DEMON SOVEREIGN'S REIGN

The first Abyssal Beacon, now bound to Liu Shen's core, pulsed like a second heart within his chest. Every beat resonated with sovereign will, sending ripples of authority through the landscape. The moment it embedded itself, the world around them reacted—no longer rejecting Liu Shen, but bowing to him in quiet, ancient recognition.

But not all was calm.

A scream erupted from the horizon—like metal grinding against the bones of giants. The sky warped. A crack opened overhead, bleeding silver mist. Something tried to force its way into the Abyss.

Liu Shen's eyes narrowed. "Heaven's retaliation?"

Zhao Ying stepped forward, frowning. "Impossible. The divine barrier shouldn't allow direct intervention here—not unless another Beacon is claimed."

Meixing's expression darkened. "Unless someone on the other side opened the way."

From the rent in the sky, a spear of celestial fire shot down. Liu Shen raised a single finger, stopping it cold mid-air. The flames hissed and coiled, but couldn't move an inch forward.

Behind the fire, a voice echoed.

"You should not have returned, Sovereign of Ruin."

Liu Shen's smile was slow and cold. "And yet I did."

The tear in the sky shrieked and began sealing shut. But the warning had been sent: the Heavens were watching.

Lei Qing muttered, "We should move. Staying here too long could draw more attention."

Liu Shen turned toward the now-dormant beacon. Its glow had dimmed, but not vanished—it now slept within him, a fragment of a greater whole. The fortress that held it had crumbled into a lake of black mist, releasing abyssal spirits long buried.

Some of them watched Liu Shen with reverence. Others with terror.

And one of them… knelt.

An old woman, her body translucent and cracked, floated forward. Her eyes were empty, but filled with tears.

"My liege," she whispered.

Liu Shen stared at her.

"Do I know you?"

She shook her head. "No. But I served your first incarnation… before the fall."

Meixing stepped forward. "What was your name?"

The spirit hesitated. "I have no name anymore. The Abyss took it when I failed to protect the Second Beacon."

Liu Shen's eyes gleamed. "Then tell me—where is it?"

The spirit raised a skeletal finger and pointed northward, into a realm of stormclouds, bone pillars, and shrieking winds.

"There," she said. "But beware… the guardian that sleeps within does not forget betrayal. He was once your kin. And he believes you abandoned him."

Liu Shen nodded. "Then it's time I corrected that."

The group began their journey once more, crossing into the Scourged Depths. The land grew unstable—pockets of reversed gravity, storms of sentient lightning, and rivers that ran with crystallized memory.

As they traveled, Liu Shen noticed something else.

His perception had shifted.

He could hear the Abyss now. It whispered things. Names. Places. Fates not yet fulfilled. Somewhere deep within its infinite chaos, his throne awaited, not as a symbol… but as a weapon.

"The more beacons I claim," he murmured, "the more I remember."

Meixing glanced at him. "Is that… safe?"

Liu Shen gave her a half-smile. "Was I ever safe, Meixing?"

Before she could respond, a shadow passed overhead. A giant figure—winged and limbless—crossed the sky like a flying cathedral. It had no face, only a thousand mouths stitched shut with silver thread.

Lei Qing drew his blade. "What the hell is that?"

Zhao Ying paled. "An Abyssal Witness. A record-keeper of failed Sovereigns."

The creature slowed mid-air. Its mouths unsealed. All at once, they screamed a name:

"Liu Shen."

The air stilled.

The creature bowed.

Then vanished into a gate of black sand.

None of them spoke for a while.

"…Even the Witnesses remember you now," Meixing whispered.

Liu Shen didn't reply. His hand tightened on the hilt of his soulblade, not in fear—but in anticipation.

They reached the edge of the Scourged Depths by nightfall. A canyon awaited, so deep it had no bottom, and from its depths rose laughter—insane, broken, and powerful.

A skeletal gate barred the path, and nailed to it was a corpse wearing Liu Shen's old armor.

His old self stared back at him with empty sockets.

"Welcome home," the corpse rasped.

"Do you regret leaving us behind?"

Liu Shen didn't flinch. "No. I regret not dragging the heavens down with me."

The gate opened.

The Second Beacon awaited.