“It was a rain-soaked night,” the elder continued, voice thinning to a raspy whisper. “At the sect’s entrance, I discovered an abandoned infant, drenched, trembling, little more than skin over bone. Pity carried him across our threshold, and pity made him my disciple…”
“I named him Soul Devourer, urging him to shed the agony of his past and start anew. The boy’s brilliance was dazzling. Soon, he rose to Heaven Gate’s inner circle, and I lavished every skill upon him as though he were blood of my blood…”
Soul Devourer, the name knifed into Jared and Sylvia at the same instant, conjuring the infamous demon lord whose shadow still darkened tales across the realms.
Grief flared in the elder’s eyes. “What I never foresaw was that the child hailed from the Demon Sect… His clan had been massacred by the so-called righteous path; revenge became the marrow of his bones. He courted my trust only to learn Heaven Gate’s greatest skills, and wield them as weapons of retribution.”
“Once he stepped into the Heavenly Immortal Realm, his mask cracked. Under a full moon, he struck. Combining my teachings with the Demon Sect’s sorcery, he butchered every disciple in a single night.”
Elder Hawksley’s voice splintered. Tears traced slow, unsteady paths down the creases of his cheeks.
“I was in solitary training… When I emerged, rivers of blood coursed through every hall. My proudest student, my chosen heir, had burned my life’s work to cinders…”
“I sealed Heaven Gate’s core grounds, fashioning the very ruins you now tread. Then I shattered my own body and joined my disciples in death, leaving only this fragment of soul behind. For ten thousand years, I have lingered, searching for heirs who might complete my final wish.”
So that is why every trial warned us not to play the savior… Jared realized, a chill rippling along his spine.
Ah… Saving a demon destroyed an entire sect… Heaven Gate did not fade, it was slaughtered by Soul Devourer!
Sylvia thought it, her heart suddenly heavy.
“Sir, Soul Devourer has committed countless horrors across level nine,” Jared said quietly. “He was subdued long ago and imprisoned on level six for millennia.”
A flicker of relief softened the old master’s face. “Then justice finally reached him.”
Jared exhaled, hesitant. “But… He escaped. He now runs loose in level nine once more.”
The elder blinked, annoyance edging past sorrow. “Young man, can’t you say everything in one go?”
“Elder Hawksley, what is your heart’s desire?” Sylvia asked, her tone gentle yet unwavering.
Resolve blazed behind the remnant soul’s faded pupils. “I ask only this: slay Soul Devourer and avenge Heaven Gate. And carry our lineage forward, so that one day Heaven Gate may stand proud on level nine again.”
Elder Hawksley fixed his ancient, wind-scarred eyes on Jared, and the gleam that burned there felt as hot as a forge. “Young man, inside you, I see a will that refuses to bend and a strength that could crack mountains…”
“You have weathered every trial I set before you, proof enough that you are no soft-hearted saint but a predator capable of surviving in a world where only the strong endure. So I choose you… The entire legacy of the Heaven Gate Sect, every scrap of cultivation lore we gathered through the ages, every secret art, every weapon, even our sect-guarding treasure, now belongs to you…”
“Use it. Rise quickly in power, then hunt the Soul Devourer and carve vengeance for Heaven Gate with your own hands…”
With a sweeping motion of both arms, Elder Hawksley released a narrow shaft of gold.
The light streaked toward Jared like a falling comet and vanished beneath his skin, flooding him with a searing, exhilarating warmth.
