Night settled over the imperial palace like a heavy velvet curtain.
The celebrations at the Duke Residence were filled with warmth, laughter, and the excitement of an approaching wedding.
But in another corner of the capital...
A different kind of preparation had begun.
Not one of joy.
But of darkness.
---
Deep within an abandoned courtyard hidden behind crumbling palace walls, silence reigned.
No servants came here.
No guards patrolled these forgotten grounds.
The moonlight barely reached the cracked stone floor, where old weeds grew between the paving stones.
A cold wind swept across the courtyard.
The lantern hanging beneath the eaves suddenly flickered.
Then—
It went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Shin Gu stood alone in the centre of the courtyard, dressed in a long black robe embroidered with crimson thread.
Her face remained calm, but her eyes gleamed with anticipation.
She lowered her head respectfully.
"I have completed the first phase."
No one answered.
The courtyard remained silent.
Then the air suddenly trembled.
A sharp gust of wind spiralled through the courtyard.
Dry leaves rose into the air, circling faster and faster until they formed a twisting vortex.
From within the darkness, a hooded figure slowly appeared.
His face remained completely hidden beneath a deep hood.
Even the moonlight seemed unable to touch him.
The surrounding temperature dropped instantly.
Shin Gu immediately knelt.
"This subordinate greets Master."
The mysterious man neither nodded nor spoke for several moments.
Only the sound of the wind echoed around them.
Finally, a deep voice emerged from beneath the hood.
"Rise."
Shin Gu obeyed.
She kept her eyes lowered.
"I have followed every instruction."
"The Empress survived," the man said calmly.
"I know."
Shin Gu clenched her fists.
"My plan was interrupted."
"It does not matter."
His voice carried no anger.
"No plan succeeds perfectly."
"The important thing is..."
"...they now believe the danger comes from outside the palace."
A smile slowly appeared on Shin Gu’s lips.
"Exactly as you predicted."
"The Emperor has strengthened the city patrols."
"The Duke is investigating the ambush."
"Everyone is searching in the wrong direction."
The hooded man remained silent.
Then he said quietly,
"Good."
"The time has come."
Shin Gu’s breathing quickened.
"Master..."
"The second phase begins tonight."
A dangerous smile spread across her face.
"I have been waiting."
The hooded man slowly lifted one hand.
A faint ripple spread through the darkness.
"You know what must be done."
"I do."
"There can be no mistakes."
"There won’t be."
He turned slightly.
"The kingdom will soon descend into confusion."
"When fear grows..."
"...people stop trusting one another."
"They begin accusing neighbours."
"They question friends."
"They doubt family."
"And when unity breaks..."
"...our true objective becomes much easier."
Shin Gu bowed deeply.
"I understand."
The wind howled once more.
The hooded figure seemed to dissolve into black mist.
Within seconds—
He vanished completely.
Only silence remained.
Shin Gu slowly raised her head.
Her smile widened.
"The second phase..."
"...finally."
---
She walked across the abandoned courtyard.
One by one she shut every wooden door surrounding it.
Each door closed with a heavy thud.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
The final bolt slid into place.
No one outside could hear what happened within.
She walked towards an old storage room.
Removing a hidden key from her sleeve, she unlocked the ancient door.
It creaked open.
Inside lay objects covered with black cloth.
She uncovered them one after another.
A round stone platform.
Several bronze bowls.
Bundles of strange herbs.
Black candles.
Ancient scrolls covered with faded writing.
Everything had already been prepared.
Shin Gu carefully carried each item into the centre of the courtyard.
She arranged them in a large circle.
The stone platform stood in the middle.
The candles were placed at equal distances.
Bronze bowls surrounded the altar.
Finally, she unrolled the ancient scroll.
Its faded characters seemed almost alive beneath the moonlight.
She traced the symbols gently with her fingers.
"Tonight..."
"...everything changes."
---
She lit the first candle.
Its flame burned black instead of gold.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Soon every candle burned with the same unnatural light.
The courtyard became strangely still.
Even the insects stopped singing.
Not a single sound remained.
Shin Gu stood before the altar.
She took a deep breath.
Then she began reciting an ancient chant.
The words were old.
Almost forgotten.
Their meaning had been lost to time.
Yet each syllable echoed unnaturally through the courtyard.
The black flames flickered violently.
A cold breeze circled around the altar.
The bowls began trembling.
The ground vibrated beneath her feet.
Still she continued.
Her voice grew louder.
Faster.
More determined.
Dark mist slowly rose from the centre of the stone platform.
At first it was thin like smoke.
Then it thickened.
Twisting.
Turning.
Spiralling upward.
The candles stretched unnaturally tall.
Their flames danced wildly.
The mist expanded until it filled the entire courtyard.
Shin Gu spread both hands.
The chant reached its final verse.
The black mist suddenly surged into the sky.
It split into countless thin streams.
Like dark ribbons, they rushed outward in every direction.
Across palace roofs.
Across streets.
Across villages.
Across forests.
Across rivers.
Invisible to ordinary eyes.
Silent.
Relentless.
Each stream drifted farther and farther from the palace.
The night swallowed them whole.
---
The altar finally grew still.
The candles returned to normal size.
The ground stopped shaking.
Shin Gu lowered her hands slowly.
She looked up at the moon.
A satisfied smile crossed her face.
"It has begun."
She laughed quietly.
Not loudly.
Not wildly.
But with complete confidence.
"The second phase..."
"...has started."
Her laughter echoed softly through the deserted courtyard before fading back into the silence of the night.
Far above, dark clouds slowly drifted across the moon, covering its light for just a moment.
The palace slept peacefully, unaware that unseen forces had begun to move.
And somewhere beyond the walls...
The first pieces of a far greater game were already falling into place.
The first light of dawn should have brought warmth to the kingdom.
Instead...
It brought silence.
A strange silence.
The morning birds never sang.
The wind that usually carried the fragrance of blooming flowers had become cold and heavy.
Above the capital, dark clouds rolled across the sky, swallowing the rising sun.
The streets remained dim, as though dawn had never truly arrived.
Many people looked upward in confusion.
"What strange weather..."
"It wasn’t like this yesterday."
"Is a storm coming?"
Shopkeepers paused while opening their stores.
Farmers stopped on their way to the fields.
Children, who had run outside to play, instinctively moved closer to their parents.
Even the horses in the stables stamped their hooves nervously.
Dogs whimpered.
The air itself felt wrong.
---
Far from the capital, in a small farming village, an elderly man carried a basket of vegetables toward the marketplace.
He frowned at the sky.
"I’ve lived seventy years..."
"I’ve never seen clouds like these."
His neighbour nodded uneasily.
"They feel... alive."
Before either man could say another word—
A black shadow swept silently across the ground.
It moved so quickly that it was almost impossible to follow.
The shadow brushed past the elderly farmer.
He suddenly stopped walking.
The basket slipped from his hands.
Vegetables scattered across the road.
His eyes widened.
He reached towards his chest.
"...I..."
Before anyone could help—
He collapsed.
Motionless.
---
"Old Zhao!"
Villagers rushed forward.
Someone checked his breathing.
Another felt for a pulse.
Nothing.
"He... he’s dead!"
Panic spread through the crowd.
"But he was perfectly healthy!"
---
Elsewhere in the capital...
A young merchant was arranging bolts of silk outside his shop.
He smiled at his apprentice.
"We’ll have many customers today."
The apprentice nodded eagerly.
Then both of them noticed a dark blur gliding between the buildings.
"What was—"
The shadow touched the merchant for the briefest instant.
His smile disappeared.
His body stiffened.
He fell to the stone pavement.
Dead before he struck the ground.
The apprentice screamed.
"Master!"
People ran in every direction.
---
The same terrifying scene unfolded again...
And again...
And again.
The shadow never lingered.
It simply passed.
One touch.
One life gone.
No blood.
No wounds.
No struggle.
Only sudden death.
---
Within an hour...
Messengers raced towards every healer’s clinic.
The physicians hurried into the streets carrying medicine chests.
They examined the victims carefully.
No poison.
No cuts.
No fever.
No broken bones.
Nothing.
One elderly healer shook his head in disbelief.
"Their bodies are completely normal..."
Another whispered,
"It’s as though... life itself was taken away."
No one had an answer.
---
Families cried over loved ones who had been alive only moments before.
Children clung to their parents.
Merchants slammed their shop doors shut.
Temple bells rang throughout the capital as frightened citizens prayed for protection.
Rumours spread faster than the wind.
"A curse."
"A demon."
"The wrath of Heaven."
"No... an ancient evil has awakened."
Every version sounded more frightening than the last.
---
By midday...
The palace received the first emergency report.
An imperial guard burst into the council hall and knelt.
"Your Majesty!"
"The capital is in chaos!"
The Emperor rose immediately.
"What happened?"
The guard’s voice trembled.
"People are dying without warning."
"They simply... fall."
"The healers cannot determine the cause."
The ministers exchanged horrified glances.
"How many?"
The guard lowered his head.
"The latest reports estimate... around one hundred dead."
The hall fell into stunned silence.
One hundred.
In a single morning.
Without battle.
Without plague.
Without explanation.
The Emperor’s expression hardened.
"Seal the palace gates."
"Dispatch the Imperial Guard to maintain order."
"Summon every senior physician, scholar and court astrologer."
"We need answers."
"Immediately."
The officials bowed.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
---
At the Duke’s residence, the atmosphere changed the instant the news arrived.
The cheerful preparations for the wedding stopped.
The messenger, exhausted from riding at full speed, bowed deeply.
"My Lord..."
"There have been mysterious deaths throughout the kingdom."
The Duke frowned.
"Mysterious?"
"No wounds."
"No poison."
"The victims collapse within moments."
The room became deathly quiet.
The Empress slowly stood.
"What did you say?"
The messenger swallowed.
"Nearly one hundred people have already died."
Everyone stared in disbelief.
Lian Hua’s cheerful smile vanished.
Chen Ruyi covered her mouth in shock.
The Grandmother gripped her prayer beads tightly.
The Emperor and the Duke exchanged a single look.
Neither spoke.
But both understood.
This was no ordinary disaster.
Somewhere...
Hidden beneath the unnatural clouds...
A force had begun to move.
And for the first time in many years...
The kingdom faced an enemy it could neither see nor understand.
Far above the capital, the dark clouds continued to churn in silence.
Deep within them...
For the briefest moment...
A pair of crimson eyes opened.
Watching.
Waiting.
Then disappeared once more.
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