Kael stood at the edge of the ancient stone bridge, peering into the ravine below as the wind howled like a beast starved of prey. The forgotten cultivation site, Whispering Hollow, had finally been unsealed—and for some unfathomable reason, Elder Fen thought Kael was the perfect candidate to check it out.
"Nothing says peace of mind like sending your most unstable disciple into a cursed ruin," Kael muttered, tightening the straps of his cloak. "Clearly, a decision born from absolute brilliance."
A voice drawled behind him. "If you're done monologuing like a tragic poet, we've got a sealed realm to break into."
Kael turned to find Saria Lei, the sect's rising star, and Kael's personal reminder that the heavens really did play favorites. Clad in pristine robes and a smirk sharpened by a thousand victories, she looked every bit the chosen genius. Her eyes, a sharp silver-gray, narrowed in quiet disapproval. Of Kael's existence, most likely.
"You again," Kael said, sighing dramatically. "I'd rather face the Hollow Beast of Ten Thousand Screams."
"Funny," Saria replied. "That's exactly how I feel every time you open your mouth."
Kael grinned. "A match made in hell, then."
The two stepped onto the bridge, entering the sealed realm together. As their feet touched the threshold, a low thrum pulsed through the air. Kael's Soul Imprint flared unexpectedly—just a flicker, like a whisper brushing against his thoughts.
"Do not trust the smiles here."
Kael blinked. Did the voice come from inside his head? Or was it something… older?
"Did you hear that?" he asked, glancing sideways.
"Hear what?" Saria raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing. Just my inner demons giving motivational speeches."
The Hollow
Inside the Hollow, reality felt distorted. Trees grew sideways, and the sky above bled twilight hues despite it being midday outside. The entire realm hummed with ancient Qi—stagnant, foul, and strangely… aware.
They moved carefully, Qi senses extended. Despite the silence, Kael's instincts itched. Something was off.
"You're quiet," Saria noted. "Running out of witty comebacks?"
"Just savoring the moment before something inevitably tries to kill us," Kael said. "Don't worry. I'll resume being a nuisance once the monster shows up."
As if on cue, a low growl rolled through the mist. A few meters ahead, a creature emerged from the earth—a Tainted Wyrmling, its scales slick with rotting Qi, eyes glowing an unnatural blue.
"Cute," Kael said, cracking his knuckles. "Looks like someone fed a snake a ghost and called it art."
Saria drew her blade. "Can you be serious for once?"
"I am serious. That thing is ugly enough to haunt me in my dreams."
The wyrmling hissed and lunged. Saria moved first—lightning-fast, graceful. Her blade met corrupted flesh with a flash of silver light. Kael, meanwhile, stepped back, his own aura flaring. Red and black tendrils of mana surged from him, wrapping around his arms like wild fire given form.
He thrust a palm forward. "Soul Flare: Burst."
A spiraling wave of dark crimson energy blasted the beast, pinning it mid-air before Saria's sword finished it. The creature shrieked once before crumbling into ash.
Kael exhaled. "Well. That was mildly traumatizing."
But as the ash scattered, something fell from within it—a small, glowing stone pulsing faintly.
Saria crouched, inspecting it. "A corrupted memory shard?"
Kael's Soul Imprint pulsed again.
"Touch it, and the truth will wound."
Naturally, Kael touched it.
Visions
For a brief moment, reality warped. Kael stood in a grand hall—unfamiliar, yet hauntingly known. Hooded figures stood around a throne. A man knelt, bloodied, defiant. His face was Kael's… but older. Angrier.
"He's not ready," someone whispered.
"Let him break. It's the only way to reforge what's lost."
Then everything shattered.
Kael gasped, back in the Hollow, palms shaking.
"You good?" Saria asked, half-worried, half-annoyed.
"Nope," Kael replied. "Had a vision of my future cult. Ten out of ten would not recommend."
Saria frowned. "You saw something, didn't you?"
Kael looked at her, genuinely unsettled for the first time in days. "I think someone planned all of this. Me being here. This mission. My cultivation path. I'm just dancing to music I didn't choose."
"You always knew you were special."
"Special's a strong word. I'd go with 'cosmically inconvenient.'"
Deeper in the Hollow
They pressed on, the Hollow growing darker and stranger. Whispers followed their steps, shadows moving just outside of sight. At one point, Kael saw his own reflection in a pool of water—only it blinked when he didn't.
"Okay. Definitely cursed," he muttered.
They arrived at a ruined pavilion etched with ancient runes. A seal pulsed on the ground—cracked, unstable. Saria studied it. "This is where the Hollow was first sealed. Something's tampered with it."
Kael crouched beside her. "You think this was opened on purpose?"
Saria nodded. "There's a second signature here… one that's still active."
Kael's eyes narrowed. "So someone inside our sect wanted us here."
He stood, scanning the area. His Soul Imprint surged again—this time forcing his vision to blur.
Suddenly, he saw the pavilion intact, the runes glowing, and a younger Elder Fen speaking with someone cloaked in shadow.
"We must prepare him," the cloaked figure said. "His soul carries the key."
Back in reality, Kael staggered.
"Kael?" Saria's voice sounded distant.
He clutched his head. "Carries the key... to what?" And why did that voice feel so close to home?
He looked at Saria. "Let's get out of here. Now."
"For once, I agree."
Back at the Sect
They returned just before nightfall, both bruised and unnerved. Elder Fen was waiting, smiling too widely.
"You made it back. Good."
Kael narrowed his eyes. "You knew what was in there."
Fen's smile didn't falter. "You were the only one who could survive it."
"Flattered. Deeply traumatized. But flattered."
Saria glared. "What were you expecting us to find?"
"Answers," Fen said simply. "About Kael. About the seal. About what's coming."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "You could've told me instead of throwing me into a haunted death-forest."
Fen just laughed. "Where's the fun in that?"
Kael turned away, muttering, "I swear, if this ends with me becoming some cosmic pawn, I'm punching fate in the face."
As he walked off, his Soul Imprint flickered again. This time, it didn't whisper.
"She's coming."
Kael stopped cold. "Who?"
But there was no answer. Only the chill of something vast moving in the dark.