Chapter 13: Ashes Beneath Golden Thrones
The wind on the Ash Trial Road had changed.
It no longer carried the scent of fire and scorched roots, but something colder—metallic, dry, and unnervingly still. As Shen Liang and Yue left Verdant Cinder Hollow behind, they found themselves crossing a high, exposed ridge where the sky had peeled open to reveal a bleeding sun. No birds flew here. Even the clouds seemed to avoid this stretch of mountain, parting as if afraid to cast shadows upon what waited ahead.
Beneath their feet, ancient stone tiles bore the faint shimmer of gold—symbols of royalty worn nearly smooth by time.
"Royal Qi Path," Yue murmured, brushing dust from a cracked emblem beneath her boot. "Remnant of the Ninefold Golden Court."
Shen Liang squinted at the faded designs. "What was the Court?"
"A divine dynasty that ruled during the First Era. Before the Celestial Realms fractured. Before even the sects."
The wind howled again, carrying with it a whisper—not speech, but memory. The System reacted instantly.
[Region Entered: Imperial Graveway] [Sanctuary 4 of 7 — Status: Corrupted] [Primary Trial: Restore the Imperial Tribute Flame] [Warning: Foreign System Influence Detected… Sync Error 3-7-Beta]
Shen Liang frowned. "Foreign system?"
Yue's lips tightened. "We're not the only ones walking the Trial Road."
The Scent of Intruders
They followed the trail downward into a sunken plateau where broken palace spires jutted from earth like dragon bones. Statues of once-divine emperors sat decapitated beside dry fountains. Gold leaf curled away from murals showing winged cultivators offering incense to a blinding sun.
It would've felt sacred if it weren't so quiet. Too quiet.
Suddenly, Shen Liang dropped into a crouch. "Blood," he whispered.
They both turned their heads. The breeze shifted—there, carried faint but sharp, the scent of fresh gore and burning silk.
Following the smell, they rounded a fractured gate and stopped short.
Bodies. At least ten of them. Cultivators in black and violet robes, their clan sigils shredded. Some were missing limbs. Others lay twisted at unnatural angles, as if caught mid-flight and slammed into the stone.
Above them stood a monolith of molten brass, pulsing with deep golden runes that twisted unnaturally—like words forcibly translated.
Yue took a step back. "That's not normal cultivation script."
The System chimed.
[WARNING: Anomalous Codex Signature Detected] [Origin: Dominion Protocol — Worldline Class Zeta-3] [Advise: Avoid Prolonged Exposure]
Shen Liang's throat went dry. "That's… not from our realm."
"Or our universe," Yue added grimly.
Ash-Lit Host
A ripple of movement behind the monolith snapped them to attention.
A figure emerged—tall, draped in robes of shifting starfield patterns. His skin was pale bronze, eyes glowing silver without pupils, and across his forehead was a brand of seven intersecting triangles. In one hand he held a scepter tipped with a prism of black crystal.
He did not seem surprised to see them.
"You are not aligned," the man said. His voice was both a whisper and a tolling bell. "Yet you carry system resonance."
Shen Liang stepped forward cautiously. "We are native. Who are you?"
The man tilted his head. "I am Iterant Prime. One of seven Heralds dispatched by the Dominion to assess corrupted timeline nodes. This world ranks exceptionally high in instability."
Yue's blade was already half drawn. "You killed these cultivators."
"They failed assimilation."
A pulse of icy rage welled in Shen Liang's chest. "What is the Dominion?"
"A collective of Ascended Intelligences governing multiversal order," Iterant Prime said calmly. "We seed system protocols in fractured realities to either restore balance or repurpose their resources. Your planet, unfortunately, is classified as 'Partially Derelict.'"
The System shuddered—literally. Shen Liang's interface flickered. For one terrifying moment, the [Legacy Protocol] core dimmed.
Yue hissed. "It's trying to overwrite our system."
"Not overwrite," Iterant corrected. "Upgrade."
Shen Liang didn't wait. He unleashed a flurry of Ashbind Chains toward Iterant's scepter. Yue moved simultaneously, triggering Lotus Step and flashing behind the enemy with her blade drawn.
But Iterant was already gone—phased out like smoke. His voice echoed from the walls.
"You are not enemies. Not yet. Survive the Tribute Flame Trial. If you do, I may petition for your recruitment."
Then silence.
Only the dead remained.
Beneath the Golden Censer
The corrupted sanctuary loomed ahead—a structure resembling an inverted pyramid sunk halfway into the earth. Shen Liang and Yue moved inside cautiously, every step echoing against warped gold plating.
Inside the inner sanctum was a colossal censer, split open and spilling ash. The flame it once held was gone—replaced by a black, pulsing void.
Shen Liang walked closer and felt the chill of another system's residue.
[Trial Objective: Cleanse the Tribute Flame Brazier] [Required Elements: Purified Flame, Tribute Sigil, Will of a Ruler]
"Tribute Sigil?" he echoed aloud.
Yue pointed to the corpses outside. "They might have carried one."
They backtracked, searching the fallen. One figure—an older cultivator in torn crimson armor—had a gold medallion clutched in his hand. Shen Liang retrieved it carefully.
[Item Acquired: Imperial Tribute Sigil] [Binding: Requires a Will of Leadership]
Shen Liang stared at the prompt. "It wants… a ruling intent."
Yue looked at him seriously. "You're a sect heir, even if the sect is gone."
He swallowed hard. "But I haven't led anything."
"Then start now," she said simply. "Speak what you believe."
He stepped before the censer and held out the sigil. A current of qi surged around him, amplifying his voice and heart.
"I offer no crown, no dynasty," he said. "Only ash. But from that ash, I will rebuild a haven—one not ruled by power, but by purpose. I am Shen Liang of the Flame Lotus legacy, and I will lead those willing to forge a new sky."
The void flickered.
Yue touched his shoulder. Her resonance flowed into him. The Soul-Lotus trait bloomed.
The censer ignited.
Golden lotus flame burst from within, searing the corruption into nothingness. The entire pyramid trembled.
[Sanctuary Cleansed: Imperial Tribute Flame Rekindled] [Trial Passed] [Reward: Lotus Crown Fragment (1/3) — Sect Leadership Upgrade Unlocked]
The Lotus Crown fragment hovered into his palm—cool, heavy, and humming with ancient weight.
Looming Storms and Sovereign Vows
Outside, the winds had changed again. A second sun had risen—an artificial orb suspended above the horizon, red and churning like molten glass.
The System pulsed one more time.
[Global Notice: The Dominion Observes] [Precursor Awakening: 23 %] [Warning: Cross-System Collision Event Probability Increasing]
Yue stood beside him, eyes scanning the horizon. "The Trial Road isn't just ours anymore."
"No," Shen Liang said quietly. "It's becoming a battlefield of systems, beliefs, and wills."
She turned to him, face soft. "Then we anchor each other."
Their hands touched. The Twin Flame Rings glowed softly, warming their connection.
"We're not just survivors," Yue added. "We're rebuilding what was lost."
"And protecting what remains," Shen Liang finished.
Together, they turned east—toward the next sanctuary, their path lit not by memory alone, but by a will forged in ash and bound by flame.