Darkness. Complete and absolute.


    I floated in nothingness, disconnected from my physical body. Thest thing I remembered was the stone statue''s blinding light before everything went ck.


    *Where am I? What happened to my body?*


    I tried to move but found I had no limbs tomand. Yet I existed—a golden consciousness suspended in void. The statue hadn''t just pulled my divine sense; it hadpletely separated it from my physical form.


    Panic rose within me. Without my divine sense, my body would lie helpless, vulnerable to any threat. Eamon would protect it, but for how long?


    A faint glow appeared in the distance, growing brighter as it approached. The formless light coalesced into a humanoid figure, radiating an aura so cold and oppressive it would have frozen my blood—if I still had any.


    The figure was tall and imposing, wrapped in shadows that seemed to devour the very darkness around us. Two gleaming points of light served as eyes, fixing me with a predatory stare.


    "Atst," the figure spoke, its voice like ice cracking. "A descendant has found me."


    The malevolence washing over me was unmistakable. Every instinct screamed danger, but I had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I was trapped with this... entity.


    "Who are you?" I managed to ask, my voice sounding strangely ethereal in this void.


    The figure''s eyes red brighter. "You do not recognize your own ancestor? I am the founder of Earth Fiend Valley, the most feared cultivation sect that ever existed!"


    My consciousness recoiled. Earth Fiend Valley—the infamous sect that had terrorized the world centuries ago, practicing forbidden techniques that devoured souls and corrupted nature itself. They had been wiped out by an alliance of righteous sects after their atrocities became too great to ignore.


    And this was their founder?


    "Great Founder," I replied, hastily adopting a respectful tone. "I... I am honored beyond words to meet you."


    The founder''s form expanded with pleasure at my deference. "Of course you are. My bloodline flows through you, diluted though it may be." He circled my golden consciousness, examining me with those piercing eyes. "Tell me, how fares Earth Fiend Valley? Has the sect maintained its glorious terror over the years?"


    I needed to think fast. This entity clearly had tremendous power, enough to drag my divine sense from my body. If I revealed my true thoughts about his evil sect, I would likely be destroyed on the spot.


    "Great Founder," I began carefully, "much has changed since your... absence." <strong ss="story-note-vis">Tо suppоrt оur wоrk, plеаsе rеаd оn М|V|LЕ_МРYR.</strong>


    "Absence?" The figure''s voice turned sharp. "I was sealed, boy! Imprisoned by cowards who feared my power! Tell me, has the sect found a way to break my seal? Is that why you have reached me?"


    His rage was palpable, dark energy rippling around his form. I had to deflect his anger quickly.


    "We... we have been searching diligently, Great Founder," I improvised. "For generations, your descendants have sought ways to free you, but the seal isplex beyond measure."


    The rage subsided slightly, reced with cruel satisfaction. "As it should be. Only the most powerful spells could contain me." He moved closer, his presence suffocating. "But you have found me now. That means you must have uncovered something. Speak, descendant! What progress has been made?"


    I projected sorrow into my consciousness. "Great Founder, I must report with deep regret that we have made little progress breaking the seal itself."


    The temperature around us plunged instantly. The founder''s form distorted with fury.


    "Useless!" he roared. "Generations of my bloodline, and you aplish nothing? What kind of weaklings have my descendants be?"


    Heshed out, dark energy whipping toward my golden consciousness. The pain was unlike anything I''d ever felt—not physical but existential, as though my very being was being torn apart.


    "Please, Great Founder!" I cried out. "There''s more you must know!"


    The assault paused, his curiosity momentarily overriding his rage. "Speak quickly before I obliterate what''s left of your pathetic consciousness."


    I gathered my thoughts, knowing my survival depended on what I said next. "Earth Fiend Valley faces extinction, Great Founder. A powerful enemy has risen against us."


    His form stilledpletely. "Extinction? Who dares?"


    "A Grandmaster of unprecedented power," I continued, building my deception. "He calls himself Liam Knight."


    The irony of using my own name wasn''t lost on me, but I needed something I could remember consistently in this dangerous game of lies.


    "This... Liam Knight," the founder spat the name like venom. "What makes him such a threat to my legacy?"


    "He possesses both light and dark energies in perfect bnce," I exined, describing my own abilities as though they belonged to an enemy. "He''s destroyed three of our main temples already and hunts your bloodline relentlessly."


    The founder''s rage built again, but now it had a new target. "A dual cultivator? Impossible! Such bodies cannot exist naturally!"


    "Yet he exists, Great Founder," I pressed on. "And he grows stronger each day while Earth Fiend Valley weakens."


    The founder circled me agitatedly. "Then I must send you back immediately. You will gather the remaining disciples and find a way to break my seal! Once freed, I will crush this upstart myself!"


    This was my opportunity—dangerous but necessary.


    "Great Founder," I said urgently, "there may not be time. At the rate he''s destroying our sect, we might all be eliminated before we can free you."


    "What?" he roared. "You suggest my great sect could fall before my return?"


    I projected desperation. "This enemy is unlike any before. Our most powerful techniques barely slow him."


    The founder''s form pulsed with dark energy as he considered this threat to his legacy. "This cannot be allowed! My sect must endure until my return!"


    "There is perhaps another way, Great Founder," I suggested cautiously.


    His attention snapped back to me. "Speak!"


    "Instead of sending me to find a way to break your seal—which could take years we don''t have—why not empower me to defeat this enemy directly?" I proposed. "With even a fraction of your power, I could protect Earth Fiend Valley until a way to free you is found."


    Hisughter was cold and mocking. "You? A mere fragment of consciousness? You think you''re worthy of my power?"


    "Not worthy, Great Founder," I replied humbly. "Merely necessary. As your descendant, I can channel your energy more effectively than anyone else."


    He considered this, his form expanding and contracting as he thought. "Perhaps... But if I grant you power and you fail, the consequences will be beyond yourprehension."


    "I understandpletely," I assured him, even as I calcted my next move.


    "No, I think not," he decided suddenly. "I will not waste my precious energy on such a gamble. You will return and gather all resources toward breaking my seal. That is the only path forward."


    My chances of survival—both here and in the physical world—were rapidly diminishing. If he sent me back without any power boost, I would have gained nothing from this dangerous encounter.


    Desperate, I yed my final card.


    "Great Founder," I said, injecting urgency into my voice, "Earth Fiend Valley will not survive long enough to free you! This enemy, Liam Knight, has already infiltrated our main temple. Even now, he could be destroying ancient texts that hold the key to your freedom!"


    The founder''s form trembled with barely contained fury. "You dare suggest my great work could be undone by a single cultivator?"


    "Not just any cultivator," I pressed. "One who seems born specifically to counter our sect''s techniques. Even our Elders fall before him."


    His rage built to a crescendo, dark energy whipping around us in violent tendrils. "No one challenges Earth Fiend Valley! No one threatens my legacy!"


    Seeing my opening, I made my move.


    "Founder, why don''t you give me your power, and I''ll go kill Liam Knight for you..."


    His glowing eyes fixed on me with terrifying intensity, weighing my proposal against his burning rage toward this fictional threat I had created.


    The void around us seemed to hold its breath as I awaited his decision—one that would determine whether I emerged from this encounter empowered or destroyed.