The sky above Cloud Vein Sect was no longer still.
Most could not see it.
Most *should not*.
But if any mortal looked just a little too long — they would notice it:
The stars were not in the same place they had been yesterday.
Not because they moved.
But because **they fled**.
---
Zeravon walked silently back toward the outer sect, his gray robe fluttering in the slow, eerie wind. His eyes were calm — yet deep within them, a faint glint now existed. Like a candle placed in a hallway that stretched beyond time.
The sect grounds were chaotic. Elder Lin barked orders. Array masters worked to stabilize the space. Senior disciples tried to calm the juniors.
Everyone had felt it — the **disruption**, the **unseen weight** that pressed down upon the heavens.
And though they couldn't understand it… they knew its source.
> "He came from the chasm," one whispered.
> "He walked back… untouched."
> "What is he?"
Zeravon passed them all like mist slipping through a battlefield. No one dared stop him.
Even Instructor Wei, known for his iron authority, simply turned away.
---
**Meanwhile — Far Beyond**
In the Realm of Origin Fangs, where celestial beasts sleep until summoned, a being known only as **The Scale Binder** rose from its slumber.
Its jaws parted for the first time in 600,000 years.
> "The Dao has tilted…"
> "The balance is breaking."
A low, guttural voice echoed behind its breathless tone.
> *"He has remembered… the first vow."*
---
**Back in the Sect**
Zeravon stopped at the outer courtyard fountain — an ancient, broken piece of architecture no one cared for.
But he sat beside it, eyes on the cracked stone lion head where water no longer flowed.
He placed his hand gently on the stone.
**The lion blinked.**
The fountain, long dead, coughed — then flowed.
Clear water spilled from its mouth, slow at first, then steady. The crack in the lion's eye began to glow faintly. Runes that had been long erased shimmered back into reality.
Disciples nearby gasped.
> "That fountain's been dry since the founding…"
Zeravon stood and walked away without a word.
---
**Later That Night — Elder Lin's Hidden Chamber**
The Elder paced restlessly. Before him hovered a scroll of forbidden names — those that even the Sect Alliance dared not speak aloud.
But one name now pulsed with ancient gold.
**Zeravon**.
He slammed his hand on the table.
> "Why didn't we see this earlier?!"
From the shadows, the **masked figure** returned — the one who had spoken to Lin in secret weeks ago.
> "You couldn't see him," the figure said. "Because he didn't want to be seen."
Lin clenched his jaw.
> "He's not just powerful. He's rewriting the Dao by existing. What happens if he remembers the **Second Name**?"
The masked one remained silent.
> "Tell me!" Lin snapped.
> "…Then the Dao will no longer guide us," the figure whispered. "*He will.*"
---
**Cloud Vein Pavilion — Zeravon's Room**
Zeravon sat cross-legged again. But this time, **the world responded**.
The flow of Qi around him bent naturally. Stones beneath him smoothed out. The air became lighter. Even the moonlight curved to frame him in its center.
> *This is not cultivation,* he thought.
> *This is… recognition.*
Not of his effort.
Not of his technique.
But of his **nature**.
And then — the voice returned.
This time, it didn't whisper.
It echoed **from within**.
> *"Zeravon."*
> *"One name remembered. One seal broken."*
> *"But the second name… is trying to awaken."*
Zeravon's eyes snapped open. A golden rune appeared on his forearm — flickering, shifting.
Not burning, not painful.
But **alive**.
It was not a symbol of power.
It was a **name**.
One **his soul feared** remembering.
But now, it called to him.
> *"Zeravon…"*
> *"Do you remember… ***Oblivis?***"*
---