Zeravon didn't even flinch when they surrounded him.
The trees swayed in awkward silence. Clouds above the narrow ravine cast long shadows, and the once-calm treasure site now smelled of **killing intent**.
There were eight disciples.
Three from the Cloud Vein Sect.
Five from the visiting Scarlet Peak Sect.
All held weapons.
All stared at **Zeravon** — bloodied, tired, and standing alone, the faintly glowing **blue crystal orb** still in his palm.
> "You shouldn't have touched it," hissed Yun Cai of Scarlet Peak.
> "That treasure chose you? Laughable!" barked Deng Fan from Cloud Vein. "A no-rank outer disciple?"
Zeravon stood still.
> "I didn't take anything from any of you," he said quietly.
> "The orb floated toward me. I just held it."
They didn't care.
Their eyes were full of fear, envy… and **intent**.
> "He's lying!"
> "We can't let him report this."
> "Kill him. Throw his body down the cliff. No one will know."
Zeravon glanced at the cliff edge behind him.
His body was exhausted. His Qi reserves were nearly dry. He had only begun learning the basics of cultivation. He wasn't a threat.
But they feared him anyway.
Or rather… they feared **what chose him**.
---
**Just Before the Fall**
Deng Fan stepped forward first.
His sword gleamed.
"You're too quiet. Makes me think you're hiding something."
Zeravon didn't move.
But when Deng Fan slashed, Zeravon raised his hand.
Not to block.
Not to fight.
To speak.
> *"You think silence means weakness?"*
The blade halted mid-air.
> *"You've only heard noise your entire life. One day… when silence answers back, you'll learn what it truly means."*
But the others didn't stop.
A blast of wind Qi slammed into Zeravon's back.
Another punch struck his ribs.
He didn't cry out.
He just staggered.
And then — a final kick from behind sent him over the edge.
> "Good riddance," Deng muttered.
---
**Falling**
Zeravon felt the air rip past him.
Felt the sky vanish.
Felt his heart beat once.
Twice.
Then — stillness.
His body struck sharp rocks, bounced, and finally crashed into an outcropping deep in the fog-choked canyon.
Blood pooled.
Bones fractured.
Everything hurt.
But he was **alive**.
> *"They… really did it."*
> *"They tried to kill me."*
He coughed blood.
His fingers clenched weakly.
The orb he held before — gone. Taken, or lost mid-fall.
> *"So this is betrayal…"*
---
**Above – The Traitors Depart**
"Nobody saw us, right?"
"Relax. He's nothing. Let's go back and say beasts attacked us."
"Can't believe we almost got exposed over a stupid orb."
They laughed and left.
But they didn't know…
Far above them, a ripple passed through the clouds.
And far below — a pair of eyes were watching.
---
**Meanwhile – Hidden in the Mist**
A girl stood silently on a rock ledge overlooking the ravine.
Her dark robes fluttered in the cold breeze.
**Yueyin.**
She had arrived earlier, sensing something was off when the treasure pulse shifted unnaturally.
She had watched the entire betrayal from afar — her gaze expressionless, but her hand gripped tightly around something in her sleeve.
Now, she leapt down, fast as falling wind, landing beside Zeravon's broken body.
She knelt.
Touched his wrist.
> "Still alive," she whispered. "Barely."
She took out a small vial of shimmering blue elixir and a golden artifact shaped like a **half-moon scale** — **an item from the Upper Realm.**
> "I told you not to touch the treasure directly," she said softly. "But maybe this is better."
She poured three drops of the elixir into his mouth.
Then, she placed the half-moon scale on his chest.
> *"This will slow the internal damage."*
> *"It will also begin something else… if you're fated."*
---
**Zeravon's Mind — Dreamlike Darkness**
He floated in darkness.
But there was no throne.
No stars.
Just an endless void.
Then, a voice.
Not Yueyin's.
Not the seal's.
But his own — buried, ancient, faint.
> *"They tried to erase me again."*
> *"But I am not made of memory. I am not history."*
> *"I… am consequence."*
---
**Back in Reality**
Zeravon's breathing steadied.
His wounds still severe — but stabilized.
His chest rose and fell slowly.
Yueyin looked at him once more.
> "Rest."
> "You'll need strength when you wake."
She stood and turned away.
But before leaving, she whispered:
> "Next time… don't let others decide your worth."
---
**Final Scene — Deep Underground, Beneath the Ravine**
Far below even Yueyin's sight, beneath the rockbed…
The half-moon scale embedded in Zeravon's chest gave off a faint pulse.
It resonated once.
And somewhere in the depths of the Forbidden Sky Realm…
**An ancient seal stirred.**
The sky did not notice.
But the **Dao did.**
And it trembled.
---