Chapter no.1 Prologue

A single ray of sunlight pierced the jagged gap between the twin peaks of the St. Ancestral Range. For a moment, the cliff faces glowed with prismatic light before fading back into deep shadow. Even in early summer, the slopes still clung to snow. Every so often, the valley would tremble to the distant roar of a Snow Wind Beast, a reminder that beyond these walls humanity had been driven to ruin.

Below, nestled on the canyon floor, lay Glory City. Three hundred thousand souls eked out existence within its mottled stone walls that had been shattered and rebuilt through countless sieges.

Here, every man and woman played a part in the delicate ecosystem of survival.

Every morning and evening, farmers and herders slipped into the foothills, stalking low rank demon beasts for their meat and spirit. Back in the city, the forges sang with the steady clang of hammers as blacksmiths reforged rusted swords and etched protective inscriptions into armor. Towering above them, alchemists brewed strength pills in smoky labs, their potions destined for Glory City's fighters and Demon Spiritualists.

Glory City's power lay in its families.

At the apex sat the three Sovereign Families. Below them were seven Noble Houses, then twenty Aristocrat clans. Everyone else was a commoner. A family's rank rose or fell on the strength of its Demon Spiritualists.

The system stands because power is everything.

In this dog eat dog world, the weak get crushed. You either rise above or you keep your head down and try to survive.

I was the latter.

My name is Nie Li. I was born into the Heavenly Marks Family. The weakest of the twelve Aristocrat Houses, and my parents were simple farmers. On top of that, I only had the Red Soul Realm, the lowest tier of potential. All signs pointed to one thing: I was destined for mediocrity.

So I never fought it. I figured I'd learn enough to be a farmer like my father and head back home when school was over.

That was my plan when I enrolled at Holy Orchid Institute, the city's school for fighters and Demon Spiritualists. I spent my days goofing off with friends and doing just enough work not to get kicked out.

A three star Bronze Rank fighter was more than enough to clear wolves from a farm.

But the world has a way of showing you why just enough isn't.

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Nie Li trudged up the rutted path toward the farmhouse as the sun dipped below the western ridge, painting the sky in bruised purples and fiery oranges. Summer break had finally arrived, and he was home.

At the stone trough, his mother knelt scrubbing fresh greens, water spilling onto the cracked earthen floor. Nearby, his father heaved another log onto the barn's woodpile, muscles flexing with each movement. They both looked up at the same moment, relief and pride washing over their faces.

"Rascal, you're back already?" Nie Ming's voice boomed as he dropped the axe and shouldered toward Nie Li. With one hearty slap on the younger man's back, hard enough to make him wince, he continued, "Tell me, how's that Bronze Rank treating you? Three stars, was it?"

Nie Li forced a grin. "Yes, Father... three stars."

"Three stars for our son! Nie Li, do you know how proud we are? We must celebrate tonight!"

"Don't tease him too much."

"Oh, come on," his father laughed, rolling his eyes. "Have a little faith in your son, Yun! He takes after his old man's talent, after all."

"A little too much credit if you ask me," Xiao Yun muttered, though she couldn't hide her smile.

Nie Li felt a swell of warmth. How he'd missed their gentle bickering.

"Go wash up," his mother said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We're having a big dinner tonight. Go rest, then come down when the lanterns are lit."

He nodded and climbed the creaking stairs to his old room, memories of flickering candlelight and childhood laughter chasing him down the narrow hallway.

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By nightfall, lanterns glowed in the courtyard, flickering against the deepening black of the sky. Fireflies drifted in the cool air as Nie Li settled between his parents at the low wooden table under the mulberry tree.

The table sagged under the weight of frostroot stew steaming in a cracked clay pot, fluffy steamed buns piled high, and honey roasted venison that sent his stomach rumbling. At the center stood a small jar of plum wine.

They ate in contented silence until the last bun was gone and the stew bowl held only dregs of broth.

"Nie Li," his mother said, "your father has something he wants to give you."

Nie Ming rose and walked to the stool, flanked by his wife's proud smile. He lifted the cloth to reveal a wooden box, ancient and worn at the edges. With a reverent nod, he opened it and pulled out the Moonlight Cup.

"Look closely," he said, holding it up so the lantern light danced off the pale jade. "See how it glows? It's carved so thin that moonlight seems to live in it."

The cup was perfect. Its surface smooth as water, veins of whiter jade winding through it like threads of trapped light. Against the rough hewn table and the simple clay dishes, it looked like a treasure from another world.

"Father… it's beautiful."

"This belonged to your grandfather. On his deathbed, he told me to give it to the son who would honor our family's name. Tonight, that son is you."

He paused, swallowing hard. "I wish I could give you fine silks, a home in the noble district, teachers from the best academies. But all I have is this cup and my pride in you. You've worked hard to earn those three stars, and I want you to know that means the world to me."

Nie Li's gaze flicked between the Moonlight Cup and his father's trembling hand. He thought of every dawn his father had hauled himself into the fields, plow slicing through hardened soil before the sun even rose. He watched his mother mend patch after patch on her own clothes so she wouldn't have to buy new ones. This ensured he could wear decent outfits at the academy and not be embarrassed as a farmer's son. Their sacrifices—day after day, year after year—were woven into the very air around him.

And what had he given them in return?

Silence fell heavy in the courtyard. Nie Ming took a breath and poured wine into the cup, crimson liquid gleaming against pale jade. Then, without a word, he nudged the cup toward Nie Li. His dark eyes held a question: Do you accept this gift?

Nie Li's heart thundered. He stared at the glowing wine and felt shame burn through him. He stood abruptly, voice tight.

"Father, Mother… thank you... for everything," he said, stepping back. "I… I've missed your cooking more than anything." His voice cracked. "I... think I'll head to bed."

His mother's eyes widened. "Nie Li—" she began, pain flickering on her face.

But Nie Li turned and climbed the creaking stairs, each footstep echoing his guilt. He barely heard his parents call after him.

In his old room, he collapsed onto the straw filled mattress and wrapped the thin blanket around his shoulders. It smelled of smoke and lavender; comforting, yet stinging now with regret. What sacrifice had he ever made for them? Late nights he spent lounging with friends. Halfhearted training sessions just to avoid trouble. He had taken every ounce of their love, never once repaying them for their toil.

Tears blurred his vision as he pressed the blanket to his face, wishing it could smother the knot of shame in his chest.

All through the long, silent night, Nie Li cried without sound, the weight of his parents' sacrifices pressing down on him. Sleep would not come, only the ache of knowing he had nothing to offer but empty words.

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The next morning, bells rang out across Glory City, warning that a demon beast horde was approaching.

Demon beast hordes have plagued humanity since the Age of Darkness. Hundreds of thousands of times since Glory City's founding. Over the centuries, the city hardened itself against these assaults: high, reinforced walls; lookout towers bristling with ballistae; and miles of underground bunkers carved into the mountain's bedrock. Citizens drilled regularly in evacuation procedures, and each Noble and Aristocrat family maintained militias ready to defend their assigned district.

When the bells tolled, members of the Sovereign and Noble Families hurried to man the ramparts while commoners filed into the tunnels below. A system born of mutual trust. Each house holding its sector, each citizen playing their part had kept the city standing through every siege.

But when the horde struck, that trust shattered. One family, never suspected of disloyalty, refused to raise their drawbridge, letting demons pour in through a breached wall. Panic spread, and soon other Houses abandoned their posts rather than face overwhelming odds. Ramparts went undefended, militia companies melted away, and demon beasts flooded the streets.

The greatest victims were the common people who had devoted their lives to keeping Glory City alive. They had followed every drill, trusted every warning bell, and filled every bunker when ordered. Now their city crumbled, not under the crush of horned beasts, but under the weight of human betrayal.

How truly tragic.

And during this tragedy, Nie Li and his family were running toward the main clan castle. His father and uncle half-carried their wives on their backs as they sprinted across the rice fields, while Nie Li cradled his little cousin, Nie Yu, in his arms.

"Brother, I… I am scared." Nie Yu's small voice trembled as she buried her face in Nie Li's shoulder.

"Don't worry, Little Yu," he whispered, pressing her close. "The noble families are out there defending Glory City. We just need to reach the castle. We'll be safe there."

Before they could take another step, the world seemed to slow and still. A peculiar hush fell over them, as though the wind itself had frozen mid-breath. The air grew viscous and heavy, each inhalation tasting of cold iron and distant dread. Their footsteps faltered when the crunch of snow underfoot became a muted thud, and even their hearts sounded muffled in their ears.

Nie Li's gaze snapped to the side, and there it stood. A gold rank demon beast so immense it eclipsed the sunlight. Its massive form was outlined in drifting, pale mist that clung to its broad shoulders like jagged banners. Its fur, where it still held any, was the color of ash and ice, matted in places to reveal black, glistening sinew beneath. Long, cracked antlers of obsidian jutted from its skull, branching into wicked points that carved the night air.

Where its eyes should have been, twin lanterns of molten gold hovered in the void. Its maw was a chasm of shadows, rimmed with twin rows of jagged teeth that shimmered like broken crystals. Every breath it drew expelled a curling vapor of frost, and each exhale rattled the very stones around them. Its claws, hooked and gleaming, scraped the earth as it shifted its weight and the snow screamed in protest.

Nie Li felt its strength coil through his bones, a force beyond anything even his gold rank spiritualist patriarch had ever faced. In that moment, hope drained away, leaving only the raw, unfiltered terror of prey before a predator.

Nie Li staggered to a stop as his father, mother, uncle, and aunt stepped between them and the demon beast.

"What are you doing?!" he shouted, voice cracked with disbelief.

"We will give you two a chance to escape. Run, Nie Li."

Nie Li stood frozen as the words didn't register. His cousin trembled in his arms, her fingers digging into his shoulder. Her breath hitched, then burst into a voiceless cry that tore through the silence like shattered glass.

His uncle crouched low and pressed his forehead against his daughter's brow. "You are brave," he whispered, "braver than your old man. Live." His wife kissed her child's cheek, whispered something through tears that Nie Li never heard. It was drowned beneath the roaring silence of dread.

And then, they turned and walked toward the beast.

"Stop!" Nie Li screamed, the world spinning around him. "Please, don't..."

But they didn't stop.

His mother looked back once, her eyes already wet with unshed tears. "Nie Li… you're going to experience pain. More than you know. But remember who you are. Find a dream. A goal. Something bigger than yourself, and don't stop chasing it. No matter how hard it gets." Her voice faltered. "There's still so much I wanted to say to you. So much I wanted to teach you. I wanted to see you grow up. I wanted to stay with you."

Her lips trembled, and then she said it.

"I love you."

His father didn't speak. He only gave Nie Li a firm, final nod. The same nod he'd given him years ago the first time he held a wooden sword, the nod that meant you're ready, even if you don't believe it yet.

Then they charged.

Not a single one of them held the delusion that they could win. They were farmers, not warriors. But if their lives could buy even five seconds, if five seconds was all their children needed to live, then they would spend their lives willingly.

Nie Li's legs moved on their own. He stumbled backward, clutching Nie Yu tighter. Her small body shook as she tried to scream, but no sound came. She saw it all. Her mother struck first, lunging at the beast's foot with a stick she found on the ground. It glanced off the creature's leg with a hollow clink. The demon beast didn't even flinch.

Its claws came down like guillotine blades.

Nie Yu's scream finally came as a sharp, piercing shriek that sliced into Nie Li's bones. Her mother's body exploded into wet pulp, blood spraying across the field in a fan of red mist. Bones shattered like twigs under the weight of the beast's foot. Flesh ripped open. What remained wasn't even a body. It was pieces of one.

Nie Li ran faster.

Tears streamed down his face as he crouched low and darted into the shadow of the bamboo grove. Every step burned with guilt. His arms ached from holding Nie Yu, but he didn't dare let go. He wanted to drop, to scream, to fall apart, but survival took over. His training from Holy Orchid Institute screamed in his blood.

Back at school, they were taught to use movement techniques in exams against low grade demon beasts. Speed was everything. Control your breathing. Find the rhythm of the fight. Dodge. Twist. Escape. He had mastered a technique to outmaneuver horned sheep class demon beasts, slipping through their attacks with agile footwork and sharp bursts of speed.

But this wasn't a horned sheep. This was death given shape.

Behind him, he heard more screams. His uncle's war cry cracked mid-throat as the beast's antlers skewered him through the abdomen and lifted him into the air. His blood poured like a waterfall, dripping onto the dirt below. The demon flung his corpse aside. It hit a tree with a sickening thud. The trunk split. His mother tried to run but was caught by a swipe of the beast's claw. Her spine bent the wrong way as she was hurled into a stone wall that collapsed with the force.

Nie Yu sobbed uncontrollably, her tiny hands reaching for the red smear that had been her aunt.

Lastly, it was Nie Ming.

He had managed to climb onto the beast's forelimb, an old dagger clutched in his hand. With a roar that tore from the depths of his soul, he drove the blade toward one of its eyes. But he was too slow. The demon beast moved with unnatural speed, and its claw snapped around him like a bear trap.

There was a sickening crunch as bones cracked under pressure. Nie Ming screamed, his legs kicking uselessly in the air. The dagger fell from his hand. The beast lifted him higher, holding him at eye level like a child inspecting a toy.

And then it opened its mouth.

The stench of rot spilled from its gaping maw as steam hissed between its teeth. Nie Li could see his father's body twist, shoulders dislocating, ribs caving in. But Nie Ming didn't beg. He just stared into death, teeth gritted, eyes wide, defiant to the end.

Then the beast bit down.

Nie Ming's scream was drowned beneath the crunch of bone and the wet squelch of tearing muscle. Blood sprayed in long, arterial arcs across the snow and dirt, painting the ground red. The beast chewed slowly, savoring the last of him, strings of sinew hanging from its fangs.

And in that moment, something snapped.

Nie Yu saw everything, and her mind couldn't hold it anymore. The cruelty. The violence. The hopelessness. It shattered something inside her.

Or perhaps it awakened something buried deeper.

Black and gold light exploded from her body. A shockwave surged outward, blasting Nie Li off his feet and sending him tumbling through the grass. He landed hard, breath knocked from his lungs. When he looked up, he saw her.

Nie Yu stood alone, hair lifting in the charged air, her eyes alight with swirling energy. The ground beneath her cracked. The clouds above trembled.

The Physique of Heavenly Marks!

A soul form lost since the Age of Darkness had awakened in her.

The earth responded to her fury. Stones lifted from the soil. Her small fists crackled with golden lightning, black veins of spiritual power running up her arms. And without a word, she ran at the demon beast.

"No," Nie Li croaked, crawling forward. "Stop. Please, no!"

She leapt.

Her punch landed square against the demon's leg with a booming blast of force that kicked up a wall of dust. For one second, it reeled. For one glorious second, she hurt it.

And then it recovered.

The beast swung. Nie Yu's body was a blur of limbs as she spiraled through the air, her shoulder dislocating mid-flight. She hit the ground and rolled, leaving a trail of blood in the snow-dusted field. She tried to stand again. Her legs buckled. She didn't stop. She pushed forward with her hands. Her voice was gone, replaced by the sounds of wet breathing and pain.

Nie Li watched it all.

She has gone mad, he thought. And in that instant, Nie Li made a choice.

A terrible, unforgettable choice.

He turned. He used the movement technique drilled into him at the Institute and ran.

The world around him blurred as tears flooded his eyes. Behind him, he heard the wet slap of flesh against earth. He heard bones break. He heard Nie Yu's last scream.

And he kept running.

He didn't stop.

He ran because the fear of dying swallowed everything else. It drowned his guilt. It smothered his courage. It devoured the boy who might have stayed and died with his family.

He would carry that choice for the rest of his life.

He would never forgive himself in this life or the next.

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Nie Li arrived breathless at the front gates of the Heavenly Marks Family's main stronghold, just as a squadron of ballistae released a volley of iron tipped bolts into the white streaked sky. The massive projectiles arced through the air, crashing into a wave of demon beasts climbing the ridgeline. Snarls turned to shrieks as some were struck down, clearing a path for branch family members who surged into the castle in panicked droves.

Nie Li exhaled sharply, his chest heaving, lungs burning. Just as he stepped into the outer courtyard, a familiar sound rumbled across the valley.

The gold ranked demon beast had arrived.

Its roar split the air like a thunderclap. Wind and snow screamed down from the peaks, and the temperature dropped so fast Nie Li felt the sweat on his skin freeze. A second barrage of ballistae bolts flew at the beast, but they were no more effective than toothpicks. The monster opened its maw and let loose a gale of frost. A haze of snow and ice swept across the battlements, blanketing the ground in white and turning soldiers into frozen statues mid scream.

From above, a booming voice echoed across the battlefield.

"How dare you slaughter my people, you abomination!"

The Patriarch of the Heavenly Marks Family descended like a falling star, cloaked in blazing flame.

His hair was white, drawn into a high topknot that crowned a face of stone. A lone strand fell across his brow, softening the fury in his eyes only slightly. His robes fluttered behind him like the wings of a vengeful spirit. Every line of his body radiated age, power, and the burden of a clan too long rested on his shoulders alone.

He hurled a gout of flame at the demon beast, which staggered back with a hiss of pain. The crowd roared in awe, but Nie Li could see what they couldn't.

The Patriarch was faltering.

He had already been fighting for too long. His spiritual aura flickered like a dying lantern. His steps lacked the surety of his youth. Nie Li's gut twisted with bitter understanding.

This family has placed its future in the hands of one old man.

The majority of the clan were farmers and body cultivators. Silver ranks, at best. None could withstand the power of a gold class demon beast, much less a horde. And now their strongest was being ground down like wheat beneath a millstone.

Nie Li knew the truth. The outer walls would not hold. The beast would breach. And when it did, nowhere would be safe except perhaps one place.

The clan treasury.

It was buried beneath the rear pagoda, guarded and sealed, rumored to have protective inscriptions left from the early founders. It was not meant for cowards, but for preserving the clan's most precious artifacts during times of crisis. To Nie Li, it meant stone walls, hidden doors, and possibly a chance to survive.

But then came the next question.

How do I reach it through this crowd?

The courtyard was choked with bodies of panicked elders, crying children, injured cultivators soaked in blood. Everyone pressed toward the center hall like moths fleeing fire. Moving against them would be like swimming through a river of desperation.

Then the wall exploded.

The entire western section of the fortress wall erupted in a blast of debris and smoke as the demon beast hurled the Patriarch through it like a broken doll. His body crashed into the crowd with such force that flesh, blood, and bone were sent flying in every direction. People were pulverized beneath him. The old man's flaming aura flickered weakly, sputtered, and died. His right arm was gone. His chest had caved in. One eye had burst from its socket.

The crowd broke.

Screams tore through the air like wild animals. Men shoved their kin to the ground. Mothers dropped their children. The scent of burning silk, blood, and human waste filled the courtyard. Limbs were trampled underfoot. Someone vomited beside Nie Li. Another person tried to crawl away with their entrails spilling behind them like ribbons.

He's dead, Nie Li realized. The Patriarch is dead.

The cheers had stopped. The only sound now was the thunder of paws, the screech of claws against stone, and the rising wails of those who knew death had come.

Nie Li's soul trembled, but his body moved. He ducked low, darted behind a toppled food cart, and pushed into the side path between two burning pavilions.

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Nie Li stumbled down the spiraling stone steps into the depths of the treasury as he saw it.

The treasury gate stood wide open.

"Did someone think of this before me?" he muttered, his voice hoarse and low. He pressed forward cautiously and descended further into the cold, torch lit chamber.

What he found made his gut twist.

A dozen figures were already inside, swarming the shelves and plundering the sacred vaults. Men and women, some recognizable as distant relatives from other branches, moved like thieves in a ruined tomb.

"Damn you, Nie Hai," a deep voice rang across the stone chamber, laced with disgust. "Selling the legacy of our family just to fatten your purse. Leaving behind nothing of value for us."

Nie Li turned toward the voice and his breath caught.

An old man stepped forward from the shadows. Long silver hair was tied behind his skull, though two thin strands framed a narrow, bony face etched with deep lines. A mustache arced across his upper lip, and two trailing wisps of beard curled like smoke from his chin.

Nie Wei.

The Enforcement Elder of the Heavenly Marks Family. The man who punished with one hand and pardoned with the other, depending on bloodline. A silver ranked Demon Spiritualist and the very embodiment of hypocrisy cloaked in tradition. Nie Wei's robes were pale gray and darkened by dust, hanging loosely on his skeletal frame. He turned and immediately spotted Nie Li.

"You," he hissed, walking toward him. "What are you doing here?"

Nie Li dropped to one knee.

"Junior Nie Li greets the Elder," he said, bowing low. "Forgive my intrusion."

"Answer the damn question," Nie Wei snapped, his voice echoing off the vault walls.

Nie Li swallowed hard. "The Patriarch is dead. The demon beasts have breached the inner walls. I panicked. I thought… I thought this was the safest place to hide. I meant no offense."

Nie Wei's face remained unreadable, carved from stone. Then, the entire chamber trembled.

Dust rained from the ceiling. In the distance, a muffled roar vibrated through the ground like an approaching avalanche.

"They're here," Nie Xiaofeng muttered. He stood beside his grandfather. "It won't be long before they start coming down the stairwell."

Without another word, Nie Wei's body convulsed, and with a surge of spiritual power, he transformed. His human form twisted, his bones cracking and popping as tufts of wiry black hair erupted from his skin. His limbs shrank inward, his spine contorting as his face narrowed into a snout. In moments, the man became something else entirely.

A demon rat.

Before Nie Li could react, the Elder's fangs sank into the side of his neck.

Agony surged through Nie Li's body like wildfire. His vision blurred, the pain so intense it felt like molten iron pouring beneath his skin. The flesh at his neck tore open with a wet crunch. Warm blood streamed down his collarbone as his body locked up in shock.

"Gramps, what are you doing?"

Nie Wei pulled away slowly, his mouth stained red.

"My demon beast is the Scavenger Rat," he said flatly, as if discussing the weather. "In the wild, this creature survives by releasing a scent that attracts larger predators. While they are lured away from a hunt, the rat feasts on whatever remains."

Nie Li collapsed to his knees, his body shuddering as his blood pooled beneath him.

The implication hit him like a hammer.

He's going to use me as bait.

Around the vault, the other relatives stopped moving. Some looked away. Others turned pale. The guilt was there in their eyes, but none dared defy the elder. Nie Xiaori clenched his fists, but didn't speak.

"P… please," Nie Li gasped, one hand reaching feebly toward the elder.

Nie Wei ignored his plea at first. Instead, the elder walked over to one of the high shelves, his clawed hand brushing aside some minor artifacts until it landed on a long, lacquered box. He pulled it down with reverence, wiping the dust away with the sleeve of his robe. The others in the room paused, watching silently.

"You want a chance?" he said coldly. "Then I will give you one."

He set the box down on a nearby pedestal and slowly undid the latches. The wood creaked as the lid opened. Inside, instead of a pill, a blade, or a protective talisman, lay a single sheet of yellowed paper. Thin and brittle, its edges curled with age. Etched onto its surface were faded black characters that were impossible to read at a glance.

Nie Wei snorted through his nose, then gave a mock bow of generosity.

"There. You can use this treasure to defend yourself. Perhaps it contains a sealing formation. Or a summoning technique. Maybe it's just an old prayer scroll. Who knows?" His mouth curled into a thin, joyless smile. "Let fate decide how long you get to live."

He let the parchment drift from his fingers. The page fluttered down and landed on Nie Li's chest like a fallen leaf. It stuck to the blood that soaked through his tunic, the ancient characters now stained with red.

Nie Li stared up at him, his face pale, his eyes burning with hatred.

"Kids these days don't even know how to be grateful. I have injured you enough that you would die before the demon beasts approach you," Nie Wei said without a flicker of emotion, turning his back on the boy he had marked for death.

"D... damn you."

"Don't blame me, blame your own fate for being a loser," Nie Wei replied. His cold voice echoed off the stone walls as he disappeared through the secret passage, his family following behind without so much as a glance.

And then they were gone.

And Nie Li was alone.

The torchlight flickered across the empty vault, the shadows on the walls dancing like the ghosts of his dead family. The stone beneath him felt cold against his blood soaked skin. His limbs twitched with fading life. The bite wound throbbed like a hot brand, and the taste of iron filled his mouth.

The pain should have been unbearable, but it was not what broke him.

What shattered Nie Li was the silence.

The noise had gone. The fear had gone. The panic and the fight, the instinct to survive, the adrenaline that once kept him clinging to life like a drowning man. All of it had vanished. Now, in its place, there was only the unbearable weight of guilt.

His arms were empty.

Nie Yu was not in them.

He had let her go. He had run.

They entrusted me, he thought. They gave their lives for us. For me. And I left her behind.

His mother's voice echoed in his head, soft and full of love. His father's proud nod. His uncle's final words to his daughter. Their warmth. Their faith in him. And he had repaid them by failing. Not just as a fighter. Not just as a son. But as a human being.

He clenched his teeth and screamed, though it came out as a broken sob. Blood flecked his lips. Tears mixed with sweat and filth on his face.

"I could have trained harder," he said aloud. "Even without talent, I could have worked. I could have fought. I could have done something."

But he hadn't.

He had wasted his time. Played around. Skipped lessons. Laughed with friends while others bled. All the while, his family scraped together what little they had to keep him clothed, fed, enrolled. They gave him everything, and he gave nothing back.

"Would it have mattered?" he whispered. "If I trained harder… would she be alive? Would they?"

His voice cracked.

Nie Li stared up at the ceiling through blurry vision, his blood slowly spreading beneath him in a wide, dark pool. He thought of his cousin's scream. He thought of the moment he turned his back. The world felt distant now. Hollow. The vault pulsed with an eerie silence as the tremors of the approaching demon beasts grew louder. He could hear their claws tearing through the earth, their calls scraping through the halls.

He laughed, or maybe cried. It was hard to tell anymore.

"You watched me suffer… watched me fail… and when I had nothing left, you gave me death."

His voice cracked, blood bubbling at his lips.

"Was that the plan all along? To let me crawl, just to die in the dirt like a dog?"

A tear slid down his blood streaked cheek.

"You never gave me a chance… You only gave me pain."

His eyes rolled back as his breath hitched.

"How can the heavens be this cruel?"

A pause.

"Why… was I even born?"

A roar rang out from above.

The ceiling cracked. Dust rained down. The torches flickered violently. The door above exploded inwards, and the demon beasts poured into the treasury. Some crawled. Some slithered. Others walked upright, armored in scales and muscle. Their eyes burned with hunger. Their fangs dripped with gore. The scent of blood drove them mad.

Nie Li closed his eyes.

"If I had just one more chance… I'd tear the heavens down with my own hands."

As his final breath caught in his chest, the page on his bloodied robes began to glow.

A light, soft at first, then blinding.

It grew rapidly, spreading across the vault, swallowing shadow and blood, beast and man. The air split open with a great ringing sound that pierced deep into Nie Li's bones, louder than any roar, louder than the screams of the dying. He felt his body being pulled apart, or perhaps reassembled. He could not tell. His mind swam in light.

Is this death? he wondered. Is this the afterlife?

Then the light faded. The ringing dulled into silence. When his vision returned, it was not to a vault, nor to the cold stone floor of the treasury. There was no blood, no screams, no beasts.

Instead, Nie Li sat at a wooden desk.

Around him, students chatted and laughed. Teacher stood at the front of the room. The walls were bright, the floor clean, the windows open to the morning sun. His chest rose in panic as he knew these faces.

This was his class.

Holy Orchid Institute's Fighter Apprentice Class.

He looked down at his hands. They were small, soft and untouched by blood. He stared in disbelief. Then he pinched himself.

The pain came sharp and real.

A choked cry rose from his throat. His vision blurred again, as tears streamed down his face.

"This... this isn't a dream," he whispered. "I'm alive. I came back."

The world had given him one more chance.

He would never waste it again.

Not this time.

Not ever.