Three trials. Three prices.
The last stood before them—etched into the very stone of the Thousand-Grief Altar. The final gate was unlike the others: not a test of strength or memory, but of conviction.
At the gate's center hung a massive chain, coiling endlessly into the altar's heart. Each link pulsed with one of Liu Shen's past memories—joy, rage, sorrow, betrayal, and love.
And beside it stood Yi Wusheng, the ghostly guide.
> "This is the final trial," the old man rasped.
"The Choice of Chains. You must willingly sever a part of yourself… if you wish to claim the Severance Art."
> "And if I refuse?" Liu Shen asked.
Yi Wusheng's gaze did not waver.
> "Then the path ends. Your revenge fades. Your enemies rejoice."
---
The Price of the Past
The chain shimmered with illusory light.
Liu Shen stepped forward.
Each link he touched showed a memory:
—His first disciple kneeling before him, eyes filled with hope.
—Yu Lin, his sister, hugging him during the coldest winter.
—The Ninth Shadow's face, weeping as she disappeared into golden light.
—The blade piercing his heart on the day of his betrayal.
He clenched his fists.
> "These… are what make me who I am."
> "Exactly," Yi Wusheng whispered.
"That is why the heavens fear this art. To wield Severance is to forsake something essential."
A stone tablet beside the chain revealed the rule:
> Choose one: —A memory that defines you. —A bond you cannot break. —Or a power that sustains you.
---
The Three Choices
Meixing stepped closer. "You can't lose any of those."
But the gate began to glow—time was running out.
Liu Shen exhaled slowly. "I won't lose them… I'll trade them."
He looked at the three glowing chains that had risen:
The Crimson Chain pulsed with the face of Yu Lin.
The Obsidian Chain radiated with the essence of his Demonic Core.
The Silver Chain shimmered with the memory of the Ninth Shadow.
Each choice screamed consequence.
> "If I lose my demonic core… I'm powerless."
"If I forget her… I lose my reason."
"If I erase Yu Lin… I become a monster."
Lei Qing stepped forward, visibly angry.
> "We didn't come this far for you to fall here!"
Liu Shen stared at the Silver Chain for a long moment.
Then, slowly… he placed his hand on the Crimson Chain.
Yu Lin's laughter echoed in his ears.
> "I'm sorry, sister."
---
The Severing
As his fingers closed on the Crimson Chain, the world exploded in white.
An intense burning surged through his spirit—not physical pain, but the sensation of emptiness.
A piece of him tore free.
Yu Lin's voice faded, lost to the wind.
In its place, a single rune carved itself into his soul—a black mark in the shape of a falling star, the Severance Seal.
He collapsed to his knees, gasping.
Meixing rushed to him. "What did you choose…?"
He looked up. Eyes wet. Voice hollow.
> "I gave up my sister."
Lei Qing staggered back, stunned. "But… wasn't she…"
> "Dead already?" Liu Shen murmured.
"Yes. But now she's not even real to me anymore."
---
The Severance Art
Yi Wusheng bowed.
> "You have passed."
He raised a skeletal hand and summoned a glowing scroll bound in nine chains.
> "This is the Severance Art. With it, you can block the sight of Heaven, erase divine contracts, and strike at that which was meant to be untouchable."
> "But beware… its use comes with a cost."
Liu Shen took it.
The moment he did, the seal on his soul activated.
He could feel it. A shroud had wrapped around him. The stars above no longer stirred. He had vanished from the heavens' sight.
> "I walk my path now, not theirs," he whispered.
Yi Wusheng's smile faded. "Then your war begins in earnest, Demon Sovereign."
---
Back at Camp
That night, the trio rested in a ruined temple at the edge of the Plateau.
Liu Shen sat in silence, the scroll beside him.
Meixing approached, kneeling gently.
> "Why her?" she asked softly.
He didn't answer right away.
Then, "Because remembering her gave me comfort. And comfort is weakness."
She looked away, blinking fast. "That's cruel."
> "It's war," he replied.
> "Then let me be your cruelty," Meixing whispered, leaning in. "Let me be what you remember next time."