Secrets Whispered by the Forbidden Scroll

The air was thick with mystery.

Moonlight spilled across the ancient stone floor of the academy's sealed wing, casting silver glows upon dust-laden scrolls and long-forgotten relics. Each breath felt heavy, saturated with untold secrets and the weight of unseen eyes watching.

Dev Yadav stepped into the chamber, his robes trailing like shadows, his presence calm yet unsettling. He wasn't merely a cultivator anymore—he was a force. And yet, even he showed a rare sliver of hesitation as his gaze landed on the center pedestal: a lone obsidian scroll, bound with threads of starlight and sealed with crimson flame runes that flickered like beating hearts.

"Even the Dao trembled when this was written," Dev whispered, more to himself than to the disciple behind him.

Aruna stood just a few paces behind, her fingers clenched against the silk of her sleeves. The deeper she followed Dev into his world, the more she realized how little she truly understood. Her heart beat erratically—not out of fear, but desire. The desire to understand him. To walk in his shadow and feel the storm that always followed him.

He turned, eyes glowing faintly. "Curious, little fox?"

She nodded, the nickname both a tease and a comfort. "What is it?"

Dev chuckled, slow and deep, a sound that sent shivers trailing down her spine. "It's a record from before time had meaning. A scroll penned by the First Wielder of the Void Flame."

Her eyes widened. "Isn't that… forbidden even to speak of?"

"It is," he said, walking closer to the pedestal, "which is why it's kept here. Sealed. Forgotten by the weak. But not by me."

The moment his fingers brushed the scroll, the chamber darkened. The flame runes flared violently, screaming in an ancient tongue. And then—silence.

A whisper, sharp and silky, danced across their ears. It wasn't a voice, but a presence—female, seductive, terrifying.

'He who touches the scroll shall bear the sin of oblivion.'

Aruna stumbled back. Dev did not.

He unrolled the scroll slowly, its contents written in flowing symbols that twisted in the air, changing with every blink. Reality bent around the script.

"Do you understand it?" she asked breathlessly.

"No," he said with a smile. "Not yet. But it understands me."

The scroll released a breath—a wave of energy so dense it cracked the surrounding space. Aruna fell to her knees, unable to breathe.

Dev snapped his fingers, surrounding her in a cocoon of Dao energy. "Relax," he whispered. "You're safe as long as you're with me."

That single line made her eyes shine—not from awe, but from the quiet thrill of being chosen.

Inside the scroll, a vision opened up. A realm shattered in fragments, ruled by sentient stars and blood oceans. At the center stood a woman, her body wrapped in darkness, her gaze bored into Dev's very soul.

"Who are you?" he asked softly.

She smirked. "I am the one you seek to become."

The image faded. The scroll snapped shut. The pedestal cracked.

Dev exhaled slowly, lips curving in a rare smirk.

"She's real."

Aruna looked up, confused. "Who?"

"The one who walks above time. The original Void Flame Queen. She still exists."

He turned away, robes dancing in slow, elegant arcs. "And she just gave me permission to come find her."

Aruna stood shakily. "You're going after her?"

Dev smiled, seductive and cold. "I always chase what others fear to even dream of."

The chamber sealed behind them.

From within the stone, the scroll whispered again.

'He has awakened the path that leads beyond the heavens… and below all hells.'