When the Moon Touched the Forbidden Scroll

The academy shimmered beneath the silver gaze of the moon, like a kingdom whispered into being by the dreams of the stars. The air was thick with anticipation—soft, yet dangerous. It was one of those nights when silence wasn't peace; it was promise.

Dev Yadav stood at the highest balcony of the Heaven Defying Tower, his long robe fluttering softly like a whisper of fate. His gaze was lost in the horizon, but his mind. His mind was drifting elsewhere… to something sealed, hidden, ancient.

A scroll.

Not just any scroll—but that scroll.

The Forbidden Scroll of Epochal Severance.

No one knew of its existence—no mortal, no immortal, no god dared speak of it. But Dev had always known. It wasn't just knowledge passed to him. It was felt, etched into his soul like a branding from eternity.

Below, the academy slumbered. But one figure walked through the moonlight like a shadow refusing sleep. Her name was Raveena—an inner court genius with hair blacker than obsidian and a body sculpted like sin by the universe itself. Her steps made no sound, yet each one rippled across reality.

She wasn't heading toward her quarters.

She was heading toward the tower.

And Dev... was already waiting.

As she reached the top floor, a faint humming in the air greeted her. The ancient tower itself seemed to pulse with life. And there he was—Dev, leaned against a marble pillar, half-covered in shadow, half-illuminated by moonlight. That smile on his lips… soft and dangerous, like a predator who already knew the ending of the hunt.

"Curious minds rarely sleep," he said, his voice low and honey-dipped.

"And forbidden things are the sweetest temptations," Raveena replied, her breath shallow. Her eyes flicked to the sealed chamber door behind him.

The room that housed the scroll.

"You've read it," she whispered.

Dev tilted his head, eyes half-lidded, teasing. "I wrote it."

Raveena's breath caught, goosebumps rising down her spine. She had come for answers—but now? She wasn't sure whether she was standing at the gate of truth or willingly stepping into madness.

"I want to see it," she said finally, voice breathy.

Dev stepped forward. The air grew heavier. "Once you see it, Raveena… you can never look at the world the same way again. Your cultivation path will be rewritten. Your soul may crack—or evolve beyond the bounds of karma."

Raveena's lips curved. "And what if I want to crack?"

That made Dev chuckle. "Then come. Let's shatter the heavens together."

He waved his hand, and the chamber door creaked open, revealing an endless cascade of cosmic light. Inside, the scroll floated midair, rotating slowly, humming with divine energy older than creation.

As she stepped inside, the entire space shifted. The walls dissolved into galaxies. Time melted. She was no longer in the tower—she was within the scroll's illusion, a world of endless paradox.

"Do not read the first line," Dev warned.

"Why?" she whispered, already intoxicated by the aura.

"Because it reveals your truest desire... and once you know that, there's no turning back."

Raveena stepped closer.

And read it.

In that moment, the room trembled. Her heart did too. A name appeared in the air.

DEV.

She gasped, spinning toward him. "What…?"

But Dev was already behind her, his breath at her ear. "It's always been me."

The scroll pulsed again—and now, it wasn't just her soul at risk. The entire realm twisted. Realities interwove. Cultivators in the outer court gasped as illusions of their fears and fantasies flashed before them.

The scroll had awakened.

And Dev?

He had planned it all.

He stepped beside her, wrapping a single hand around the scroll. Instantly, it calmed.

"Why show me this?" Raveena asked, dazed.

"Because the academy is changing," he murmured, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Because I need someone beside me when I turn the heavens inside out. Not a follower. A queen."

Her knees nearly gave out.

And somewhere, far beyond the stars, the true enemies of the Dao Ancestor stirred.

They had felt the scroll awaken.

The game had begun.