Chapter 9: Eyes Like Knives

## Chapter 9: Eyes Like Knives

The road to the Dawning Blades Sect was silent, carved through ancient stone and flanked by low-hanging trees, their twisted limbs reaching across the trail like grasping hands. The three of them walked in silence—Kai flanked by the two envoys in silver-trimmed robes, their gazes fixed forward, feet in perfect rhythm.

Kai didn't speak. He didn't ask questions. But his eyes took in everything: the moss that clung to the pillars marking the sect's border, the faint hum of formation stones buried beneath the earth, and the subtle tension in the air that pressed down on his skin like invisible weight.

He was calm on the outside. Or at least he wore it well.

But deep within his chest, behind the steady breath and blank stare, something coiled tighter with every step.

Not fear.

Not exactly.

Something else.

**He should have been afraid.**

Maybe he was.

But part of him just felt—distant. Split. Like he was watching himself walk toward something inevitable.

---

They passed the outer training grounds first. Rows of disciples lined the dirt, swords moving in synchronized arcs as instructors barked corrections. Their movements were beautiful—precise, disciplined, deadly. But when Kai passed, several of them stopped mid-form.

Whispers followed.

"That him?"

"He looks... younger than I expected."

"Look at his hair. Is that real?"

"No spirit signature. He's empty."

The woman to his right didn't react. The man to his left gave only the faintest scoff.

Kai kept walking.

The road curved higher. From here, the towers of the inner sect loomed above like the ribs of some great god, carved from dark stone and etched with wind-calligraphy. Banners fluttered in the high breeze, embroidered with silver blades wrapped in sunbursts—the sigil of the Dawning Blades.

They passed more disciples. Older. Sharper. Eyes that didn't whisper, but watched.

Kai kept walking.

His breath remained steady. But a cold edge formed behind his eyes. A ripple.

**"They're judging you,"** a voice said, soft and low. It came from nowhere—and everywhere. **"Let them. They don't know what you are."**

Kai blinked once, the words echoing inside his skull.

It wasn't his thought. Not exactly. But it felt like it came from something just beneath his skin.

He shook his head slightly. The voice faded.

But it left a chill behind.

---

They reached the grand arch of the central courtyard. Wide steps led up to the main hall—a towering structure of curved obsidian and carved jade, flanked by statues of sword saints and immortal judges. Smoke curled from long braziers. A line of robed figures stood guard beside the entrance.

The two envoys stepped aside.

"Wait here," the man said, not looking at him.

Kai looked up at the steps, then back at the door.

"Am I supposed to bow or something?"

Neither envoy answered. They turned and left without another word.

Kai sighed.

He walked to the nearest bench beneath a flowering lantern tree and sat down. Birds chirped high above. A breeze stirred the petals at his feet.

He folded his arms. Stared at the hall. Tried not to think.

But the silence was too big.

The whispers from earlier clung to him. The eyes. The way the disciples looked like they already knew who he was—or worse, decided what he wasn't.

**"You could hurt them,"** the voice whispered again. **"If you wanted to."**

Kai didn't answer.

**"You don't belong here. Not in their world. But that won't stop you from walking through it."**

He pressed a hand against his chest. The markings beneath his tunic didn't ache—but they felt *awake*.

Like something inside was watching *with* him.

The grand hall doors creaked open.

A disciple in layered robes stepped out, thin and pale, with ink-stained fingers.

"The master will see you shortly," he said. Then looked Kai up and down with the faintest sneer. "Try not to touch anything."

Kai didn't reply.

He stood, walked up the steps, and entered the shade of the grand hall—its silence deep and thick, broken only by the slow tap of water dripping from distant eaves.

Carvings of ancient battles stretched across the high walls. Swords and scrolls lined alcoves. Pillars of storm-carved obsidian held up a ceiling so high it vanished in mist.

Kai stood alone in the center.

Waiting.

The doors closed behind him with a soft thud.

---

He breathed in.

**"Find your footing,"** the voice murmured. **"Or they'll take it from you."**

The silence returned.

And then—a distant rustle.

A shadow moving behind the curtain at the far end.

Someone was there.

Watching.

Waiting.

And Kai knew, with absolute certainty, that whatever came next—he would not leave this place the same.