The gods do not look at trash, Ethan, so you had better make them stare.Those were the last words Ethan’s father had told him before the fever took him. Standing at the edge of the Sky Reach Arena, the weight of that memory nearly crushed his ribs. The air smelled of burnt ozone and expensive perfume, a sickening mixture that belonged entirely to the elite families sitting in the high boxes. Below them, thirty thousand citizens cheered until their throats bled, waiting for the next miracle."Look at him go," someone whispered in the queue behind Ethan. "That is the third S Rank this morning. The Crest family is truly blessed."Up on the golden platform, Asher Crest stood with his chin tilted toward the sky. Above him, a magnificent beast tore through the summoning veil. Its feathers were spun from pure silver, and arcs of jagged violet lightning danced across its massive wingspan. It was an S Rank Lightning Griffin. It screeched, a sound that shook the dust from the stadium rafters,

The mountains did not welcome him.They rose up jagged and cold, their peaks hidden in grey mist that never seemed to lift. The path was narrow and winding, barely visible beneath layers of fallen pine needles. Zhong Yue had been walking for three days. His body was failing. The flame in his chest had dimmed to a faint glow, barely enough to keep him upright.But the voice had been clear. "They are here. The ones who still remember.""Remember what?" he had asked."The spark. They carry it without knowing what it is."Now he stood at the edge of a hidden valley, his legs shaking, his vision swimming. Below him, tucked between the mountains, lay a village. It was small. Fifty houses maybe. Wooden roofs and thin smoke rising from stone chimneys. It looked peaceful. It looked afraid.He took one step forward. Then his legs gave out.The world tilted. He fell.The last thing he saw was an old man running toward him, grey hair wild in the wind, eyes wide with alarm."Easy now."The voice w

The sky-ruler patrol returned at dawn, and this time, they did not come alone.Mei Ling saw them first. She was standing at the edge of the village, her eyes fixed on the horizon, her hands clenched into fists. The memory of her parents being dragged away was still fresh. It would always be fresh."Zhong Yue," she said. "They're here."He was beside her in a moment. The flame in his chest stirred, alert and watchful. "How many?""One. But he is not alone."The single rider descended from the clouds on a black-scaled beast. Behind him, the sky was empty. But the weight of his presence filled the valley like a storm. He was not a god. He was something worse. A half-breed enforcer, a servant of the sky-rulers who had been given just enough power to terrorize the mortal world.He landed in the center of the village, crushing the garden that had just begun to regrow. The beast snorted, its hot breath steaming in the cold morning air."Where is the tribute?" the man demanded. His voice was

The attack came before they reached the tree line.One moment the night was silent. The next, a wall of pressure slammed into the villagers like an invisible wave. People screamed. Children were thrown to the ground. The weaker ones collapsed, clutching their chests as if the air itself had turned to stone.Zhong Yue spun around. His flame flared, pushing back against the crushing weight."He's here," he said.The enforcer descended from the darkness, his black-scaled beast snarling and snapping at the air. He was not alone this time. Two more riders flanked him, their faces hidden behind masks of dark metal. The one in the center, the one with the scar, smiled coldly."Did you think you could run from me?"The villagers scrambled back, terror in their eyes. Old Wu stepped forward, his hand on his hunting knife. Mei Ling stood beside him, her face pale but unafraid."We are not running," Old Wu said. "We are leaving."The enforcer laughed. "Leaving. Running. It is the same thing for c

"You are wasting your time."The voice came from the shadows of a cave, old and cracked like dry earth. Zhong Yue stopped walking. He had been traveling for three weeks through the northern mountains, searching for the Wood Clan. Everyone said they were impossible to find. Everyone said they did not want to be found."I am not here to waste anyone's time," Zhong Yue said. "I am here to talk."A figure emerged from the darkness. An old woman, her back bent, her eyes clouded but sharp. She held a walking stick in one hand and a knife in the other."Talk," she repeated. "That is all you Ghost Walkers do. Talk and talk and talk. And while you talk, my people die."Zhong Yue felt the weight of her words. He had heard this before. Many times."I am not a Ghost Walker," he said. "I am just a man who wants to help."The old woman laughed. It was a bitter sound, like stones grinding together."Help," she said. "You want to help. Do you know how many people have come to this mountain promising