Xiao Lan stood outside the now-silent temple.
The masked assassin, silver-robed, leaned against a tree. His fox-shaped mask glinted in the lantern light.
"He has passed the first trial," Xiao Lan said.
"I felt it," the assassin replied. "And so did everything else."
She turned to face him. "You said you were here to kill what wakes inside. But you didn't stop him."
"Because it's not time." He stepped forward. "But when that thing truly awakens, you'll have to choose: Shenhai, or the world."
Xiao Lan's hand dropped to her blade. "I've already chosen."
The assassin chuckled. "Then you're either in love… or a fool."
Suddenly, the ground trembled. Cracks spread through the trees. A spike of crimson qi shot skyward from the sealed gate behind them.
From the temple's lower chambers, shadows poured upward like smoke. Pale figures with hollow eyes, guardians of the ancient seals, now broken.
Xiao Lan and the assassin stood back-to-back.
"I hate when I'm right," the assassin muttered.
"Then let's be wrong together," she replied, drawing steel.
As spirits descended from the canopy and crimson mist rolled in from the earth, two blades lit the night sky—one of silver, one of white fire.
The storm had only just begun.