Everyone Noticed I Changed. Especially Her.

You were in there for a long time," Zhao Feng said, casually flipping a jade coin as I stepped back into the outer sanctum.

"I wasn't enjoying myself."

"You sure? Your eyes are glowing. That usually means someone either gained power or saw something deeply traumatizing."

"Both."

---

The stone corridor was quieter than before. Quieter than it should be. Like the sect itself knew something had shifted.

Inside me, the Void Flame simmered beneath the surface, pulsing like a second heartbeat. It wasn't loud. Yet. But I could feel it nudging me. Testing the edges of my will.

> Ashen Fang... you are not whole. Not yet...

"Shut up," I muttered under my breath.

Zhao Feng didn't blink. "Talking to yourself again. We're definitely back on schedule."

---

We passed a meditation garden—more like a trap disguised as calm. A disciple tried to spar with a spirit tree. The tree won. Loudly.

Then Lan Ruo appeared, sword on her back, arms crossed.

"You're glowing," she said.

"I know."

"You weren't glowing yesterday."

"Also true."

Her eyes narrowed. "And now your flame Qi smells like something that wants to eat other flames."

Zhao Feng leaned against a wall. "Yup. He's got edgy main character syndrome now. Dark flame arc incoming."

I sighed. "Can we talk alone?"

"Depends," Lan Ruo said. "Is this another moment where you collapse mid-sentence and wake up spitting blood?"

"Probably not."

---

We walked to a quiet garden outcropping overlooking the lower spires of Heaven's Maw. Mist drifted below. The moon hung low and red.

"I saw her," I said quietly. "Velrana. From my past."

Lan Ruo said nothing.

"She stabbed me."

Still nothing.

Then—

"You still love her?"

I blinked. "What?"

She turned sharply. "You flinched. Just now. When I said that."

"I don't— I can't love someone I don't fully remember."

"That doesn't answer the question."

---

Silence.

The mist thickened around us, wrapping the garden in silence.

Finally, she said, "Your power changed. But so did your eyes. You're not just stronger. You're... different."

"Is that bad?"

"It's terrifying."

---

We stood close. Too close. Her breath was sharp from training. Mine was still smoky from whatever energy was now inside me.

"If this power starts turning me into whatever Ashen Fang was—"

"I'll kill you," she said instantly. "No hesitation."

I laughed. "That's oddly comforting."

She leaned in, almost unconsciously.

"You're not him," she whispered. "But I think... you were never just Li Xian either."

---

Then she stepped back. "Come on. The Saintess asked for you."

"Of course she did."

---

When we entered the lower sanctum, the Saintess stood at the far end, waiting. Same robes. Same veil.

But something in her aura had changed.

Her hands were bare. Soft. Unscarred. But glowing faintly with spiritual tension.

She raised her head and said, "I must show you something. But it comes at a cost."

"What cost?"

"My silence."

---

She reached up.

And removed her veil.

---

She was beautiful.

Not in a poetic way. In a tragic way.

Eyes like cracked amethyst. Lips pale as memory. A scar crossed her chin—small, almost hidden. But it hadn't been made by a blade.

A kiss. Then a betrayal. I knew that scar.

"I was there," she said. "The night Velrana turned on you. I warned you. You didn't listen."

The memory surged.

The Silent Saintess standing at the door. Eyes wide. Pleading.

"Don't trust her, Xian."

"I trust her more than anyone," I had said.

"Then you'll burn for it."

---

I staggered back.

She didn't move.

"You're remembering more," she said.

"I wish I wasn't."

She stepped closer. "The past isn't gone, Flameborn. It just waits. And you still don't know what you did."

Zhao Feng appeared in the doorway, holding something.

"Sorry to interrupt your emotionally heavy reunion, but... did anyone need this glowing cursed knife I found on a training dummy?"

It was glowing black.

And vibrating with Void Qi.

---

[SYSTEM WARNING]

> Forbidden Item Detected: Fang of Devourment

Artifact Created by Ashen Fang – You

Status: Bonded (Dormant)

Risk: 90%

Reward: High

Consequence: ??? (You definitely killed someone with this)

---

"I think I made that," I said.

"Of course you did," Zhao Feng muttered. "You were such a try-hard."

The Saintess looked at the blade. Then at me.

"You're not ready to reclaim it yet," she said softly.

"I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever be."

"You will," she said.

Then, even softer—

"Because you have to."

---

[SYSTEM UPDATE]

> Void Memory Progress: 3/9

Forbidden Item Unlocked: Fang of Devourment (Sealed)

Saintess Relationship +10%

Lan Ruo's Suspicion: Growing

Zhao Feng's Patience: Shrinking

Next Trial: Leave Heaven's Maw – Or Stay and Face the Elders

---

To be continued...

---

Author's Note:

🔥 Chapter 15 gives us:

Veil reveal from the Saintess

Relationship heat with Lan Ruo

MC now carries a forbidden weapon he forged himself

Tension's building as the Void Flame stirs more violently