The Red Lotus Hall stood against the blood-red firmament: a high, towering building of obsidian and granite, its two huge doors open for the great assembly of disciples of the Crimson Lotus Sect to stream inside. The air was heavy with the hum of dark energy inside as the ritual of invoking the power of the Blood Moon began, initiated by the sect's leaders.
Xian Hei stood in the shadows, his form masked from the view of the disciples of the sect, a cold anticipation gleaming in his eyes. The Nine Veils of Shadow hummed beneath his skin, urging him on as the dark power within him beckoned at the unfolding ritual.
He watched, his mind calculating each move, each piece falling into place. Lian Yin's betrayal had shown him the key to his plans: today would not only be the day he struck down the Crimson Lotus Sect but also the day he seized the power they worked for over the centuries to control.
The ritual was led by the Grandmaster of the Crimson Lotus, Master Lei Xing, a man whose cultivation was said to be on par with the most powerful figures of the realm. His robes billowed around him like a living shadow, and his voice echoed with authority as he chanted the ancient incantations to draw upon the Blood Moon's power. A red light permeated the room, and the disciples stood in silent reverence, their faces illuminated by the eerie glow. But Xian Hei knew better. The Blood Moon was only a tool, a means of channeling and amplifying their power, but without the proper sacrifice, it was nothing. And therein lay the fatal mistake of the Crimson Lotus Sect. ---
The first casualty of the ritual came swiftly.
As Master Lei Xing raised his arms to the sky, calling upon the moon's power, a flash of darkness moved through the chamber like a bolt of lightning.
The disciples closest to the center of the ritual were the first to feel the bite of Xian Hei's power, the shadows around them twisting and snaking like vipers. Their screams echoed down the hall as they were siphoned off, taken by the very darkness they sought control over. Xian Hei narrowed his eyes as the ritual began to falter, the disciples writhing in agony, their bodies contorting, their very souls torn asunder by the dark energy he unleashed. His will surged, the shadows around him spilling out like a storm to consume the light of the Blood Moon and twist it into something far darker and far more potent. The face of Master Lei Xing contorted in surprise as he looked around wildly, his mind racing with the realization that all was not right. Something had gone wrong with the ritual; the Blood Moon's power no longer was bending to his will. Xian Hei's influence had corrupted the flow of energy, redirecting it, twisting it into his own image. "You!" Master Lei Xing roared, eyes wide as realization dawned. "It's you! He who wishes to steal that which is ours!"
Xian Hei stepped into the light, framed by a gathering of silhouetted shadows, his eyes shining with a supernatural, terrifying hunger.
"The Nine Veils of Shadow are mine now," Xian Hei said coldly. "And you… you are but a flickering spark before the darkness I will bring."
Xian Hei exploded into motion, his body dissolving into a dark cloud surging at the Grandmaster with impossible speed. Master Lei Xing brought his hands up in a belated defense, calling on his cultivation to dam the oncoming tide of shadow; it was too late.
Xian Hei turned out to be so powerful: with a surge of dark energy, he collided right into Master Lei Xing and wrapped around the latter like a vice, making him squeeze out even a bit of air from his lungs. The light from Blood Moon flickered as if even the sky was shrinking away before this power of overwhelming shadows.
You are nothing before me," Xian Hei whispered, the quiet tone of his voice belied by the cacophony of energy swirling about him. "I have transcended the shackles you have imposed on yourself. You are the past. I am the future.".
The shadows around Master Lei Xing then grew thick, his pride once high now reduced to a small flicker; his face contorted grotesquely in one final spasm of pain. His power buckled and his flesh crumbled into dust as Xian Hei siphoned the very essence from him. With one last shriek, the Grandmaster fell, his body splintering into nothing, entirely consumed by the darkness Xian Hei called upon.
And then, silence.
---
The rest of the Crimson Lotus Sect disciples stood in aghast terror with white faces at the fact that their very own Grandmaster, under whom they had sworn their oath, had just been completely annihilated. A stormy wind ran through the ranks with fear, and Xian Hei had assumed the centerpiece of chaos in all his might, bathed under the red light of the dying moon.
"You are next," Xian Hei said in a low, venomous voice, as if the tenebrousness eddied around him, alive.
Aghast, his disciples did react-to call their own blood magic and arms-but it was too late. Absolute in power, Xian Hei was unrestrained and surged further on; one by one was swallowed into the darkness, the screams lost to the nothingness.
Xian Hei reaped them like a sharp knife through paper, not a single hit out of place, all of precision. The life force from each disciple was drawn, their blood and energy joining the ever-grown turmoil within him. The power of the Nine Veils of Shadow stirred to his will as it grew in power, life by life. Underneath him, he still felt the pulse of power from the Blood Moon-what was left of that ritualistic act that hung in protest at his helm.
But it was futile.
Xian Hei had become the master of the shadows, and they danced at his whim, responding to every silent order as he gorged himself on their strength, each instant making him stronger before finally the last of the sect's disciples crumpled before him, no more than lifeless husks drained by their master of all they would ever possess.
The ritual chamber was in shambles, with what once was a sacred place turned into a scene of death and destruction. In a final flicker, the crimson light of the Blood Moon disappeared, as if the city of Xingling held a single, communal breath.
He stood amongst the ruins, his resolve steadfast, his eyes cold as ice, satisfied with having won this revenge. This was just the beginning-Crimson Lotus Sect might have fallen, but.
And with that, as the last remnants of the sect crumbled to dust, Xian Hei felt the fullness of his power course through him. The *Nine Veils of Shadow* had remade him into something no longer constrained by mortal comprehension. His cultivation had eclipsed even that of the strongest of the Crimson Lotus, and nothing was to stand in the way of his rise.
The world will soon bow down to me, Xian Hei thought, walking away from the ruined hall. I will burn everything into nothing, and no one will stand against me.
The shadows danced around him, an army to his beck and call, as the night turned into his most trusted ally. He knew of the power of the Crimson Lotus Sect, yet all he had tasted to this day was just the tip of the iceberg. Far more lay ahead to claim, much more to burn down.
And he would stop at nothing until everything around him had been consumed by the shadows.