The forest stretched endlessly before Xu Tianyin, a vast sea of blackened trees and silent frost. Each step was heavier than the last. His breath came in ragged gasps, curling into the cold night air like fleeting ghosts.
The hunger had settled deep in his bones, no longer a sharp pang but a dull, consuming emptiness. His limbs ached. His thoughts drifted between lucidity and exhaustion, teetering on the edge of collapse.
But he refused to fall.
The Xu family had abandoned him, cast him out like a discarded mistake. He should have died the moment he stepped beyond their gates. That was what they expected—what they wanted. Yet, he was still here, clinging to existence with nothing but sheer will.
The wind howled through the trees, carrying whispers of something unseen. He wasn't alone.
His steps slowed. Instinct warned him, an unspoken tension tightening his muscles. His senses had always been unnaturally sharp, even as a child. Now, in the empty wilderness, they screamed at him.
Something was watching.
A presence loomed at the edges of his awareness—silent, patient.
Predatory.
His hand twitched toward his belt, but he had no weapon. They had stripped him of everything before casting him out.
The ground shifted behind him.
Xu Tianyin spun just as a dark figure emerged from the trees, moving like a shadow against the snow.
Not human.
The creature was too tall, its limbs unnaturally long, its movements too fluid. Its eyes gleamed faintly, reflecting the moonlight in a way that sent ice down his spine.
A beast? No—something worse.
The Xu family estate had been protected by wards, shielding them from the things that lurked beyond civilization. He had never seen such a creature before, but he knew one thing:
It saw him as prey.
His body tensed, muscles coiled, but he had nothing—no weapon, no strength, no cultivation. He was a discarded heir, a broken existence, left to die.
And yet…
Something deep within him stirred. A pulse. A whisper. A memory of something long buried.
The creature lunged.
Xu Tianyin reacted without thinking. His foot slid back, body twisting just as the clawed hand slashed through empty air. Snow erupted around him as he moved, instincts taking over where reason failed.
Too slow.
A second strike tore through his shoulder, white-hot pain exploding through his nerves. He stumbled, biting back a cry.
The creature did not stop. It pressed forward, relentless, its hollow eyes void of mercy.
Xu Tianyin's vision blurred, the world tilting. His blood stained the snow, a stark contrast of crimson on white.
Not like this.
His breath came in shallow gasps. He could feel his body failing, could hear the whispers of death curling around him.
But the pulse—whatever it was—did not fade.
The world around him seemed to shift, the darkness pressing closer. The cold was unbearable, yet within him, something burned.
Something wrong.
His fingers curled into the snow. He did not know what force had awoken within him, nor did he care. If the heavens would not grant him power, he would take it himself.
The creature lunged one final time—
And everything went black.
---
Pain.
It came first, sharp and unrelenting, dragging him back to the surface of consciousness.
Xu Tianyin's body ached as though it had been torn apart and stitched back together with something unnatural. His breath came in ragged gasps. The snow beneath him had melted, a steaming crater where he had fallen.
But he was still alive.
Slowly, he pushed himself up, muscles trembling under his own weight. His hand brushed against something warm and wet. The scent of blood filled the air.
The creature lay motionless a few feet away, its body twisted unnaturally, as if something had crushed it from the inside out. Its empty eyes stared into the sky, devoid of the cruel hunger they once held.
Xu Tianyin's chest heaved.
Had he done this?
The pulse still lingered within him, faint but present. His fingers trembled as he clenched them into fists. He should be dead—but he wasn't.
Something had changed.
He had no cultivation, no strength, no divine blessing. And yet, against all reason, he had survived.
The wind howled once more, as if the heavens themselves had taken notice.
Xu Tianyin forced himself to his feet. His path forward remained uncertain, but one thing was clear:
Whatever had awakened within him, it was not something the heavens had granted.
It was something he had taken for himself.
And for that, the world would never forgive him.