Fog rolled in across the Deadstep Wastes.
It wasn't natural fog. It slithered with purpose—rising and falling like breathing lungs across the cursed plains. From beneath it came whispers: names once known, now erased.
The Forgotten had begun to march.
Lin Feng awoke in a cold sweat.
He wasn't one for dreams, let alone nightmares. But tonight, something had clawed its way into his mind: a chorus of voices calling him by a name he no longer remembered, and a shadow with his face… smiling.
He stepped out of his tent, the chill of the mountain cutting into his skin.
Ruoxi was already awake, sharpening her blades. "Bad dream?"
He nodded.
"They're waking up," she said softly. "The ones beyond the Barrier."
He turned to her. "You felt it too?"
"Everyone with a key felt it."
Yue Lian emerged next, tying her silver hair. "And not just us. Sect messengers arrived during the night. There's chaos in the capital. An entire city vanished off the eastern border."
Lin Feng frowned. "Vanished?"
"Not destroyed. Not even a crater. Just… gone. As if it had never existed."
He clenched his fists.
"So the Forgotten aren't waiting for me to come to them."
"They're coming to you."
By noon, the trio had reached the base of the Deadstep Wastes.
Ruined banners from wars long past fluttered limply in the dead air. The land was cracked, bleeding red mist from its fault lines.
"Charming vacation spot," Lin Feng muttered.
Ruoxi grinned. "Five stars. Would die again."
Yue Lian raised an eyebrow. "You're both unwell."
Lin Feng smirked. "That's what makes us friends."
A chuckle escaped Yue Lian despite herself.
And then the air changed.
The fog parted.
And they saw the army.
There were thousands.
Not soldiers. Not even men.
They were memory-eaten husks—things that once held names and lives, now twisted into spectral mockeries of what they'd been.
Their armor didn't shine. It ached. Faces half-formed, as if the world no longer remembered their existence.
And at their front stood a woman in gold.
Her hair was white.
Her eyes… black as pitch.
She stared directly at Lin Feng.
"Hello again… Xuanyin."
Lin Feng's blood turned cold.
"That name… You shouldn't know it."
The woman smiled.
"I knew it before you were born again. And I'll know it after you die once more."
Yue Lian's voice trembled. "Who… is she?"
Lin Feng spoke slowly. "Her name… was once Serin. She was the Guardian of the Seventh Key. And my executioner."
Serin raised her hand.
The Forgotten charged.
Lin Feng didn't move.
He simply raised one palm.
"Void Law: Eclipse Wheel."
The world tilted sideways.
Reality bent inward.
The first two dozen enemies were erased—cleanly, painlessly, utterly.
Yue Lian and Ruoxi stood stunned.
"That was…" Yue Lian began.
"New," Lin Feng said. "I'm improvising."
They launched into battle.
The next few words cover:
-The massive battle against the Forgotten Army
-Lin Feng's over-the-top quips while he fights twisted abominations
-An emotional moment where one Forgotten remembers Lin Feng… and begs for release
-Lin Feng unleashing the Sixth and Fifth Key's power in tandem
Mid-battle, Serin steps forward.
She does not fight with sword or flame.
She uses Names.
Every time she speaks a name, a part of Lin Feng's mind cracks.
"Xuanyin."
"Void Tyrant."
"Slayer of Stars."
He falters.
Memories surge.
Friends he killed. Worlds he ended. Reasons he had to become the monster they all feared.
Ruoxi grabs him. "Stay here! With us! Don't lose yourself!"
Lin Feng grits his teeth.
And laughs.
"You think words can break me?"
Serin's smile fades.
"Then let's speak with swords."
They clash.
And the sky splits.
Final scene:
Lin Feng, bleeding, kneels over a broken battlefield. Serin retreats into mist.
He looks at Ruoxi and Yue Lian.
"We're running out of time."
Yue Lian nods. "Then we'd better run faster."
Ruoxi takes his hand.
"You're not alone."
Lin Feng looks toward the horizon.
One last gate remains.
And it's calling his name.
To be continue...