Chapter 9: Whispers in the Mist

The Vermillion Cloud Sect, once a sanctuary of brilliance and discipline, had begun to crack.

It started in whispers.

In the dark corners of the library. In the gaps between patrol shifts. In the silence after cultivation sessions.

> "He's back…"

"I heard someone saw him on the Spirit Well path."

"No, he's dead. Isn't he?"

"Then why are people vanishing?"

"Why do we all dream of him?"

Mist began to settle where it never had before—clinging to walls, coiling around lantern flames, and seeping under doors at night. Some said it was natural. Others no longer believed in coincidence.

---

Disciplinary Hall – Secret Meeting

Elder Mo stood with three other elders, their expressions grave.

"He's using the fear against us," Elder Xun muttered. "Our protective formations are failing to detect him—not because he's hiding from them, but because he's inside us."

Mo nodded. "He's planted a seed of fear within several disciples already. Maybe even some elders."

Elder Yun clenched her fists. "I've seen it. Visions. Dreams. That voice... it gnaws at your soul."

They fell silent.

Then Elder Xun asked what none dared voice: "What if he's become something else?"

Mo's silence was answer enough.

---

Lian Fei's Mind – Dream State

She wandered through a ruined sect—burning pavilions, crushed statues, bodies of familiar disciples littered like broken dolls. At the highest peak, a throne had been erected. Upon it sat Raizen.

Not the boy she once knew.

This Raizen wore a black crown. His skin glowed faintly with abyssal runes. Shadows coiled around his limbs like serpents.

"You've come again," he said softly.

"I didn't want to," she whispered. "I… I want it to stop."

He stood and descended the steps. The dream warped with every step—pools of blood becoming mirrors, skies twisting into spirals of stars and screams.

He stood before her.

"Then say it," he commanded.

Tears formed in her eyes. "I'm sorry."

His smile widened.

But it was not forgiveness that filled the dream.

> "Too late."

---

System Log – Abyss Interface

> Target: Lian Fei – Corruption 39%

Resistance Collapsing

Partial Control Available During Sleep State

New Skill Unlocked: [Waking Echo] – Causes subject to speak or act under your influence during high stress.

Raizen opened his eyes beneath the Ravine Temple. He could now touch her thoughts. Bend her actions. Pull strings like a puppeteer.

And he was only getting stronger.

---

Outer Sect Training Grounds – Dusk

A new disciple named Chen Rui had just completed his sword forms. He wiped sweat from his brow and turned—only to see fog seeping into the practice field.

Odd.

He turned again. His fellow trainees were gone.

"...Hello?"

The mist wrapped around him like a shroud. Then—he heard it.

> "Cut them down."

He spun toward the voice, drawing his blade.

> "Kill them before they betray you."

"No, I—I don't want to—"

Suddenly, illusions of his fellow trainees appeared in the fog, sneering at him, whispering behind cupped hands, laughing.

> "Weakling."

"You'll never reach core stage."

"You'll always be trash."

His hands trembled.

> "Slaughter is the only path forward."

Screaming, Chen Rui charged at the illusions.

To outsiders, it appeared the boy had gone mad—swinging wildly, injuring two real trainees before being subdued.

But Raizen, from miles away, watched it unfold through the Phantom Mark he'd implanted earlier.

He smiled.

---

Abyss System Update

> Sect Fear Level: 26%

Chaos Events: 3 in last 24 hours

New Passive Unlocked: [Whispers in the Mist]

Mist can now carry your influence into low-mind-resistance targets. Increases hallucination rate in dense areas.

---

Sect Leader's Residence

Sect Master Qian Zhou sat cross-legged, surrounded by protective talismans and divine formations.

He had not slept in days.

Not because he feared dreams—but because he knew who was behind them.

He remembered Raizen.

The boy who defied ten inner disciples in a hopeless duel.

The boy who stared at the heavens as his dantian was shattered—and laughed.

He had let the elders bury Raizen in the Abyssal Ravine.

It was supposed to be over.

But evil, when denied justice, grows fangs.

Qian Zhou opened his eyes.

> "This... is my sin to cleanse."

---

Final Scene – Mist-Covered Peak

Raizen stood atop a mountain ridge, bare-chested, his long dark hair whipping in the wind, eyes glowing with cold hatred.

Behind him, dozens of black crows circled in unnatural patterns.

He looked down at the Sect below, now flickering with doubt and confusion.

His hand lifted slowly.

The mist responded, crawling across the sky.

> "Let them choke on their

guilt."

He whispered into the fog.

> "Tell them who I am."

And from dozens of mouths across the Sect—from disciples, elders, servants alike—came the same words:

> "Raizen lives."