From Rising Hour to Early Hour, the stars were at their brightest, but by the final hour of Early Hour, they would slowly lose their lustre.
By the third hour of Falling Hour, the stars of the Starlit Sky were shining as mere vestiges and would continue to dim further thereafter.
The dim stars marked a dark time, and two figures could be seen moving across the stone-paved streets.
...
"It should be around the corner... yeah, that building there."
There was an ornate building with a blue and brown aesthetic, standing only one story tall but ten rooms wide.
The surrounding wall was many times wider than the building, implying the presence of a courtyard.
Sun and Liming Zi walked up to the front gate, where they met with two guards.
"What business do you have at the United Army Hall?"
"United...? We are here for an assembly held by Exalted Immortal Union."
"Assembly... You two are Cultivators?" One of the guards exclaimed while examining Sun and Liming Zi, "You two are quite young to be Cultivators..."
"We are only First Realm Cultivators, that is all. Oh, and I present this as proof of our invitation."
Retrieving something from her inner robe, Liming Zi pulled out a shimmering grade slip.
"A Jade Slip...! You two really have been summoned by Lord Immortal Union? Please, just follow through; let us not hold you any longer."
"All is well." With a nod, Liming Zi placed the Jade Slip back in her robes and walked through the gate with Sun behind her.
...
Sun and Liming Zi were led to a section within the building that was hardly populated; a spacious room with a large table standing in the centre.
Occupying a seat on the right side of the table was a man dressed in tight blue robes, short, silver hair tied high, and a stern look on his face.
Beside him was a woman dressed in free-flowing red robes, with lustrous black hair that fell below her shoulders. Her eyes were closed as if she were resting.
At the end of the table was an old, sagely man dressed in dark blue robes.
"Immortal... Union...!"
Sun and Liming Zi had never met the man before, but the familiar presence this old man held had reminded them of another Immortal.
As they came to this realisation, they quickly wrapped their fist in their palm and greeted politely.
Among the two, it was Sun who raised the first question—one which they both shared.
"Exalted Immortal Union... Why have we been called to this assembly?"
"Please, take a seat. I do not wish to delay the information that I wish to give."
Immortal Union gestured to the seats around the table, inviting Sun and Liming Zi to sit opposite the two people who were already seated.
"First, let me introduce you to a Disciple of my Settlement."
Immortal Union gestured to the man of silver hair, introduced as Silver Extreme.
Silver Extreme gave a stern nod towards Sun and Liming Zi, while Immortal Union then gestured to the woman by Silver Extreme's side.
"This is Heart Tethering Maiden, a foreign Cultivator who has close ties to this Settlement."
She, however, remained silent, eyes never opening; a colder greeting to Sun and Liming Zi.
After this short introduction, Sun and Liming Zi could not withhold their expectations.
"Why has exalted Immortal Union requested we attend an assembly? Though I am not too concerned with the secrecy of your invitation, it is the subject at hand that I am concerned about."
Liming Zi did not hide her suspicions, confronting Immortal Union head-on, who responded passively,
"It regards those who struck down your father, Immortal Defiance, and the failure of killing them."
A quiet sob was stifled in Liming Zi's throat.
"Then... what of the people who killed my father..."
Sun, too, felt his emotions rising in his throat, ones he did not bother to stifle,
"Have they been captured...?!"
Immortal Union shook his head.
"The subjugation of those two assailants has failed."
"Failed?"
Sun's mouth fell slightly agape before he closed it while gritting his teeth.
A faint tremble shook his body at the news.
'They got away?!' 'They're still alive?!'
Those were thoughts that Sun wanted to shout at the Immortal before him, but he restrained himself when a gentle hand fell upon his shoulder.
Liming Zi let out a sigh.
There was a hint of sorrow in her sigh, but she did not tremble as Sun did.
Quelling Sun's rage and trembling body, she turned her gaze to Immortal Union.
"Is that really all?"
"No... Unfortunately, that is not all..."
With a wave of his hand, Immortal Union summoned wisps of wind, coalescing on the table before him.
It solidified into the vague image of a map before it started to resemble a familiar geography to two particular people.
There was one mountain centred in the map, the peak was charred black, and shrouded in a blue-grey fog.
These were unnatural features.
"Is this Star Gazing Settlement's land?"
"Indeed. The peak where Star Gazing Settlement stood now bears the scars of the Settlement's fall."
With another wave, two figures were conjured by the gathering wisps of wind.
One of a similar blue to the fog around the peak, and the other of a charred appearance.
"I will refer to these figures as Confusion and Calamity.
"These two are the assailants who had struck down your father, Immortal Defiance, and currently defile the face of your mountain."
"What...?"
At the introduction of the two figures, Sun burned their visage into his memories, mixing them with the same hateful and mournful memories he has of his home's fall.
But as he heard the words from Immortal Union's mouth, he couldn't help but plead for clarification.
"What do you mean by 'defile' our mountain?"
"Specifically, 'Confusion' has not left. It has remained on the mountain and reigns over it and the surrounding region.
"While 'Calamity' has left, their whereabouts are not known at the moment. Although they should have been heavily injured by Immortal Adamant, we can only hope that it will not show up any time soon."
...