Prologue

  In the grand, ancient temple of the Xuemo Sect, preparations were underway for a sacred ritual to celebrate the birth of a child. The entire sanctuary was thick with the swirling scent of incense. It was a tradition as old as time, passed down through generations to ensure a newborn would be shielded by protection and blessed with divine guidance.

  Master Han ziyu, the heir of the Xuemo Sect, personally oversaw the ceremony. Among the few elite guests invited to witness this momentous occasion was Lin Chaoyuan, a powerful and respected general of the Xuemo Sect.

  As the rhythmic chanting reached a feverish crescendo, a woman suddenly burst into the temple, a babe cradled desperately in her arms. It was Queen Guzuie!

  "Stop!" she gasped, her eyes wide with terror. "Do not chant the mantra! It is cursed! Someone has altered it... Please, do not speak the words!"

  However, the echoes of the ritual were so deafening that her pleas fell on deaf ears. She screamed louder, overcome by desperation, and collapsed to the floor.

  "Do not read it! The mantra is cursed!"

  But it was too late.

  The sky turned pitch black in an instant. Thick, suffocating clouds swirled as a jagged rift tore open the heavens. From that void, millions of vengeful souls erupted. Screaming, starving, and consumed by rage, they devoured everything in their path. No one was spared not the monks, not the soldiers, not even the King. Everything was swallowed by the darkness, save for one child: the infant lying in the center of the pavilion. A newborn with a talisman pressed upon his forehead. On that talisman, a name was written: Yu Sui.

  Within mere hours, half the kingdom was annihilated. Only two small clans survived the cataclysm. Queen Guzuie, pale and trembling, turned toward Lin Chaoyuan, her voice vibrating with fury.

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  "Lin Chaoyuan! You betrayed us! You changed the mantras! You are a traitor!"

  Before another moment could pass, Queen Guzuie rushed toward the pavilion. With a gentle, tender touch, she laid her own newborn son beside Yu Sui. Before Lin Chaoyuan could reach her, she ripped the talisman from her own brow and used the long silk ribbon to bind Yu Sui’s tiny hand to her son, Mo Yan.

  With a frantic surge of energy, she traced a magical seal in the air. Lin Chaoyuan was inches away. The seal demanded a sacrifice to activate. Queen Guzuie looked at her son, Mo Yan, one last time, drew her sword, and slashed it across her own throat.

  The blue aura of the blood-activated seal surged into the ribbon binding the two infants. As the magic took hold, the cloth turned invisible, vanishing from sight.

  The sacrifice was complete; the magic was sealed forever. From that day forward, Yu Sui and the Queen's son, Mo Yan, were bound by an unbreakable spell. Lin Chaoyuan stepped forward and snatched the unconscious Mo Yan away from the pavilion, leaving Yu Sui behind to wail beside the Queen’s lifeless body.

  Suddenly, a small scrap of paper hidden beneath Mo Yan’s swaddling clothes by the Queen fluttered out. The wind carried it across the ruins, dropping it right next to Yu Sui. On it, a message was written:

  "Yu Sui, as long as Mo Yan is with you, no curse shall ever harm you.

  And Mo Yan, as long as Yu Sui is with you, you will never feel the void of my absence."

  —Guzuie

  On a land still scarred by the wounds of the past, a thick mist settled over the fields. A young woman, barely eighteen years of age, emerged from the fog and took Yu Sui away with her.

  Several years later.

  In the heart of a battlefield, the sky split open once more. A deep rift yawned overhead, and Yu Sui descended slowly, floating through the air.

  Below him, Mo Yan knelt upon his sword, battered, bloodied, and struggling for breath. His eyes widened in shock at the sight of Yu Sui.

  Yu Sui’s voice resonated through the air as he hung suspended in the void.

  "Because of me, you have been exiled," Yu Sui said softly. "I cannot allow this to happen."

  Mo Yan’s voice broke, thick with agony. He screamed with every ounce of his remaining strength:

  "No! Don't go... Yu... Wait!"

  But Yu Sui had already turned toward the rift. The black emptiness swallowed him whole.

  Mo Yan reached out in vain just as the officers of the Liuguang Sect arrived to seize him. But even as they dragged him away, Mo Yan’s eyes never left the empty sky where Yu Sui had vanished.