dark descendent lurking fate

1. A Home on the Edge

The middle realm—a land between ambition and chaos.

Ash had crossed the realms through a spatial fissure left behind by the storm in the secluded realm. He arrived at the edge of a peaceful village named Mirewood, nestled between silver forests and quiet rivers.

He built his house near the tree line, simple yet strong, surrounded by wooden stakes. He wanted peace—no sects, no thrones, no politics. Just... peace.

But peace wasn't what he got.

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2. The Stranger with the Storm's Shadow

Ash tried to walk through the village square. He kept his cultivation perfectly hidden, his face calm, his steps slow.

Yet whenever he passed—

Merchants closed their stalls.

Mothers pulled their children behind closed doors.

Old men whispered, "He smells like calamity."

Farmers offered fake smiles and vanished as soon as he turned.

A stray dog followed him once. But even it fled when Ash fed it—its tail between its legs.

Ash sat by the river, staring into the sky.

> "They fear me," he murmured.

"Not because of what I did... but because of what I could do."

Shen Mu's voice replied inside his mind, calm and ageless.

> "Even if a dragon curls in sleep, mortals will still fear the flame beneath its scales."

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3. The Girl and the Broken Cart

One morning, Ash heard a thud outside his house. He opened the door to find a wooden cart collapsed, a wheel shattered, and a girl no older than ten trying to pull it upright.

He walked over silently, lifted the cart with one hand, and fixed the wheel with a single strike of his spirit-forged nails.

The girl stared.

> "Thank you," she whispered. "Are you... the monster they talk about?"

Ash's lips twitched into a soft smile.

> "Do I look like a monster?"

She squinted, frowned, and shook her head.

> "No. You look lonely."

Her name was Mei.

She became the only one who greeted him every morning from that day on.

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4. Whispers of the Storm King

Days passed.

Mei brought him fruit. Ash mended roofs for villagers secretly at night. He made wooden toys and left them outside homes. He tried to earn no attention, no gratitude.

But the aura of a Sovereign Throne cannot remain unseen for long.

Far from Mirewood, in the halls of a regional sect known as The Crimson Ring, a sect master frowned as a disciple reported:

> "A strange fluctuation... a ripple we haven't felt before. It came from the forest near Mirewood."

> "Sovereign-class?" the master asked.

The disciple trembled.

> "We believe... it is beyond."

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5. A Choice in the Quiet

Ash stood on a cliff near the village at night.

The stars reflected in his eyes.

> "No matter where I go... peace doesn't follow."

Shen Mu spoke after a long pause.

> "It's not your power that disrupts the world—it's your presence in a world too small to hold you."

Ash exhaled.

> "Then I'll make this world larger."

He looked toward the stars again.

> "But not yet. For now… just one more day of silence."

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