DEMON SOVEREIGN'S REIGN

The spiral descent felt endless.

Each step they took toward the Hollow Heart pulsed with residual divine pressure—ancient, resentful, and very much alive. The atmosphere shifted from bone-chilling stillness to a magnetic hum that made their bones ache.

The staircase ended in a vast chamber, circular and domed, with crystalline roots embedded in the walls. At its center hovered a black heart the size of a carriage, suspended by silver chains and covered in celestial runes.

It beat once every ten breaths.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

"This is it," whispered Elder Qin. "The core of the Hollow Sovereign's remains."

Wei Yan stepped closer, holding his forged seal. "Why is it still alive?"

Liu Shen narrowed his eyes. "Because part of him defied the heavens even in death."

---

The Guardian Awakens

As they approached, the silver chains shuddered. With a blinding flash, they withdrew into the ceiling—and the heart dropped.

But it didn't crash.

Instead, the heart expanded and twisted, forming a towering humanoid shape: a featureless being made of black sinew and glowing silver veins, a flickering crown of bone floating above its head.

The Hollow Avatar.

Its presence crushed the air.

> "WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER?"

Liu Shen stepped forward. "I've come to inherit your will, not to bind your soul."

The Hollow Avatar paused.

> "YOU CARRY THE SCENT OF THE DEMON REALM… AND THE SCAR OF REBIRTH."

Its gaze—or what passed for one—turned to Yu Meixing, Lei Qing, and the others.

> "BUT THEY… CANNOT FOLLOW YOU BEYOND THIS POINT."

The floor split again, revealing five glowing sigils.

Each sigil flared beneath one of Liu Shen's companions.

Meixing's eyes widened. "No! We've come this far together!"

Liu Shen clenched his fist but didn't move. "This is my trial."

The others were gently lifted by invisible force, encased in stasis. Only Liu Shen remained.

---

The Inheritance Battle

The Hollow Avatar raised a hand. From its chest burst dozens of chains, each glowing with ancient power. Liu Shen summoned his crimson halberd, eyes blazing with violet flame.

The chains darted toward him like divine spears.

Liu Shen dodged the first wave, parried the second, and then spun into a brutal arc, slicing through four tendrils—but one wrapped around his left arm, burning it with celestial fire.

Gritting his teeth, Liu Shen channeled Demonic Soulfire, his body erupting in black-purple flames.

The chamber quaked.

With each swing, Liu Shen relived memories not his own: the Hollow Sovereign's war against the heavens… his betrayal by his own sect… his last stand beneath a shattered sky.

The chains moved faster.

They weren't just attacks—they were trials of memory, spirit, and soul.

Liu Shen screamed as a chain pierced his chest, projecting an illusion of his final death.

But he endured.

---

The Demon Speaks

Suddenly, a new voice whispered in his mind.

> "You… are not yet whole."

Liu Shen's eyes snapped open mid-strike.

The chamber darkened. A spectral version of himself emerged before him—this one blood-soaked and broken, the moment right before his past self had died.

"Even now, you still carry doubt," the specter said. "Can you lead others again? Can you trust them not to betray you again?"

Liu Shen didn't answer.

He thrust his halberd into the image's chest and whispered:

> "I don't need certainty. Only resolve."

The phantom burst into shadow.

---

Ascendance

The Hollow Avatar paused. For the first time, it bowed its head.

> "THE DEMON SOVEREIGN… HAS PASSED."

Its body collapsed into a storm of light, surging into Liu Shen's core.

The celestial runes carved themselves into his soul sea.

New memories flooded him—tomes of Hollow Sovereign techniques, secrets lost since the Age of Nine Suns, and a vision of the Abyss Gate, sealed beyond the veil of worlds.

Liu Shen gasped. His meridians trembled. His cultivation surged.

He rose from Peak Soul Dominion to the threshold of Void Ascendant—a realm even Heaven feared.

But the real gift was not power.

It was knowledge.

---

The Chains of Fate

The stasis seals around the others faded.

Yu Meixing rushed to him. "Are you alright?"

Liu Shen nodded slowly. "I am. And I know where we must go next."

Elder Qin stepped forward. "The Abyss Gate?"

"Yes. But first…" He turned toward the chamber wall and raised his hand.

The wall parted, revealing a long-hidden archive—a vault filled with scrolls, relics, and a mural.

The mural depicted a war: thousands of dark-robed cultivators battling golden-winged beings beneath a fractured sky. At the center, a figure stood with a bone crown and a burning halberd.

Liu Shen stepped closer. "The true history. The one the heavens erased."

Wei Yan picked up a scroll. His hands trembled. "These… these are forbidden techniques. But they're not demonic. They're… balance."

Elder Qin whispered, "The Hollow Sovereign wasn't evil. He tried to restore what the heavens broke."

Lei Qing crossed her arms. "Then it's our turn."

---

Toward the Abyss

Liu Shen took one last look at the chamber as it began collapsing.

With a wave of his hand, he sealed the Hollow Heart behind layers of spiritual wards. "Let no one disturb him again."

As they left the catacombs, a storm was already brewing in the world above.

The Hollow Empire stirred. Heavenly envoys had sensed the shift in fate.

And far to the east, in the citadel of the Ninefold Sky, an angelic figure opened his eyes.

> "The Demon Sovereign breathes again... Then let the stars burn."