The Ashen Vale was a place of profound silence, a grey, desolate valley where the ashes of an ancient, cataclysmic battle had rendered the ground sterile for millennia. Petrified trees clawed at a perpetually overcast sky. It was a true no man's land, belonging neither to the human realm nor the Netherworld. It was the perfect stage.
Lan Yue stood alone in the center of the valley, a solitary figure in simple, unadorned white robes. She was not the Head Disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, nor was she the companion of the Demon Empress. She was simply Lan Yue, an envoy for peace in a world that craved war. She projected an aura of absolute calm, though her heart hammered against her ribs.
A shimmer of spiritual energy appeared at the edge of the vale, and from it, three figures emerged. Her breath caught. Her master, Sect Leader Jian an, his face a mask of stern concern. Grand Elder Bai, his ancient eyes immediately locking onto her with a calculating intensity. And Wei Chen, whose face was a tumultuous storm of relief, joy, and worry.
"Yue!" Wei Chen cried out, taking a step forward before Jian an held up a hand to stop him.
"I am glad to see you are well, Master, Elder," Lan Yue said, her voice clear and steady, carrying easily across the silent valley. She gave them a respectful, but not subservient, bow.
"Enough of this madness, Lan Yue," Jian an said, his voice stern, yet laced with the familiar authority of a teacher chiding a wayward student. "The beast has clearly bewitched you. Come with us. We are here to take you home."
"I am not bewitched," Lan Yue replied calmly. "I am here as an envoy of the Luminous Dynasty. Empress Xue Lian does not want this war. She is willing to discuss terms for a lasting peace between our realms."
Wei Chen looked aghast. "Peace? With those monsters? Yue, they are creatures of chaos and destruction! She has corrupted your mind!"
"Your mind is clouded, my disciple," Elder Bai said, his voice a dry rasp. He raised a small, exquisitely crafted golden bell. "You have been charmed by a powerful demonic art. You have strayed from the righteous path. Do not worry. We will cleanse your spirit and restore you."
He flicked his wrist.
The bell did not make a sound that the ears could hear, but a profound, soul deep chime echoed through Lan Yue's consciousness. It was not an attack, but a wave of pure, placid energy designed to overwhelm the mind and induce a tranquil, suggestible state. Her spiritual defenses, honed for battle, had no answer for an assault disguised as a lullaby.
Her vision blurred. The worried, determined faces of her master and her shixiong swam before her eyes. "No…" she tried to say, but her limbs felt heavy as lead, her thoughts dissolving like mist. The last thing she saw before the world went black was Wei Chen rushing towards her, his face full of righteous relief.
…
Consciousness returned not as a gentle tide, but as a brutal, hacking cough. The air was thick with acrid smoke that burned her lungs and stung her eyes. The tranquil silence of the vale was gone, replaced by the roar of flames and the distant, chilling sound of screams.
She pushed herself up. She was lying on scorched earth, her simple robes stained with soot and something dark and wet. Three days had passed in the blink of an eye.
She was in a demonic village. Or what was left of it. Simple, sturdy homes built from dark wood and obsidian were now blazing pyres. The air smelled of burnt flesh. And all around her lay the bodies.
They weren't soldiers. They were villagers. A large, rocky Golem, his powerful body riddled with sword wounds, lay near a shattered plow. A family of small, furry demons were huddled together, slain before their own doorstep. A child's carved toy, a multi legged farm beast, lay half buried in the blood soaked dust. This was not a battle. It was a slaughter.
A flash of polished black armor caught her eye. She stumbled towards it, her heart freezing in her chest. General Kairo lay on the ground, his hybrid human demonic form still and broken. His sword was in his hand, and he had fallen in a defensive posture, his body shielding two small demon children who had not survived him.
Her gaze lifted from the carnage, and she saw them. Moving through the smoke like avenging ghosts in their pristine white and blue robes. Her fellow cultivators. The disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect.
She saw Wei Chen. He stood over the body of a fallen demon farmer, his own sword clean, his face grim but resolute. He saw her, and his expression flooded with relief.
"Yue! You're awake! Thank the heavens," he said, rushing to her side. "The elder's bell worked perfectly, but the Empress had hidden wards on you that took three days to unravel. Don't worry. We've cleansed this nest of evil. Once we've purged the last of them, we can go home."
His words were a meaningless drone in her ears. She looked from the dead children at Kairo's feet, to the burning homes of the artisans and farmers Xue Lian had been so proud of, and then to the righteous, uncomprehending face of the man she had once called her brother.
The righteous path. Cleansing evil. Going home.
It was all a lie. A horrific, blood soaked lie.
The grief, the rage, the betrayal it all coalesced into a single point of cold, terrifying clarity. Her entire life had been a lie.
"Yue?" Wei Chen asked, his smile faltering as he saw the look in her eyes.
She said nothing. Words had failed. Diplomacy had failed. Peace had failed. She reached out her hand, and with a flash of silver light that cut through the smoke filled air, Nightfall Crescent appeared in her grasp. The sword hummed, not with righteous zeal, but with a cold, shared fury.
She looked at Wei Chen, and he no longer saw the serene, celestial prodigy he worshipped. He saw a stranger. An avenging goddess cloaked in the smoke of his own deeds, her eyes burning with a light he had never seen before. The light of judgment.