Chapter 5: The Deceptive Revelation
1618 Words
“Kill the light, or I’ll kill your eyes,” Han Ye growled.
His voice echoed through the thick, unnatural darkness he had just summoned. The envoy from the Sect of Eternal Light was still screaming, his voice reaching a shrill, terrified peak that was entirely undignified for a high-level cultivator.
“What...what have you done? My light cannot simply vanish!” the messenger shrieked.
Han Ye moved slowly through the gloom. He could see everything perfectly, as if the night itself were his home. On the shattered floor, Lin Xue cowered, clutching her trembling shoulders. Nearby, Mu Chen crawled like a common worm, groping blindly through the void.
“You two make quite a pair now,” Han Ye whispered, his voice drifting right past Lin Xue’s ear.
Lin Xue flinched and collapsed into a sitting position. “Han Ye, please, not now. If you kill me here, you’ll never make it out alive.”
“Kill you?” Han Ye let out a dry, lifeless chuckle. “That would be too easy, Xue-er. If you die now, the pain only lasts a few seconds. I want you to spend every day in fear, wondering if your own shadow will crawl up and throttle you while you sleep.”
“Just kill me!” Mu Chen shouted from the distance. “Give me back my spirit root or end this!”
Han Ye turned his gaze toward Mu Chen. He stepped forward and ground his heel into Mu Chen’s mangled hand. “That root is gone. I’ve erased it from this world. You are no longer a genius, Mu Chen. You are just a broken, ordinary man. Remember that with every breath you take.”
Suddenly, a blinding flash of white light erupted from the center of the darkness. The sect envoy was burning his own life essence to fuel a final, desperate strike. A sphere of white flame slammed into Han Ye’s chest.
Han Ye was hurled backward, crashing into a collapsing stone pillar.
“Run, Han Ye! Your body isn't ready to withstand the purity of light essence!” the Heavenly Emperor’s voice roared inside his mind.
Han Ye struggled to stand, his chest feeling as though it were being turned inside out by fire. It wasn't the heat of a normal flame; it was a searing agony that pierced his very soul. He coughed, and this time the blood was bright red, laced with wisps of black vapor.
“I can wipe it away,” Han Ye hissed, clutching his chest.
“Not now! You used too much energy swallowing this area in darkness. If you push it, the Void will consume your own heart. Get out of here!” the Emperor commanded.
Han Ye cast one last look at Lin Xue and Mu Chen. They were still shivering on the floor. The sect envoy fell to his knees, his face aging decades in an instant from the toll of the forbidden technique.
“Enjoy the rest of your pathetic lives,” Han Ye said.
He slammed his foot against the ground. A surge of black mist exploded from beneath him, enveloping his body before vanishing into the shadows of the forest surrounding the sect.
A while later, Han Ye collapsed by the bank of a small stream far from the celebration grounds. He held his chest, which was still emitting faint trails of smoke. The burn mark there was a shimmering silver-white, stubbornly trying to eat away at the dark energy within his body.
“It hurts like hell,” Han Ye muttered, splashing cold river water onto his face.
“Of course it hurts. That light was designed specifically to destroy beings like us,” the Emperor’s voice said, now calmer but deathly serious.
“Beings like us? You told me you were a god,” Han Ye countered sardonically.
“I am whatever this world fears most, Han Ye. Now sit. You must stabilize that wound before it reaches your primary meridians.”
Han Ye sat cross-legged under the shade of an ancient tree. He closed his eyes and tried to channel the energy of the void toward the injury. But every time his dark energy touched the white scar, he cried out in agony.
“Why won't the energy erase it?” Han Ye asked, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
“Because your cultivation base is still too low. You’re holding the relic, aren't you? Use its power,” the Emperor instructed.
Han Ye pulled out the small object he had snatched during the chaos a weathered metal cylinder covered in intricate engravings. As he touched it, the cylinder felt ice-cold against his palm.
“What exactly is this thing?” Han Ye asked.
It is one of the seven Relics of the Void. The fools in that sect thought it was a holy artifact used to seal away evil. In reality, it is a key meant to restore the balance of a world they have already ruined.
“You mean a key to the apocalypse?”
“An apocalypse for them is a rebirth for the world, Han Ye. You want your revenge, don't you? You want to see them all on their knees? Find the other six relics. With all seven in your hand, you won't just erase Lin Xue or Mu Chen, you’ll erase the entire system that allowed people like them to hold power.”
Han Ye fell silent, staring at the relic in his hand. “You want me to become a monster that destroys the world.”
“This world was destroyed the moment they ripped out your spirit root for the sake of their own ambition. I am simply giving you the tools to clean it up. Or are you starting to feel pity for them?”
“No. Never,” Han Ye answered firmly. He pressed the relic against his wound.
An intense cold spread through his body. The white light on his chest slowly dimmed, sucked into the metal cylinder. Han Ye felt his strength returning, his energy feeling even more concentrated than before.
“Where is the next relic?” Han Ye asked after an hour of meditation.
“Deep in the west, at the border of the central continent. There is an ancient temple forgotten by history. You have one week to get there before the relic’s energy is spent and that wound reopens.”
Han Ye stood up. He didn't look back. For him, the Heavenly Peak Sect was already dead.
The journey took seven full days. Han Ye moved through the backwoods and hidden forest trails, avoiding the patrols from various sects that were now circulating wanted posters with his face on them. The news had spread like wildfire: Han Ye, the Demon Groom, was being hunted by the entire continent.
Yet, Han Ye only smiled whenever he saw his name on the notice boards of the towns he passed.
“The harder they hunt me, the closer they draw to their own ruin, he thought.”
On the seventh day, he arrived at a barren valley filled with nothing but jagged rocks and sand. In the center stood a small, half-ruined temple. There were no guards. There was no aura of power.
“Are you sure it’s here?” Han Ye asked.
“Go inside. Do not trust what your eyes see,” the Emperor replied.
Han Ye stepped into the temple. The air inside was stale and thick with dust. In the center of the room sat a faceless statue in a meditative pose. In front of the statue was a small, fragile-looking wooden box.
He approached slowly. He could feel the relic in his pocket vibrating violently. He reached out to open the box.
“Careful, Han Ye. The guardian of this relic is not human,” the Emperor whispered.
Suddenly, Han Ye’s shadow on the floor stretched out and stood upright in front of him. The shadow slowly took the form of a person he knew all too well.
Han Ye’s eyes widened. The figure was himself—but with glowing golden eyes, looking exactly as he had before his spirit root was stolen.
“Who are you?” Han Ye asked, his fist already shrouded in dark energy.
“I am what you discarded in exchange for your hatred,” the shadow replied, speaking with Han Ye’s old voice. “If you want this relic, you must kill me. But remember, if I die, the last remnants of your humanity will vanish forever.”
Han Ye froze. He stared down at his own palms, which had begun to blacken and crack. Inside his mind, the Celestial Emperor's laughter was so deafening it felt as though his skull would shatter.
"Kill him, Han Ye! He is nothing more than an illusion of your weak past! You have no need for a heart to ascend to godhood!" the Emperor barked.
Han Ye watched as the golden-eyed version of himself drew a blade of light. "Are you certain this is what you want, Han Ye? Once you take this step, there is no turning back. You will never be human again."
Han Ye gritted his teeth. A stray tear rolled down his cheek, but he wiped it away with a rough, impatient hand. "The human you’re talking about died at the bottom of the Abyss of Extinction."
He lunged forward, black claws bared. But just before his strike could land, the shadowy figure offered a sorrowful smile and whispered something that made Han Ye’s heart stop.
"The Emperor lied to you about these relics, Han Ye. They were never meant to save the world."
- Writer
