Tian Rui didn't sleep that night.
The crimson scroll sat unopened on the shrine's cracked altar, its presence loud and taunting. Every time he tried to close his eyes, Veylan's voice echoed through his thoughts.
"You are the Heaven-Breaker now."
He didn't even know what that meant. The relic inside his chest pulsed more frequently now, like a heartbeat that wasn't his. Every throb whispered something old, something heavy—like it was remembering for him.
Near dawn, Tian Rui stood and faced the scroll.
He hesitated.
Then, with a slow breath, he broke the crimson thread.
The moment the seal broke, wind exploded outward from the parchment, scattering ash and leaves in a violent swirl. The shrine trembled. The air shimmered with red sigils, ancient glyphs that burned into the walls before fading like ghost fire.
A map etched itself onto the scroll.
A place called Thousand Bone Valley.
And beneath it, just two words:
"Come alone."
Tian Rui clenched the scroll. His instincts screamed that walking into this would be a trap. But doing nothing? That felt worse. If the relic truly was awakening, he couldn't face what came next unprepared.
So he ran. Again.
But this time, not out of fear.
This time—he ran toward something.
---
Thousand Bone Valley was a rift in the earth so deep it looked like the sky had once fallen and cracked the world open. Jagged spires of bleached stone jutted from the ground like broken swords, and the wind carried whispers that weren't carried by lips.
He arrived at sunset.
The last of the light bathed the valley in blood-red hues, and every shadow stretched unnaturally long.
Tian Rui stepped into the valley, the scroll clutched in one hand, his other never leaving the relic mark on his chest.
He felt watched.
As he crossed a bone bridge over a dark chasm, the wind shifted—and the whispers became screams.
The voices weren't in the wind anymore.
They were in his head.
"Heaven-Breaker... Betrayer... Chosen..."
Tian Rui dropped to his knees, clutching his head. The relic pulsed violently, burning against his skin. The voices swirled into a single chorus that pierced his mind like needles.
And then—
Silence.
A cold voice echoed through the valley.
"You should not have come alone."
Tian Rui looked up—and saw them.
Hooded figures in dark gray robes, faces hidden by masks of bone. One stepped forward, holding a curved blade that dripped black smoke.
"The Accord welcomes you," the figure said flatly. "But not all of us believe you are ready."
Before Tian Rui could react, the blade swung.
He dodged—barely.
Another figure appeared behind him, striking with a spear. He rolled away, calling on the relic's power. Fire erupted from his palm, wild and uncontrolled—but it bought him space.
Three on one.
They weren't here to guide him.
This was a test.
Or an execution.
Tian Rui stood, chest heaving, as the relic's energy surged higher than ever before. His vision blurred. He could feel something else trying to break free. Not just power—presence. Something inside him trying to awaken.
Something ancient.
The attackers came again.
This time, Tian Rui didn't dodge.
He met them.