A heavy silence hung in the chamber as Liu Shen clasped Yao Shen's wrist, lifting him to his feet. Shadows danced along the walls like restless memories, yet something deeper stirred beneath the floor—dormant, but waiting.
> "Let's go," Liu Shen said, releasing Yao's hand. "The Architect's threads won't pause just because we've remembered our past."
But before they could take a step, the floor trembled.
Faint cracks split the stone beneath the sarcophagus.
Yue Lian drew her blade instantly.
> "What now?"
A low rumble echoed from the deep. It wasn't merely structural—it was rhythmic, alive. A heartbeat.
Yao's expression darkened.
> "No. It's waking up…"
---
What Lies Sealed
> "What is it?" Lei Qing asked, crouching and pressing her palm to the cold stone. "A formation?"
Yao's voice dropped to a whisper.
> "When I died, I wasn't alone. They threw me down here with it—the Sect's final failure. We called it The Forgotten Spawn."
Yin Huali froze.
> "You mean… the Failed Shadow Seed?"
Even Liu Shen's brows twitched.
> "You tried to replicate me?"
Yao didn't deny it.
> "After your death, some believed we could create a new Demon Sovereign by fusing the soul remnants of fallen disciples. We were desperate… and foolish."
He stepped back from the sarcophagus, eyes wide.
> "It absorbed everything that was left. Madness. Pain. Rage."
And then the cracks split open.
---
The Spawn Awakens
A massive hand—bone-thin yet wrapped in black sinew—burst through the floor, followed by a howl that shook the entire chamber.
The Forgotten Spawn emerged, its body a twisted amalgamation of human and demonic. Ten eyes blinked from different places on its head. A gaping maw opened on its chest, shrieking in torment.
> "KILL MEEE—" it cried, not in one voice, but many. Familiar ones.
Yin Huali paled.
> "That's… Jiao Rui's voice… and Ping Lan…"
Lei Qing recoiled.
> "It absorbed their souls?"
> "Not just souls," Liu Shen murmured grimly, "their suffering."
The Spawn lunged forward, claws tearing through the chamber as its tendrils sought minds to devour.
---
A Battle of Will and Flesh
Liu Shen stepped forward, his eyes glowing with crimson light.
> "This abomination was born from my legacy. I will end it."
He spread his arms, dark flames swirling around him. The Demonic Sovereign's Law roared to life, forming a vortex of annihilation.
> "Lei Qing, suppress its left flank. Yin Huali, cloak us in shadows!"
> "On it!" Lei Qing leapt forward, a lance of thunder shattering one of the creature's arms.
Yin Huali summoned a dome of shadows, shielding them from the psychic scream emitted by the Spawn.
Yao hesitated—but only for a breath—then channeled his soul energy.
> "I bound it once. I'll do it again."
---
Memories That Shouldn't Speak
As Liu Shen engaged the creature in a flurry of attacks, the Spawn's many mouths opened.
From them came memories—twisted voices of the past.
> "Why didn't you save us, Sovereign?"
"You said we were your family!"
"Was it worth becoming the Demon?"
Liu Shen's grip on his demonic flame faltered for a second.
Yue Lian screamed,
> "Don't listen! It's trying to fracture your will!"
The Spawn's gaze locked with Liu Shen's, its chest-mouth forming a mocking smile.
> "You created me."
> "I destroyed you once," Liu Shen growled. "I'll finish the job this time."
---
Soul Severing
Yao Shen stepped forward, cutting his palm. His blood, blackened by old soul contracts, hissed as it hit the stone floor.
He drew a sigil in the air—the Sigil of Severance—meant to untether fused souls.
> "Everyone, hold it steady! This will rip the fragments free!"
Yin Huali unleashed a torrent of binding chains, while Lei Qing launched a barrage of thunder spears that pinned the Spawn's limbs.
Yao slammed the sigil into the creature's core.
A pulse echoed through the chamber—sharp, reverberating, final.
The mouths screamed as spirits were ripped from the creature one by one.
And in that moment of weakness—
Liu Shen struck.
---
An End Without Glory
> "Demonic Art: Ninefold Flame Judgment!"
A colossal pillar of flame engulfed the Spawn, each layer of fire laced with soul-annihilating essence.
The creature writhed, its form unraveling, its eyes flickering out one by one until only silence remained.
Ash and black mist drifted through the air.
Yao Shen collapsed to one knee, panting.
> "They're free. Their souls have returned to the cycle."
Yin Huali didn't speak. Her hands trembled, clutching a memory shard she'd caught during the severance.
> "Jiao Rui… said thank you."
Liu Shen walked over to the remnants of the Spawn, now no more than dust and claw marks.
> "Even in failure… we learn."
---
Lessons From the Dead
Back on the surface, night had fallen. The stars above the plateau flickered dimly, as if unsure whether to shine on this land of forgotten sins.
The group sat around a small campfire, silent.
Yue Lian finally broke it.
> "So, what now? We found the Tenth Shadow, uncovered the existence of the Celestial Architect, and fought your shadow's failure."
Liu Shen stared into the fire.
> "Now we make our way to the Hollow Empire. The Architect won't wait."
Yao Shen raised his head.
> "You'll need more than blades. The Architect controls threads of cause and effect itself."
> "Then I'll cut those threads," Liu Shen said coldly, "and string up the heavens with them."