The first light of dawn crept over the Celestial Capital, painting the sky in soft pinks and golds. But the beauty of the morning felt hollow to Li Wei. He stood by the inn's window, his fingers drumming restlessly against the wooden sill. The city below stirred to life—merchants hawked their wares, children darted through alleys, and the scent of freshly steamed buns wafted up from the streets. Yet all he could feel was the gnawing dread in his chest, sharp and unrelenting.
Lady Xue's words from the night before haunted him. *"The Obsidian Hand is older than anyone realizes."* The weight of it pressed on his shoulders like a mountain. He'd faced betrayal before, but this… this was something ancient, something *hungry*.
A soft knock broke his thoughts. Xiao Lan stood in the doorway, her usual brightness dimmed. Her hands fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve—a nervous habit she'd had since they were kids. "Mei Ling's back," she said quietly. "She… she doesn't look good, Li Wei."
The use of his name, not "Sect Leader," made his throat tighten. Xiao Lan only dropped formalities when fear stripped away her bravado.
Mei Ling waited in the dim common room, her posture rigid as a blade. A smudge of ash streaked her cheek, and her knuckles were raw. She didn't sit. Didn't blink. "They're gathering at the old temple," she said, voice clipped. "The Obsidian Hand. They've been hauling crates in all night—artifacts, tools, *people*. And the energy there…" She trailed off, her gaze distant. "It's like the air itself is *screaming*."
Li Wei's stomach twisted. He'd seen Mei Ling stare down assassins without flinching. But now, her hands trembled.
Lady Xue stepped forward, her silk robes whispering like secrets. "That temple was sealed centuries ago. Whatever they're digging up… it shouldn't exist." Her voice was steady, but her eyes betrayed her—a flicker of fear, quick as a shadow.
Xiao Lan hugged herself. "Why are we still here? We should've left last night. This isn't our fight!"
The words hung in the air, sharp and brittle. Li Wei turned to her, surprised by the crack in her voice. Xiao Lan, who'd laughed as they sparred in the rain. Xiao Lan, who'd brewed him tea after his nightmares. Now her eyes glistened, wide and pleading.
"It became our fight the moment Feng marked us," Li Wei said softly. "Running won't save us. Not anymore."
The temple loomed at the city's edge, half-swallowed by vines and time. Moonlight bled through the clouds, casting the crumbling stone in shades of silver and blue. It didn't look like a place of power. It looked like a tomb.
"This is a mistake," Xiao Lan muttered, her breath fogging in the chill air. "That thing feels… *alive*."
Li Wei didn't argue. The temple's energy clawed at his senses—a low, discordant hum that made his teeth ache. Even the wind here felt wrong, slithering through the trees like a serpent.
Lady Xue led them through a fissure in the wall, her steps silent. The passage inside was narrow, the walls slick with moss. The air smelled of damp earth and something sharper, metallic. Blood? Li Wei's pulse quickened.
"Wait," Mei Ling hissed suddenly. She pressed a hand to the wall, her brow furrowed. "Do you hear that?"
A sound drifted through the darkness—a low, rhythmic chanting. Not human. Not quite. The syllables twisted in the air, grating and guttural. Li Wei's skin prickled. *Demonic cultivation.* He'd only heard rumors, tales of rituals that warped flesh and soul.
Xiao Lan grabbed his arm, her nails digging in. "Li Wei, *please*. Let's go back."
For a heartbeat, he almost did. Almost let fear win. Then he saw Mei Ling's jaw set, saw Lady Xue's fingers tighten around her dagger. *They're trusting you. Leading them.*
"Stay close," he whispered.
The chamber they stumbled into stole his breath.
Moonlight filtered through cracks in the ceiling, illuminating walls etched with pulsing runes. The symbols glowed crimson, writhing like veins. At the room's center stood an altar—black stone stained with something dark and viscous. And around it, figures in obsidian robes chanted, their voices merging into a chorus that made the air vibrate.
Xiao Lan gagged. "Gods, the *smell*—"
Li Wei's stomach churned. Rot. Iron. *Death.*
One of the figures turned. Slowly. A hood shadowed their face, but their lips curled into a smile too wide, too sharp. "Little moths," they crooned. "Drawn to the flame."
Lady Xue froze. "*You*," she breathed.
The figure laughed, a sound like cracking ice. "Xue Ming. Still playing hero? How quaint."
Recognition flashed in Li Wei's mind. *Xue Ming.* Not Lady Xue. *Xue Ming*—the disgraced heir of the Jade Serpent Clan. The one who'd vanished a decade ago, accused of slaughtering her own family.
Xiao Lan gasped. "You—you're supposed to be *dead*!"
Xue Ming's smile didn't waver. "Death is flexible for those who know its secrets."
The runes flared suddenly, the light so blinding Li Wei staggered back. The altar split open with a roar, and *something* poured out—a swirling mass of shadows and eyes and teeth. The chamber shook, stones crashing down as the thing grew, its form shifting, *warping*.
"Run!" Mei Ling screamed.
They fled, the temple collapsing around them. Li Wei dragged Xiao Lan over falling debris, his lungs burning. Behind them, the creature's shriek echoed—a sound that would haunt his dreams for years.
Dawn found them miles from the city, huddled in a hollowed-out ruin. Xiao Lan shook silently, her face buried in her knees. Mei Ling paced like a caged wolf, her knuckles still bleeding.
Xue Ming—*Lady Xue*—sat apart, her mask of calm shattered. "They've awakened it," she whispered. "The Devourer. An ancient horror sealed by the first cultivators. And now…"
Li Wei closed his eyes. The memory of those eyes, those teeth—*Gods, what have we done?*
Xiao Lan lifted her head, her voice raw. "We can't fight that. *No one* can."
Mei Ling stopped pacing. "We have to try."
Li Wei looked at them—his reckless spy, his trembling alchemist, the traitor noble with blood on her hands. His family. His responsibility.
"We'll find a way," he said, the lie tasting bitter. "We always do."
But as the sun rose, Li Wei wondered if this was the storm that would finally drown them all.