The mountain slept beneath its endless snow, quiet and still. But deep within the clouds above, something stirred.
The heavens had grown restless.
From far beyond the mortal senses of the clan, a ripple of divine will passed through the sky. It took form within the storm clouds—black, coiling, heavy with thunder. Within moments, the once-peaceful snowfall became a raging blizzard. Lightning without sound flashed across the heavens, and the air itself began to tremble.
The Grand Elder's eyes snapped open from meditation. His heart clenched.
"Heaven… has sent something."
The clan's alarm bells rang. Disciples and elders gathered upon the snowy cliffs, their robes whipping in the wind as they stared into the swirling storm above. A vast shadow moved within it—massive, serpentine, its scales glimmering with frost and starlight.
When it descended, the very sky cracked.
A Heaven-Sent Beast, a divine construct of will and law, shaped by the heavens to erase that which should not exist. Its head resembled a dragon, its body like a serpent woven from storm and ice. Its eyes burned with cold judgment.
"Defensive formation—now!" shouted the Grand Elder.
The mountain roared to life, layers of immortal light spiraling upward to form barriers around their sacred grounds. But the beast merely opened its maw and breathed—a gust of freezing wind that shattered the formation like fragile glass.
Panic spread. Elders unleashed their treasures, sacred swords, and divine seals, striking the beast with blinding fury. Yet each blow melted away against its hide. Heaven's will could not be wounded by mortal hands.
And then… Feixue appeared.
She stepped from her courtyard barefoot, her white robes fluttering lightly. Snow gathered around her as though greeting its master. Her silver hair flowed, her wooden sword clutched loosely in one hand.
"Feixue!" shouted the Grand Elder, fear flashing in his eyes. "Return to your quarters! This is not something you—"
His words froze.
The beast's gaze locked onto Feixue. Its divine eyes burned brighter, its body coiling in the storm. The heavens had found their target.
Lightning fell.
Feixue raised her sword.
The world turned silent.
The blizzard stopped mid-motion, lightning halted in the air, and every snowflake hung frozen in place. Time itself held its breath. Feixue's small hand trembled, but her expression did not.
Her sword moved—slowly, gracefully, without anger.
When she swung, there was no light, no sound, no explosion—only stillness. The strike was so quiet that the heavens themselves seemed to fade away. The frozen lightning cracked, the beast's body halted mid-roar, and then, without a scream, without a sound, it split apart.
Ice blossomed from the wound, spreading across its massive frame like vines of crystal. In seconds, the Heaven-Sent Beast was encased entirely in frost. One heartbeat later—it shattered into dust, dispersing into the wind.
Silence returned.
The clouds cleared. The sun broke through, spilling light across the snow-covered land.
Feixue lowered her sword. Frost still clung to her lashes, and her breathing was steady.
Around her, the clan watched in disbelief. Elders fell to their knees. Disciples trembled. Even the Grand Elder, who had lived a million years, felt his soul quake before her quiet power.
He took a hesitant step forward. "Feixue… do you know what you have done?"
She blinked, tilting her head slightly. "It tried to erase me."
"And so you erased it," he whispered.
Feixue looked toward the sky, her expression unreadable. "Heaven sends its beasts to silence me… but they are not silent enough."
The snow stirred around her feet, rising gently like a crown.
That night, the Grand Elder stood alone on the highest peak, staring at the stars. He could feel it now—beyond the firmament, heaven's eyes glared down in fury.
"The more she grows," he murmured, "the closer we draw to war with the skies themselves."
He closed his eyes. "May the heavens have mercy… for she will not."