**Cold. Darkness. Pressure.**
Min-jun's lungs burned as the underground river dragged him through its icy embrace. The current tossed him like a leaf in a storm, slamming him against jagged rocks that tore at his already battered body. His consciousness flickered—visions of golden masks and Liao's final, cryptic gesture swimming behind his eyelids.
Then—*light*.
The river spat him out into a cavern so vast its ceiling vanished into gloom. Bioluminescent fungi painted the walls in eerie blues and greens, illuminating ruins that looked like they'd been carved by giants. Towering pillars, half-collapsed bridges, and buildings with unnaturally smooth surfaces lined the underground shore.
Min-jun coughed up river water, his brand pulsing like a second heartbeat. The hunger had grown worse—now a constant gnawing sensation beneath his ribs, as if something were trying to chew its way out.
A voice cut through the dripping silence:
"Another branded one. How... predictable."
Min-jun spun, slipping on the wet stones.
A woman stood waist-deep in the water ten paces away, her naked torso covered in swirling tattoos that glowed the same blue as the fungi. Silver hair floated around her like a halo, and her eyes—
Her eyes were *solid black*.
"You're dying," she said matter-of-factly. "The Void seed is consuming your core." She tilted her head. "You have maybe three days before it eats through your meridians."
Min-jun's fists clenched. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled, revealing teeth filed to points. "Xia, last disciple of the Shattered Sky Sect." She gestured to the ruins. "And caretaker of this graveyard."
A distant *roar* echoed through the cavern—something far larger than the wolf-creature he'd fought in the pits.
Xia's smile widened. "Ah. The Warden smells fresh meat." She turned and began wading toward shore. "Come, branded one. If you want to live long enough to see your death coming, you'll follow."
---
**The ruins** were even stranger up close.
Min-jun's military training screamed at the architecture—none of the angles were quite *right*, as if the buildings had been designed by someone who'd never learned Euclidean geometry. Some surfaces felt slick as glass under his fingertips, others rough as sandpaper, all within the same stone block.
Xia led him to a half-collapsed tower where a makeshift camp had been set up. Dried meat hung from fungal stalks, and a small firepit emitted smoke that curled upward in perfect spirals, defying physics.
She tossed him a ragged tunic. "Cover yourself. The Warden tracks body heat."
As Min-jun pulled it on, his brand *twitched*. The hunger surged—
—and Xia was suddenly in his face, one claw-like nail pressed against his chest. "Control it," she hissed. "Or I'll carve that thing out with a rusted spoon."
Min-jun gritted his teeth. "How?"
Xia stepped back, rummaging through a pile of artifacts. She pulled out what looked like a broken compass, its needle spinning wildly. "Your brand isn't just consuming you. It's *feeding* you." She tossed the compass at him. "Heaven's Fist wasn't just a martial art. It was a way to digest dimensional energy."
The compass vibrated in Min-jun's hand, its needle pointing erratically at different spots on his body.
"Your first glimpse of the technique came when you were desperate," Xia continued. "That's how it always starts. The Void seed gives power, but without the proper forms..." She tapped her temple. "It eats the mind first. Then the body."
Another roar shook the ruins, closer this time. Something massive splashed into the river.
Xia didn't even flinch. "I can teach you the first true form. Not the pale imitation you used against the hunters." She bared her pointed teeth. "But it will hurt worse than dying."
Min-jun's grip tightened on the compass. The hunger in his chest seemed to *lean forward*, intrigued.
"Show me."
Xia's black eyes gleamed. "Good answer."
She snatched his wrist and *twisted*.
The world *bent*.
---
**Pain. Clarity. Revelation.**
Min-jun found himself standing in a featureless white void. Xia stood before him, now clad in flowing robes, her tattoos writhing like living things.
"The First True Form," she intoned, "is called *'The Mountain Ignores the Storm'*." Her hands moved through a sequence so complex it made Min-jun's eyes water. "It teaches the body to withstand foreign energies."
As she demonstrated, Min-jun's brand *screamed*. The hunger revolted—this wasn't consumption, this was *discipline*.
Xia's voice cut through the agony: "Again."
For hours—or maybe seconds—they repeated the motions. Each time Min-jun failed, the hunger bit deeper. Each time he succeeded, the brand's grip loosened slightly.
Then—
*CRACK.*
The white void shattered like glass.
Min-jun was back in the ruins, gasping as if he'd run a marathon. Xia looked equally drained, her tattoos faded.
A satisfied smirk played across her lips. "You're a fast learner."
Then the *entire wall* exploded inward.
---
**The Warden** was a mountain of scales and teeth.
Fifteen feet tall at the shoulder, with six milky eyes and a mouth that split its bulbous head vertically. Its claws scraped grooves in the stone as it lumbered forward, sniffing the air.
Xia didn't move. "First test."
Min-jun's brand flared—but this time, instead of fighting the hunger, he *channeled* it.
The First True Form unfolded in his mind like a remembered dream.
When the Warden charged, Min-jun *stood*.
The impact should have reduced him to paste. Instead, his feet slid back exactly six inches, no more. The beast's claws stopped *millimeters* from his skin, repelled by an invisible force.
The Warden *howled* in frustration.
Xia nodded approvingly. "Now strike back."
Min-jun's fist moved without thought.
The air *rippled*.
The Warden's left two eyes *burst* like overripe fruit.
As the creature reeled, Xia grabbed Min-jun's shoulder. "Enough. Time to go."
They fled into the ruins as the Warden's enraged screams shook the cavern. Behind them, the river began to boil.
Xia shot Min-jun a look that might have been admiration. "You'll need the Second Form before we face what's coming."
Min-jun touched his brand. The hunger was still there—but now, for the first time, it felt like *his*.
**TO BE CONTINUED...**