Lin Yuhan placed a hand on the door, which creaked open.
"This hall stores incomplete scrolls and broken records discarded from the main library. Most disciples do not know it exists."
Shen Tian followed him inside. Shelves lined the walls, overflowing with torn manuals, rusted metal plates, and fragments of jade slips. Some glowed faintly, others had lost their light entirely.
Lin Yuhan stopped before a shelf near the back.
"A hundred years ago, an outer disciple awakened an eye ability that shook the sect. His eyes were described as crimson, swirling like a burning vortex."
Shen Tian's heartbeat picked up.
Crimson. Swirling. Eyes.
Lin Yuhan's tone darkened.
"They called it the Eye of Fate."
He picked up a tattered scroll and handed it to Shen Tian.
The parchment was brittle. Ink had faded, but certain parts remained legible.
"Once awakened, these eyes allow the bearer to see patterns that others cannot. The flow of Qi. The weight of choices. The curve of destiny."
Shen Tian frowned as he read further.
"But the disciple who bore them became obsessed with the idea of controlling fate. He tried to read the future. Tried to manipulate destiny itself."
Lin Yuhan continued.
"He died. Not from battle. Not from betrayal. His mind shattered."
Shen Tian looked up sharply.
"The eyes destroyed him?"
Lin Yuhan nodded.
"Power that sees too much becomes a curse."
Shen Tian lowered the scroll. His Sharingan pulsed faintly, as if reacting to the words on the page. The memory of ghost-like prediction lines flickered in his mind. He remembered seeing paths before they were taken.
He inhaled slowly.
"I am not that person. I don't seek to control fate."
Lin Yuhan looked at him more intently than before.
"You say that now. But power changes people. Especially power that whispers truths others cannot see."
There was no accusation in his tone. It was simply a fact.
Shen Tian set the scroll back on the shelf.
"Why show me this?"
Lin Yuhan's expression did not change.
"Because the sect will not guide you. They do not understand your power. They fear it. And fear creates knives."
His voice lowered.
"If you wish to survive here, Shen Tian, you must understand what you carry. Learn your limits before they consume you."
Shen Tian remained silent. His mind churned with thoughts. Was his Sharingan evolving into something similar to the Eye of Fate? Was that why the Soul Tablet reacted to him? Why the stone pillar marked him?
Lin Yuhan stepped away.
"One more thing."
Shen Tian turned.
Lin Yuhan pointed to the floor.
Carved into the stone, barely visible beneath dust, was a symbol.
Two tomoe intertwined.
Shen Tian's blood ran cold.
It was identical to the mark his Soul Tablet had manifested.
Lin Yuhan spoke slowly.
"That symbol belonged to the previous bearer of those eyes. This hall has not been opened since his death."
Shen Tian's throat tightened.
Before he could speak, Lin Yuhan added one final sentence.
"And he died… the moment his eyes gained a second tomoe."
Shen Tian's vision flickered.
His Sharingan had shown signs of a second tomoe forming.
Silence pressed down on him.
Lin Yuhan began walking away.
"Your future will not be peaceful, Shen Tian. Whether you ascend or fall depends on how long you can keep your eyes from devouring you."
Shen Tian watched him leave, unsure whether Lin Yuhan was offering advice, warning him, or simply observing.
He looked again at the carved symbol beneath his feet. The stone felt colder now. The hall seemed darker. The weight of another's path pressed against his chest.
The Sharingan pulsed once more behind his eyelids.
Shen Tian clenched his fists.
"I will not be controlled by this power."
But somewhere deep within him, a whisper stirred.
Power never asks for permission.
It only waits to be used.
He turned and left the hall, but the symbol burned in his mind like a brand.
Night descended over Azure Cloud Sect. Lanterns flickered along stone paths, casting long shadows across the silent courtyards. Most disciples were already in their rooms, meditating or resting after the exhausting trials.
Shen Tian sat alone on his straw bed inside a modest guest chamber. The room was small, with nothing more than a wooden table, a simple cabinet, and a single window overlooking a distant waterfall. The steady rush of water was the only sound breaking the night's stillness.
He closed his eyes, trying to calm his thoughts, but Lin Yuhan's words echoed in his mind.
"Power that sees too much becomes a curse."
He remembered the Eye of Fate. The disciple who came before him. The symbol carved into the floor. The madness that consumed the previous bearer.
Shen Tian clenched his fists.
"I am not him. I have no intention of letting this power control me."
Yet even as he said it, doubt lingered. The Sharingan felt like it was growing without his consent, evolving every time he faced danger. What if he could not stop it?
He lay down and exhaled, exhaustion finally pulling him into sleep.
His dream began instantly.
The world around him twisted into a vast crimson landscape. The sky was black, as if devoured by shadows. Lightning crackled overhead in silent flashes. The ground beneath his feet was smooth, like polished glass, yet it reflected no light.
In front of him stood a figure… or the outline of one. Tall, cloaked, with its face obscured in a void of darkness. But there was one thing that Shen Tian could see clearly.
Its eyes.
A pair of crimson pupils, rotating slowly, each containing a single tomoe. The exact same as his own.
Shen Tian's breath caught.
"You…"
The figure remained still for a long moment, then spoke with a voice that sounded both distant and familiar, as if echoing through time itself.
"You walk my path."
Shen Tian's pulse raced. His throat tightened.
"Who are you?"
The figure did not answer directly.
"I once sought to see everything. The fate of others. The fate of worlds. And in the end… I saw too much."
The wind howled across the barren dreamscape, though Shen Tian felt no breeze. The figure stepped closer, and Shen Tian instinctively stepped back.
"You cannot run from the truth of your eyes," the voice continued. "They hunger for more. They open doors. They reveal threads others cannot see."
Lightning flashed behind the figure, illuminating something disturbing. A second shadow stood behind it, warped and twisted. Its eyes contained two tomoe, but they spun rapidly, out of control.
Shen Tian's chest tightened.
"Is that… what happens next?"
The cloaked figure raised a hand and pointed at Shen Tian's chest.
"You have something I did not. A choice."
Shen Tian blinked.
"A choice?"
"To let the eyes consume you… or to consume them."
The statement made no sense, yet every word struck Shen Tian like a hammer.
The figure's pupils glowed brighter.
"Your Sharingan is not bound by this world. It will grow. It will change. It will devour what it touches. Including you."
Shen Tian's heart pounded so loudly he could barely think.
"Why show me this? Why now?"
The figure tilted its head slightly.
"So you do not become what I became."
The dream twisted suddenly. Shen Tian felt as if his mind was being pulled apart. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and the landscape shattered into fragments of red and black.
The cloaked figure's final words echoed as the world collapsed.
"When the second tomoe opens… do not look into the future."
Shen Tian jerked awake, drenched in cold sweat. His chest rose and fell rapidly. His vision blurred, and instinctively, his Sharingan activated.
He froze.
There, reflected faintly in the window's glass, his eyes glowed red… and on the right eye…
A second tomoe had formed.
He gasped, nearly stumbling backward.
"That dream… was not a dream."
The Sharingan pulsed painfully, as if reacting to the warning left behind.
Shen Tian covered his eyes with trembling hands, but the truth could not be denied—his power had evolved.
Not through training.
Not through choice.
But through destiny.
Outside his room, a pair of eyes watched through the darkness. Hidden among the shadows, someone observed the crimson glow leaking through the cracks of Shen Tian's window.
"So it has begun," the watcher whispered.
Then, like mist blown by a breeze, the presence vanished.
Shen Tian stood in the silent room, breathing shallowly, sweat dripping from his palms. The sect slept peacefully around him, unaware that a force once lost to history had awakened again.
He stared at his reflection, voice barely above a whisper.
"I didn't choose this."
But deep inside, a different truth flickered.
Power never waited for permission.
Morning sunlight filtered into Shen Tian's small living quarters, yet its warmth did nothing to soothe his restless mind. He sat with his back against the wall, knees drawn close, eyes closed but unable to rest. The memory of last night's dream haunted him.
The cloaked figure.
The warning.
The second tomoe.
He exhaled deeply.
"I did not ask for this power…"
But the crimson eyes that stared back at him from the window's reflection last night told a different story. The eyes wanted to grow. The eyes wanted more.
A sudden knock echoed through the chamber.
Shen Tian's eyes snapped open.
He rose to his feet and opened the door cautiously. A disciple wearing blue sect robes stood there, holding a jade slip in both hands. His demeanor was respectful, though his gaze flickered nervously.
"Shen Tian, Elder Bai requests your presence at the Martial Records Hall."
Shen Tian did not react outwardly.
"When?"
"Immediately."
The disciple bowed lightly and left without waiting for further conversation.
Shen Tian took a breath and stepped outside. The morning air was crisp, and disciples filled the walkways, murmuring among themselves. Many turned to look at him as he passed.
He ignored their whispers, but he could hear them clearly.
"That's the one with the strange eyes."
"I heard he passed the Soul Tablet with no Qi."
"They say the stone cracked when he touched it."
"He's cursed."
"He's dangerous."
A few disciples looked away quickly when he met their eyes. Others glared with open hostility. The sect was a place where talent earned respect, but unknown power earned suspicion.
Shen Tian continued walking until he reached a sprawling building supported by giant pillars. The Martial Records Hall was massive, its stone walls carved with scenes of ancient battles, mythical beasts, and cultivators ascending the heavens.
Elder Bai stood at the entrance, hands clasped behind him. His stern eyes studied Shen Tian the moment he approached.
"You came."
Shen Tian nodded.
"You requested my presence."
Elder Bai gestured for him to follow and led him inside. Shelves lined the halls, filled with scrolls, jade slips, and sealed records.
"Your performance in the trials was beyond unusual," Elder Bai began. "No Qi, no spiritual cultivation, yet overwhelming battle intuition."
Shen Tian kept silent.
Elder Bai stopped walking and faced him directly.
"What is the source of your ability?"
Shen Tian met his gaze calmly.
"I don't know."
It was not a lie, but also not the whole truth. Elder Bai's eyes narrowed, studying him for deception, but he found none.
He turned and continued walking.
"Then listen carefully. The Azure Cloud Sect tolerates mysteries, but not threats. Your eyes have drawn attention far faster than expected."
Shen Tian's fists tightened slightly.
"Who?"
Elder Bai took a moment before answering.
"The Sect Master."
Shen Tian's breath caught for an instant.
Elder Bai's tone grew grave.