The night was heavy with silence. The group rested beneath a towering cliff, a fire crackling weakly in the cold wind. Disciples huddled together in small circles, whispering and casting furtive glances at Li Shen. None dared sit near him.
He sat alone, just at the fire's edge, his shadow stretched long and thin against the rocks. His hands trembled as he stared into the flames. Every flicker of fire reminded him of what had erupted from his body earlier that day—the golden light that had swept away the Void.
"What was that?" he muttered. His voice was almost lost to the crackling wood. "Why did it feel like her…?"
The memory of Lin Yue pierced him like a blade. Her laughter. Her small hand gripping his. The warmth of her presence. The golden light had felt the same—gentle, steady, unyielding.
Inside, the shadow writhed in chains, its voice dripping with venom.
"Do not trust it. That light will betray you. Just as the world betrayed you. Only I give you strength. Only I will remain when all else is lost."
But then came the other voice. Firm. Gentle. Steady.
"Strength without hope is hollow. Strength without light devours itself. Do not surrender to the abyss, Shen."
Li Shen pressed his palms to his temples. His skull felt as if it would split apart, the two voices tearing at him from within. "Enough… just… stop…"
---
Footsteps approached. Elder Han lowered himself onto a rock beside Li Shen, his presence heavy but not unkind. His sharp eyes studied the boy, the way he trembled, the flickers of light still glowing faintly beneath his skin.
"You don't understand what lies within you, do you?" Elder Han asked quietly.
Li Shen's lips parted, but no words came. At last, he shook his head. "All I know is darkness. It's been with me since the day I lost everything. But today… something else appeared. Something I don't understand."
Elder Han's gaze hardened. "Void and Light. Two forces that should never coexist. One devours, the other restores. To carry both… is to court destruction."
"Then why me?" Li Shen's voice cracked, raw with bitterness. "Why would the heavens curse me with this?"
"Perhaps not a curse," Elder Han murmured, his tone unreadable. "Perhaps a trial. Or perhaps… you are a key. To what, I do not know. But the heavens do not waste power like this."
Li Shen turned his eyes to the fire, its flames reflected in the pools of gold and shadow swirling faintly within his irises. For a long moment, neither spoke.
---
By dawn, the mist had lifted. The group continued their journey, winding along mountain paths until the towering gates of the Rising Cloud Sect came into view.
The sect was a fortress of stone and sky. White towers rose above waterfalls, banners bearing the emblem of soaring cranes fluttered in the wind. Bridges arched gracefully between cliffs, crowded with disciples in flowing robes. The air hummed with qi, thick and vibrant, as though the very mountains breathed life.
Li Shen's breath caught. He had never seen anything so vast, so alive. For a fleeting moment, awe stirred in him. But it quickly soured into dread. Could someone like him ever belong here?
At the gate, a tall disciple stepped forward, carrying a crystal sphere the size of a fist. Its surface pulsed with faint light. "Qi detection," he announced. "All initiates must undergo it. Elder Han, is this boy… suitable?"
Whispers rippled through the gathered disciples. Many already eyed Li Shen with suspicion, their hands hovering near their swords.
Elder Han's expression was hard. "Do it."
The disciple nodded reluctantly. "Place your palm here."
Li Shen hesitated. His heart thundered. He could already feel the Void and the Light stirring inside him, restless, unstable. What if they lashed out again? What if he lost control?
But Elder Han's gaze was steady, unyielding. Li Shen swallowed hard and placed his hand on the crystal.
---
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. The sphere remained dull. Then—
Light exploded. Half of the sphere blazed with blinding radiance, golden rays shooting out like a miniature sun. The other half twisted into a storm of shadows, black tendrils writhing violently against the glass.
The clash cracked the sphere down the middle with a sharp CRACK.
Gasps erupted all around.
"What—what is that?!"
"Two essences?! That's impossible!"
"It's blasphemy! He should not exist!"
The disciples recoiled, some drawing their blades, others backing away as though Li Shen carried a plague.
The golden and black lights warred within the shattered sphere, neither overwhelming the other, but both burning with ferocity.
Elder Han's eyes narrowed, but his heart pounded. "This boy… he carries the impossible."
Li Shen pulled his hand back, his body trembling. He looked down at his palm, still glowing faintly with both light and darkness. His chest tightened. For the first time, the world had seen him—not as weak, not as forgotten, but as something that should never have been born.
A storm of fear, anger, and awe swirled within him. There would be no turning back.
---
That night, alone in his quarters at the sect, Li Shen lay awake. His body still ached, his mind still reeled from the day's events. The whispers of the Void slithered in his ears.
"They fear you. They hate you. One day, they'll come with blades to end you. And when they do, I'll be here. I'll give you the strength to slaughter them all."
But then, softer, came the other voice.
"Do not lose yourself, Shen. You are more than shadow. You are more than despair. Hold to the light, even when the darkness screams louder."
Li Shen stared into the darkness of the ceiling. His fists clenched against the bedding.
For so long, he had lived only to survive. Now, for the first time, he wondered:
Was there more waiting for him?
Or would the world tear him apart before he found it?
The night gave no answers. Only silence.