DEMON SOVEREIGN'S REIGN

The Needle of Lamentation pulsed in Liu Shen's hand—its crimson eye unblinking, fixed on Yu Meixing as though drawn to something buried deep within her soul.

They stood at the edge of the Temple of Threaded Echoes, the spider guardian now still, entombed in strands of memory and forgotten soul-threads. Outside, the Hollow Empire's black sky brooded overhead.

> "We have the third Needle," Lei Qing said, slinging his spear over his back. "But why does it react to her?"

Yu Meixing didn't answer. Her violet eyes stared blankly at the Needle's swirling energy. Her body trembled slightly—barely perceptible, yet filled with tension.

> "I… I remember voices. Calling me... the Ninth. The one lost. But it makes no sense…"

Liu Shen narrowed his gaze.

> "The Ninth Shadow. That title was never spoken in my era. It predates even the First Heavenfall War."

---

The Seal Fractures

That night, they made camp beneath the ruins. A protective barrier shimmered around them, woven from Ji Suyin's stealth formations and Liu Shen's own demonic qi.

Yu Meixing sat cross-legged in meditation, the Needle floating in front of her, rotating slowly.

As the others rested, Liu Shen approached.

> "Your soul is shifting," he said quietly. "The Needle is unraveling something sealed."

She opened her eyes slowly.

> "I see glimpses now. A garden of silver willows. A throne woven from silk and stars. And… you."

Liu Shen paused.

> "Me?"

> "You… but not you. Another you. Wounded. Falling from the sky. And I—I held you in my arms."

The silence that followed felt like the pause before a blade falls.

Liu Shen finally asked, voice steady:

> "Are you saying we knew each other… before my reincarnation?"

> "No," she said. "Before either of us were born."

---

The Loom's Whisper

Elsewhere, in the Hollow Empire's restricted sanctum, Zhao Wenxiu knelt before the Grand Loom—a swirling vortex of silver and shadow. The chained girl beside it—eyes dull and lifeless—suddenly twitched.

> "The Needle has been awakened," Zhao murmured, fingers dancing through soul-threads. "And with it, so shall she."

He stepped forward, feeding the Loom strands of his own soul.

A voice emerged from the void, old and brittle.

> "The Ninth has touched the Eye… the past shall bleed into the present."

Zhao's eyes gleamed.

> "Then begin the awakening. Let Liu Shen witness what the heavens buried."

---

The Dream Thread

That night, Yu Meixing collapsed during meditation.

Liu Shen was at her side instantly, catching her before she struck the ground. Her body radiated soul-force at a dangerous frequency.

> "She's being pulled into the Loom's Dream Realm," Ji Suyin said grimly. "But not by choice."

> "Then I'm going in after her."

Liu Shen stabbed the Needle into the ground and poured demonic energy into its crimson eye. A burst of soul-essence erupted, pulling his consciousness into the same stream as Yu Meixing's.

---

A World Before Time

They stood in a world stitched together by threads of light and memory.

Mountains floated in the sky, tethered to the ground by chains of silver. Above, the stars formed spinning patterns—sigils of the old heavens.

In the center of a vast lotus lake stood a palace built of weaved moonlight.

Yu Meixing stood at its gate—dressed in an imperial robe of shadows and silk, her hair bound with needles instead of pins.

She turned to Liu Shen, expression unreadable.

> "Welcome to the Realm of Threads. This… was once my home."

> "What is this place?"

> "A fragment of a soul world I was forced to forget."

Inside the palace, echoes danced.

They saw visions—Meixing as a child, trained in ancient soul-weaving techniques by faceless figures. She was a prodigy. A weapon.

Then they saw her fall in love.

A warrior cloaked in black flames.

Liu Shen's jaw tightened as he watched the vision.

> "That's…"

> "You," Meixing whispered. "Before we were ourselves."

---

The Broken Oath

The final vision showed betrayal.

A council of faceless lords declaring the Ninth Shadow too dangerous. Her memories were torn from her. Her soul sealed. Her lover—struck down by the heavens as a warning.

> "You died in my arms," Meixing said, tears slipping down her cheeks. "And I forgot everything."

> "Until now."

Liu Shen stepped forward, gripping her shoulder gently.

> "Then they feared us. Even before we were born. That fear is their weakness."

The palace began to unravel.

> "Time's up," Meixing said, her voice barely audible. "They'll try to seal me again."

> "Let them try."

---

Awakening

Liu Shen and Meixing snapped awake—gasps filling the air.

Silver threads poured from her skin, forming ethereal armor along her back and arms.

Her aura had changed.

No longer just Yu Meixing—the girl who had followed Liu Shen in the shadows.

Now, she was something more.

> "The Ninth Shadow has returned," she whispered. "And I remember everything."

---

The Road Ahead

Ji Suyin, Lei Qing, and the others watched in silence as Meixing stood, the Needle floating around her like a loyal guardian.

Liu Shen looked to the stars.

> "Three Needles awakened. Seven remain."

He turned to Meixing.

> "Do you remember where the next one lies?"

She nodded slowly.

> "Beneath the ruins of the Heaven-Stitched Capital. The city that vanished… the night the first Needle was broken."

> "Then that's where we go," Liu Shen said.

His eyes burned with purpose.

> "And if the heavens try to stop us…"

His demonic qi surged like a storm.

> "They'll learn what true unraveling feels like."