The air inside the Pavilion of Echoing Night thickened like smoke.
Tianzhan stepped forward, every muscle taut, every sense sharpened. The figure before him stood unmoving, cloaked in flowing black robes that shimmered faintly with ancient runes. A silver veil masked their face, but the voice… that voice was familiar.
"You recognized me," Tianzhan said coldly. "So you were waiting."
The figure chuckled softly.
"Waiting? No. Watching. I felt your soul tear through the veil the moment you returned. No one else did… but I did."
Tianzhan narrowed his eyes.
"Only a handful knew of this pavilion. And only three ever saw that mural. So… which are you?"
The figure reached up and pulled back the veil—revealing a woman's face, sharp, pale, and elegant like carved moonstone. Her violet eyes glowed faintly in the dim light.
"Li Feiyan."
Tianzhan's heart stilled for half a breath.
Li Feiyan—his shadow, his sword, his executioner… and once, something more. She had been his closest confidante in his immortal life. His blade in the dark. His flame in the cold void.
She had died.
Or so he thought.
"You fell in the Siege of Tenfold Realms," he said quietly.
"So did you." She stepped forward, folding her arms. "But I prepared. You never did learn how to run."
Tianzhan frowned.
"I never planned to."
She looked him over slowly, as if studying a cracked mirror.
"This body…" she murmured. "Weak, but flexible. God-tier spiritual root. Someone sealed it, then tried to erase it. Let me guess… Bai Clan?"
"Possibly." He shrugged. "But my list of enemies is far too long to narrow it yet."
Feiyan smirked.
"Still arrogant. I see some things survived death."
He said nothing.
Then she turned serious.
"You shouldn't be here, Tianzhan."
"Why not?"
"Because something woke up with you." Her voice dropped low. "And it's already hunting."
For the first time since returning, Tianzhan felt something stir in the air. A flicker of shadow not cast by the room. A whisper only ancient souls could hear.
He is awake…
The Sovereign returns…
Devour him…
He clenched his fists.
Feiyan raised her hand, and a shimmering barrier bloomed across the pavilion. Runes pulsed across the stone walls like a heartbeat.
"This place is a remnant of your legacy, but it's also a cage. What you sealed beneath it… is no longer fully asleep."
Tianzhan turned slowly.
"The Voidbeast."
Feiyan nodded grimly.
"Bound by your soul thousands of years ago. But now, with your resurrection, the bond weakens."
A long silence followed.
Then Tianzhan smiled.
"Good."
Feiyan blinked.
"What?"
"Let it come." His voice turned to steel. "Let everything come. I've just returned, and I'm still starving."