Chapter 5: The Church of Nine Eyes
885 Words
Location: Port City — Binhai District, Nightfall
The rain hit the pavement in thin needles, slicing the neon reflection of the city into jagged veins.
Qin Shuyan and Lin Yechen stood beneath a jade-green streetlamp, facing a cordoned-off alley behind an abandoned cinema.
The police had no idea what they were dealing with.
They marked it as a “gas explosion.”
But the Taoist world knew—this was a “Category Black Manifestation.” A spirit apparition dense enough to warp time, space, and even memory.
“Victims report seeing a nun with nine glowing eyes,” Shuyan said, scrolling through her compass interface. “Some are now in comas. Others just… vanished.”
Lin frowned. “Wait. A nun?”
“Not ours. Not from China.”
She tapped twice on her compass screen, revealing a grainy surveillance freeze-frame.
It showed a robed figure in white—face hidden under a veil, arms spread wide in front of the cinema, with nine glowing irises orbiting her head like a halo.
Lin took a step back. “…Okay. That’s very not-Daoist.”
“She’s not,” Shuyan said grimly. “She’s from the Church of Nine Eyes—a Western occult group specializing in ‘dimensional evangelism.’”
“…They spread their religion through portals?”
“Sometimes through possession. Sometimes through dreams. But always with blood.”
She looked at him, serious now. “This isn’t just an exorcism. This is the start of a turf war.”
⸻
Inside the cinema, it was cold.
Not normal cold—but the kind that made your breath hang in the air like souls trying to escape your lungs.
Shuyan unfolded a golden-rimmed octagonal mirror and placed it at the entrance. It vibrated immediately, fogging over with black mist.
“She’s still here. And her presence has nested.”
Lin nodded, slipping on the Taoist robe. “What’s the plan?”
“We cleanse the dimensional gate. And pray she hasn’t found a new host.”
She handed him two talismans—one red, one blue.
“Red for burning. Blue for shielding. Don’t mix them up unless you want to explode yourself.”
“…Good to know.”
They moved through the ruined lobby, flashlights sweeping over cracked movie posters and overturned velvet chairs.
Suddenly, a whisper.
“He that seeth the Nine shall never wake again…”
A soft, lilting voice echoed from the projector room above.
Shuyan raised her hand—but it was too late.
The projector flickered to life on its own.
A film rolled.
And the screen showed them.
Not their reflections—them. Standing right there… in the theater… except behind them…
…a robed nun with nine glowing eyes.
“Turn around—!” Lin shouted.
Shuyan spun and threw a red talisman upward. It ignited midair and struck the wall just above them, revealing—
A tear in space.
The air itself peeled open like paper, revealing a churning dimension of bone churches and bleeding eyes.
And hovering at its center—
She appeared.
The Nine-Eyed Nun. Veiled in white, her arms outstretched, she floated just above the shattered tiles. The nine eyes turned toward Lin.
“Chosen of the Eastern Flame…” she whispered. “You reek of the Emperor’s memory. Let me… sanctify you.”
Before Lin could move, she extended her hand.
And the air rippled—
BOOM—!
He was flung backward, smashing into a row of dusty theater seats.
The nun advanced.
But Shuyan stood in her path, holding a copper gourd and a burning sigil.
“I don’t care where you’re from. This is China. Your blasphemy ends here.”
“Wind Gate Open—Feng Shui Alignment: Metal over Earth!”
She stomped her foot.
A circle of shifting symbols appeared on the floor, rotating beneath the nun’s feet. Her movement faltered.
Lin coughed, pulled himself up, and focused his qi.
The Thunder Talisman in his palm sparked.
The Nine-Eyed Nun turned, shrieked—and all nine irises dilated into black voids.
“Your lightning cannot harm me. I’ve eaten stars in the West!”
Lin grinned.
“Then try choking on one from the East.”
“Five Thunders Purify Sin—Strike!”
He slammed the talisman into the floor.
Lightning howled through the room, smashing through the false dimension, fracturing the portal.
The eyes burst like glass. The veil caught fire.
The nun screamed, her body unraveling into mist and ash.
The cinema groaned.
And just like that—the cold was gone.
⸻
Outside, the rain had stopped.
They stood on the rooftop of a nearby building, drying off under the moonlight.
Lin was exhausted but still standing.
Shuyan offered him a thermos of hot tea.
“You did better,” she said.
He blinked. “Was that a compliment?”
“A tactical observation.”
He grinned. “You’re warming up.”
“I’m calculating risk. You’re a walking nuclear relic.”
They both laughed, the city lights flickering behind them.
But far across the sea, in a cathedral carved into a Norwegian cliff, a bishop opened a sealed envelope.
It contained a single phrase:
“Azure Emperor Reborn — Target Acquired.”
And far below that…
“Send the Watchers.”
- Writer
