## Liam''s Perspective


    Time was running out. With the September 9th deadline looming over me like a guillotine, I couldn''t afford to waste a single moment.


    "How much progress have I made?" I asked the Man with the Mustache as we left the second grave site.


    He stroked his facial hair thoughtfully. "Impressive, but not enough. You''re perhaps halfway to the Martial Marquis Realm."


    Ten days had passed since we began this dark journey. Ten days of absorbing the concentrated negative energy from centuries-old massacre sites. The power inside me had grown tremendously, but it still wasn''t enough.


    "Will the third grave get me there?" I needed certainty, not maybes.


    "If you can fully absorb it, yes." He nodded confidently. "This one is special—darker, older, more potent."


    We trudged through a dense forest, the morning sun barely prating the thick canopy above. Something about these woods felt off. Too quiet. No birds singing, no insects buzzing.


    "How much farther?" I asked.


    "Just beyond that ridge." He pointed ahead. "But I should warn you—"


    "What now?" I wasn''t in the mood for more surprises.


    "This ce has... guardians."


    Great. Moreplications.


    We crested the hill, and I stopped short. Below usy what appeared to be a smallpound. Several buildings surrounded a central courtyard. People moved about, all dressed in dark gray robes.


    "What the hell is this?" I hissed. "You didn''t mention a settlement."


    The Man with the Mustache shrugged. "Things change. Last time I was here, it was abandoned."


    I squinted at a sign above the main gate. "Cold? What kind of name is that?"


    "Not a name," he corrected. "A philosophy. They''re cultivators of the Cold Path—practitioners who embrace dark energy without restraint."


    "Like a sect?"


    "More like a cult. Look at them—see how thin they are? How they shamble rather than walk?"


    I observed more carefully. He was right. Every person I could see appeared emaciated, almost corpse-like. Their movements were jerky, unnatural.


    "Dark energy corruption," he exined. "Without your Chaotic Body, this is what happens when you absorb too much negative energy. The body withers while the power grows."


    "Why are they here?"


    "Same reason we are. The grave beneath this ce contains exceptional dark energy. They''re feeding off it, siphoning small amounts to sustain their cultivation."


    I clenched my fists. "I need that energy. All of it."


    "Bold n." He raised an eyebrow. "There must be thirty cultivators down there. Most aren''t particrly powerful, but their leader..." He pointed to a tall figure standing in the courtyard. "He''s close to the Martial Marquis level. Half-step at least."


    I studied the leader. Unlike the others, he moved with grace and purpose. His face was gaunt but not grotesque. Power radiated from him in visible dark waves.


    "Options?" I asked.


    "We could wait until nightfall, sneak in—"


    "No time." I stood up. "I''m going in now."


    The Man with the Mustache grabbed my arm. "Don''t be reckless! These aren''t ordinary cultivators. They''ve sacrificed their humanity for power."


    I shook off his hand. "Then they''ll understand why I need what''s beneath their feet."


    Before he could stop me, I started down the hill toward thepound. I heard him curse behind me, then his hurried footsteps as he followed.


    The sentries spotted us immediately. They moved to block our path, drawing crude but effective-looking weapons.


    "State your purpose," one demanded, voice raspy like sandpaper on stone.


    "I need to speak with your leader," I said calmly. "It''s important."


    The sentries exchanged nces. One disappeared inside thepound while the other kept his weapon trained on us.


    Minutester, the tall leader emerged. Up close, he was even more imposing. His eyes were pure ck—no whites, no pupils, just darkness.


    "Who dares disturb our sanctuary?" His voice was surprisingly melodious.


    I stepped forward. "My name is Liam Knight. I''vee for the energy beneath this ce."


    Murmurs spread through the gathering crowd. The leader''s expression hardened.


    "You speak boldly for a trespasser." He looked me up and down. "You''re not from the Guild. Who sent you?"


    "No one sent me. I came of my own ord." <strong ss="in-imprint-a">This trantion is powered by the readers at *.</strong>


    He circled me slowly, assessing. "I sense something unusual about you. Your energy signature is...plex."


    "I possess the Chaotic Body," I said, seeing no reason to hide it. "I can absorb both light and dark energies."


    This caused a stir. The leader raised his hand for silence.


    "The Chaotic Body is a myth," he said, but uncertainty shed across his face.


    "It''s very real." I allowed my aura to re slightly, showing the intertwined golden light and dark energy swirling within me.


    The leader stepped back. "Impossible..."


    "I need the energy beneath thispound toplete my cultivation," I continued. "Three Military Marquises from the Veridia City Martial Guild are hunting me. Without reaching the Martial Marquis Realm myself, I can''t hope to survive."


    At the mention of the Guild, the crowd hissed like disturbed snakes.


    "You fight against the Guild?" The leader''s tone changed, bing less hostile.


    "They''re my enemies," I confirmed. "They''ve taken someone precious to me."


    The leader studied me for a long moment. "Why should we help you? This energy source sustains us."


    "Because I can defeat them," I said with conviction. "The Guild has persecuted dark energy cultivators for centuries. They''ve hunted your kind to near extinction."


    "Pretty words," he scoffed. "But the Guild is too powerful."


    "Not for much longer." I stepped closer. "Help me, and I''ll ensure your sect is protected when I rise to power."


    The Man with the Mustache cleared his throat loudly behind me. I ignored him.


    The leader seemed to consider my words. "You im to fight the Guild, yet you radiate golden light energy—their signature power."


    "I told you—I can wield both light and dark. The Chaotic Body gives me this ability."


    "Or perhaps," his voice turned dangerous, "you''re a Guild spy sent to infiltrate us."


    Damn. This was gettingplicated.


    "If I were from the Guild, why would I announce myself? Why not sneak in at night as mypanion suggested?"


    The leader''s eyes narrowed. "The Guild''s methods are often inscrutable."


    Tension crackled in the air. The crowd of cultists moved closer, forming a loose circle around us. I sensed their growing hostility.


    "I''m not your enemy," I insisted. "We share amon foe."


    "Prove it," the leader demanded. "Show us something only an enemy of the Guild would know."


    Before I could respond, amotion erupted at thepound entrance. Figures in familiar uniforms burst through the gate, weapons drawn.


    "Veridia City Martial Guild!" The Man with the Mustache hissed. "They''ve found us!"


    The leader''s ck eyes fixed on me usingly. "You led them here!"


    "I didn''t!" I protested, but it was toote.


    The Guild members spread out in a practiced formation. Their leader, a burly man with a scarred face, stepped forward.


    "Well, well," he sneered. "Two birds with one stone. The infamous Liam Knight and a nest of dark cultivators."


    The Cold sect leader snarled at me. "Traitor!"


    I turned to face the Guild members, my back to the cult leader. "I didn''t bring them here. But now that they''re here, let me prove whose side I''m on."


    The Guild leaderughed. "You''re outnumbered and outmatched, Knight. Your little rebellion ends today."


    I felt the dark energy from the grave pulsing beneath my feet, calling to me. If I could ess it, even for a moment...


    "You have one chance to surrender," the Guild leader announced, drawing his sword. "Both you and these abominations."


    The Cold sect leader moved beside me, his earlier suspicion momentarily set aside in the face of theirmon enemy. "The Guild has hunted us for generations. We will not surrender."


    "Then you''ll die together," the Guild leader dered with a cruel smile. "How fitting."