CHAPTER 12 — TWO STARS, ONE DISTURBANCE
The mountain grew quiet after the third trial ended, but the silence was deceptive.
High above the valley, within the suspended pavilion of the Shen Tianshu Academy, the sky itself seemed unsettled. The stars shimmered faintly, their positions subtly misaligned, as though something unseen was tugging at the heavens.
Master Shen Rokan stood at the edge of the pavilion, hands clasped behind his back, eyes fixed upward. The disturbance had not faded with the trials' end. If anything, it felt deeper—more deliberate.
Behind him, the other three sect masters gathered around a circular stone table carved with constellations.
"This is not what we anticipated," Master Lian Hu said at last, her crimson robes stirring in the astral wind. "The stars screamed only once, violently. A singular disturbance."
Her gaze shifted sharply to Rokan.
"We believed the source was your disciple. Kael."
Rokan did not deny it.
"He is one of them," Rokan replied calmly. "That much is certain."
A heavy snort broke the air.
Master Dugu Shen crossed his massive arms. "Then explain the second anomaly."
The pavilion fell still.
Master Ru Ning stepped forward, her expression serene but her eyes razor-sharp.
"Taron Blaze," she said.
The name lingered between them.
Lian Hu frowned. "Impossible. The boy was talented, yes—but not to this degree."
Ru Ning lifted her sleeve. A translucent projection of astral readings formed in the air—two overlapping distortions, distinct yet intertwined.
"One is deep and rhythmic," Ru Ning explained softly. "Ancient. It draws astral flow inward, like gravity."
Rokan's jaw tightened.
"The Astral Vessel Lineage," Ru Ning continued, "belongs to Kael."
Dugu Shen leaned closer. "And the other?"
Ru Ning's gaze darkened.
"The second does not pull the stars. It scorches them."
A sharp intake of breath rippled through the pavilion.
"A devouring-type bloodline…" Lian Hu murmured.
"Yes," Ru Ning replied. "Violent. Unstable. It feeds on pressure and conflict. Its growth accelerates through struggle."
Rokan finally turned to face them fully.
"Kael's power threatens balance because it is ancient," he said. "Taron's threatens it because it is still awakening."
Dugu Shen's lips curled into a grim smile. "So Azure Sky shelters two calamities now."
"Two disciples," Rokan corrected quietly. "Still human. Still young."
"For now," Lian Hu replied coldly.
Below the pavilion, far from the masters' gaze, Kael stood alone at the edge of the training grounds. He stared at the sky, feeling an unfamiliar pressure in his chest—as though something vast were watching him from beyond the stars.
Behind him, half-hidden by shadow, Taron Blaze leaned against a stone pillar. His arms were crossed, his expression unreadable as he studied Kael's back.
The distance between them felt different now.
Not because Kael had slowed.
But because Taron had stepped closer to the same precipice.
So it wasn't only him, Taron thought.
The memory of silver-white fire stirring in his chest made his fingers tighten. For the first time, he felt uncertain—not of Kael, but of himself.
Back in the pavilion, no agreement was reached.
One truth, however, could no longer be ignored.
The disturbance in the stars had not been caused by a single awakening.
It was the result of two.
Two bloodlines.
Two paths.
Two forces moving dangerously close to collision.
At last, Ru Ning spoke again.
"If one continues unchecked, the heavens will tremble."
"And if both do," Dugu Shen said grimly, "the cultivation world will burn."
Rokan remained silent.
Because he knew something the others did not.
The stars were not reacting in fear.
They were reacting in anticipation.