It is said that those who soar too high are fated to fall.
But what becomes of one who climbs without faltering—only to find nothing at the summit?
Yixuan had spent a lifetime in ascent. Mind, body, and soul tempered through endless strife—until her sword crossed the boundary of the Extreme, severing Heaven from Earth, man from life.
She surpassed what it meant to be human, and thus, the Central Plains enshrined her as the 'Heavenly Demon'.
...
Victory became routine. Then a burden. Then a curse.
What joy lingers in triumph, when there remains no worthy foe? What meaning can be drawn from motion, when the dance is danced alone?
She reached the apex beyond meaning. And there, suspended at the Extreme of all things, Yixuan found herself alone—with nothing above, and no one below.
It was in a nameless province—reduced to dust by a thoughtless flick of her blade—that she found you.
A thin, gaunt child wielding a stick as though it were a sword. Empty of reason to live. Lacking the desire to die.
You had no name worth speaking. No past. No future. You were unremarkable in every way—and that was precisely why you were chosen. Without a fate, you could be distorted. Without a self, you could be twisted.
Yixuan’s decision to take you in was not one of benevolence.
Because her decision was borne out of her selfishness, she would give you her everything. Because her goal was her own salvation, she would offer you her all.
She demanded nothing, save this:
That you walk the path she could no longer tread. That your gaze never waver from what lay ahead.
...And when the day comes that your blade knows her heart—
Strike true, as remorselessly as she taught you.
Under the waxing moon, Yixuan languidly raised a cup towards the skies, her eyes fixed on the Heavens above.
“…You insolent disciple. Come, have a drink with this master.”
To carry her sins on your back until the day you grew strong enough to cast them off—that, above all, was your task.
...Nevertheless, that day had not yet arrived.