Fallen Heaven Rise of Faizi Tian
Episode 34 – The Shadows Close In
The moon hung low over the Faizi Syed Ancient Sect, its pale light spilling across the courtyards like a silent witness to secrets no one dared to speak aloud. Faizi Tian moved quietly through the narrow stone pathways, his footsteps muffled by the soft wind. The night had always been his ally—its shadows were deep enough to hide him, yet clear enough for him to see everything that mattered.
He was not walking aimlessly tonight. His destination was deliberate—the private archives beneath the western wing of the sect, a place only a handful of elders had access to. The archives contained records of sect missions, elder activities, and old scrolls that could reveal where Elder Ren had been in the past year. If Elder Ren truly hid something, the truth might be buried here.
Faizi Tian reached the heavy ironwood door. Placing his palm on the cold surface, he channeled a thin thread of spiritual energy. The locking seal shimmered faintly before breaking with a soft click. He slipped inside, careful to shut the door without a sound.
The air inside was thick with the scent of old parchment and ink. Rows of shelves stretched into the darkness, filled with scrolls bound in silk and ledgers sealed with wax. Faizi Tian's eyes scanned the titles quickly, looking for mission logs.
"Ren Wei… Ren Wei… Where is your trail?" he murmured under his breath.
After ten minutes of searching, he found it—a thick ledger marked with the crest of the Elder Council. Opening it, he traced his fingers over the inked names and locations. Something stood out immediately. For three entire months last winter, Elder Ren's location was recorded simply as *'Classified — Personal Task'*. No mission description. No sect authorization. Just… hidden.
Faizi Tian's brows furrowed. "Why would a loyal elder hide his movements?"
Before he could dig deeper, a faint tremor ran through the floor. It was followed by another… and another, each one stronger than the last. Faizi Tian closed the ledger and focused his senses outward. The tremors weren't random—they carried the rhythmic pulse of footsteps. Heavy, deliberate, and coming from the eastern wall.
In an instant, he extinguished his spiritual aura and moved behind a tall shelf. His breathing slowed. Through the cracks in the wooden panels, he saw a tall figure enter the archive room. The man wore a hood, hiding his face, but his robes were dark crimson, embroidered with a faint flame pattern.
Faizi Tian's heart tightened. That flame mark… it matched the one he had once seen on a half-burned talisman recovered from a demon scout.
The hooded man walked directly to the same shelf Faizi Tian had been searching moments earlier. Without hesitation, he pulled out three scrolls and tucked them into his robes. Then, just as silently as he had entered, he left the room.
Faizi Tian stepped out from hiding, his mind racing. "Abyss Flame Sect… here? Inside *my* sect? And Elder Ren's absence during winter… could it be…?"
But before he could piece the puzzle together, a voice echoed from outside, urgent and strained.
"Lord Faizi! The eastern barrier is under attack! Demonic aura—strong—at least a mid-tier commander!"
Faizi Tian's hand clenched into a fist. The investigation would have to wait. Whoever attacked now was not here by coincidence. This was a move meant to distract, or perhaps… silence him.
He strode out of the archives, his spiritual energy surging like a rising tide. The night wind whipped against his face as he leapt into the air, eyes locking onto the eastern horizon where flickering crimson flames painted the sky.
If the Abyss Flame Monarch's shadows were already inside his walls… then the war had just stepped into his home.