The ringing silence of the Lotus Seal's power still echoed through Jin Mu-Won's bones.
It had been three days since he awakened in the Jade Lotus Sect's inner sanctum with the Eternal Lotus Seal now etched into his soul. Though time flowed normally around him, Jin knew something deeper had shifted — not just in him, but in the entire world. Whispers from the past and hints of the future flickered in his dreams like fireflies on the edge of night.
Yu Fei remained by his side, tending to him during his recovery, but she had grown quieter, more watchful. Bai Yiran, ever the warrior, seemed frustrated by the silence surrounding the event. Lin Xue, however, had spent her time researching the Seal's runes in the forbidden library, unearthing records untouched for centuries.
Jin stood on a high balcony overlooking the Jade Lotus training grounds. Disciples were moving in perfect unison, but the rhythm felt hollow to him. The balance of power had shifted. The enemies he had faced were only fragments of something greater. He could feel it in the vibrations of the earth, in the sharpness of the wind.
The Red Moon Cult had not been destroyed.
They had only been watching.
And they were ready to make their move.
---
A knock on the door broke the tension.
Master Yun entered with Lin Xue. The old man's face was grave.
"We have visitors," he said.
Jin raised a brow. "Who?"
"Messengers from the Nine Tomb Sect."
Jin's eyes narrowed. That name hadn't been spoken aloud in Murim for over a century. The Nine Tomb Sect was thought extinct — consumed in a war so brutal it was erased from all official records. But he remembered them… from a past life.
"They shouldn't be here," Jin said coldly. "They were exterminated during the War of the Thirteen Peaks."
"They claim a pact with the Eternal Lotus," Lin Xue added. "They say your awakening has reactivated it — and they are its guardians."
Jin felt a pulse inside his chest — the seal responded at the mention of the Nine Tomb Sect.
"Where are they?" he asked.
"On the outer grounds," Master Yun said. "But they refuse to enter until you meet them directly."
Jin grabbed his spear and nodded. "Then let's not keep our guests waiting."
---
They stood at the edge of the training fields — five of them, dressed in blood-grey robes that shimmered strangely in the light. Each bore the mark of the Tomb — a black crown above a skull pierced by nine nails.
Their leader, a tall woman with crimson eyes and silver hair, stepped forward and knelt.
"We greet you, Bearer of the Lotus. I am Hye Rin of the Ninth Tomb."
"I thought your sect was dead," Jin said bluntly.
Hye Rin rose. "It was. But you brought time back to us."
She opened her palm, revealing a shard of the Eternal Lotus Seal — it glowed in perfect resonance with Jin's own.
"I don't understand," Yu Fei said beside him. "How can they carry part of the Seal?"
Hye Rin turned to her. "Because the Seal was never whole. It was broken in seven pieces, scattered across space and time. Each piece anchors reality. When our tomb fell, we fell outside of time. Until now."
Jin felt a chill run down his spine. "How many pieces are still missing?"
"Four," she said. "And the Red Moon Cult is hunting them all. If they collect even three, they can fracture the timeline beyond repair."
Bai Yiran scoffed. "Why do villains always want to destroy everything? Can't they just settle for ruling Murim?"
Hye Rin offered a faint smile. "They do not seek to rule Murim. They seek to return to a time before martial law… before heaven itself interfered with man."
Jin looked into the distance. "They want to erase the divine."
"Yes," she whispered. "And they've begun. The Crimson Eclipse is coming."
---
That night, the stars themselves seemed to burn red. A powerful celestial event — the Crimson Eclipse — cast a bloody shadow over the world. To most, it was just an astronomical occurrence. But to those who walked the martial path, it was a harbinger of doom.
Jin stood beneath the moonlight, the air electric with spiritual energy. The Seal within him pulsed faster, more erratic.
"The cult will strike tonight," Hye Rin said, appearing beside him like a shadow.
"Where?" he asked.
"Not here. In the north — the Iron Sage Monastery. It guards the second piece."
Jin turned at once. "Then we move now."
But Hye Rin shook her head. "You must not. This piece is protected by ancient trials. You'll need more than force. You'll need a guide."
She looked into the shadows.
A figure stepped forward — cloaked, face hidden behind a bamboo mask.
"I am Jun Seo, disciple of the Sixth Tomb. I was born within a memory… and I remember how to enter the monastery."
Jin looked at his allies. "Suit up. We ride north in an hour."
---
The journey to Iron Sage Monastery took two days through cursed peaks and bladed wind passes. Every step felt heavier — the Crimson Eclipse pulling on their bones, distorting space itself.
On the second night, as they set up camp near a spirit well, Jin and Yu Fei sat alone near the fire.
"You've changed," she said softly.
"So have you," he replied.
"I've seen parts of your past… in the dream realm," she whispered. "You weren't just powerful. You were feared. Even the gods hesitated to interfere with you."
Jin poked the fire. "And look what it got me. Death. Reincarnation. Regret."
"You don't regret everything," she said.
He turned to her. "No… not everything."
Their hands brushed. Just for a moment.
---
Iron Sage Monastery rose before them on the third day, nestled between cliffs that wept streams of red mist. The building was ancient — grown from stone rather than built. Statues of old sages lined the path, their eyes covered, mouths open as if screaming.
Jun Seo raised his hand. "The trial begins here. You must face the guardian… but only one of you."
Jin stepped forward without hesitation. "Then I'll go."
Yu Fei caught his arm. "Be careful."
"I always am," he smiled.
---
Inside, the air was still. Dust didn't settle. Light didn't behave as it should.
A massive figure stood at the heart of the monastery. An iron monk — thirty feet tall, forged from enchanted steel, powered by spiritual fire.
"I am Warden of the Second Seal," it boomed. "Prove your worth or perish."
Jin didn't wait. He charged, spear first, dodging a massive swing of the monk's iron fists. The floor cracked with each blow. Jin used the shifting stone to propel himself upward, stabbing into joints and glyphs.
But it wasn't enough.
The monk caught him mid-air and slammed him into the ground.
"You fight like a man," it said. "But the seal demands more."
Jin bled from his mouth, laughing. "Then let me show you what else I am."
He closed his eyes — and invoked the Lotus Seal. Time slowed.
He saw each attack before it happened. He twisted, dodged, countered in perfect rhythm. He became the wind, the shadow, the echo between seconds.
Then — a final thrust.
The spear pierced the guardian's heart-core.
The iron monk knelt. "Worthy."
It vanished.
The second shard of the Lotus Seal floated in the air, glowing like moonlight on still water.
Jin took it.
And the world shifted again.
---
Outside, his companions rushed forward.
"You did it," Yu Fei gasped.
But Jin wasn't smiling. "They know. The cult knows we have it now."
A rumble echoed across the sky.
Hye Rin turned pale. "They're not waiting anymore. They're coming."
Jin looked north — toward the horizon where storm clouds swirled unnaturally.
"The final war," he whispered. "It's beginning."