The final gate loomed ahead.
Unlike the previous four, it bore no markings. No celestial engravings. No soul-flame inscriptions. It was… blank. A void given form—just like the one who guarded it.
> "This is no ordinary trial," Liu Shen muttered.
Lei Qing stepped up, his gaze hard.
> "The Fifth Shadow… your old comrade?"
Liu Shen nodded slowly.
> "His name was Shen Yue. He followed me into the Abyss and back, saved my life more than once… and in the end, he buried a dagger in my back when I needed him most."
Yu Meixing, now radiant with the Mark of the Dreamless, placed a hand on Liu Shen's arm.
> "And yet you don't hate him."
> "No," Liu Shen said softly. "That's what makes this harder."
The gate pulsed. The void beckoned.
He stepped forward, alone.
---
The Hall of Forgotten Shadows
Liu Shen found himself in a grand, empty chamber. Pillars of obsidian stretched upward, vanishing into nothingness. Shattered weapons and broken masks littered the ground.
This was once the heart of the Shadow Council—their secret sanctuary, buried beneath the Sect of Shadows itself.
And standing at its center was a lone figure in gray, cloak fluttering despite the still air.
> "I wondered how long it would take you," Shen Yue said, not turning.
> "Longer than I'd like," Liu Shen replied.
A beat passed. Then Shen Yue turned—his face unchanged by time. Calm eyes, youthful features. As if betrayal had frozen him.
> "I betrayed you," Shen Yue said flatly. "Do you want to hear why?"
> "No," Liu Shen answered. "I want to know… if you regret it."
---
A Friend's Trial
Shen Yue drew his blade slowly—Silent Eclipse, a weapon that mirrored Liu Shen's own Voidfang.
> "I did what I had to. You were becoming dangerous. Unstable. Consumed."
> "I was winning," Liu Shen shot back. "We had Heaven retreating."
> "At what cost?" Shen Yue snapped. "You don't remember, do you? The cities burned in your name. The children sacrificed for dark arts. I loved you like a brother—but I couldn't follow you into madness."
> "You let them kill me," Liu Shen said, voice like frost. "If you truly believed I was lost, you should have killed me yourself."
> "I tried."
Their blades clashed, void and shadow colliding.
The trial had begun.
---
Battle of Brothers
The fight was unlike any before—graceful, precise, devastating. They knew each other's movements too well. Each slash was preempted, each dodge countered.
> "You haven't dulled," Shen Yue muttered.
> "You haven't grown," Liu Shen retorted. "Still hiding behind righteous betrayal."
Shen Yue's blade darkened, drawing in surrounding light.
> "You think I wanted to betray you? We were supposed to change the world, Liu Shen. But the Demon Sovereign you became… he scared me."
Liu Shen growled, shadows swirling behind him.
> "And so you ran, like the rest. You feared the heavens more than you believed in me."
Their weapons locked.
> "I believed in the man you were," Shen Yue whispered.
---
The Last Cut
A sudden shift—Shen Yue vanished.
Liu Shen turned—
Slice.
A gash opened across his side, dark blood spraying the stone.
> "Still too slow," Shen Yue whispered from behind.
> "No," Liu Shen said, gritting his teeth. "Just done playing fair."
A ripple of power erupted from his core. Demonic sigils burned along his skin. Voidflame surged.
Shen Yue's eyes widened.
> "You're still using that technique… the Heaven-Cleaving Sigil?"
> "I've improved it."
With a roar, Liu Shen struck, blade engulfed in voidfire.
Shen Yue blocked—but too late.
His weapon shattered. He fell to one knee, coughing blood.
> "Finish it," he rasped.
---
A Different Ending
Liu Shen raised his blade.
And stopped.
> "I remember now," he said. "You were the one who warned me. You tried to stop the blood contract before it consumed my mind. And when I ignored you… you made the hardest choice."
He lowered the blade.
> "I won't kill you. Not because I forgive you. But because we were both right. And both wrong."
Shen Yue blinked slowly.
> "So… what now?"
Liu Shen extended a hand.
> "Stand. If you truly regret what happened… fight with me."
Shen Yue stared at the offered hand.
Then took it.
---
Outside the Gate
Yu Meixing and Lei Qing waited, both tense.
The gate pulsed once. Then twice. Then opened.
Liu Shen stepped out, supporting a limping Shen Yue.
Lei Qing narrowed his eyes.
> "You brought him back?"
> "He passed the trial," Liu Shen said simply.
Yu Meixing gave a faint smile.
> "You look lighter."
> "I feel heavier," Liu Shen replied. "But not in a bad way."
He looked to Shen Yue.
> "Welcome back, Shadow."
---
The Council Reforms
Later that night, in the sanctum of the Sect of Shadows, Liu Shen stood at the head of a new gathering.
Yu Meixing, Lei Qing, and Shen Yue knelt behind him. A triangle of trust.
> "We are no longer bound by the chains of our past," Liu Shen declared. "The old shadows are gone. From now on… we fight not in secrecy, but in defiance."
He raised his hand.
> "The heavens watch us. Let them. We will rebuild—not a Sect of Shadows… but a Sect of Sovereigns."
The chamber echoed with resolve.
---
Meanwhile: The Hollow Empire Stirring
Far to the east, within the glistening obsidian palace of the Hollow Empire, a figure sat upon a throne of bones.
A messenger bowed low.
> "My Emperor, the Demon Sovereign has survived the Sect of Shadows… and restored the Fifth Shadow."
The emperor leaned forward, voice low and venomous.
> "Good. Then he is almost ready."
A second figure—veiled, with crimson eyes—stepped from the shadows.
> "Shall I… prepare the Abyss Gate?"
The emperor smiled.
> "Yes. Let him gather his allies. When he comes… he will bring doom with him."