The grand hall of imperial court was deathly silent. The only sound was the faint crackling of the Phoenix Throne's golden flames, dancing faintly behind Empress Zhao Ying. Those flames were said to burn for eternity, a manifestation of the Empire's ancestral will. No one dared meet her gaze—not even the seasoned ministers who had served for decades.
Zhao Ying, however, was not looking at them. Her eyes were locked on the man standing alone in the center of the vast hall.
Liu Shen.
He stood there as though he owned the place, his black robes flowing with an unseen wind. Behind him, a shadowy, indistinct form loomed—neither entirely human nor beast—its eyes smoldering like molten gold. It was the phantom of the Abyssal Sovereign's presence, enough to make the air grow heavy for miles around.
"I have heard," Zhao Ying said slowly, her voice carrying both beauty and frost, "that you have come to my Phoenix Empire… not as a guest, but as a claimant."
Her words dripped with accusation. Around her, the ministers exchanged nervous glances, yet no one dared speak.
Liu Shen's lips curved faintly. "Claimant? That is one way to see it. I prefer… restorer."
"Restorer of what?" Zhao Ying's fingers tapped the Phoenix Throne's armrest. "The Empire does not remember ever being yours."
"That," Liu Shen said, taking a single step forward, "is because the Heavens made you forget."
The moment those words left his lips, the golden flames behind her surged in agitation, as if rejecting the notion. Ministers flinched as a sudden wave of heat swept the hall. Zhao Ying's pupils contracted slightly, but she did not look away.
"Dangerous words," she murmured.
"I deal in nothing else." Liu Shen's tone was calm, but every syllable carried a weight that pressed down on the court. "Once, the Phoenix Empire fought beside the Abyss against the heavens' tyranny. Once, your bloodline bore an oath sealed in the ashes of divine fire. But your ancestors… were betrayed. The oath was broken. The heavens rewrote your history, and in its place, they left obedience."
A murmur rippled through the court. Some faces paled; others frowned in disbelief. Zhao Ying remained still.
"And you," she said after a long pause, "claim to have come to… awaken this forgotten oath?"
Liu Shen's gaze sharpened. "I have not come to ask permission."
The air seemed to freeze. Even the flames behind Zhao Ying stilled for a heartbeat.
Then—laughter.
It was soft at first, like the sound of wind through bells, but it carried an edge that made the hair on the ministers' necks stand up. Zhao Ying rose from her throne, her long crimson and gold robes flowing like molten fire. The Phoenix Flame flared, coiling around her like a living serpent.
"You think the Phoenix bows to shadows? You think your abyss can swallow fire?"
Liu Shen's shadowy phantom expanded, its molten gaze locking with the golden eyes of the flame serpent.
"I think," he said, his voice low and edged with a promise, "that fire… burns brighter in the dark."
Before anyone could react, the hall shook. The Phoenix Flame lunged, a golden inferno roaring toward him. Liu Shen didn't move—his shadow surged upward, swallowing the fire like a black tide. The collision sent shockwaves ripping through the court, hurling lesser officials to the floor.
Gasps rang out. The Phoenix Flame should have incinerated anything in its path—but the darkness was drinking it in, leaving only fading sparks.
Zhao Ying's eyes narrowed. For the first time, there was a flicker of surprise.
Liu Shen stepped forward again, the sound of his boots echoing like a war drum. "I do not come to destroy your empire, Zhao Ying. I come to remind it what it was meant to be."
The golden flames around her wavered—not in weakness, but as if struggling against some buried memory.
Her voice, when it came, was softer, but no less sharp. "If you speak truth, then prove it… not with words, but with fire."
The challenge hung in the air. The ministers stared in disbelief. In the Phoenix Empire's history, few had ever been invited to the Trial of the Undying Flame—and none had emerged unchanged.
Liu Shen's faint smile returned. "Then let the fire judge us both."