Nightfall descended over the Sect of Shadows like a black veil, but the atmosphere crackled with tension. Word of Liu Shen's return from the Vault of Fallen Sects had spread fast—too fast.
Within the inner sanctum, high-ranking shadow elders and rogue cultivators gathered in whispers, their expressions caught between awe and fear.
> "He came back with a Heaven's Witness."
"No one's dared touch one in centuries…"
"The Sect Master must act, or Heaven will."
But in the center of it all, Liu Shen remained unmoved—calm, like the eye of a hurricane.
---
The Silent Assembly
At dawn, the Sect of Shadows convened its High Assembly.
Nine elders stood in a crescent formation atop the shadowed dais, their faces concealed beneath hooded veils. Sect Master Yun Eshan sat upon the throne of dusk, hands folded.
Liu Shen stood before them with Meixing and Lei Qing flanking him, the Heaven's Witness orb floating behind him, humming with divine resonance.
Yun Eshan spoke first, voice like velvet over steel.
> "You return with a forbidden relic, disrupt the vault wards, and awaken the Guardian of Memory. How do you plead?"
Liu Shen didn't bow.
> "I plead guilty... of remembering what the heavens want forgotten."
A murmur rippled through the chamber.
He continued:
> "This orb contains proof of celestial betrayal. Sects that were loyal were slaughtered. Others were rewritten."
He glanced at Meixing.
> "Even people."
Yun Eshan's fingers tensed.
> "And you wish to do what, child of the abyss? Declare war against the heavens? With what army?"
Liu Shen stepped forward.
> "With those who remember."
He raised the orb, and it pulsed once.
Dozens of soul fragments flickered across the walls—scenes of divine judgment, false trials, and purged names.
The elders gasped.
One of them fell to their knees, trembling.
> "That's my brother… He was erased during the Purge of Blacklight…"
> "He was declared a traitor!"
Liu Shen nodded.
> "He wasn't. He was loyal. Heaven needed a scapegoat."
---
The Traitor Within
But not all were swayed.
From the shadows stepped a man draped in golden black, with cruel eyes and a foxlike smirk—Elder Yuan Zixuan, one of the youngest but most influential members of the High Council.
> "How touching," he drawled. "A rebel with memory tricks. What's next? Reviving the Ancients?"
He sneered at Meixing.
> "Tell me, girl. Did he show you how many he killed as the Demon Sovereign?"
Liu Shen's aura flared.
> "Step carefully, Yuan Zixuan. Your tongue has betrayed more than your words."
The elder smirked. "Oh? What will you do? Fight me in front of the Sect Master?"
> "No," Liu Shen replied coldly. "I'll expose you."
He snapped his fingers.
A second Heaven's Witness appeared—smaller, hidden within his robe.
> "This one… was found in your chamber."
Zixuan's expression cracked.
The orb activated—and played back his secret communication with a Heaven Envoy.
> "The Demon Sovereign has returned. I'll ensure the Sect stays divided. Just give me the Shadow Throne when it falls."
The room fell into shocked silence.
Meixing's eyes burned.
> "You... sold us all out."
Lei Qing drew his blade halfway.
Zixuan snarled.
> "You think a Heaven's Witness can be trusted?! You think this demon is your savior?! He'll bring annihilation to us all!"
Yun Eshan raised his hand.
> "Enough."
---
Judgment of Shadows
The Sect Master stood, robes flowing like mist.
> "Yuan Zixuan. By decree of the Sect, and by your own words… your fate is sealed."
Liu Shen raised a brow. He expected resistance. But Yun Eshan's tone was resolute.
Zixuan lunged in desperation, summoning a celestial spear.
> "I won't die for this cursed traitor!"
But before he could strike—
> BOOM!
A black arrow pierced his chest. He froze mid-charge, eyes wide, blood pouring from his mouth.
From the highest rafter, a figure lowered: cloaked in shadowsteel, face masked in bone-white.
The Silent Archer—Yun Eshan's personal enforcer.
> "Judgment rendered," the Archer said.
Zixuan collapsed.
---
Alliance Forged
Yun Eshan turned to Liu Shen.
> "You've forced my hand. You've divided my Sect... and exposed my elder."
He descended the stairs slowly.
> "But you've also shown me truth."
He gestured to the orb.
> "If what this Witness contains is real—and Heaven did rewrite history—then war is inevitable."
He looked at Liu Shen directly.
> "What do you seek?"
Liu Shen replied without hesitation.
> "The Fall of the Celestial Throne."
> "Then you will have my shadows," Yun Eshan said. "But we must not act blindly. We need more proof. More allies."
Liu Shen nodded.
> "Then we start with the Phoenix Empire."
Meixing stiffened.
> "That's where the next Heaven's Vault lies."
Yun Eshan turned to the council.
> "Prepare the Shadow Envoys. We ride in one week."
---
Back in the Shadows
Later that night, as the Sect returned to silence, Meixing stood by Liu Shen's side under the pale starlight.
> "You knew Zixuan was the traitor?"
> "He smelled too clean," Liu Shen said.
> "And the orb in his chamber?"
Liu Shen smiled faintly.
> "Planted it myself."
Meixing blinked, then laughed softly.
> "You devil."
He turned to her.
> "You remember more, don't you?"
She hesitated.
> "Flashes. Nothing whole yet."
> "In time," he said.
They stood together in silence.
Then, Meixing whispered:
> "Did you ever… love me back then?"
Liu Shen didn't answer immediately.
> "I'm not sure."
He stepped closer.
> "But I'm starting to."