Chapter 103: The Final Seal

Across the jagged horizon, skies twisted into rivers of color, and the shattered ground groaned beneath the weight of strained reality. The temporary bindings held, but only just. Cracks webbed outward from the Blood Demon's prison, each pulse of his power threatening to undo the desperate effort of three exhausted cultivators.

Yin scanned the unstable terrain, eyes narrowing toward the deeper layers of the cliff. "There has to be a foundation rune, something Mo Xuan placed when he forged this realm."

"Maybe the Void Realm is layered," Yin muttered, coughing. "Folded like a scroll… thrn the true seal isn't here, but beneath."

A sudden quake shattered another sigil. The Blood Demon roared—his breath alone cracked the floating monoliths nearby.

"Then we go under," Kai said. "Now."

Together, they turned and ran toward the shadow that loomed beneath the Cliff of Regrets.

The path downward wasn't carved, it was torn, as if something massive had once forced its way into the depths of the cliff.

The trio descended in silence, their steps quick and wary, lit only by the flickering glow of Yin's sabers. The deeper they went, the more unnatural the stone became etched not with age, but with purpose. Glyphs lined the walls, not in any known language, but in shapes that resonated directly with the soul.

"These aren't normal runes," Han whispered. "These are… foundational symbols."

"Mo Xuan must've used primordial law to forge the seal," Kai said. "He built this realm specifically to contain him."

Eventually, they reached a vast hollow chamber at the base of the cliff. It was dome-like, and at its center floated a massive stone monolith—levitating inches above a swirling pool of silver light.

"Is that it?" Yin asked.

Han nodded slowly. "It's a keystone."

As they approached, the pool rippled.

A voice echoed from nowhere and everywhere.

"To claim the Final Binding, one must bear the burden of truth. Step forward, seeker, and be judged."

Kai exhaled. "Let's see what it has to show me."

He stepped into the light.

The moment Kai touched the light, the world fell away.

He found himself in a space that had no walls, no floor—only reflections. Memories, frozen like shards of broken time, floated around him.

The voice returned, distant but resonant.

"You seek to bind a force greater than yourself. Then you must face that which lies beneath your strength, your truth."

The shards spun, faster now. 

And in one, Kai stood as a young man among stacks of books, overlooked, unseen, longing for purpose. For years, he had hidden behind apathy, pretending not to care, masking the pain of never being chosen, never being wanted.

Then came visions of his time in the Ascendant Realm—the training under the old man, the awakening of his Qi, the camaraderie with the twins, the weight of being Sect Leader, the fear of being powerless again.

The voice thundered.

"Your strength was never born from ambition. It was born from choice. You chose to stand even when no one asked. You chose to lead when none believed. And now, you must choose again."

The monolith pulsed.

In a blinding flash, Kai was lifted from the visions and brought before an altar surrounded by five glowing seals—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Hovering above them was a sixth symbol: a blazing star carved into ancient stone.

"This is the power of the Forgotten Seal," the voice intoned. "The convergence of balance, the last resort. It may bind the Blood Demon once more but it is not a permanent seal."

Kai stepped closer, eyes locked on the celestial sigil.

"Can it… defeat the Blood Demon?" he asked, breath shallow.

"No," the voice intoned. "It can only buy time. Once invoked, the seal shall bind the Blood Demon for fifteen minutes—no more. Within that window, one technique alone can destroy him utterly. But that technique demands everything."

Light coalesced before Kai, forming the shape of a scroll—woven not from parchment, but from starfire. Knowledge poured into his mind: the final art, the Mutual Destruction Annihilation Technique, an ultimate technique that consumed the user to obliterate the target's soul.

Kai staggered as the realization hit him.

"If I use this… I'll die?"

"You shall perish, body and soul. But he will be destroyed alongside you. Forever."

Silence fell.

Kai looked down at his own hands, scarred from battles, calloused from endless training. He had never asked to become a Sect Lord. Never sought power. He was a librarian who once lived between forgotten pages.

But in those pages, he had found purpose. Found the people who mattered. The twins who had stood by him, Elder Kong who believed in him, Yin who trusted him even in silence—and Han, who had walked a darker path, but not yet one beyond redemption.

Visions rushed through him: Yin's unwavering blades glowing under moonlight. Han's eyes, filled with pain. The laughter of disciples. The mountains of Obsidian Peak under falling snow. The weight of it all pressed against his chest.

He clenched his fists.

He whispered, "If this is the price of peace… I'll pay it."

The light engulfed him.

Back in the real world, Kai staggered out of the silver pool. A blazing star-shaped glyph now pulsed over his heart. The chamber trembled.

Han looked at him, confused. "What happened?"

Kai turned to the keystone. "I claimed the Final Seal."

Yin's eyes widened. "You… you can seal the Blood Demon?"

Kai nodded. "One chance. One moment. When the Demon is weakest, but we'll need to survive until then."

Above, the Void Realm trembled as the Blood Demon's roar fractured another layer of the cliff's bindings.

And together, they rose toward the storm.