The flames still raged, devouring what little remained of the village. Smoke curled into the sky, carrying with it the stench of blood and ash.
In the ruins, a boy knelt, clutching the lifeless body of his sister. His eyes were red, his face streaked with tears and dirt.
Li Shen.
"Xue'er… don't leave me… please…" His voice was hoarse, almost broken.
But the small body in his arms was already cold. Her warmth, her laughter, her gentle smile—all gone.
And then, in the depths of his despair, the voice returned. Cold. Deep. Ancient.
"Do you want power?"
Li Shen froze. His head snapped up. The voice didn't belong to any man. It came from the shadows, from the deepest corners of his own heart.
"Do you want vengeance? To see those who stole everything from you crawl and beg for mercy?"
His teeth clenched. He knew the truth—if he remained weak, tragedy would only repeat itself. In this world, mercy was an illusion.
"I… I want it… Give me power!" His voice cracked as he roared into the night, his fists trembling as they dug into the blood-soaked earth.
The ground beneath him quivered. The flames around him flickered wildly, drawn toward an unseen force. Slowly, they spiraled upward, forming a vortex of darkness.
From that vortex emerged a black stone stele, fractured and etched with strange, glowing runes. It radiated a chilling aura that made the air shiver.
Li Shen stared, wide-eyed. The stele seemed to call his name.
"What… is this?" he whispered.
The voice came again, stronger now.
"This is the Void Dao. The path abandoned by Heaven. A road even the Primordial Gods feared. A path only those who've lost everything can walk."
Li Shen's eyes fell on his sister's body one last time. His heart screamed in pain, but within the grief burned a spark of fire—vengeance.
"I've already lost everything," he muttered. "If this is the only road left… I'll walk it."
He stretched out his trembling hand and touched the stele.
At once, a frigid surge tore through his veins. It felt like a thousand ice needles piercing his bones. His breath hitched, his body convulsed, but he did not pull back.
Darkness swallowed his vision.
---
When he opened his eyes, he stood in a world that wasn't his own.
The sky was black, empty of stars. The ground was a wasteland covered in a suffocating mist. In the distance yawned a bottomless abyss.
From that abyss came laughter. Low. Mocking. Familiar.
"Hahaha… finally. I've waited so long for you…"
Li Shen spun around, his body tense. From the fog stepped a shadowy figure. Its eyes glowed red, its grin twisted.
The face—it was his own.
"Who are you?!" Li Shen demanded, stumbling back.
"Who am I?" the shadow chuckled darkly. "I am you. The part you've buried all your life. Your hatred. Your rage. Your hunger to tear this world apart. You call me your shadow, but I am half of your soul."
Li Shen's fists clenched. "I'm nothing like you!"
The figure stepped closer, its gaze boring into him. "Oh, but you need me. You want power, don't you? To watch them scream? To make them kneel? You can't do that with your weakness. Only I can give you that strength."
Li Shen's heart pounded. The words stung because they were true. Without strength, his vengeance was nothing but a dream.
The shadow extended its hand. "Let me walk with you. Let me be your sword. You want to defy Heaven, to burn this world? Then take me, and we'll do it together."
Li Shen stared at the hand for a long moment. Inside him, fear and resolve clashed violently.
Finally, he reached out and grasped it.
The world of shadows shattered.
---
Li Shen gasped awake, his body trembling. The black stele had vanished, leaving behind faint runes etched across his chest, glowing faintly like embers.
In his head, faint laughter echoed.
"From now on, we are one. I am you… and you are me."
Li Shen pressed a hand to his chest, his breath ragged. Yet beneath the pain, he felt something new.
For the first time in his life, Qi flowed through him.
But it wasn't like the Qi he had seen others cultivate. This energy was cold, endless, devouring. It felt as though it came from a bottomless abyss, a power that even Heaven itself had rejected.
Li Shen lifted his gaze to the smoke-filled sky. Tears still stained his cheeks, but his eyes no longer held despair. They burned with something else—a cold, unyielding resolve.
"Xue'er…" he whispered. "I swear… I'll grow strong. I'll destroy them. I'll make this world kneel."
The night wind howled, carrying with it the ashes of the burned village.
From the ruins rose a boy no longer bound by weakness.
Not a rootless trash, but the beginning of a demon who would shake the heavens.