Title: Fallen Heaven: Rise of Faizi Tian
## Previous Episode Recap:
In Episode 25, Faizi Tian rushed back to his sect after sensing an ominous disturbance. The Demon Seal at the sect's core was cracking, its ancient runes weakening under a force from the Abyss. A shadowy horned figure taunted him from inside, hinting that someone outside was helping to weaken the seal. Faizi barely stabilized it with his Eternal Flame, but the seal remains unstable — and the hunt for the traitor begins.
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Fallen Heaven: Rise of Faizi Tian
Episode 26: Shadows Within the Sect
The Hall of Fallen Flames was quieter than usual, but it wasn't peace.
It was the heavy silence before a storm.
Faizi Tian stood at the balcony of the central pavilion, his eyes scanning the sprawling sect grounds below. Disciples moved with hurried steps, elders whispered in clusters, and the crimson glow from earlier had left an unease hanging in the air.
Elder Yao joined him, leaning slightly on his staff.
"The arrays around the altar are holding for now," Yao reported, "but the cracks… they're not healing. Whoever is doing this knows our seal well."
Faizi's jaw tightened. "That means they've been here before… maybe even *inside* the sect."
He turned sharply. "Summon all inner sect elders to the Hall. No exceptions."
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By nightfall, twelve elders stood in a semicircle beneath the blazing phoenix emblem.
Each bowed, though some did so with stiffness — as if the recent events had rattled their composure.
Faizi's gaze swept across them. "Someone is aiding the Abyss from the outside. It could be through a direct link, or through corrupted treasures smuggled into our territory. Either way… the traitor hides among us or among our allies."
A murmur rippled through the hall.
One elder, a broad-shouldered man named Elder Ren, stepped forward. "Sect Master, with all respect, our loyalty is unshaken. Perhaps this is the work of outsiders?"
Faizi didn't blink. "Perhaps. But the Abyss does not strike blindly. Someone fed them the key to our seal."
He raised his hand. A flicker of golden flame danced in his palm, then split into twelve motes of light that drifted to each elder.
"These are Flame Oath Seals. They will burn away demonic influence instantly. If you have nothing to hide, you'll feel only warmth."
The elders exchanged glances — then one by one, they accepted the flame. For most, it was as Faizi said: a gentle heat, quickly fading. But when the last mote touched Elder Ren's palm, a faint hiss echoed in the silence… and a thread of black smoke curled upward from his skin.
The hall erupted.
"Ren!" Elder Yao barked, summoning flame chains instantly.
But Ren's eyes flashed with an unholy light. With a roar, his body burst into black fire, shattering the chains. "Foolish flame boy! You think you can stop the Abyss?!"
Before anyone could react, Ren smashed through the hall's barrier and shot into the night sky, a streak of corrupted light heading toward the mountains.
Faizi Tian's Eternal Flame surged, forming phoenix wings along his back.
"Seal the sect!" he commanded the others, his voice like a thunderclap. "I'll handle this."
Without another word, he vanished in a blaze of golden light, chasing the traitor through the stormy night.
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High above the darkened forests, the two streaks of light collided mid-air.
Ren's corrupted flames screeched against Faizi's Eternal Flame, each strike painting the sky with clashing colors.
"You don't understand, Faizi Tian!" Ren snarled. "The Abyss isn't coming… it's already here. And you've already lost."
Faizi's sword, the Flame Soul Blade, gleamed in his grip. "Then I'll burn it away… starting with you."
Their clash lit up the night, but deep beneath the mountains, something far worse stirred — the seal pulsed again, this time with a heartbeat that wasn't Faizi's.
And so Episode 26 ends — with the traitor revealed, the chase underway, and the true threat growing even as Faizi fights.