The wind over the Crimson Barrens howled with the dirge of a forgotten era, its red sands dancing in spirals like restless ghosts. Once the proud heartland of the Crimson Spear Clan, this vast expanse now bore only scattered ruins and the faint resonance of ancient oaths.
Tianming stood atop a weatherworn ridge with Zhao Yueyin and Lan Mei beside him. The Seal of the Abyss still flickered faintly in his hand—a grim reminder of their recent duel in Dawnshade.
Zhao Yueyin's eyes narrowed. "Something's off. This place is too quiet."
Lan Mei nodded, her senses taut. "Even the beasts have fled."
From their vantage point, the ancient Crimson Fortress—a spire of dark stone and crimson banners—stood broken. Its main gate was shattered inward, as if by an immense force from within.
"No scouts. No sentries," Tianming muttered. "Let's move. Carefully."
They descended.
---
Ruins of Crimson Spear Citadel
Inside the broken gates, the scent of blood and ash still lingered. The once-glorious banners had been burned black, their sigils twisted into symbols that writhed if one stared too long.
As they passed the outer wall, the first bodies appeared.
Soldiers of the Crimson Spear, armor melted into their flesh, lay contorted in death. Many bore no wounds—just expressions of terror, as if something had reached into them and silenced their essence.
At the center of the citadel stood the Hall of Oaths.
Tianming approached cautiously. The great stone doors had been blown open. Inside, a single crimson spear hovered midair, surrounded by seven corpses nailed to the floor in a perfect circle.
"They formed the Warden's Guard," Zhao Yueyin said, voice tight. "The last line of defense for the clan's Blood Sigil."
Lan Mei knelt beside one. "No visible injuries. But their talismans are shattered. Someone disrupted their soul anchors."
Tianming's eyes locked onto the floating spear. It thrummed with residual qi—a relic of immense power. The moment he stepped across the threshold, it turned.
Without anyone holding it, the spear aimed at his chest.
Then it struck.
---
Trial of the Crimson Pact
He was no longer in the Hall.
Instead, he stood in a vast, red plain beneath a black sun. Around him echoed the battle cries of ancient wars, and in the distance, a single man stood atop a crag of glassed earth.
The Crimson Warden.
He wore no armor—only a cloak of crimson fire—and his spear dripped with the essence of war.
"You wish to take the Blood Pact of Spear Clan," the Warden growled. "Then earn it."
Tianming raised Starpiercer. "I came to protect your legacy. Not desecrate it."
"You'll protect nothing until you've bled," the Warden snarled. "Come!"
They clashed.
In this realm, every blow carried the weight of ancient fury. The Warden moved with impossible speed, his strikes felling mountains of memory and slicing through Tianming's defenses like prophecy itself.
Tianming summoned his Celestial Core and channeled the Eternal Star Lance. The clash of astral light and crimson flame turned the plain into chaos incarnate.
But the Warden's spear struck deeper—into Tianming's fears.
> "You cannot save them all."
"Each step forward leaves someone behind."
"Even your light has shadow."
Tianming dropped to one knee, blood staining the cracked soil. Visions of fallen allies and consumed cities danced before him.
Then he heard a voice—not from without, but within.
Zhao Yueyin's defiant battle cry. Lan Mei's laughter. The silent courage of the villagers he'd saved. The Emperor's trust. Even the whisper of the Abyssal being… now silenced.
He rose.
> "Yes. I carry shadows. But I will never surrender to them."
His body blazed with the constellation of the Lightborn Will. He struck—not to destroy, but to seal.
The Warden's form shattered into motes of flame, and the vision collapsed.
---
Return to the Hall
Tianming awoke on the cold floor of the Hall of Oaths.
The spear floated before him—then bowed.
> Blood Sigil of Crimson Spear Acquired
Progress toward Severing the Five Pacts: 3 of 5
New Technique Learned: Spear of the Crimson Warden – A piercing strike that disrupts soul anchors.
Lan Mei caught him as he swayed. "What happened?"
Tianming exhaled. "I was tested. Not just in strength… in conviction."
Zhao Yueyin handed him water. "Then hold that conviction. We still have two more clans to go."
As they exited the hall, a low rumble echoed through the land.
Far in the sky, the Abyssal Gate's second fracture had deepened. From the tear, a single feather of pure void fell toward the earth—slow, deliberate, and apocalyptic.
"It's begun," Lan Mei whispered.
Tianming stared into the darkening sky.
"Then we end it."
---
Elsewhere: The Fifth Eye Opens
Deep in the Hollow Crypts, Corvus stood before a mirror of blood, his eyes reflecting five shadows arrayed behind him.
"The Crimson Spear has failed," one shadow said.
"But the Gate stirs," whispered another.
Corvus dipped his fingers into the blood. "Let them collect the Sigils. When they have them all, the Gate will open fully. And Tianming will bring it forth himself."
He laughed.
"And then… the new world begins."
---
To Be Continued in Chapter 55: The Broken Pact of Moonshadow Vale