Invitation In The Dark
The Hollow Grove lay at the farthest edge of the Southern Edge Sect's territory—a dense, mist-covered forest where disciples rarely ventured.
Rumors said it was cursed.
Kaito didn't believe in curses.
But he did believe in ambushes.
As he approached the entrance, he kept his posture relaxed, his hands resting near his belt. His sword was tucked behind his waist, loose enough to draw in an instant.
The moon was high. Shadows stretched long over the forest floor.
Nothing moved.
Nothing made a sound.
They're waiting.
Kaito took one step into the grove—then another.
The second his foot touched the damp soil, the air shifted.
---
A Voice in the Dark
"You came faster than I expected."
The voice came from above.
Kaito's gaze flicked upward.
A man stood on a thick tree branch, arms crossed, his cloak swaying in the cold night wind.
No mask. No disguise.
Only piercing yellow eyes that glowed like a predator's.
Kaito didn't react.
If this man wanted him dead, he wouldn't have wasted time with messages.
"You were watching me earlier," Kaito said, his voice calm.
A slow chuckle. "You noticed?"
"Hard not to."
The man leaped down, landing soundlessly in front of him. Up close, he wasn't old—early thirties, at most. But his presence was suffocating, like standing before a beast that had long abandoned its humanity.
And yet… Kaito felt no Qi from him.
No energy flow. No internal strength.
It was unnatural.
"Jin Tae-Hyun," the man murmured, his gaze sharp. "You are… different."
Kaito didn't answer.
He was already piecing things together.
A man with no visible Qi.
A man who moved without sound.
A man whose presence felt wrong.
This wasn't a normal martial artist.
This was a killer.
The man smiled, as if reading his thoughts. "Tell me… do you know what the Black Lotus is?"
Kaito's mind sharpened instantly.
The Black Lotus.
A secretive assassin faction in the Murim world—one that should not have any presence in the Southern Edge Sect.
And yet, here one stood.
Kaito tilted his head. "Should I?"
The man's smile widened.
"Not yet," he said. "But you will."
And then—he moved.
Faster than a shadow, faster than a whisper.
A blade slashed toward Kaito's throat.