The skies above the Hollow Empire darkened—not with storm clouds, but with the shimmer of countless crimson wings. From distant peaks and hidden sanctuaries, phoenixes stirred, ancient oaths awakened by the re-ignition of the Pact of Flames.
Liu Shen stood at the mouth of the Phoenix Grave, his hand still glowing faintly from the contract seal. Around him, the air shimmered with rising heat and spiritual energy. The Third Abyssal Beacon pulsed steadily beneath the earth, harmonizing with the reborn flames.
Yu Meixing narrowed her eyes toward the horizon. "The phoenix clans… they're answering."
And they were.
From the southern ranges came the Fire-Talon Court, their wings stained red with lava. From the western archipelagos rose the Ashfeather Vanguard, long thought extinct. Even from the forbidden cloud islands, silhouettes of ancient phoenix elders glided through the sky—none younger than a thousand years, and each carrying the weight of a past left unfinished.
Lei Qing exhaled slowly. "That's a lot of birds."
Liu Shen smirked. "Birds of war."
The phoenix envoy landed before them—a regal female with six tails of blazing light, wearing robes of golden ember. Her eyes reflected centuries of loss, but now, also hope.
"I am Huoyan Xue," she said, her voice melodic but stern. "Matriarch of the Emberwind Clan. The Flame Pact once bound our ancestors to your war. That pact has stirred again. What cause do you call us to now, Demon Sovereign?"
Liu Shen's voice was firm. "I do not summon you as a ruler, but as one betrayed. The heavens corrupted the balance, severed fate, and used your neutrality as a weapon. I ask not for your servitude—only your flames when the sky darkens again."
Huoyan Xue considered his words. Then she spread her wings wide. "Then let the sky burn. The Emberwind Clan pledges its fire. We shall awaken the others."
A chorus of screeches followed as phoenixes in all directions ignited the sky in brilliant arcs of color. Fire rained like meteor showers, not in destruction, but in declaration.
Liu Shen turned to Meixing. "The Rebellion is no longer a whisper."
"No," she said, voice soft with awe. "It's become a storm."
But their triumph was short-lived.
From within the ruins of the Phoenix Grave, a strange sound echoed—like glass cracking beneath pressure. The ancient mural, the one Meixing had touched earlier, began to shift. A hidden seal, untouched for millennia, glowed with divine sigils.
A message, left behind by the First Phoenix.
> "When the pact is reignited, and the third flame is kindled, know this—
The sky will bleed.
The Betrayer will awaken."
A silence fell.
Lei Qing muttered, "Betrayer? Who—"
Before he could finish, the seal shattered.
A single feather, blacker than void and colder than death, floated down from the mural's remains. The flames dimmed around it.
Liu Shen caught the feather.
His eyes widened.
"...Ravahn."
Yu Meixing tensed. "That was one of your generals."
"One of the strongest," Liu Shen said grimly. "And the only one who vanished before the final battle."
Lei Qing frowned. "Think he survived?"
Liu Shen looked up, eyes burning crimson.
"No. I think he switched sides."
Far beyond the Phoenix Grave, in the deepest layer of the Abyss, a figure opened his eyes—wreathed in darkness, wings of corrupted flame spreading behind him.
The Betrayer had awoken.