The cold wind stirred dust across the cracked stone floors of the Scorpio Zodiac Sect. Morning sunlight hit the ruined tiles and faded banners as if trying to bring life back into what once stood tall.
A crow cawed.
Raizen sat on the edge of a collapsed training platform, arms wrapped around his knees. His dark robe fluttered slightly with the wind. Behind him, the broken pillars whispered of a thousand years of decline.
He didn't say anything. He just listened.
"You're up early," came a familiar voice.
Raizen turned. It was Elder Mo, one of the few remaining senior members of the sect. His robes were patched, but he held himself with an aged pride that hadn't yet given up.
"Couldn't sleep," Raizen said, looking away.
"Still thinking about the Outer Disciple test?" Elder Mo asked.
Raizen didn't answer. His fingers dug into the stone a little, the faint hum of invisible energy vibrating in his palm. Space felt oddly soft around him lately—as if it responded to his moods. But he didn't dare test it.
The memory of what happened two nights ago was still fresh. That silver line ripping space. That... thing... that whispered.
But no one could know. Not even Elder Mo.
"Look," Elder Mo said, walking over with a sigh. "I know you're not like the others. You're not as loud, not as talented—"
"I get it," Raizen interrupted softly. "I'm not one of them."
"You're not," Elder Mo agreed. "But that's why you have to survive."
Raizen looked up.
Elder Mo squatted next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "This sect is not what it used to be. We used to stand among the Twelve Zodiac Sects, Raizen. Twelve names that ruled the heavens. Do you know what the others call us now?"
Raizen remained silent.
"They call us a ghost sect. A hollow name."
Raizen looked up at the tattered scorpion symbol above the crumbling main gate. "Then why stay?"
Elder Mo smiled faintly. "Because names don't die. Even if the world forgets, the heavens remember."
Raizen blinked, something in those words sinking in.
"You should head to the courtyard. The Sect Master's already there," Elder Mo said, rising.
Raizen stood too, brushing dust off his robes. "...Thank you."
As he walked away, Elder Mo called out, "Remember, boy. Stay invisible. That's the only way to survive."
Raizen didn't reply.
---
The courtyard was crowded, surprisingly. Dozens of outer disciples had gathered. Some were young teens. Others, like Raizen, had joined late or were taken in during the sect's decline. Most looked excited.
Others looked hungry.
Near the front, three figures stood apart—each wearing deep black robes embroidered with the silver scorpion crest still intact.
"Inner Disciples," someone whispered.
Raizen didn't react. He walked quietly and stopped at the edge of the group.
Then, the Sect Master appeared.
He didn't walk in. He simply appeared. One moment the space was empty, and then—there he was.
Tall, gray-haired, with a long scar running from his temple to his jaw. His robe was simple, black with no embellishments, but the way others straightened told Raizen everything.
This was a man who once stood at the peak.
Raizen felt a tightness in his chest.
"Silence," the Sect Master said, and the entire courtyard obeyed.
"You all know why you're here. The Outer Disciple Selection is not just a formality. For our sect, it's survival. We take only those who can walk forward without crutches."
His eyes swept the crowd like blades. "This isn't charity. You either pass, or you leave."
No one dared speak.
The Sect Master raised his hand. A small ripple appeared in the air. Space bent slightly, and a gate opened in midair—showing a forest path wrapped in fog and purple mist.
"The first trial begins now."
He stepped aside.
Raizen stepped forward with the others, but his heartbeat was slow. Focused.
He was ready.
---
The fog was thick.
Raizen walked through the strange forest, the sounds of others growing faint behind him. The path twisted unnaturally—like it moved when no one was looking. Trees leaned over, whispering secrets he didn't care to hear.
A flash of movement.
He turned just in time to duck a shadow beast leaping at him.
Its body was like smoke, its claws real. Raizen rolled, grabbed a stone from the ground, and threw it. It passed through the beast—but that was all he needed. While it dodged, he bolted behind a tree and vanished into the mist.
The beast turned—but Raizen was gone.
He had no weapons. No Qi arts. Just instincts.
That was enough.
---
An hour passed. Then two.
By the fourth hour, only half of the disciples remained.
Raizen sat under a strange tree, its branches glowing faintly.
His breathing was calm. His fingers tapped on his thigh. The space around him rippled slightly, almost playful. He ignored it.
He had been practicing one thing: movement.
Shifting slightly between places, even if only a few inches. It felt natural. It wasn't teleportation. Just... slippage.
But he never used it in front of anyone.
Not yet.
Suddenly, a loud cry echoed. "Help! Anyone! Please!"
Raizen turned.
A girl stumbled into the clearing. Her arm was bleeding, her eyes wide. A beast stalked behind her—tiger-shaped, scales instead of fur, and two burning eyes.
Raizen moved before thinking.
He grabbed a long branch, snapped it, and sprinted forward.
The girl screamed again as the beast lunged.
Raizen stepped sideways—
And disappeared.
He reappeared above the beast, mid-air, branch in hand.
He brought it down—right into the creature's eye.
It screamed, thrashed, and vanished into smoke.
Raizen hit the ground hard.
Silence.
The girl stared at him. "You... how did you—?"
"Lucky strike," Raizen muttered, wincing.
She looked at him strangely but didn't question further.
"Can you walk?" he asked.
She nodded slowly.
Raizen helped her up. "Let's get to the gate."
---
By the time they returned, the Sect Master was already waiting.
Only fifteen disciples made it back.
Raizen stood near the edge again, quiet as always. The girl stayed close to him, but didn't speak.
The Sect Master's eyes scanned them.
"Seven days," he said. "You've earned your place. You are now Outer Disciples of the Scorpio Zodiac Sect."
Raizen bowed with the others.
"Remember, only strength keeps you here. The trials don't end. They only get harder."
He waved his hand.
A scroll flew into Raizen's hands. A black badge followed, shaped like a scorpion tail.
"Your token," the Sect Master said.
Then he turned and vanished again.
---
That night, Raizen sat alone in his new room. It was small, dusty, but his.
He placed the token down and stared at his hands.
Something in him was changing.
The air around him shifted slightly, and from the corner of the room—a line split open in the air.
He didn't flinch.
A voice whispered again.
> "You move well for a child."
Raizen didn't answer.
> "The void hears you... Do you hear it back?"
He closed his eyes.
> "Soon..."
Then silence.
Raizen opened his eyes again. The line in space had vanished. But he wasn't scared.
Just… tired.
He pulled the blanket over himself and whispered to the empty room:
"…I don't care who or what you are. I'm staying alive."
---
Far beyond the mortal realms… in a dark place where stars didn't shine…
Something stirred.
A colossal eye opened—shaped like a black sun. It pulsed once. Twice.
Then a voice rumbled.
> "Hmm... is this realm ripe yet…?"
The darkness around it twisted.
> "No... still cooking. But... I smell something familiar…"
> "The void... it leaks."
A deep, guttural laugh echoed through eternity.
> "Interesting."