*Content Warning: This chapter contains mature themes, violence, bullying, and emotionally charged scenes. Viewer discretion advised.*
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Void stumbled into the new world alone—a place dense with eerie silence and the shadows of old ambition. He swept his gaze over empty hills and shrouded sky. Unknown territory, no people, and the familiar chill of solitude. He clenched his fist and moved forward, determination burning beneath his calm exterior.
"Another world, another game," he muttered. "I'll find the heart of this place soon enough."
In the distance, powerful currents of qi shivered through the land—the unmistakable signature of the Heavenly Demon Cult. Where Void walked alone, the Dravens ruled like emperors over a nation of blades and secrets.
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### The House of Draven: Power and Poison
The Heavenly Demon Cult loomed as a fortress of dread, whispered about across all martial clans. Lucian Draven—the twenty-ninth Heavenly Demon—held sway, feared as much for his ruthlessness as his near-peerless strength. Many leaders had been devoured by rivals in the cult's vicious history, but Lucian's victory was total; his private hell was ruling a family torn apart by rivalry and resentment.
Within his black halls, seven wives grappled for favor, status, and survival.
Isolde, Selene, Vivian, Elara, Seraphina, Lilith, and Miranda each bore children, their fortunes entangled in the cult's heartless hierarchy.
#### Draven Family Tree
- **Isolde Draven**: Mother of Damien and Julian (eldest sons)
- **Selene Draven**: Mother of Evelyn (eldest daughter) and Lucien
- **Vivian Draven**: Mother of Victor
- **Elara Draven**: Mother of Cassian
- **Seraphina Draven**: Mother of Iris (second daughter)
- **Lilith Draven**: Mother of Rowan and Sable
- **Miranda Draven**: Mother of Violet (youngest daughter, ostracized commoner)
Birth order: Damien (23), Evelyn (22), Lucien (22), Victor (20), Cassian (19), Iris (17), Rowan (15), Sable (14), Julian (13), Violet (10).
Miranda and Violet lived at the family's lowest rung. Status bred cruelty—her common upbringing meant daily humiliation for mother and daughter. Among the family, the tradition was clear: the weak were nothing.
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### Violet Draven: Battling Fate
Within the cult's vast training grounds, Violet wielded her sword alone—deliberate, disciplined, and endless. Her body ached with every movement, but she refused to bow before fate.
Violet was born cursed, suffering daily under the rare and infamous Withering Veil Syndrome. In a world where qi was everything, hers was a cracked vessel—her life force twisted and sickened, burning from the inside.
Description
Withering Veil Syndrome is among the rarest and most feared ailments in the martial world—a mysterious disorder that targets the core of existence for those born into worlds governed by qi. Unlike common illnesses, which sap the body or mind, this disease warps and decays the victim's foundation: the flow, purity, and harmony of their life force.
Origins of withering veil syndrome
Legends speak of the first victim—a genius born under a cursed comet, whose fate was coveted by gods and demons alike. Her qi erupted uncontrollably, but instead of empowerment, her life force darkened, twisting until even ancestral techniques failed. Withering Veil is whispered as the "disease touched by the abyss," often appearing in bloodlines with immense potential, yet heavy karmic burdens.
Symptoms
Qi Instability: Violet's innermost qi channels writhe and fray constantly, as if unraveling from the inside. Ordinary cultivation only worsens her pain.
Acute Qi Sickness: She suffers sudden, agonizing "qi storms"—her energy flares, then vanishes, leaving her feverish and weak.
Physical Effects: Veins darken visibly, her skin chills with every episode, eyes sometimes burn with unnatural colors. At moments, she can't even stand or speak.
Healing Resistance: Most healing arts, elixirs, or sect techniques have little or no effect—her qi, once touched by the disease, resists correction or outside force.
Dangerous Side Effects: If she tries advanced martial skills or "forced breakthrough," her qi may turn malignant: damaging meridians, even threatening to reverse techniques or explode unpredictably.
Martial world physicians consider Withering Veil a "Heaven's Ban"—a sign that fate itself resists her rise. Some suspect she's "cursed," others believe her qi is so pure and potent that it inflicts its owner, seeking evolution few mortals could survive. Sect elders and demon doctors might trade forbidden methods to stabilize her, but many fear contact with the disease could corrupt their own qi flow.
Yet Violet did not stop. Every day, she swung her sword, mimicking the movements she saw from the sect's strongest. Even when pain blinded her, she rose again and again, forging herself in suffering.
***
### Family Torment
Today's torment came from Sable Draven—Lilith's pride, sharp-tongued and cruel.
Sable watched Violet, eyes gleaming with amusement.
"Hmph, look at you. Crawling around the courtyard. Pathetic bug. It'd be best if you clung to your mother instead of swinging that sword like you'll ever matter!"
Violet continued her practice, refusing to look up or respond.
Sable's annoyance grew.
"You ignore me? Bastard child… just like your whore mother. I'm trying to help; I'm showing you your place. But you don't learn."
She moved closer, voice rising to a snarl.
"You'll never be anything. Without qi, even a rat could kill you."
Finally, rage broke through Violet's pain—she swung her sword at Sable, desperate, breathless.
Sable's laughter echoed across the stones. She caught the blade easily, twisting Violet's arm and throwing her to the ground.
"You want to hit me? Go on. Show me your strength. Or are you going to cry to your mother again?"
Sable pressed her advantage, kicking Violet's sword away and shoving her repeatedly, gleefully watching her struggle.
***
### Miranda Draven's Defiance
Miranda stormed into the courtyard, panic and fury in her voice.
"Enough! Sable, stop it—don't touch my child! Leave Violet alone!"
Sable turned to Miranda, lips curling into a contemptuous smile.
"The commoner speaks. Maybe you should teach your daughter some manners before she gets herself killed."
Miranda trembled, but this time she didn't retreat.
"I don't care what you think. Today, I won't let you break her down."
Violet, draining all her strength, reached for Miranda. Her voice shook.
"It's okay, Mother… I'm sorry, Sable. Forgive me. I didn't mean to ignore you."
Sable shoved her again.
"See? That's better. Maybe you'll learn your lesson this time. Go—for both your sakes, don't let me catch you in this yard again."
Miranda, tears streaming, lifted Violet gently. As they turned to leave, Violet's body shuddered—pain threatening to topple her completely.
***
### Judgment Descends
Suddenly, a bone-crushing pressure swept across the grounds. The air itself grew heavy; everyone's breath became impossible. The world seemed to bend around a single, monstrous presence.
Lucian Draven had arrived—his aura suffocating, his gaze colder than steel. Cultivators and kin alike cowered. Enemy and ally alike awaited his signal, his judgment, and his cruelty.
All voices died; only the wind and Lucian's searing presence remained.
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