The moon hung high, pale and cold, casting long shadows across the empty plain outside Central City.
Gu Wen—no, The Fox—stood in front of Chen Yuan with a posture too relaxed for the weight of his words.
The air felt heavier now.
As if the world itself expected an answer.
Chen Yuan swallowed.
"…The Seed of Destruction. What is it?"
The Fox chuckled softly, tilting his head.
"Ah. Straight to the heart of it."
His voice carried a strange mix of amusement and melancholy.
"But you're asking the wrong person."
Chen Yuan blinked.
"What do you mean? Aren't you a Hunter? Doesn't The Tree tell you what you're protecting?"
Gu Wen—beneath the mask—exhaled as if carrying a burden that even he didn't understand.
"The Tree gives roles," he said quietly, "not explanations."
The wind rustled the grass.
"The Owl hunts prey.
The Crow shadows the powerful.
The Bear crushes the weak.
And I… I hunt lies."
"But the Seed—?" Chen Yuan pressed.
The Fox raised a hand, cutting him off gently.
"I know only fragments. Whispers. Commands. Even The Tree does not speak plainly."
His fingers idly traced the edge of the fox mask.
"It is something ancient. Something forbidden to interfere with. Something… inevitable."
Chen Yuan frowned.
"Inevitable?"
"Yes."
Gu Wen nodded slowly.
"As in… destined. Preordained. Something whose existence cannot be altered—only prepared for."
Prepared for.
Not controlled.
Not shaped.
Prepared for.
Chen Yuan felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"And you protect it. Without knowing what it is?"
"It is not my place to know," The Fox replied softly.
Then he leaned closer, voice dropping to a whisper.
"But I suspect…"
Chen Yuan braced himself.
"…that the Seed is not an object."
A pause.
"Not a weapon."
Another pause.
"Not a place."
Chen Yuan's heartbeat quickened.
"Then—?"
"I think," Gu Wen murmured, "that the Seed of Destruction is… a person."
Silence fell like a blade.
Chen Yuan's breath hitched.
"A person?"
The Fox's shoulders lifted in a faint shrug.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not. The Tree rarely lies… but it often omits."
"But who?" Chen Yuan demanded, pulse pounding. "Zhao Ming? Qiang Hao? Someone from the Tree? Someone from Cloud City? Who!?"
The Fox simply tapped the mask over his face.
"That," he said mildly, "is above my rank."
Chen Yuan stared at him.
"So you came here just to tell me… nothing?"
The Fox laughed softly, though there was something tired beneath it.
"I came to warn you."
"Warn me of what?"
Gu Wen's voice dropped, losing all playfulness.
"The Tree moves far sooner than it should.
The Lady is… restless.
The Hunters are shifting their roles.
And the world is beginning to notice."
He studied Chen Yuan—
long, quiet, contemplative.
"You are walking toward something large, Chen Yuan. Larger than Elder Zhao. Larger than Cloud City. Larger than the Empire that once held The Conquest."
The air itself seemed to tighten.
"So be careful," The Fox whispered.
"Because whether you want to or not…"
His mask tilted downward, eyes focusing on Chen Yuan's chest—
his heart—
as though he saw something inside.
"…you are already standing where the Seed will grow."
Chen Yuan felt his knees weaken.
"What… what does that mean?"
But The Fox only stepped back.
"I've said enough. More than enough."
Wind swirled around him, carrying leaves and dust.
"And remember—"
his voice softened, almost affectionate,
"even as a Hunter… I am still your friend."
Then he vanished.
No sound.
No ripple of qi.
No trace.
Just emptiness.
Chen Yuan stood alone in the moonlit field, trembling, The Conquest at his side pulsing faintly—
as though something inside it understood The Fox's words far better than he did.
He whispered to the silent night:
"…Seed of Destruction… a person?"
The wind did not answer.
But the ground beneath his feet felt as though it had begun to shift.