The black talisman burned cold in Xiao Ling's palm as the group approached the ruins of the Obsidian Monastery. Three days' hard march from the sect, hidden in a valley where the sunlight never quite reached, the crumbling stone complex seemed to breathe in the twilight. Shadows clung to the broken pillars like living things, twitching at their approach.
Mei's cursed veins throbbed in time with the talisman's pulse. "This was a mistake," she muttered, fingers tightening around her new blade's hilt. "Whatever lives here won't be our ally."
Xiao Ling flashed his trademark grin, though it looked strained at the edges. "Probably not! But they'll hate the White Serpent Temple more than they hate us."
Jiang Chao cracked his knuckles, flames licking between his fingers. "I still say we should've burned the Black Vipers first."
"Quiet." Zhang Wei's command cut through their bickering. A figure had emerged from the monastery's gaping doorway—tall, wrapped in tattered gray robes, with skin like sun-bleached parchment stretched too tight over bone.
The figure cocked its head, empty eye sockets studying them. "The Temple's destroyers," it rasped. "We felt its fall."
Xiao Ling stepped forward, holding up the talisman. "We come to bargain."
The thing's lipless mouth stretched into something like a smile. "Bargains are my master's specialty. Come."
---
The interior of the monastery was colder than the winter outside. Shadows moved independently of their sources, slithering along the walls like serpents. The air smelled of dried herbs and something metallic—old blood, perhaps.
At the center of the main chamber sat a figure wrapped in chains of living darkness. The Shadow Abbot, if such titles mattered here. His face was human enough, but his eyes...
Mei looked away first, her curse writhing in response. Those eyes held entire nightsky voids within them.
"You bear the Temple's mark," the Abbot observed, his gaze lingering on Mei's blackened veins. "Yet you helped destroy it. Curious."
Zhang Wei stepped forward. "We seek alliance against common enemies. The Black Vipers and Lady Bai."
A dry chuckle. "You mistake our nature. We do not make war on mortals."
"But you do collect debts," Xiao Ling cut in, uncharacteristically serious. "The Temple owed you something, didn't it? Something they stole."
The shadows in the room deepened.
"Clever child," the Abbot murmured. "Yes. They took twelve of our sacred shadows. Bound them in ice and blood." His void-like eyes flicked to Mei. "I suspect you've met one."
Frostbite's whispers echoed in Mei's memory. *Let me help you... for a price.*
"What do you propose?" Zhang Wei asked.
The Abbot steepled his fingers. "A trade. The return of our stolen shadows... for twelve nights of service."
---
**System Alert:**
**Shadow Pact Offered**
**Terms:**
1. Host one sacred shadow per night (12 nights total)
2. Each shadow will defend the sect but demand a "memory" as payment
3. Final night: The Abbot himself will join the battle
**Warning:** Hosts may experience personality fragmentation
---
Jiang Chao whistled low. "That's the worst deal I've ever heard."
Mei studied the Abbot's face. "Why not just take them back yourself?"
"The threads of fate must be honored. The shadows chose their bonds; they must choose to return." The Abbot leaned forward, chains clinking. "But hurry your decision. Your enemies march at dawn."
---
They argued all the way back to the sect.
"You can't seriously be considering this," Luo Yan growled as they crossed the mountain pass. "Letting those things inside us?"
Xiao Ling twirled the talisman. "Better than being dead!"
Mei said nothing. The curse in her veins pulsed hungrily at the memory of the Abbot's gaze.
---
The sect was in uproar when they returned. Scouts had spotted torches moving through the valley—Black Viper forces, at least fifty strong. Lady Bai's frost phoenix circled high above, its cries like shattering glass.
Zhang Wei gathered everyone in the main hall. "We take the deal," he announced to mixed cries of protest and relief. "But volunteers only."
To Mei's surprise, Erhu was the first to step forward. "I'll do it. They can have my memory of eating gutter soup for all I care."
One by one, others followed—farmers, disciples, even Granny Hua with her cauldron strapped to her back.
Mei waited until last. "I'll take two."
Zhang Wei's head snapped up. "No."
"The curse makes me resistant," she lied smoothly. "And we need the advantage."
The look he gave her spoke volumes, but time had run out. The first wave of attackers crested the ridge, their war cries echoing through the valley.
---
The ritual was simpler than expected. The Abbot's envoy pressed a finger to each volunteer's forehead, leaving behind a swirling black mark. As night fell, the first shadow stirred within Erhu.
His eyes turned pitch black as he grinned. "Oh, this will be fun."
Then he was gone—moving faster than humanly possible, his knives finding Black Viper throats before the invaders even knew they were under attack.
---
Mei watched from the walls as chaos unfolded below. The shadows fought with terrifying precision, their hosts moving like living nightmares. But with each kill, she saw the toll—Erhu stumbled after his fifth victim, clutching his head as if trying to remember something vital.
When her turn came, the darkness slid into her mind like a knife through water.
*Hello again,* Frostbite's voice whispered in her ear. *Did you miss me?*
Then the pain began.