The misty road stretched like an endless serpent, winding between jagged cliffs and deep ravines. The disciples of the Rising Cloud Sect walked in neat lines, their robes fluttering with every gust of mountain wind. Elder Han led them at a steady pace, his presence commanding without words.
At the very back of the group, Li Shen staggered. His clothes were torn, his body weak, yet the weight on his heart was far heavier than his wounds. Every whisper, every sideways glance, pressed on him like stones stacked upon his chest.
"Why bring him, Elder?" one disciple murmured.
"He reeks of demonic qi."
"If he loses control, we're all finished."
The words weren't spoken loudly, but they pierced Li Shen's ears. He kept his eyes down, pretending not to hear, though each word cut deeper than steel. His fists clenched until his knuckles cracked.
Inside him, the shadow stirred, its laughter a cruel echo.
"See? They'll never accept you. You're a beast walking among sheep. One day, you'll tear them apart… and you'll love it."
Li Shen's jaw tightened. "Shut up," he whispered under his breath.
The laughter only grew, rattling through his skull like chains dragging across stone.
---
As the sun climbed higher, the group crossed into a narrow pass where cliffs rose on both sides. The air grew heavy. The qi of the disciples walking ahead pulsed in Li Shen's senses like glowing embers, warm and alive. The Void inside him clawed hungrily at the walls of his soul, desperate to devour that energy.
Li Shen's breath quickened. His vision blurred. His stomach twisted with a hunger that wasn't his own.
"They walk so close… one step, and you could rip open their throats. Taste their life. Just one… just one, and you'll never be weak again."
"No…" Li Shen muttered, shaking his head. His legs trembled, but the hunger only grew.
The shadow pressed harder, its whispers now a roar. "Do it! Claim what is yours! Do you want to crawl forever like an insect?"
His knees buckled. He crashed to the ground, palms digging into the dirt. Dark mist burst from his pores, swirling violently around him like a storm. His veins turned black, bulging as the Void threatened to tear him apart.
"Li Shen!" Elder Han's voice boomed, sharp with urgency. He was at the boy's side in an instant, his hand slamming against Li Shen's back. His qi surged into him, trying to suppress the eruption. "Control yourself!"
"I—CAN'T!" Li Shen roared, his voice ragged, his body writhing. The darkness inside him clawed at its cage, desperate to spill over.
The disciples panicked, blades half-drawn.
"He's going to explode!"
"Elder, step back! He's dangerous!"
But then—it happened.
A glow, faint at first, pulsed from deep within Li Shen's chest. It shimmered beneath his skin, fragile like a candle flame. But it did not fade. Instead, it spread, growing brighter and brighter, until golden light poured from his veins.
The black mist shrieked as if burned, retreating before the brilliance. The cliffs themselves seemed to sigh in relief. Leaves trembled as the golden waves washed over them, and birds that had fled moments earlier returned, perching once more on branches.
Elder Han froze, his eyes wide. "This… this is Light Qi?"
Li Shen's body stilled. The warmth flowed through him like sunlight after endless night. It wasn't power that burned or consumed—it embraced. For the first time since Lin Yue's death, he felt something close to hope.
And then he heard it: a voice, not the shadow's venom, but something else. Gentle. Firm. His own voice, yet not.
"Rise, Shen. You are not only darkness. You are not only despair. Within you lies more."
His eyes widened. Another self, locked deep within, had spoken.
The shadow roared in fury. "No! You are mine alone! You cannot escape me!"
Chains of golden light coiled inside his soul, wrapping around the shadow's writhing form. The beast howled, bound by the radiance.
Li Shen gasped, his body trembling. His golden-lit eyes flickered, then dimmed as exhaustion overtook him. He collapsed onto the ground, sweat soaking his back.
---
The disciples were silent, their faces pale.
"He… has two auras…"
"Void and Light? That's impossible!"
"He should not exist…"
Elder Han remained still, his mind a storm. In all his years, he had never seen such a thing. The boy carried two forces that should annihilate each other.
"Who… are you really?" Elder Han muttered, his voice almost lost to the wind.
Li Shen lifted his head weakly, his lips trembling. "I… I don't know."
And for the first time, fear and awe twisted together in his heart.
---
That night, the group camped near a river. The disciples kept their distance, clustering together while Li Shen sat alone by the fire. His reflection in the water wavered—eyes haunted, hands trembling, golden light faintly pulsing beneath his skin.
He remembered the warmth, the voice, the chains of light. It had felt like Lin Yue—his sister, reaching out from the abyss to steady him once more.
Inside, the shadow writhed against its bonds. "Don't trust it. That light is weakness. It will abandon you, just as the world abandoned you. Only I give you strength. Only I remain when all else is lost."
But the other voice whispered back, calm and resolute.
"Strength without hope is emptiness. Strength without light devours itself. Do not forget who you are, Shen."
Tears pricked at Li Shen's eyes as he pressed his fists against his chest. For so long, he had only known hunger, rage, and despair. But now, for the first time, something else stirred within him. Something warm. Something alive.
And he did not know whether to fear it… or embrace it.