Yue Lian walked beneath the thousand lanterns of the Southern Archive Sect, each flame a flickering soullight storing ancient knowledge. Her eyes remained fixed ahead, but her mind raced.
Last night's slip had confirmed it—the Crimson Tyrant, Yan Zhuo, had burned his cultivation to protect a city. Not slaughtered it. Not turned demonic. Protected.
So why had the world called him a monster?
She reached the lower sanctum of the Archive, a vault of restricted knowledge guarded by formations even most elders dared not trigger. But she had Elder Guan's temporary clearance. Her fingers brushed the sigil plate, and the doors opened with a hiss.
Inside, rows of scrolls and jade slips pulsed with dormant Qi. It was a place that hummed with time itself. She moved to a dark corner marked "Red Lotus Rebellion Era."
A slip drew her attention—not crimson, but white. Odd. She took it, pressed it to her forehead, and focused.
***
She stood in another memory.
A court chamber, cracked open by flames. Yan Zhuo, bloodied, held a sobbing child in his arms. His eyes burned—not with hatred, but grief.
"These are your protectors? These liars?" he shouted, facing a ring of sect elders. "You promised to protect the people, and you sold them to demons!"
The memory fragmented as Yue Lian staggered back. The jade slip burned her palm. Her Qi stuttered.
She had seen enough.
But the moment she turned, she found herself face-to-face with someone else.
Archivist Xin.
A tall woman with ink-stained robes and narrow eyes like rusted needles. She held a slender staff carved with judging sigils.
"You accessed a restricted memory," Xin said calmly. "Why?"
Yue Lian's mouth dried. "I had Elder Guan's clearance. This is part of my historical thesis."
"History is shaped by those who live to tell it. Not scholars who resurrect the dead."
Before Yue Lian could respond, the doors slammed behind her. Formations began to glow beneath her feet.
Trapped.
In a distant chamber, Elder Guan slammed his fist onto a scroll table. "Fools! She's only seeking the truth!"
Another elder whispered, "And truth burns nations. You know what happened last time."
Guan's face paled. "That's exactly why we must not repeat it."
Inside the sanctum, Yue Lian steadied her breath.
"If you're going to silence me," she said, "then do it. But you'll only prove Yan Zhuo right."
Xin hesitated.
The formations flickered.
Then stopped.
Xin exhaled sharply. "Leave. Now. You won't get a second chance."
Yue Lian didn't wait.
As she fled the sanctum, the white jade slip hidden in her sleeve pulsed faintly.
And across the continent, in a tomb lined with obsidian chains, a red crystal heartbeat quickened.