DEMON SOVEREIGN'S REIGN

The group moved swiftly through the Duskgate Marsh, the Soul-Thread Fragment sealed in Liu Shen's spatial ring. Though the night sky loomed above, not a single star was visible—only a swirling dome of shifting shadows that mirrored the unease in Liu Shen's heart.

> "We shouldn't linger," Lei Qing said, scanning the treeline. "That clash disturbed the spiritual field. Something will come."

> "Let them," Liu Shen replied. "I've already tasted the Hollow's breath. Now I want to see its teeth."

They weren't far from the Obsidian Veins, an ancient path that connected Duskgate to the Hollow Empire's borderlands. Though untraveled for centuries, Liu Shen sensed stirrings—old paths waking from slumber.

Yu Meixing walked beside him in silence. Her steps were steady, but her qi wavered in unnatural pulses.

> "The vision still haunts you," Liu Shen said quietly.

> "You saw it too," she replied. "That moment… when I stood beside you in full regalia. It wasn't a memory. It was a prophecy. Or a warning."

> "Or both."

Before she could reply, a ripple tore through the night air. Black fog surged from all directions, forming a dome around them.

> "We're surrounded," Shen Yue hissed, drawing her blade.

Figures stepped out from the mist—robed in veils, faces hidden behind white masks bearing a single hollow circle.

> "Hollow Envoy," Liu Shen murmured, voice flat.

---

Messenger of Emptiness

From the midst of the masked figures emerged a being that stood above the rest—tall, thin, skin pale as bone. His eyes were voids, his voice layered with echoes.

> "Demon Sovereign Liu Shen. The Hollow Throne welcomes your return."

The words dripped with mockery. But it wasn't hostility—it was formality, twisted in the way only old beings spoke.

> "You're a century too late," Liu Shen replied coldly. "I don't remember inviting specters to a meeting."

> "And yet we come, uninvited but expected."

Yu Meixing's body stiffened. "This isn't just an envoy. This one... used to be human."

> "Correct," the Hollow being said. "I once bore a name—Zhao Wuchen. I served in the Third Heaven's Vanguard before I was... enlightened."

> "Enslaved, you mean," Lei Qing spat.

> "Liberated," Zhao Wuchen corrected. "From purpose. From pain. From self."

Liu Shen narrowed his eyes. "Why now? The Hollow never steps outside their borders without reason."

> "Because the first Fragment has been taken," Zhao Wuchen answered. "The Eye stirs. The chains weaken. The worlds bend."

---

A Wretched Proposal

Zhao Wuchen raised a scroll bound in silver chains.

> "The Hollow Emperor extends an offer. Join us."

The group collectively tensed.

> "Join you?" Shen Yue snapped. "You wage war through whispers and poison!"

> "We wage survival. When Heaven cast you down, did any of your so-called allies rise to defend you?" Zhao's gaze turned to Liu Shen. "Did the Shadow Sect? Did the Phoenix Empire?"

Liu Shen was silent.

> "We offer truth. Memory. Vengeance."

The offer was tempting in its raw honesty. But Liu Shen had walked this path before.

> "Truth without soul is just rot," he said. "And vengeance without restraint is madness. I walk my own path."

Zhao Wuchen tilted his head.

> "Then know this: the next Fragment lies within Hollow soil. You will face us again."

With that, the figures vanished into mist.

---

Unspoken Doubts

Silence hung over the marsh after the envoys' departure. The party continued on, but the encounter had left more than fear—it left doubt.

Yu Meixing finally spoke.

> "He said the next Fragment is in Hollow territory."

> "Then we're going in," Liu Shen said without hesitation.

> "Even if it's a trap?"

> "Especially if it is."

She stared at him. "You're not just chasing fragments anymore."

> "No," he admitted. "I'm chasing the truth."

Shen Yue walked beside Lei Qing, whispering, "If the Hollow starts offering 'peace' deals, something deeper is moving."

> "Or dying," Lei Qing muttered. "Either way, Liu Shen will face it head-on."

---

A Message from the Shadows

That night, as they made camp near the Whispering Pillars, Liu Shen meditated beside an ancient monument inscribed with Shadow Sect calligraphy.

Suddenly, a voice rang within his mind—not his own, and not from memory.

> "Sovereign. If you still bear the mark, come to the Abyssal Gate. The Ninth Shadow awakens."

His eyes flew open.

The voice had been hers.

But it hadn't been this Yu Meixing.

It was her past self.

The Ninth Shadow.