Liam found himself standing outside Zane's old room at the Phoenix Sect. He hesitated, his hand lingering on the door. The corridor was empty, most disciples busy with preparations for the Void Realm expedition. After a moment's pause, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The room was exactly as he had left it—simple, orderly, with few personal belongings. A small desk sat in one corner, a meditation mat in another. His scent still lingered in the air.
Liam's expression grew unsettled as memories washed over him. He saw Zane as he once was—earnest, dedicated, always striving despite the obstacles placed before him. He remembered the night he had struggled with a difficult technique, how Zane had stayed up with him, explaining the energy pathways until he finally mastered it. "You have the talent," he had told him then. "You just need to trust yourself more." Liam walked to the window—Zane's favorite spot. He would sit there for hours, watching the mountains, practicing his breathing techniques. He sat down, running his fingers along the worn wooden sill. "What happened to us, Zane?" he whispered to the empty room. The door suddenly opened. Soren walked in, speaking before he'd even fully entered. "Zane, we got our ten gems allowance today. I'll need five as usual—" He stopped abruptly, noticing Liam sitting by the window. Confusion crossed his face. "Liam, what are you doing in Zane's room?" Liam turned, his eyes narrowing slightly. Instead of answering, he asked, "Why are you collecting gems from Zane?" Soren let out a long sigh, as if dealing with something trivial. "Come on, Liam. His cultivation was so low that those gems would be wasted on him. I've been using them on his behalf." "On his behalf?" Liam's voice was dangerously quiet. "And when exactly did this arrangement start?"
Soren paused, seeming to realize he might be stepping into dangerous territory. After a moment's hesitation, he answered, "Right after he joined the sect."
Liam's eyes flashed with building anger. He stood up slowly. "Those gems are a necessity, Soren. They're meant to be traded for herbs that help with cultivation. Taking Zane's gems left him with nothing." His voice rose as realization dawned. "That's why his cultivation was so low! That's why he had only established his foundation after all these years! It was because of you!"
Soren took a step back, raising his hands defensively. "I left some for him, Liam. You're overreacting."
"Overreacting?" Liam's fists clenched at his sides. "Let me calculate this. Ten gems every month for the five years he's been here. That's six hundred gems you've taken from him."
"Not all of them—" Soren started, but Liam cut him off.
"Even if you 'left some for him' as you claim, that's still hundreds of gems that should have gone to his cultivation." Liam took a step toward Soren, fury evident in his eyes. "You've been treating him like a money bag—something you could summon and discard as you saw fit. And I stood by and let it happen!"
Soren's expression shifted to one of mild annoyance rather than shame. "Look, I just forgot he had been expelled, alright? I won't do it again." He backed toward the door. "I need to go prepare for our trip. The Void Realm won't wait for us."
With that weak excuse, Soren left the room, closing the door behind him.
Liam stood alone in the silence that followed, his anger slowly subsiding into a heavy guilt. He returned to the window seat, looking out at the mountains where he had seen the Heaven's Ordeal the day before.
"What did you go through all these years, Zane?" he asked softly. "What other injustices did we inflict upon you while claiming to be righteous?"
Miles away, at the entrance to the Void Realm, a lone figure stood before a massive cave mouth. The cave's opening seemed to absorb light rather than reflect it, creating an imposing darkness that had deterred countless cultivators over the centuries.
Zane observed the entrance calmly, his new powers humming just beneath his skin. The area around him was deserted—most cultivators feared the Void Realm too much to attempt entry, especially alone.
"The fear people harbor for this place spreads across the world," he murmured to himself, stepping closer to the darkness. "They whisper tales of the Fallen cultivators that roam its corridors, of the traps that steal your soul."
He smiled, a cold, confident expression.
"But unlike them, I'm well versed in this realm's secrets. I've seen its horrors—and I've seen its rewards."
The darkness of the cave seemed to reach out to him, tendrils of shadow curling around his feet. Most would have retreated at this sign, but Zane stepped forward, allowing the darkness to envelop him.
"My path to revenge," he declared to the emptiness, "starts here."
He entered the cave without looking back, the darkness swallowing him whole.
Inside, the air grew thick with spiritual energy. The walls of the cave glowed with faint runes that pulsed like heartbeats. The further he walked, the stronger the spiritual pressure became, crushing down on his shoulders like physical weight.
Lesser cultivators would have been forced to their knees by now, their bodies unable to withstand the pressure. But Zane moved forward steadily, his recent breakthrough allowing him to resist.
The passage widened into a vast chamber where the ceiling disappeared into darkness above. Scattered throughout were the remains of failed expeditions—broken weapons, tattered robes, and occasionally, the dried husks of cultivators who had ventured too far without sufficient preparation.
Zane paused, closing his eyes to sense the energy flows within the realm. The Void Realm was notorious for its shifting pathways—corridors that led to treasure one day might lead to death the next.
"The Soul Convergence Pill should be in the central chamber," he whispered, orienting himself. "Three days until the others arrive. I need to be ready."
A sound echoed from deeper within the cave—something between a moan and a growl. The Fallen cultivators were stirring, sensing fresh energy entering their domain.
Zane opened his eyes, a spark of lightning dancing between his fingers.
"Let them come," he said. "This time, I'm not the helpless disciple they once knew."
He moved deeper into the realm, following pathways that few living cultivators had ever traversed. With each step, his determination grew. The Phoenix Sect had taken everything from him in his previous life—his dignity, his future, and ultimately, his life itself.
"Never again," he promised himself as he navigated the treacherous passages. "This time, I'll be the one taking from them."
Ahead, a faint golden glow beckoned—the first sign of the chamber that held the Soul Convergence Pill. Zane quickened his pace, lightning energy crackling around his form.