The forest was eerily quiet as they left the desecrated battlefield behind. Every step Liana took felt heavy, as though her body remembered the toll of breaking the Oath of Shadows. The night air was cool, brushing against her skin like a balm, yet unease lingered beneath the silence.
Han Jian's arm remained firmly around her waist, his grip steady, protective. He hadn't said much since the runes shattered, but his silence wasn't cold—it was the kind born of vigilance, his senses sharpened to every rustle of leaves, every stir in the darkness.
Liana tilted her head, studying his profile in the faint moonlight. Strong, unyielding, yet the faint crease between his brows betrayed a thought that troubled him.
"You're worried," she said softly.
His gaze flicked to her for a moment before returning to the path. "The oath may have shattered, but oaths like that don't die easily. Something still lingers."
Her chest tightened at his words. She wanted to argue, to cling to the fragile victory they had carved, but deep inside she felt it too—the faint echo of a chain no longer binding her, but not fully gone either.
A twig snapped behind them.
Han Jian reacted instantly, drawing his sword in a smooth motion. His eyes narrowed, scanning the shadows.
But it wasn't an enemy that stepped forward—it was Qing Feng. His figure emerged from the dark, his usual smirk nowhere to be found. Instead, his face carried an unfamiliar grimness.
"You really don't know how to stay out of trouble, do you?" Qing Feng muttered, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of relief at seeing them alive.
Liana managed a faint smile despite her exhaustion. "You came."
"Of course I came," he said sharply. "Half the forest lit up with that cursed energy. Even an idiot could sense it. And where cursed energy goes…" His gaze slid to Han Jian. "…you're usually at the center of it."
Han Jian ignored the jab, his sword lowering slightly but not sheathing. "Did anyone follow you?"
Qing Feng shook his head. "Not anyone living, at least." He hesitated, then added, "But word will spread. Whatever you broke tonight—it wasn't just an oath. The whole balance shifted. Others will feel it."
Liana's heart sank. "Others?"
Qing Feng's smirk returned, but this time it held no humor. "Let's just say… when seals break, old monsters wake up."
The words struck cold into the night.
Han Jian's hand brushed against Liana's shoulder, grounding her before dread could root itself too deep. His voice, though calm, carried iron beneath it. "Then let them wake. I've been waiting."
Qing Feng's brows furrowed at his tone, but before he could speak again, the wind shifted. It carried with it a faint sound—like whispers riding the breeze, too distant to catch clearly but sharp enough to freeze the blood in their veins.
Liana clutched Han Jian's sleeve instinctively. "Do you hear that?"
The whispers grew louder for an instant, weaving through the trees, curling into her ears with chilling familiarity. They spoke not in one voice but many, like echoes of countless souls murmuring in unison.
"The bride has chosen… but the debt remains…"
Her knees buckled, and Han Jian caught her before she could fall. His jaw tightened as he scanned the forest.
Qing Feng drew a dagger, his smirk gone entirely now. "Well, that didn't take long."
The whispers faded as suddenly as they came, leaving the night silent once more.
Liana buried her face briefly against Han Jian's chest, her voice trembling. "They're not gone. They'll never be gone."
Han Jian lowered his chin, his lips brushing the top of her hair as he spoke firmly, "Then we'll make them gone. Permanently."
But even as he said it, the forest seemed to watch, to listen, the weight of unseen eyes pressing down on them. The Oath of Shadows had shattered, yes—but what had they unleashed in the process?
---
The three of them moved deeper into the forest, their footsteps muffled by the damp earth. The trees seemed to crowd closer with every step, branches curling overhead like skeletal fingers, blocking out even the pale glow of the moon.
Liana tightened her grip on Han Jian's sleeve. Every shadow looked alive, every whisper of leaves felt like a voice waiting to speak again.
Qing Feng broke the silence, his usual mocking tone replaced by something sharper. "That wasn't just some echo, Liana. You know that, right? Those whispers weren't memory—they were calling."
She swallowed hard. "Calling… to me?"
"No," Qing Feng said grimly, eyes scanning the dark. "Through you. To whatever they've been waiting for."
Han Jian's voice cut like steel through the rising dread. "Then let them call. If they want her, they'll have to go through me."
Qing Feng glanced at him, an unreadable expression flickering across his face. "You think swords can silence whispers? You've got guts, I'll give you that."
Han Jian ignored him, guiding Liana carefully over a fallen log. But as they walked, the tension in his body never loosened, his every muscle coiled like a predator ready to strike.
Liana's mind, however, was a storm. The voices, the runes, the name Amara echoing louder with each passing hour—it was as though the past life she had tried to push away refused to be silenced.
At last, she stopped walking, forcing both men to turn back to her. Her chest heaved with ragged breaths, her eyes blazing with defiance.
"No more running," she said, her voice louder than she expected. "If the whispers want me, then I'll face them. If my past demands answers, then I'll give them mine. I won't let shadows chase me forever."
Han Jian's expression softened, pride flickering in his gaze. But before he could respond, Qing Feng let out a low chuckle.
"Finally," he muttered, leaning lazily against a tree. "The girl grows a spine. Took you long enough."
Despite his tone, there was approval hidden beneath his words.
Han Jian stepped forward, placing a hand over Liana's trembling one. His touch steadied her. "You're right. We face it together. But when the time comes…" His eyes burned into hers, fierce and unyielding. "…promise me you won't let go of yourself. Not Amara, not the whispers—you."
Her throat tightened, but she nodded, determination flickering through her fear. "I promise."
The forest seemed to hear her vow. The air shifted, thickening with energy. Faint lights flickered between the trees—ghostly orbs drifting like lanterns, forming a path deeper into the woods.
Qing Feng stiffened. "Well. That looks inviting."
Han Jian's grip on his sword tightened, but Liana's gaze fixed on the lights, her chest rising and falling with shallow breaths.
"They're guiding us," she whispered.
"Or luring us," Han Jian countered coldly.
"Same thing," Qing Feng muttered, though he followed anyway.
Together, the three of them walked down the glowing path. With every step, the air grew colder, the whispers louder, until they reached a clearing unlike any they had seen before.
At its center stood a stone altar, cracked and weathered with age, carved with the same runes that had once bound the Oath of Shadows. Only now, the runes glowed faintly red, as though freshly fed with blood.
Liana's knees nearly buckled at the sight. Her chest constricted, memories slamming into her—Amara standing before this very altar, her hands dripping crimson as she spoke vows she had not chosen.
She stumbled back, but Han Jian caught her instantly, his arms steady. His voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.
"This isn't you. Not anymore."
Her eyes lifted to him, trembling, searching. "But what if it is? What if I can't escape her?"
He pressed his forehead to hers, his whisper fierce and unwavering. "Then we'll tear her chains apart. Together."
The whispers surged, louder than ever, curling into a single command that shook the ground beneath their feet.
"Blood must pay what blood owes."
The altar flared, shadows spilling outward like a tide, forming twisted shapes with hollow eyes. The air filled with their keening wails, and the forest itself seemed to shrink back.
Qing Feng swore under his breath, his dagger flashing in his hand. "Well, looks like we've got company."
Han Jian's sword gleamed as he pulled Liana behind him. "Stay close."
Her heart pounded, fear clawing at her chest—but beneath it burned something else. Anger. Defiance. A promise she had made not just to him, but to herself.
She would not be Amara's shadow.
And as the first of the twisted shapes lunged, she stood tall, her hand outstretched. Power she had not known she possessed flickered in her veins, responding to the defiance in her soul.
The whispers faltered. The shadows recoiled.
Han Jian glanced back at her, shock flashing in his eyes—followed swiftly by fierce pride.
Whatever this trial was, it would not break them.
Not tonight.
---
❓️❓️❓️❓️❓️
Liana has finally begun to accept her powers, and even the whispers are starting to recognize her…
Do you think this new power will help her break the shadows alongside Han Jian and Qing Feng, or will it drag her closer to Amara's dark legacy?