*Cloud Vein Sect Treasure Grounds – Lower Ruins Area*
The earth was too still.
Zeravon moved silently across the cracked pathway, stepping over ancient, moss-covered symbols that once channeled Qi rivers through the ground. Now, those rivers were dead… but the silence whispered louder than thunder.
The others walked ahead — Chen Yuhao, Min Rou, and Leng Ye — unaware of the storm creeping beneath the calm.
Behind them… came **Lin Tao**, **Kuang Zhi**, and **Luo Meng**.
Zeravon recognized them instantly.
They were the ones who had laughed after throwing him off the cliff.
He didn't stop walking.
He didn't react.
But something inside his chest… pulsed.
---
"Isn't that the weakling?" Luo Meng smirked.
Kuang Zhi narrowed his eyes. "He's alive?"
Lin Tao stepped forward, his voice low. "No… he shouldn't be."
Zeravon turned slightly.
Their eyes met.
And the **pulse returned** — one beat, then another, like a slow heart rising from deep within the earth.
> *They don't remember what they did…*
> *But I do.*
But he wasn't angry. Not yet.
He was… **silent**.
---
**Ruins Gate – Activation Chamber**
Chen Yuhao called out from the front, "This is the activation node. Elder instructions were clear — only three may enter the core chamber. The rest guard outside."
Leng Ye spoke, "Then we stay here. The first to touch the altar may claim the treasure."
Min Rou: "And survive its judgment."
A low rumble passed through the floor.
Something had awakened.
And it wasn't the treasure.
---
**Back outside**
Lin Tao approached Zeravon.
"Didn't expect to see you here, cripple," he sneered.
Zeravon didn't blink.
"Didn't expect to *survive*," he replied.
That stopped Lin Tao for half a second.
But rage covered his face quickly. "Still got a mouth on you, huh?"
Without warning, he lunged forward — a palm technique with embedded flame Qi.
Zeravon sidestepped — barely.
But Kuang Zhi and Luo Meng came in from both sides.
Too fast.
Too early.
He was still too **weak**.
---
**A Strike Lands**
Zeravon's back slammed into an ancient stone pillar. Blood filled his throat. His vision blurred.
The pillar behind him cracked from the impact.
He fell to his knees.
Lin Tao laughed. "Still weak. You should've stayed dead."
---
**And Then… The Whisper Returned**
Not outside.
Inside.
A low, cold voice — his own, but not him.
> *"Do you remember what they did to us?"*
> *"Let me… open the gate."*
Zeravon whispered, "Not yet…"
But the voice pressed again.
> *"Let me remind them what it means… to touch the silence."*
---
**Reality Shifts**
Only Zeravon noticed it.
The wind froze.
The light dimmed — subtly, but unnaturally.
Even the grass under his feet twisted slightly, like it *feared* what was coming.
Min Rou, still near the front, paused. "Did the air… just shift?"
Leng Ye touched the hilt of her blade. "Something's not right."
Back at the ruined altar, the stone symbols suddenly lit up.
> *The trial… had begun.*
But no one moved yet.
They all stared… at **Zeravon**, who now stood again.
Blood at his lips.
Breath steady.
Eyes unreadable.
---
**Then He Spoke**
Just one line.
But the earth listened.
The walls shivered.
The others felt it — a pressure from nowhere, like the sky was **leaning** toward them.
> "You all… tried to kill me."
No rage.
No hatred.
Just a **declaration**.
Lin Tao stepped back, suddenly unsure.
> "Y-you… What are you…?"
Zeravon's body trembled — not in fear, but with something else.
A faint layer of golden dust shimmered on his skin for just a moment… before vanishing again.
He dropped to one knee.
Still too weak.
The voice inside whispered again.
> *"Not yet. But soon…"*
---
**Elsewhere – Cloud Vein Elder Pavilion**
Instructor Wei jerked up from meditation.
The talisman on his table had cracked.
> "Zeravon… again?"
He ran outside — eyes scanning the eastern sky.
> "Why do I feel like something *unspeakable* is about to awaken…?"
---
**Treasure Ruins – Activation Completed**
The altar glowed.
The gateway opened.
Chen Yuhao shouted, "Hurry, the chamber won't stay open for long!"
Min Rou grabbed Zeravon's arm, pulling him forward.
"Come on, quiet one — we need you inside!"
Zeravon blinked — dazed.
He looked back one last time.
Lin Tao and the others stared at him… but said nothing now.
Not because they forgave.
But because for a moment…
**They had seen something behind his eyes**.
And that something had stared back.
---