The sky of Xuchang was dead.
Massive steel smokestacks incessantly exhaled black vapors, and that soot, mingled with the remnants of necromantic magic, covered the city in a sticky "Miasma of Death." The streets, untouched by sunlight, were stained in a monochromatic grey, and the silence was broken only by the mechanical hum of eerie magical devices.
Whirrr, hiss, whirrr.
Ominous pulses of magical resonance echoed at regular intervals. "Undead Soldiers"—their flesh rotted away but their souls forcibly preserved as expendable parts for Cao Cao—patrolled the streets, their eyes flickering with a cold blue light. A bone-chilling sound of grinding marrow accompanied every movement of their joints. The living demons passing by were no different, their eyes devoid of life. The living were labor; the dead became Cao Cao's immortal legion, enslaved for eternity. Under the guise of efficiency, souls were reduced to numbers, and a bizarre order ruled where even death offered no rest.
In this tragic empire where life and death were entangled under the chains of necromancy, an alien light began to bleed through the bleak, ashen landscape like a miracle. A faint, crimson ripple emerged, slowly pushing back the black fog. it was emanating from a refugee camp established on the outskirts of Wei.
"General, please... please look at this child!"
A lower-class demon woman clad in rags prostrated herself on the ground, wailing. The young child in her arms was gasping for breath, their skin turned a sickly blue as if poisoned by the magical toxins permeating all of Wei. A massive shadow fell over the woman's cries. A man shrouded in a crimson aura that seemed to burn alone in a black-and-white world. His presence was so overwhelming that the mana circuits of every undead soldier nearby flickered and hissed in instinctive rejection.
It was Guan Yu.
He knelt down and spoke in a low, heavy voice to the trembling woman.
"Lift your head."
Guan Yu reached out a large hand and placed it gently on the child's forehead. In that instant, the condensed Crimson Blood Qi from his entire body poured out like a waterfall, seeping into the child. It was not the demonic energy of a demon; it was the purest fighting spirit forged by burning the very essence of life itself. From where Guan Yu's palm touched, the child's skin began to glow red. The crimson energy flowing through the veins pushed out the blue toxins embedded in every cell. Guan Yu's brow furrowed slightly. Saving a single child cost him a portion of his own lifespan, yet he never once hesitated.
"Ah... ahh..."
The blue poison that had been consuming the child's body evaporated like mist. A faint vitality returned to the cold cheeks, and the heart, which had nearly stopped, began to throb powerfully. The woman sobbed, hugging the child as if she couldn't believe it. Guan Yu slowly stood up. Behind him, tens of thousands of refugees held their breath, relying on the red warmth he radiated. A Sanctuary allowed only on this land of death. Guan Yu stared coldly toward the heart of Xuchang, where Cao Cao's castle stood, and whispered.
"Just because this land is ruled by death, one must not give up on life."
Through the black fog, the eerie hum of magical machinery broke the silence of the refugee camp. Along with the sound of massive wheels scraping the earth, a silver carriage unique to Wei appeared. Behind it, undead guards with flickering blue eyes followed in orderly fashion. The carriage door opened, and a man stepped out—Xun Yu, Cao Cao's confidant and cold-blooded strategist. He approached, clapping slowly with a faint, cynical smile on his pale face.
"The General is still sacrificing his own lifespan today to share life with those useless creatures. Truly a tear-jerking sight."
Guan Yu took his hand off the child's head and slowly rose. The crimson spirit in his eyes sharpened toward Xun Yu like a whetted blade.
"Are you a hound sent by Cao Cao?"
"Call me a savior, not a hound. This is the final mercy Lord Cao Cao offers the General."
Xun Yu took out a small box wrapped in black silk. As he carefully opened the box, the surrounding air froze instantly. Inside, a gem pulsed with an ominous red light: the
"Accept the power of this fragment. Then these people will become an invincible legion, knowing neither hunger nor plague. And the General will no longer need to waste his Blood Qi in vain, will he?"
Xun Yu lightly flicked his finger, and the fragment in the box flickered strangely. As its sinister aura spread, the coarse porridge in the refugees' food vats began to glow red and emit a seductive fragrance. The scent was sweet, and the temptation within was fatal. At that melodious whisper promising a rest beyond death, the refugees' eyes instantly glinted with greed.
"General... can we... can we really live if we eat that?"
"I feel like I'm going to die of hunger, General!"
The refugees' desperate pleas pierced Guan Yu's heart. Cao Cao was not simply offering power. He was attempting to tear Guan Yu's convictions apart by exploiting the desires of those driven to the brink. How powerless is noble morality before the primal craving to "live"? The smile on Xun Yu's lips deepened. But Guan Yu did not take a single step back.
"Eternal life without will is nothing but an eternal punishment!"
K-BOOM—!
Guan Yu slammed his Green Dragon Crescent Blade into the earth. With that impact, an explosive Crimson Blood Qi erupted, forming a massive dome-shaped barrier that covered the entire refugee camp. Xun Yu and the undead guards stumbled back, recoiling from the overwhelming pressure.
"I would rather die a short death as a human than live as a monster! That is my oath, and the only dignity I can offer these people. Begone!"
Xun Yu clicked his tongue and stared at the barrier with cold eyes.
"How foolish. I shall look forward to seeing how long that noble barrier lasts in this land of death."
As Xun Yu's party vanished into the fog, Guan Yu leaned on his blade, gasping for the breath he had been holding. As the Crimson Blood Qi thinned due to the massive output of energy, a sinister demonic aura tried to seep into his consciousness.
'Accept it... You can save everyone... Liu Bei, Zhang Fei...'
The voice of the scripture gnawed at his mind. Guan Yu gritted his teeth, steadying his spirit.
"Shut... your mouth...!"
Cold sweat trickled down his cheek. It had been a long time since news of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei had reached him, and the refugees before him were wasting away day by day. Loneliness and temptation pushed him toward the edge—and in that very moment:
RUMBLE—!!
A thunderous roar that shook the earth came from the distant northern border. Guan Yu's head turned instinctively. Far beyond the horizon, tearing through the pitch-black darkness, a massive golden flash was rising toward the sky like a pillar.
It was an arrogant divinity that did more than just evaporate the dead mist of Wei; it defied the very order of the Demon Realm. A gargantuan pillar of light that made even the towering walls of Xuchang—which seemed to touch the clouds—look insignificant. Within it, neither mercy nor compromise could be felt. There was only the absolute, peerless aura unique to the Great Sage, Heaven's Equal, who intended to place the world beneath his feet.
Guan Yu's eyes widened in shock. That energy was of a different nature than the disciplined nobility he had pursued his whole life. It was an explosion of wildness breaking every shackle, a light mocking the massive order of death built by Wei.
"That energy is...!"
It was the signal announcing the return of the legend that had shaken the Demon Realm 500 years ago. Guan Yu's blade, which had been silent, began to resonate and hum in tune with its master's racing heartbeat. His cooling Blood Qi began to boil hot once more. In the land of death, Xuchang, a great storm that would rewrite destiny was finally blowing in.