🌑 Eclipse of the Immortal Tyrant
Chapter 2 – The Body of Ashes
The first thing Lian Xue felt was pain.
Not the kind that faded with breath — but the deep, gnawing ache of existence itself.
When he opened his eyes, dawn was creeping through the cracks in the rotted ceiling. The air reeked of sweat and rust, and the faint creak of chains echoed all around him. He wasn't alone.
Men and women huddled in rows of cages, their skin bruised and hollow. The scent of hopelessness hung thick in the air.
He turned his head and saw the tiny spirit fox from before, curled weakly beside him. A faint white glow pulsed from its fur, steady and alive. The mark of his first act of mercy.
> So it wasn't a dream…
Before he could think further, the cell door screeched open. A heavy boot slammed into his ribs.
> "Up, slave! The overseer wants the new ones working by sunrise!"
The blow knocked the breath from him. Pain radiated down his side.
For a heartbeat, a buried instinct stirred — the ancient rage of the Tyrant who once crushed gods beneath his feet.
But when he tried to summon his power, there was… nothing.
He reached inward, searching for the ocean of spiritual energy that had once answered his call. All he found were cracks — broken meridians, hollow channels where power had once flowed like fire.
A bitter laugh escaped him.
> "So this is what mercy earns me — a crippled body."
Another kick silenced him.
He didn't rise. Couldn't. The once-immortal emperor now lay in the dirt, breathless under a mortal's boot.
Around him, the others averted their eyes. None dared to speak.
Only one small voice broke the silence.
> "Please… stop. He'll die."
It was a girl — frail, her wrists bruised raw by iron cuffs. She knelt beside him, shielding him with her thin body. The guard spat but moved on, muttering curses as he left.
When he was gone, she reached into her sleeve and pressed a rough piece of bread into Lian Xue's hand.
> "Eat this. You'll need it."
Her voice trembled, but her eyes — tired and brown — held a kindness that made something inside him ache.
> "Why help me?" he asked.
She hesitated. "Because… no one ever helped me."
The faint glow of runes flickered before his eyes.
> [Emotion Detected: Empathy → Skill Stability +3%]
The same mechanical voice as before.
He stared at his hand — the hand that had slaughtered millions — now shaking because someone had shown him pity.
That night, after hours of forced labor, he lay awake beneath the cracked beams of the slave barracks. The spirit fox nestled against his chest; the girl, whose name he'd learned was Xinyi, slept nearby.
The System's voice broke the silence again.
> [Quest Complete: Aid Another Soul in Despair]
[Reward: Skill Evolution – "Mercy → Soul Resonance"]
A soft light flowed through his chest. The warmth spread to his fingertips — gentle, not consuming. For the first time, it didn't hurt to feel power.
He stared up at the night sky through a hole in the roof.
Stars scattered like ashes — distant, cold, unreachable.
> "So this is my new world," he whispered. "No throne. No followers. No power."
The wind outside carried faint laughter, as if mocking him. But beneath that sound, he heard something else — the soft melody of the girl humming in her sleep.
And for a brief moment, Lian Xue closed his eyes and allowed himself to breathe.
But somewhere beyond the walls, on the cliffs that watched over the slave camp, a woman stood cloaked in silver. Her eyes — cold, sharp, and filled with purpose — lingered on the faint aura rising from the barracks.
> "That presence…" she murmured. "It can't be…"
The moonlight glinted off her jade pendant — the mark of the Spirit Lotus Sect.
And when she turned away, the air itself seemed to shiver.