this girl's breathing.
It was all… only beginning.
Vy glanced back, frowning.
"Hey… what are you thinking about, sitting there like a lost chicken?"