Prologue
Within the Lingxiao Clan, a merciless and horrifying reality had taken form.
Everywhere...dead bodies lay scattered, lifeless forms collapsing one after another, and flames devouring the clan that once thrived around the sacred Lotus Pond.
The entire clan was burning....reduced to ashes.
Nothing remained.
No homes.
No people.
Not even a single soul.
Far away, lying on the scorched earth, Gu Zong.....his body torn and bloodied.....teetered on the edge of death.
The pain he endured was unbearable.
Not just the agony of his own wounds, but the torment of watching his clan.....his masters, his family, his people.....disappear before his very eyes.
His eyes, bloodshot and swollen from the endless stream of tears, stared blankly at the devastation before him.
He screamed.....like a madman.....crying out with every last ounce of strength he had left.
His voice echoed through the burning ruins, raw and desperate,
for before him… his entire world had ended.
---
Years passed.
Yet once again, the same nightmare began to unfold, spreading ruin across the entire kingdom.
On one side stood Gu Zong, alone....wounded, exhausted, drenched in blood...yet unyielding, gripping his sword tightly.
Before him stood the three Clan Masters, their armies, and the entirety of their forces.
And in the midst of it all was Han Wuang Shi, forced to raise his blade against Gu Zong.
The three Clan Masters had bound him with a deadly spell:
If Han Wuang Shi refused to kill Gu Zong… they would kill him instead.
But before another torment could be inflicted upon Han Wuang Shi, Gu Zong looked at him.....one last time.
His gaze was calm, yet filled with unbearable sorrow.
"The most beautiful moments of my life," he whispered,
"were the ones when you were with me… Wuang."
Those words never reached Han Wuang Shi's ears, for Gu Zong spoke them only within his heart.
And then....without hesitation.....he summoned his final spell,
enveloping himself in the raging fire of his own creation.
"If only I could tell you that I..."
Before the words could fully form, his body was consumed....
his figure vanishing within the inferno.
A cry pierced the heavens...
a voice filled with grief, disbelief, and agony...
the voice of Han Wuang Shi.
"No… Gu Zong… NO!"
But his voice faded into the flames.
And then
a terrifying silence fell upon the world.