His black robes were still on, but the silver mask lay discarded on a small wooden table, revealing his face. His blood-red hair cascaded around his shoulders, a stark, almost violent splash of colour in the dimness. His crimson eyes, usually veiled to a mundane brown, burned with a furious, unyielding light that seemed to absorb all other colour from the room. They were the eyes of a creature forged in the abyss, utterly devoid of the warmth she remembered.
"I asked you to stay away," Jian stated, his voice a low rumble, devoid of question or emotion. He did not turn to face her fully, his gaze fixed on the distant, brightly lit peak of the sect, a silent promise of destruction.
"I couldn't," Lin Xier replied, her voice trembling slightly. She walked further into the room, closing the d
