Echoes of the Hollow Domain

Midnight.

Shen Jin sat alone in the quiet chamber of the Archive Tower.

The window was still open.

Wind rustled the pages on his desk.

He hadn't meant to sleep.

But after the third — or thirtieth — blink, his mind was once again drawn into that familiar darkness.

Not a dream.

More like a place that had been waiting for him.

—

He fell into Yao Abyss.

No stone grove.

No sky.

Only a temple sunk beneath black water, illuminated by the faintest of lightless runes.

A staircase unfolded under his feet, leading him into the heart of the temple.

And from all directions, the whispering returned:

"The keymark… awakens."

"The door… is aware."

"Come, bearer. Return."

He reached the center.

A shattered gate stood before him. Seven rings sealed it, one of them now turning.

As he looked on, something within his own body began to stir.

He lowered his gaze.

Beneath his collarbone, a line of dark gold rose from his skin—

like fire waiting to ignite.

It spiraled from shoulder to clavicle, sharp-edged and beautiful.

It didn't hurt.

But it felt inevitable.

As if it belonged not to him — but to a rule he couldn't refuse.

The monument whispered again:

"The key… has arrived."

He reached for the sealed gate.

But before he could touch it, the Abyss shuddered.

The voice changed:

"Seal… cannot… break… time… not… yet…"

The sky cracked.

The temple broke.

He was flung upward, disassembled like light.

—

He woke.

Drenched in sweat.

The room remained still —

save for the fragment on his desk, glowing faintly.

He picked it up.

The heat matched the mark on his skin.

Outside, someone's footsteps approached.

Stopped just short of his door.

Then retreated.

He knew who it was.

Luo Qinghan.

She didn't knock.

Didn't call.

But she knew something.

Not everything. But… enough.

Shen Jin looked down, fingers tracing the line that had only just faded from his shoulder.

The monument called him the Keybearer.

But keys… didn't just open doors.

Sometimes —

they locked fates behind them.

—

The West Annex of the Archive had long remained sealed.

Today, Luo Qinghan opened it — alone.

She told no one.

Requested no guards.

She simply entered.

The room was dim.

The wall shelves overflowed with unclassified debris — broken inscriptions, half-erased curses, discarded rune-threads.

She reached for a bronze box resting on the highest shelf.

Inside: a shard of bone-black stone, detached during the stele quake.

As she lifted the lid, her fingers jolted.

Not from spiritual energy —

But from something older.

A curse echo.

She frowned.

Instead of letting go, she reached in further, allowing her spiritual sense to touch the fragment —

—

The world vanished.

A moment later, she was… elsewhere.

Floating fog.

Light like cracked silver.

Before her: a hall in the void.

A temple suspended over nothing.

In its center, chained to a cross-shaped pillar, hung the broken body of a god.

He did not move.

But his spine birthed mirrors — dozens — reflecting the circle around him.

Nine figures stood before the corpse.

Shrouded in torn divine robes.

Faces hidden behind bronze masks.

Judges.

One of them spoke. The voice twisted — half fire, half blade:

"Guiyao.

Violated the pact.

Opened the Day Gate.

Penalty — eternal seal.

Name erased.

From this day forth — he shall be remembered no more."

Luo Qinghan gasped.

Cold sliced through her soul.

Her spirit trembled.

The mirrors cracked.

The pillar burst forth a shaft of light —

It reached for her.

—

Crack.

The shard in the bronze box split.

Pain lanced through her skull.

She collapsed to one knee, barely keeping herself upright.

The divine voice still echoed faintly, vibrating through the chamber air.

She stared at the now-cracked fragment.

Sweat rolled down her temple.

"Guiyao…" she whispered —

A name she'd only heard spoken once.

From Shen Jin.

In that moment, she understood:

The monument hadn't only chosen him.

It might also be watching her.

—

The council hall of the Lingyuan Division did not sleep.

This night, no ceremonial seals were drawn.

No observers were summoned.

Only six figures sat in silence — the division's senior adjudicators.

Qi Ming Heng sat at the center.

Eyes closed.

Finger tapping the stone desk in steady rhythm, like the beat of an ancient clock.

After a long pause, it was Elder He Yang of the Seal Path who spoke first.

"The stele has cracked. Residual marks pulse without rest. And the Five Orders and Eight Sects continue to arrive. —

It is time to seal the matter.

And the boy — Shen Jin — should be relocated. Immediately."

Across the table, another elder added quietly:

"He Yang is right.

The spiritual array atop the tower failed twice this week.

Let this go on much longer, and we'll be forced to escalate to Yuanxu Platform."

Qi Ming Heng finally opened his eyes.

"Escalate?" he said, softly. "To let them use Bone-Cleansing Fire again? If there truly is something beneath that monument… you want to see how they handle it?"

He Yang's tone sharpened.

"So we do nothing about Shen Jin? You know what he is.

The first to dream after the fracture.

His mark manifested without command.

The stele flared, then stilled — only near him.

You're telling me that's coincidence?"

Qi Ming Heng didn't move.

Didn't blink.

"I believe he didn't cause it."

The others looked at him.

He lifted his gaze and said — very calmly:

"Because he is not the trigger.

He is the key."

Silence fell like a dropped blade.

Another elder whispered:

"You would… invite the gods back?"

"If gods still remain," said Qi, "we cannot stop them.

And if they don't — there is no threat.

What we fear… is not the gods.

What we fear —

is that we are no longer gods."

No one answered.

Then one of the elders who had stayed silent until now finally asked:

"Then what… do you propose?"

Qi Ming Heng stood.

He placed a letter on the table. Violet seal.

The runes around it shimmered faintly.

"The Chu Sect has sent a request."

All eyes turned.

"They want a person."

His gaze sharpened — cold as stone, hollow as stele frost.

"They want Shen Jin."