The air was thick with tension as the campfire crackled, casting dancing shadows across the clearing. The group had moved only a short distance after the Starbeast’s defeat, too drained and wary to press on through the night. Xu Tian sat with his back to a tree, his thoughts restless and his body aching with exhaustion.

  The shadows at his feet shifted uneasily, still responding to the lingering echoes of the star’s whispers.

  “Take its strength... take its power...”

  Even now, the memory of the Starbeast’s collapse haunted him—not because of its death, but because of what he had felt in those final moments. The star within him had surged, hungering for the beast’s fading life, urging him to reach out and consume its very essence.

  He hadn’t given in, but it had been close. Too close.

  From across the camp, Yan Mei was watching him again. He could feel her gaze, quiet but intense, as though she were trying to puzzle him out.

  “What?” he asked, his voice sharper than he intended.

  Yan Mei didn’t flinch. “You didn’t take its power,” she said softly.

  Xu Tian frowned, unsure if it was an accusation or an observation. “Should I have?”

  “No,” she said after a pause. “But I thought you might.”

  Xu Tian let out a bitter laugh. “If you’re so convinced I’m a monster, why are you still here?”

  “I never said you were a monster,” Yan Mei replied evenly. “But I’ve seen what power like yours can do to people. It changes them.”

  “It’s not changing me,” Xu Tian said, though the words sounded hollow even to his own ears.

  Yan Mei tilted her head, her expression unreadable. “Maybe not yet.”

  That night, Xu Tian dreamed.

  He stood in a vast, empty expanse, the ground beneath him cracked and barren. Above, the sky was a swirling void of darkness, dotted with faint glimmers of light that flickered like dying candles.

  In the distance, something moved—a towering figure, its shape shifting and indistinct, as though it were made of smoke and shadow. Its voice echoed in his mind, deep and resonant.

  “Why do you resist?”

  Xu Tian’s fists clenched. “I didn’t ask for this.”

  “And yet you accepted it. You touched the star, claimed its power. You cannot turn back now.”

  “I don’t need you,” Xu Tian said.

  The figure laughed, a sound that seemed to ripple through the void. “Oh, but you do. You are weak, broken. Without us, you are nothing.”

  Xu Tian opened his mouth to respond, but the figure surged forward, its form expanding until it towered over him. Tendrils of shadow lashed out, wrapping around his arms and legs, pulling him to his knees.

  “You will become what you were meant to be,” the figure said, its voice a whisper that filled his entire mind. “You will rise, or you will fall. Either way, you are ours.”

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  The shadows tightened, and Xu Tian gasped for breath, the darkness swallowing him whole.

  Xu Tian awoke with a start, his body drenched in sweat. The sun was rising, casting pale light across the forest. Yan Mei and her companion were already awake, speaking quietly by the remnants of the campfire.

  He rubbed his temples, trying to shake off the lingering echoes of the dream. The star’s voice still lingered in his mind, its words cutting deeper than he cared to admit.

  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Yan Mei said, noticing his approach.

  Xu Tian ignored her, crouching by the fire to warm his hands. His shadows were quiet now, subdued in the light of day, but he could still feel them lurking beneath the surface.

  “We need to talk about where we’re going,” Yan Mei continued, undeterred by his silence. “The mercenaries won’t stop looking for you. And if the sects hear about what happened...”

  “They’ll come for me,” Xu Tian finished, his tone flat.

  Yan Mei nodded. “You can’t face them alone.”

  Xu Tian scoffed. “You think I’m joining your sect? Forget it. I’m not putting my life in the hands of people like that again.”

  Yan Mei’s expression hardened. “I’m not asking you to join the Lotus Blossom Pavilion. But you need allies, whether you like it or not. If you keep trying to do this alone, you’ll die.”

  “I’ve survived this long,” Xu Tian said.

  “Barely,” she shot back.

  For a moment, neither of them spoke. Then Yan Mei sighed, her tone softening. “I’m not your enemy, Xu Tian. I’m trying to help you.”

  Xu Tian met her gaze, his expression unreadable. “Why? Why do you care what happens to me?”

  Yan Mei hesitated, as though the question had caught her off guard. “Because I know what it’s like to be cast aside,” she said finally. “And because I believe you’re capable of more than this.”

  Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of rustling leaves. Xu Tian tensed, his shadows stirring instinctively. Yan Mei and her companion stood as well, their hands moving to their weapons.

  The scent of blood filled the air, sharp and metallic.

  “They’re close,” Xu Tian muttered, his eyes narrowing.

  The group moved cautiously, following the sound and smell until they reached a small clearing. What they found made Yan Mei gasp.

  A group of mercenaries lay sprawled across the ground, their bodies torn apart as though by some massive beast. Blood stained the grass, and the air was thick with the stench of death.

  Xu Tian crouched beside one of the corpses, his expression grim. The wounds were fresh—claw marks and bite wounds, deep and precise.

  “This wasn’t a Starbeast,” he said.

  Yan Mei frowned. “Then what was it?”

  Before Xu Tian could answer, the sound of movement caught their attention. A figure emerged from the trees, stumbling toward them. It was another mercenary, his armor torn and his face pale with terror.

  “Help me,” the man gasped, his voice trembling.

  Yan Mei moved forward instinctively, but Xu Tian held out an arm, stopping her. “Wait.”

  The mercenary collapsed to his knees, his body shaking. “It’s coming,” he muttered, his eyes wide with fear. “It’s coming...”

  “What’s coming?” Xu Tian demanded, his voice sharp.

  The mercenary looked up at him, his expression haunted. “The... the Wraithborn...”

  Xu Tian’s blood ran cold.

  The Wraithborn were more myth than reality, whispered about in the darkest corners of the cultivation world. They were said to be the remnants of those who had fallen to forbidden paths—twisted, mindless creatures consumed by their own power.

  And now one of them was here.

  “We need to leave,” Yan Mei’s companion said, his voice tight with fear.

  Xu Tian didn’t respond. His mind was racing, trying to piece together what was happening. The Wraithborn weren’t supposed to exist, let alone wander this far south. If one had appeared now, it couldn’t be a coincidence.

  “You can’t fight it,” the mercenary said, his voice breaking. “You can’t...”

  Before he could finish, the shadows around him began to writhe. Xu Tian’s eyes widened as he realized the source wasn’t him—it was coming from the forest itself.

  The air grew colder, and the sunlight dimmed as a figure emerged from the trees. Its form was humanoid, but its body was shrouded in flickering shadows that seemed to devour the light around it. Its eyes glowed faintly, twin pinpricks of pale, icy light.

  The Wraithborn.

  Xu Tian felt the star within him stir, its whispers rising to a fever pitch. “This is what you will become,” it murmured. “Unless you embrace us.”

  The Wraithborn tilted its head, as though studying him. Then, without warning, it lunged.

  Xu Tian barely had time to react. The shadows around him surged to meet the Wraithborn’s attack, colliding with a force that sent shockwaves rippling through the forest.

  As the two forces clashed, Xu Tian could feel the star’s power growing within him, urging him to give in, to let it take over. But he couldn’t—wouldn’t—let it win.

  Not yet.

  The Wraithborn’s glowing eyes locked onto his, and in that moment, Xu Tian knew one thing for certain: this fight would change everything.