The tower of the Hollow Empire had crumbled, but its echoes lingered.
Even as Liu Shen pocketed the Soul Core Fragment, a silence had settled among the group—not of peace, but of unraveling.
Yu Meixing sat cross-legged beside a pool of silver mist, her expression tight, distant.
Lei Qing knelt nearby, inspecting a series of ancient symbols etched into the floor with her spirit sense.
> "These aren't just decorative," she muttered. "This is a soul ritual formation. High-grade. Dangerous."
Liu Shen nodded.
> "It's called the Soul Mirror Ritual. Only the Sect of Shadows was allowed to use it… to unlock buried memories. Or erase them."
Yue Lian frowned.
> "And you're thinking of using it?"
> "No," Liu Shen said. "We're going to restore her."
---
The Ninth Shadow Sleeps
Yu Meixing raised her eyes at last.
> "I saw her again," she whispered. "The woman in red. She smiled like I do. She… felt like me."
> "She was you," Liu Shen said softly. "Before the Heavens touched your soul."
He stepped forward, producing an obsidian pendant.
Its surface shimmered with unspoken power—it was the key to the ritual.
> "You weren't always Yu Meixing. You were the Ninth Shadow, born of the Sect of Shadows, bound to the Demon Sovereign."
Yu's breath caught.
> "And I forgot?"
> "They made you forget. They made me forget."
---
The Ritual Begins
With the formation fully activated, mist surged outward like reaching tendrils.
Liu Shen stood behind Yu Meixing, placing the obsidian pendant against her forehead.
> "I'll anchor you," he said. "No matter what you see, I'll pull you back."
Yu nodded once.
As the sigils lit, she collapsed forward—eyes wide open, pupils shimmering like stars trapped in glass.
Lei Qing stood guard while Yue Lian monitored the ritual's energy.
> "Spiritual pressure is rising fast," Yue warned.
"If her soul collapses—"
> "It won't," Liu Shen said. "She's stronger than they ever let her be."
---
Visions of the Past
Inside the mist realm, Yu Meixing wandered through a hall of black silk and silver torches.
Familiar. Terrifyingly familiar.
She turned a corner—and there, in a throne room carved from shadows, stood herself.
Not the current Yu Meixing, but a younger, fiercer version—eyes glowing violet, hair tied with a crimson ribbon.
> "Who are you?" Yu asked.
> "I am who you were… before they took you."
The memory-Yu stepped forward, placing a finger against her forehead.
Suddenly, the world shattered into memories:
Training alongside a boy with black eyes like night itself.
Whispering secrets in the Void Garden.
Standing beside him on the battlefield, surrounded by gods.
> "Liu Shen," she breathed.
> "He wasn't just a Sovereign. He was mine."
---
Liu Shen's Buried Fear
Back outside, Liu Shen clenched his fists.
He could feel the fragments within Meixing's soul resisting—not because they were fragile, but because they remembered too much.
His own memories began trembling.
A voice whispered in the depths of his mind.
> "If she remembers… then you'll have to remember, too."
The day he chose to forget.
The moment he sacrificed her memory to the Celestial Court, so her soul might survive.
His betrayal.
> "I'll take that burden again," he growled. "But I won't let them steal her from me twice."
---
Reawakening
Yu Meixing's body convulsed—then stilled.
The mist pulled back.
Her eyes opened.
But now… they glowed faint violet.
> "I remember," she said.
"My name is not just Yu Meixing."
> "I am Yin Huali—the Ninth Shadow. Soulbound to the Demon Sovereign by blood and fate."
She rose slowly, power humming through her.
Even her aura had shifted—more balanced, but dangerous. Like a moon hidden behind eclipse.
Lei Qing took a cautious step back.
> "That's… the power of a High Elder."
Liu Shen stepped forward.
> "Welcome back."
---
Echoes of the Enemy
Before they could breathe, the ground trembled.
A ripple tore through the silver pool—and from it, rose a massive obsidian mirror.
A face stared from its surface—a Celestial Envoy, its eyes cold as law itself.
> "You have touched what was forbidden," it intoned.
"The Heavens do not forget. Or forgive."
Yue Lian drew her blade.
> "They found us."
> "No," Liu Shen said. "They're warning us."
> "They're afraid."
The mirror shattered—leaving behind a sigil burned into the air.
It read:
> 'The Judgment Hall Awaits.'
---
Marching Toward Shadows
The group prepared to leave the Hollow Empire.
Lei Qing recovered the soul maps left by Zhao Wenxiu—markings pointing toward an ancient tomb buried beneath the Sect of Shadows itself.
> "If we follow this," she said, "we'll find the remnants of your old sect. Maybe even your former disciples."
Yu—no, Yin Huali—nodded.
> "And we'll find the truth behind the Soul Contract they used to bind us."
Liu Shen looked to the dark horizon.
> "Next stop: the Well of Shadows."
> "Let's see what else they tried to bury."