Pain.
It spread through my chest.
I couldn't breathe.
Every breath burned like fire in my ribs.
My arms and legs twitched.
Blood poured out in slow, heavy pulses.
Above me, the pond's surface rippled like cracked glass. I could barely see the moonlight.
Is this how I die?
I stared through the water, eyes half-closed.
The stars above blurred and began to fade.
I heard footsteps retreating. Slow. Calm.
Then came a voice.
It was cold. It was familiar.
"Trash like you never belonged in the inner sect."
Silence followed.
Then darkness.
Until the pain came again.
But this pain was different.
It wasn't from the wound.
It was deeper.
It felt like the world was ripping me apart, then forcing me back together.
And in that moment...
I realized—I wasn't dead anymore.