DEMON SOVEREIGN'S REIGN

When the light from the spatial tear faded, Liu Shen and his companions found themselves in a moonlit forest veiled in perpetual dusk.

The trees were tall and twisted, their leaves black as obsidian. Mists drifted between gnarled roots, and faint whispers clung to the air like spiderwebs.

> "Where are we now?" Lei Qing asked, tightening his grip on his spear.

> "Nightshade Hollow," Liu Shen replied. "A sanctuary for exiles, assassins, and shadows who refuse to bow to the heavens."

Ji Suyin narrowed her eyes.

> "And yet, we walk in freely?"

> "Not freely," Liu Shen said, his voice low. "They've been expecting us."

---

The Envoy of Knives

A rustle from the trees. Then, silence.

In the blink of an eye, a dozen figures dropped from the canopy—masked, robed in pitch-black silks, each with curved daggers drawn. Not a sound accompanied their arrival.

From among them stepped a woman, tall and elegant, with silver hair and a crescent mark on her forehead.

> "Demon Sovereign," she said, her voice smooth as falling snow. "You honor us with your return."

Lei Qing blinked.

> "Return?"

Liu Shen smirked.

> "Meet Xian Ye, Blade Mistress of the Nightshade Accord. Once, she pledged her shadow to me."

---

Old Shadows, New Blades

Xian Ye removed her mask, revealing sharp eyes and a scar tracing her jaw.

> "When you fell, the Accord fractured. Some bent the knee to the Heaven's Pact. Others scattered. I remained… waiting for the storm to rise again."

Liu Shen studied her, unreadable.

> "Do you still serve, or have your daggers dulled with time?"

She stepped closer.

> "Our blades are sharper than ever, Liu Shen. But if you seek the Accord's aid, you must revive the contract."

She raised a black scroll sealed with bone wax—an ancient Shadow Contract.

> "Three trials. Survive them, and the Accord walks with you again."

---

Trial One: A Blade Without Sound

The first trial was simple in concept: Steal the Whispering Leaf from the throat of the Iron Sentinel—without making a sound.

The Iron Sentinel was a golem of bronze and fire, stationed atop a spire of jagged rock within the Hollow. Its body clanged with every step, a furnace burning in its chest.

Liu Shen ascended alone.

He cloaked his demonic aura, masked his breath, and compressed his qi into a silent ripple. Step by step, he moved through shifting shadows and traps, using the Needle of Lament to momentarily stall time.

At the summit, he stood face to face with the Sentinel.

With one flicker of movement—too fast to follow—he extracted the leaf from its throat.

The Sentinel never noticed.

He returned to Xian Ye, leaf in hand, not a speck of dust on his robe.

> "First trial: complete," she said, almost smiling.

---

Trial Two: A Shadow's Mercy

The second trial was crueler.

He was handed a prisoner—bloodied, chained, barely conscious. A former Nightshade assassin who betrayed the Accord to the Heaven's Pact.

> "You must choose," Xian Ye said. "Execute him… or forgive him and share half your soul force with him to heal his shattered meridians."

Ji Suyin looked concerned.

> "This is a test of cruelty."

> "No," Liu Shen replied. "It's a test of authority."

He knelt before the broken man.

> "You betrayed me once."

The prisoner raised his head.

> "And I would do it again if it meant saving my daughter."

Liu Shen studied him… then cut the chains.

He pressed his palm against the man's back, infusing a portion of his soul force.

> "Serve me again. But fail me once more… and I will erase your name from this world."

Xian Ye nodded.

> "Second trial: passed. You lead not by fear alone… but by dominion."

---

Trial Three: The Dagger's Truth

The third trial brought Liu Shen to a black lake under a blood-red moon.

He was told to cast his own shadow upon the water, then fight whatever emerged.

As his reflection shimmered, the lake split—and from it rose a copy of himself, clad in white robes, eyes filled with light, not flame.

> "I am the man you could have been," the reflection said. "Uncorrupted. Loyal to the heavens. A hero, not a demon."

The battle was fierce. Each strike Liu Shen made was matched perfectly. Every demonic technique was mirrored with celestial grace.

But then, the reflection hesitated.

> "Why choose hatred?" it asked. "Why not change the world… from within?"

Liu Shen paused—then drove his hand through the reflection's heart.

> "Because the world does not change… it breaks."

The reflection shattered into mist.

---

The Accord Revived

The Shadow Contract unfurled before the trio.

Xian Ye approached, placing her bloodstained dagger on Liu Shen's palm.

> "You have passed all three trials. The Nightshade Accord now moves at your command. We shall walk in the dark, slit the throat of heaven, and crown the abyss."

Lei Qing blinked.

> "She's poetic."

> "She's dangerous," Ji Suyin said, eyeing the other assassins warily.

Liu Shen turned to Xian Ye.

> "Gather your best. I'll need them soon."

Xian Ye bowed.

> "There's one more thing."

She handed him a scroll sealed in silver.

> "A contact from the Hollow Empire left this for you. Said you'd seek the next Needle soon... and that the heavens are watching."

---

A Cold Wind Blows

In the depths of the Hollow Empire, Zhao Wenxiu watched stars fall in reverse across the Loom's mirror.

> "He found the Accord. Good."

He turned to a bound figure—an elder with half his soul extracted.

> "Liu Shen will chase the Needles. But he still doesn't know what they unlock."

The elder gasped, choking.

> "What... do they open…?"

Zhao Wenxiu smiled faintly.

> "The final seal. The gate… to the Skyfall Vault."

And somewhere above them, far beyond mortal sight, the heavens began to fracture.