The ruined sect hall lay in silence, save for the crackling embers of shattered formations and the faint, labored breaths of the defeated. The once-mighty Azure Cloud Sect's Grandmaster and Liu Tianhai lay at my feet, bloodied, weakened, their spiritual cultivation in shambles.
Yet, despite their pitiful state, the two men laughed.
The Grandmaster, his once-pristine robes now drenched in crimson, tilted his head back and let out a wheezing chuckle. Liu Tianhai, still clutching his wounded chest, grinned through his pain.
I narrowed my eyes. "Where is she?"
Neither answered.
I took a slow step forward, dragging Heaven's End along the shattered stone floor, its cold edge sparking against the debris. The sound echoed like the tolling of a death knell.
"My fiancé," I repeated, my voice dangerously low. "She was not among your disciples. She was not in the sect during my massacre."
I crouched down beside Liu Tianhai, gripping his jaw and forcing his eyes to meet mine. "Where. Is. She?"
His smirk widened. The Grandmaster, despite his broken body, finally spoke.
"The one who framed you, the one who orchestrated your master's death…" He coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood before grinning. "He took an interest in her."
My heart slowed. The air grew still.
Liu Tianhai chuckled, his voice laced with mockery. "She's his prized disciple now. His chosen successor. The future Sect Master of his domain."
I let go of him abruptly, rising to my feet.
My fiancé… the one person I swore to protect… had been taken by my enemy.
Groomed as his heir.
A storm raged inside me, my breath shallow, my fingers tightening around my blade. The blood in my veins boiled with unrelenting fury, and for a moment—just a moment—I nearly lost control.
But I had learned.
I had been betrayed before. Deceived. Broken.
I would not let my rage consume me yet.
Instead, I took a breath and looked down at the two men, my voice calm and cold. "Do you ever regret it?"
The Grandmaster scoffed.
"Regret?" Liu Tianhai sneered, wiping the blood from his mouth. "For what?"
"For aiding him in killing your own martial brother. For betraying your own disciple. For destroying those who stood by your side for hundreds of years."
Their laughter came like a slap to the face.
"Power is all that matters, Mo Wuyuan." The Grandmaster smirked. "Your master was a fool. He was weak. You were naïve. The strong rise. The weak perish. That is the way of the world."
Liu Tianhai chuckled beside him. "And you? You're no different. Look at what you've done tonight. Look at the bodies you've left behind." He tilted his head mockingly. "Do you feel guilty?"
I stared down at them, my grip tightening on my sword. No. I did not.
I sighed. "Then there is no need to ask for your last words."
My hand rose, and Crimson Veil answered.
A surge of dark energy twisted around my arm, the demonic mask manifesting from nothingness, a haunting visage of writhing shadows and malevolent power. Its hollow eyes gleamed with hunger.
Liu Tianhai's smirk faltered. The Grandmaster's breathing hitched.
"W-What are you—"
I moved.
The mask slammed onto the Grandmaster's face, latching onto his skin like a parasite.
His body convulsed as a sickening scream tore from his throat.
Liu Tianhai struggled to back away, but my foot pressed down on his chest, keeping him in place.
The mask pulsed, its energy draining, consuming, searching.
Then—images.
Fragments of memory bled into my mind.
I saw it—him.
A lone figure cloaked in darkness, his aura suffocating, his voice smooth like silk yet filled with venom. My master's corpse lay at his feet, my name whispered like a curse.
Then, another vision—her.
She knelt before him, her eyes no longer filled with warmth, only unwavering devotion. The same hands that once reached for mine now clutched a new master's robes.
And then—a single whisper.
"If fate allows, will you still seek me?"
The vision shattered.
The mask unraveled from the Grandmaster's face, leaving him an empty husk—a corpse still breathing.
I turned to Liu Tianhai.
He no longer smirked.
The mask moved once more.
Liu Tianhai thrashed beneath my foot, his breathing ragged, his once-confident smirk now twisted into pure terror.
He had seen what I had done to the Grandmaster.
He knew what was coming next.
"No… No, wait—" He coughed, blood splattering across the ruined floor. "We—we can talk about this, Wuyuan!"
I crouched down, gripping his throat just hard enough to make him struggle for air but not enough to end his life. Not yet.
"You never cared about talking before," I murmured. "Why now?"
His eyes darted around frantically, seeking an escape that didn't exist. "I—I can tell you more! The one who framed you, he—he isn't just anyone! He's beyond anything you can imagine!"
I tilted my head. "And?"
"He… He's been planning this for years!" Liu Tianhai gasped, his body trembling beneath my grip. "You were never just a scapegoat! You—your master, your fiancé—everything was calculated!"
A slow rage curled in my chest, simmering, deadly.
"Then you knew," I said quietly. "You knew from the beginning."
He flinched. His silence told me everything.
I took a breath, feeling the air around me grow heavier with the weight of my killing intent. My fingers flexed, then tightened around his throat.
"You helped slaughter your own martial brother, betrayed your own disciple, and threw away loyalty for the sake of power," I said, my voice eerily calm. "Tell me, Liu Tianhai—do you feel any regret?"
His lips parted. For a brief moment, I saw something in his eyes—a flicker of shame.
Then, just as quickly, it was gone.
His expression hardened, and he laughed. A choked, wheezing laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.
"Regret?" he echoed. "What is there to regret?"
A slow exhale left my lips. Of course.
People like them never change.
I reached into the depths of the Crimson Veil's power, and the mask began to form once more—dark, twisted energy surging to life in my grasp.
Liu Tianhai's laughter stopped. His eyes widened, true horror setting in.
"No—NO! Wuyuan, WAIT—"
The mask slammed onto his face.
His screams filled the night.
His body convulsed violently, his arms flailing as the demonic energy surged into him, tearing through his mind, devouring his memories. The Crimson Veil drank deeply.
Then—the visions came.
I saw a temple shrouded in darkness. Massive, towering statues lined its entrance, each depicting twisted figures with hollow eyes. Black flames flickered along the stone pathways.
At the heart of this temple stood a man cloaked in white.
His face was obscured, but his aura was unmistakable—a predator wrapped in silk, a viper hidden behind a gentle smile.
And beside him—her.
She stood at his right hand, her robes pristine, her posture graceful. The once-warm eyes that used to soften at the sight of me were now cold.
Detached.
She spoke, her voice eerily calm.
"He is nothing more than a ghost of the past. If he comes for me, I will kill him myself."
The vision shattered.
The mask peeled away from Liu Tianhai's face, leaving behind a hollow shell. His breath came in weak, shallow gasps, his once-arrogant gaze now distant, unfocused.
He was alive, but his mind was broken.
I slowly rose to my feet, my chest tightening.
She had chosen this.
She had accepted him as her master.
She had spoken those words herself.
I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the realization sink in.
Then, when I finally opened them—there was no hesitation left in me.
I turned, stepping away from the ruins of the Azure Cloud Sect, my path set.
"If fate allows, will you still seek me?
The answer was simple.
I would find her.
And I would ask her myself.