Midnight cloaked the Spire of Harmony in a silken hush. The temple’s luminous glow had dimmed, its many levels now still, save for the occasional flicker of patrolling guardians. But in the lower sanctum, beneath the meditation halls, beneath the sacred pools, something stirred.Jin stood at a wide balcony carved into the cliff face, arms folded, his gaze scanning the distant lights of Yunji. Even at night, the capital pulsed with life—unaware of the storm gathering within their mountain refuge.Aya was recovering in the Temple of Inner Flame, watched by healers and guarded by silent monks. Her spirit remained intact, but Jin had seen the toll the trial had taken. She had walked the edge of annihilation and returned with her essence unscorched. But he knew something had changed.She had communed with a Flame Wyrm. That was no small feat. That was divine.Still, it wasn’t her strength that worried him. It was the reaction of the Seer.Behind him, soft footsteps approached. Jin didn’t t

Snow fell like a whisper from the heavens, blanketing the world in silence. The Kirin Heir, the Flame-Touched Maiden, and the Silent Blade rode through the mountain pass, their cloaks whipping in the bitter wind. The Northern Reaches were as beautiful as they were deadly—a land carved by gods and forgotten by men.Jin pulled his hood lower, eyes narrowing as he scanned the jagged terrain. “We’re close. The Temple of Stillness lies just beyond the Veiled Hollow.”Aya, bundled in thick furs, peered over her horse’s mane. “You said your father… lives here?”“‘Lives’ is a generous term,” Jin said. “He exists. Alone. Surrounded by silence and the ghosts of his choices.”Lanri’s tone was dry. “So, just like his son.”Jin didn’t argue.The wind shifted, carrying a scent of frost—and something fouler. Decay. Burnt steel. Jin raised a fist, and they halted.“Something’s wrong,” he said.Lanri slid from her horse and drew her twin sabers. “I feel it too.”Aya’s breath quickened. “What is it?”J