We returned to the sect at sunset, bloodied, exhausted, and silent.
The Mist Valley still burned faintly behind us, smoke curling into the sky like the ghost of everything that had gone wrong.
Yan walked ahead of me, his steps unsteady, his robes was scorched and torn and he hadn't said a word since he woke up. I didn't blame him. Whatever power had overtaken him in the valley still lingered faintly dark, and dangerous, like a second heartbeat beneath his skin.
The sect gates came into view. A dozen guards were already waiting. Their weapons gleamed in the fading light.
"Senior Disciple Lin," one of them barked, "by order of the elders, you are both to be taken to the Grand Hall immediately."
Yan tensed beside me. "What's this about?"
The guard's gaze shifted to him, cold and suspicious. "You'll answer that yourself, traitor."
Before I could speak, they surrounded us.
"Stand down," I warned, my hand on my sword. "We've just returned from the trial."
"Exactly," the guard sneered. "And the sect's artifact vanished the same day. You expect us to believe that's coincidence?"
I looked at Yan, but his face was unreadable.
Artifact.
My pulse quickened. The stolen relic the system had warned me about days ago. The one tied to the whispers of demonic energy.
Someone had set him up.
—
The Grand Hall was suffocating that night.
Hundreds of disciples gathered, whispering from the shadows as Elder Mo, Elder Qian, and the Sect Master himself sat on the dais.
"Lin of the Third Peak. Yan of the Fourth," Elder Mo began, his voice sharp. "You stand accused of treachery. A sacred relic which is the Jade Heart Seal was found missing after the Trial of Loyalty. The runic trace leads to one of your swords."
A murmur spread through the hall and I felt Yan go rigid beside me.
"That's impossible," he said quietly. "I never…"
Elder Qian slammed her hand on the table. "Silence! You think we don't sense the taint in your spiritual energy? You brought demonic energy back from the valley!"
Yan's fists clenched. "Then check my memories! You'll see what really happened!"
The sect elders exchanged glances, but the decision had already been made. To them, it was clear.
I could see the hatred in the crowd. They wanted a scapegoat.
And Yan was the perfect one.
The system flickered faintly at the edge of my vision.
[Integrity Warning: Host emotional output unstable.]
[Mission priority: Protect Yan.]
I stepped forward. "If you accuse him, then accuse me as well."
Every head in the hall turned toward me.
Elder Mo frowned. "Lin, this is not your battle."
"It is," I said firmly. "I was his partner in the trial. If he's guilty, then so am I."
Gasps rippled through the disciples. Yan's eyes widened slightly into shock, then something softer.
Elder Qian rose to her feet. "You would defend a man whose power reeks of corruption?"
"Yes," I said. "Because the corruption isn't his. Someone planted it."
Her voice dropped dangerously low. "Do you have proof?"
"No," I said. "Not yet."
The hall erupted in outrage. Voices shouted for discipline, for expulsion, for execution.
Through the chaos, Yan whispered, "You fool… Why would you—"
"Because you're not the traitor," I said.
He stared at me, guilt and pain flickering in his eyes. Or maybe it was gratitude.
But before he could speak, the doors of the Grand Hall burst open.
A blade of black steel flew through the air, slicing across the sect's crest carved into the floor. The crowd scattered as a masked figure landed silently amid the confusion.
The assassin's presence was suffocating. His spiritual aura sharp and precise, far beyond any disciple's level.
Yan froze. "No…" His voice trembled. "Senior Brother?"
The figure tilted his head. His mask gleamed under the torchlight, and beneath it came a voice laced with malice.
"You should have stayed hidden, Yan."
Elder Mo shouted for the guards, but before they could move, the assassin vanished reappearing behind the dais, his blade aimed directly at Yan's chest.
I moved without thinking as the knife met my skin.
Pain burst across my side, white-hot and immediate. The assassin's blade had missed Yan because it found me instead.
The world slowed.
Yan's voice broke through the roar in my ears. "LIN!"
I staggered, my vision flickering. My system interface flashed erratically, code breaking apart into static.
[Critical Damage Detected.]
[Warning: Host life force declining.]
[Rebooting—]
The system's voice glitched, fading into silence.
I looked down at the blade protruding through my ribs, black as night, and saw the faint shimmer of demonic energy crawling along the metal. The same runes that once tainted Yan's sword.
The assassin yanked the blade free, his mask turning toward me. For one split second, I saw his eyes, emotionless, but familiar.
Yan's senior brother.
He vanished into the shadows before the guards could reach him.
Yan caught me before I fell. His hands trembled as he pressed against the wound, spiritual energy flaring desperately to keep me alive.
"Don't move," he said hoarsely. "I'll heal you—"
But the world was already slipping away. My body felt weightless. My blood pooled between us, warm and dark.
"Yan…" I managed, my voice barely a whisper. "It wasn't you. It was never you."
He shook his head violently. "Save your strength!"
The last thing I saw was his face twisted in rage and grief as he shouted my name.
Then the system went completely silent.
And the world turned black.