---
The wind howled across the moonlit training yard, where cracked stone tiles reflected silver under twin moons. The cold, biting air carried the faintest scent of blooming nightflowers, their petals glowing faintly in the dark. Ash stood at the far end of the open courtyard, his mind a whirl of questions. His body, however, felt as if it had been chiseled from stone—tired, but not giving in. His muscles were tight, his breath slow and steady, though his spirit remained far from calm.
He raised his palm again, fingers twitching as he attempted to draw upon the Silent Meridian Flow, the foundational technique he had been practicing for weeks. The familiar energy began to stir inside him, the currents of spiritual power nudging his dantian into motion. But then—something strange happened. The flow, usually smooth and controlled, slowed and twisted. It turned sluggish, like a river choking on its own overgrowth, every channel he tried to access somehow blocked, repelled, and distorted.
Suddenly, a flare of dark energy surged through him, crackling and violent. His eyes widened in alarm, and his body lurched as an icy shiver ran through his veins. The surge was unlike anything he'd felt before—it wasn't his, but it felt like it belonged to him, like an old friend stirring from a long slumber, pushing him toward an abyss.
"Dammit!" Ash swore as his knees buckled, sending him to the cold, unforgiving ground. His hand shot out to catch himself, but his body betrayed him.
A chill ran up his arm. There, on his palm, the crescent-shaped mark flared, glowing like a hidden brand. Ash's breath caught. The same mark he had noticed before, now more prominent, more forceful.
The surge stopped as suddenly as it had come, but Ash felt it linger. A coldness that clung to his skin, a weight on his chest. He swallowed hard, struggling to breathe through the tightness.
"Ash." The soft voice broke the silence, as if calling him back from the edge of a storm. He looked up.
Master Riyan stood in the doorway of the courtyard, his long robes flowing gently with the breeze. His expression was calm, but there was an unspoken concern in his eyes—one that Ash hadn't seen before.
Riyan's gaze flickered to the mark on Ash's palm, his eyes narrowing as if he recognized something in the sigil.
"You missed your meditation," Riyan remarked, his tone not reprimanding, but rather tinged with quiet curiosity.
Ash's voice was hoarse. "Something is wrong inside me. I… I can't focus. My cultivation—it's being… blocked. Every time I try to channel my energy, it's like there's this resistance."
Riyan stepped forward, his eyes scanning Ash's form with quiet intensity. "You're not wrong. The path you walk is changing."
"Changing?" Ash repeated, confusion flickering through him. "What do you mean?"
Riyan's gaze hardened as he stared toward the distant horizon, where the sky met the earth in an endless stretch of dark blue. "You were never meant to walk the path of the ordinary cultivator. The threads of fate that bind you to this world are thicker, darker than you realize."
Ash took a step forward, his pulse quickening. "What does that mean? Why is it happening to me?"
Riyan's voice dropped to a whisper. "The world, Ash, is not as simple as it appears. And neither are you."
---
In the Hall of Crystals, the elders gathered around a glowing map that hovered in midair, each elder wrapped in dark robes embroidered with symbols of power. The air hummed with a faint, ethereal energy. Ash and Riyan arrived to the sound of murmuring voices, and Ash felt the weight of the elders' gazes fall upon him as soon as he entered.
"The Sealed Abyss has reacted," Elder Jinhai's voice rang through the hall, sharp and commanding. His long white beard twitched as his fingers danced across the map, which shimmered with light that had been drawn from the deepest reaches of the Southern Sector.
The projection on the map flickered, zooming in on a ravine that seemed to be the very heart of a forgotten world. The ravine was dark, almost inky black, its edges scorched and crumbled, as if it had been subjected to forces no mortal could comprehend. A faint, pulsing glow emanated from its depths.
"That's the Abyssal Gash," Elder Lanyue murmured. "The place where the forbidden one was sealed."
Ash's stomach tightened. He had heard the legends—horrible stories passed down through generations. Stories about a being of unimaginable power, one who had slaughtered entire sects, and who had been sealed beneath the Whispering Sea.
Riyan stepped forward, his eyes focused on the image. "This is no coincidence."
"The seal is weakening," Elder Jinhai said solemnly. "The mark on Ash's palm—it's tied to the seal. Something has stirred beneath the sea."
Ash's heart skipped a beat. "What is that 'something'? And why does it have to do with me?"
"Your connection is far deeper than you understand," Riyan said, his voice grave. "The seal you bear, Ash, is not a curse—but a binding. A tether between you and that which is sealed."
The words felt like a weight pressing down on Ash's chest. He could barely understand what they meant, but the panic beginning to rise in his chest was unmistakable. "What do you mean? Why me?"
Riyan's gaze softened, though it was still filled with a strange sadness. "The very essence of that entity—once a practitioner of forbidden arts—has left its mark on you. And it is not just your cultivation that has been affected."
Before Ash could respond, the light in the projection flickered again, this time revealing a symbol—a crescent, exactly like the one on Ash's palm.
"That symbol," Ash murmured. "I saw it in my dreams."
Riyan's expression grew even more serious. "It is not a coincidence. You are part of something far older than this world. You were born near the Whispering Sea. That place is connected to other realms, other powers. You are the link."
---
Later that night, Ash found himself wandering the corridors of the temple. The large wooden doors creaked open as he entered the library. The vast collection of scrolls and tomes stretched into infinity before him, each shelf more ancient than the last. Dust hung in the air like forgotten whispers.
There, in the farthest corner, a glimmer caught his eye.
A book, unlike the others. Wrapped in dark silk, it radiated an aura of secrecy. The binding was intricate, with runes etched into the cover. It almost seemed to call to him.
The lock on the book shimmered in response to his presence. Without thinking, Ash placed his hand on it, and the lock dissolved.
The pages flipped open on their own accord, revealing diagrams of broken seals and symbols of power. There, among the faded ink, was a single, disturbing line:
"He who defied the heavens was not slain. Only sealed beneath the Whispering Sea, where stars do not shine."
Ash's hand trembled as he touched the page. This was more than a legend—it was history, and his name seemed to be written all over it.
A chill ran down his spine.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the corridor.
"Ash," a voice called.
He spun around to see Lian Yu standing in the doorway, her silhouette bathed in the soft glow of lantern light. She looked uncertain, but there was a quiet determination in her eyes.
"You shouldn't be here," Ash said quickly.
"Neither should you," she replied, stepping closer. "The elders… they're hiding something. They know more about the seal than they've let on. And they know more about you."
Ash's heart raced. "What are they hiding?"
Lian Yu met his gaze, her voice barely a whisper. "I'll help you find the truth."
Ash's chest tightened. Something was stirring within him, something ancient and powerful.
---
Far from the temple, beneath the desolate ruins of a once-glorious city, a figure cloaked in black knelt before an altar. His hands moved in a slow, deliberate pattern, placing incense in the brazier, his movements measured and precise.
The ground beneath him trembled, as if answering to an ancient call. Behind him, seven black-robed figures kneeled in perfect formation, their heads bowed in silent reverence.
"The seal weakens," the cloaked figure murmured. "The time is near. The vessel has awakened."
His fingers hovered over a bloodstained symbol etched into the stone.
"Let the Forbidden Dao rise."
---