Hall of Shadows

The superior guardian's lips tightened.

"Healers, proceed", she snapped, turning her attention back to Kenji. Her fingers wove an intricate pattern of divine sigils, casting layers of sacred qi into Kenji's body. The other healers followed, channelling wave after wave of celestial energy. But Kenji did not respond. His breath was shallow and his energy was collapsing.

A young healer gasped, "His highness's energy is slipping."

Superior Guardian's focus cracked for the first time.

"Stabilise it! Anchor his energy to his core— now!"

But their energies clashed instead of harmonising. The air erupted in a violent shockwave, throwing one of the healers against the walls of the hall.

Liuxing stepped forward instantly. Superior Guardian blocked his way, eyes narrowed.

"I said stay back! Your presence here in the realm is already burdening enough."

"He is waning." Liuxing's voice turned fierce.

"Your light is burning him from the inside. It is not necessary that the heavenly energy would heal the heavenly being, it needs stabilisation, either ask for ghostly healers or let me—"

"The only reason he is waning is because of you Liuxing." Superior Guardian interrupted.

"No!" Liuxing said, eyes glinting, " He is waning because he used a forbidden technique to shield and save the being the realms failed to protect."

That struck deep. Superior Guardian flinched—only barely—but Liuxing saw it.

Without waiting for permission, he raised a hand, palm glowing with a dark, pulsing light—it was not evil, but ancient. Primordial. It shimmered with the energy of falling stars.

"No!" Superior Guardian shouted. "If you taint his energy with demonic—"

"I am not tainting it." Liuxing snapped. "I am matching the frequency of the void wound inside him. You want him to recover? Then let me save him…."

A moment of hesitation.

And then, Superior Guardian stepped back.

Liuxing knelt beside Kenji, pressing his palm to the prince's chest. A soft hum filled the air as star-born energy merged with what remained of Kenji's spiritual essence. Slowly, the violent convulsions ceased. The energy calmed.

"Let him remain like this. Keep him resting in his chamber." Liuxing said.

Kenji's breath steadied, shallow but no longer ragged. The light in the chamber dimmed as Liuxing turned, his silhouette dissolving into the shadows.

All the guardians in the hall broke into a murmer.

"He brought a demon into the divine realm."

"Liuxing is cursed! You all saw what clung to him—the shadow born energy.."

"Kenji was unconscious. His will was compromised."

Kenji was never one of us, he always rebelled against the heavens. Remember the incident that led to his banishment ? He is known as the sinister fall and rebellion of heavens for a reason."

One voice after another rose from the semicircles of seats above. Their words slashed like blades, one after another, each sharper than the last.

"Demonic influence."

"He's bound by the darkness."

"His banishment was for him to learn to not make the same mistake again, but it could not even change a single part of him, he is still the same rebellion."

He should have been sealed away instead of being banished."

"This is what happens when someone is treated differently than other. Superior Guardian treats him like her son and now this is what he does, rebels against the heavens all the time."

"Enough!" A deep voice commanded. The superior guardian rose. Her robes shimmered with sigils of ancient power, each glowing faintly in response to the hall's fury.

"We almost lost a guardian few moments ago and yet you all have the strength to speak against him. What is the territory of war gods and destruction without Kenji? What is heavens without a strong defense system? It is kenji who is a huge part of the heavenly realm. So one more word against Kenji and they will face the wrath of disobedience." Superior guardian instructed.

The hall fell silent.

Kenji had already been shifted to the resting chambers in superior guardian's palace.

Moments passed—Kenji's eyelids fluttered open. His body ached with a heaviness that wasn't physical. His mind was a foggy maze, but one thought burned bright.

'Liuxing'

The memory of his voice—calm and familiar echoed in Kenji's mind. Had he really been there? Or was it a remnant of a dream born of pain and light ?

Kenji pushed himself upright, slowly. The room swam around him, unfamiliar but safe. He touched his chest where the energy had entered — it still pulsed faintly beneath his ribs, like a second heartbeat.

He had to see Liuxing. Ask him, see him, question him—anything.

But before he could swing his legs off to the side of the bed.

A sudden shimmer sparked at the far end of the room. A sigil blazed into the air, silver and sharp.

The symbol of superior guardian.

Kenji stiffened.

A voice boomed inside his mind, "Kenji. You are summoned. Immediately."

He swallowed. They knew. Ofcourse they knew. The forbidden technique and then Liuxing.

As the sigil began to fade, Kenji stood. His legs trembled beneath him, but he moved forward anyway.

He did not know what waited beyond the chamber doors. Another banishment? Another retribution? Another shower of criticism by the guardians?

The chamber doors opened with a groan that echoed like thunder.

Kenji stepped into the grand hall of guardians—tall, cold, carved from white obsidian veined with golden hues of heavenly light.

Rows of robes figure turned towards him. Among them Shen and Chao Xing gazed at him, worriedly.

The pillars looked like watchers, the silence before him thick and sharp.

It broke like glass.

"You were unconscious. You brought the rival of the heavenly realm in our records — Liuxing—to channel the forbidden energy through you? You used a forbidden technique, and most importantly, how were you so surely aware that princess Li Mei was locked up in the catacomb of the wailing river?" Superior guardian questioned.

Every guardian's eyes were locked onto Kenji, waiting. Judging. Ready to condemn. Like how they have always been. Exactly like how they were, the last time.