The winds that swept across the peaks of the Skyreach Mountains no longer whispered—they howled. The world had shifted. The Jade Flame had awakened. And as Li Wei and his companions descended the sacred slopes, they felt the weight of the skies pressing down, as if unseen eyes had turned toward them.
Night had fallen by the time they reached the lower foothills. The moon hung low and large, a blood-orange disc peeking through sheets of cloud. Shadows moved faster than they should have, and the silence between the rustling of trees was too deep—unnatural.
Yu Lin was the first to speak. "Something stalks us. Not a beast. A presence."
Li Wei tightened his grip on the Blade of Aether. It no longer merely hummed—it pulsed, alive with warning. The blade seemed to shimmer subtly in rhythm with his heartbeat, casting small, rippling halos of greenish-blue light.
"Bo Qian," he said, "lead us through the ridge. The old monk's path we passed earlier—do you remember it?"
Bo Qian nodded. Though weary from the long trek and still carrying the weight of battle scars, his warrior's senses were alert. "It loops through the Whispering Stones. But the name isn't for nothing. Travelers claim to hear voices."
"Then let's listen," said Mei Ling.
---
The Whispering Stones were tall monoliths, jagged and ancient, their surfaces carved with sigils from a forgotten language. As the group passed through them, the wind carried more than cold—it carried words.
Li Wei could hear them faintly.
"Bearer of light... guardian of ruin... choose the thread..."
Yu Lin froze beside one of the taller stones. Her hand trembled as it brushed against its surface. "I know this symbol," she whispered. "It's from the Northern Sky Clan. The lost tribe that vanished before the war of fire."
Bo Qian arched a brow. "They were said to wield magic that manipulated starlight."
Li Wei turned toward Yu Lin. "What are you seeing?"
Her eyes glowed faintly now. "It's not what I'm seeing... it's what I'm remembering. My mother told me stories of these stones. She said they could awaken the past in bloodlines that still remembered."
Suddenly, a light flared from the sigil, and Yu Lin collapsed.
---
Within her mind, Yu Lin fell through constellations. Star charts spun around her like ancient gears, and a voice called from beyond the celestial veil.
"Child of the North Star, awaken your blood. The constellations mourn the silence of your kin."
She reached out, and her hand touched a radiant orb—a sigil of her clan, blazing with forgotten starlight. It surged into her, reigniting threads of lost power.
When her eyes opened again, she glowed faintly with silver light, her aura pulsing like a moon caught between eclipse and dawn.
"I remember," she breathed. "I remember our name. We were the Astral Weavers."
Mei Ling stepped back, eyes wide. "You just... summoned the Light of the Celestial Loom. That hasn't been seen in five hundred years."
Yu Lin stood, steadier now. "Then it's time it was seen again."
---
They continued down the path. But they were no longer alone.
Figures appeared from the treeline—robed in black and crimson, faces masked in obsidian lacquer. Their leader stood taller than the rest, his mask shaped like a jackal's skull.
"Guardians of the Jade Flame," he said, voice smooth as oil, "the Forgotten King sends his regards."
Li Wei stepped forward, aura blazing to life. "Then he can deliver them in person."
The masked man chuckled. "He will. But for now, he asks for your heads."
With a flick of his fingers, the attackers rushed.
---
The battle was unlike anything they'd faced. These were not bandits or beasts. These were the Shadowbound—assassins trained in ancient void arts. Their blades dripped with null-fire, a substance that consumed Qi on contact.
Bo Qian met them with a roar, his halberd spinning in wide arcs that sent shockwaves into the ground. Mei Ling danced between shadows, her talismans blazing in the air, exploding into barriers and lightning traps.
Yu Lin summoned her new power—blades of starlight that curved through the dark like comets. She spun them in a graceful storm, singing through the night with deadly elegance.
Li Wei held the line at the center. The Blade of Aether sang with every swing, cleaving through enemies as green fire surged in its wake. He could feel the presence of Ji Yuan, the First Guardian, guiding his instincts.
But the masked leader had not moved.
Until now.
He stepped forward, and with a gesture, the shadows converged into a spear of darkness. He hurled it toward Li Wei.
Li Wei raised the Blade of Aether, but the spear split into tendrils midair, surrounding him.
"Too slow," the leader sneered.
Then Yu Lin appeared behind him.
Her voice echoed with celestial force. "Starlight Requiem."
A beam of pure starlight erupted from above, striking the leader square in the back.
He screamed, stumbling forward—long enough for Li Wei to break free and drive the Blade of Aether through his chest.
The shadows screamed with him. Then they vanished.
---
The forest fell silent again. Broken, but safe.
They stood among the fallen. Mei Ling whispered a prayer. Bo Qian searched the bodies for clues. Yu Lin sat on a stone, eyes glowing faintly still.
Li Wei looked toward the horizon. Dawn was breaking.
"The Forgotten King knows we're coming," he said.
Bo Qian sheathed his blade. "Then let's not disappoint him."
Far away, in a chamber of black mirrors, the Forgotten King watched.
"Let them come," he murmured. "Let them gather power. Let them believe. I want them whole when they kneel."
And from the shadows behind him, something ancient stirred.