Chapter 34: The Whisper Beneath the Stone
The Obsidian Sect's stronghold rose like a jagged scar across the black cliffs.
Fog clung to the twisted pines, and the air reeked faintly of iron. In the deepest hall, lit by ghost-fire lanterns, Lin Yue stood before the sealed altar — a great slab of obsidian etched with runes no human hand had dared touch in centuries.
He ran a gloved hand over the cracks. Still dormant. But not for long.
Behind him, a masked woman in blood-red robes bowed low. "We've confirmed it. The third shard has awakened."
"And the girl?"
"She's… changed," the woman said cautiously. "She's more like her now."
Lin Yue's eyes flashed. "Good."
The woman hesitated. "But… are you certain she's the same vessel? Mei Lin was nothing—spoiled, naive. This one… she has fire."
"That's because she's not the same." He turned, voice soft. "Not anymore."
The woman stiffened. "You knew?"
"I suspected," he said. "But seeing her in the vault confirmed it."
He walked to the edge of the altar, placing a small, blood-soaked jade on its surface. The stone pulsed once, then stilled.
"She carries a piece of the Phoenix Queen's will," he whispered. "Which means the seal is breaking."
The woman leaned in. "What do you want us to do?"
"Nothing."
She blinked. "But—"
Lin Yue smiled faintly. Cold. Calculating.
"She's already walking the path. If we push too hard, Jing He will close his gates again."
"And if she finds the next shard before we do?"
He turned back toward the altar, shadows curling along the floor like snakes.
"Then," he said, "we take it from her after it awakens."
The flames in the lanterns dimmed, as if shrinking from his voice.
And far away, beneath the mountains of the East, something ancient stirred in its slumber.