The cold was alive.
Not just biting winds or falling snow—it crawled into your bones, gnawed at your spirit, whispered promises of sleep you'd never awaken from.
This was the Crimson Tundra, where even shadows froze.
And somewhere within, the fourth fragment waited.
Northern Reach – Three Days Later
Yun Jian stood at the edge of a blood-red glacier, his breath fogging in the frigid air. The icy plains stretched endlessly before them, painted with hues of crimson as if the sky bled into the snow.
Behind him, Mei Lin tightened her fur-lined cloak. "This place... it doesn't feel right."
"It isn't," Aran said, his fingers already tingling from the cold. "No birds, no beasts, not even wind."
Feng Yu added, "The dead sleep shallow here."
And Ghostfang, normally fearless, growled low and soft, fur bristling.
Yun Jian's hand hovered over his blade.
"This is where the Golden Champion waits," he said quietly. "The Eclipse God's next guardian."
Flashback – Black Choir Maestra's Final Words
Before the Maestra disintegrated into silence, she whispered to Yun Jian:
"Your shadow cast long, Sovereign… but the light will strike back."
"He comes… the one who betrayed the sun to serve the Eye…"
"He has no name—only purpose."
Present – Crimson Tundra Depths
Their journey led them to a temple half-buried in ice—its walls made of obsidian glass and fossilized bones. Inside, a single orb of fire hovered above a pedestal of frost.
The fourth fragment.
But the moment Yun Jian approached…
BOOM.
A blinding golden light struck the ice like a meteor, and a man appeared—his arrival shaking the tundra.
He wore gilded armor that burned with divine fire. His cape, made of sun-forged feathers, trailed ash and sparks.
His eyes were hollow, filled with light instead of pupils.
He did not walk—he glided, boots never touching snow.
"Shadow Sovereign," he said, voice deep and echoing, "You are not worthy of the next fragment."
Yun Jian stepped forward. "And who are you to decide?"
The man raised a flaming halberd.
"I am the Solar Warden."
"Chosen by the Eye. Forged by flame. Bound by oath."
"I have slain gods and devoured their names."
His voice cracked the air like lightning.
"I am the one light your shadows cannot extinguish."
The Duel Begins
With no warning, the Solar Warden lunged.
His halberd cleaved the air, sending arcs of golden fire across the tundra. The attack struck the ice behind Yun Jian and vaporized a hill.
Yun Jian's shadow leapt forward, forming a barrier of black blades.
CLANG.
Their powers collided—sun and shadow warring in a blinding explosion.
Feng Yu, Mei Lin, and the others scrambled back as the very weather responded to the fight.
Snow turned to steam.
The sky dimmed.
And then, for a moment—the tundra was split in half. One side scorched gold. The other swallowed in darkness.
Yun Jian's sword, forged of shadows condensed into near-solid darkness, rang out as it met the halberd.
"You're fast," the Warden said, parrying. "But you hesitate."
Yun Jian's eyes narrowed. "I aim. You burn everything."
The Warden smiled without warmth. "That's why I win."
Second Phase – Solar Judgment
The Solar Warden flew into the air and summoned a blazing sun behind him—a miniature star burning with the fury of a thousand tempests.
"This world needs light, not doubt," he roared. "Kneel before Judgment!"
He hurled the star toward Yun Jian.
Mei Lin screamed. "You'll destroy the tundra!"
Yun Jian didn't move.
Instead, he whispered, "Shadow Bloom: Total Eclipse."
A dome of pure shadow erupted from his body—layer after layer of shifting, swirling darkness.
When the miniature sun struck it—BOOM—the force carved a crater fifty meters deep… but inside the dome, Yun Jian stood untouched.
And then he appeared behind the Warden.
Dimensional Slash.
The Warden turned too late.
A gash opened across his chestplate, glowing white.
He stumbled in the air, coughing steam.
"You… cut through my flame…"
Yun Jian was breathing hard now. "You're not a god. Just a torch someone lit and forgot."
Final Exchange – Will vs Flame
The Warden dropped to the ground, halberd gone. He raised his fists, still burning.
Yun Jian dismissed his blade.
They clashed barehanded—each punch cracking ice and shaking the ruins.
Fist met fist.
Knee met ribs.
Yun Jian's shadow surged like a second body, landing strikes that defied physics.
But the Warden's light burned hot—melting through shadows, searing flesh.
Finally, Yun Jian drove his knee into the Warden's stomach and launched him into the frozen wall of the temple.
The Warden coughed blood—golden blood.
He looked up.
And smiled.
"Now… I see."
He lowered his arms.
"You're not just a vessel… You're you."
The Fourth Fragment Awakens
The pedestal behind them pulsed.
The fourth fragment floated toward Yun Jian.
This one was not a crystal—but a flame encased in glass.
The moment he touched it, it didn't fight.
It bowed.
The flame entered him silently.
And for the first time, Yun Jian didn't scream.
His aura changed.
Now, it wasn't just darkness. It was heat. Force. Presence.
Like a black sun.
Even Mei Lin looked away for a second.
He had changed again.
The Warden's Farewell
As the light faded from his body, the Solar Warden lay against the wall, panting.
"You have passed."
"Use your strength better than I used mine."
Yun Jian looked down at him. "What was your name?"
The Warden blinked. "I gave it up long ago."
Yun Jian raised a hand.
From the fragment's energy, a spark of golden flame danced.
He passed it to the Warden's hand.
"Then take this. Burn your own path. Not theirs."
The Warden smiled—his real smile this time.
And turned to ash, a gust of golden dust vanishing into the wind.
Aftermath – A New Kind of Power
Back at camp, Feng Yu stared at the fire.
"That man… he wasn't like the Choir. He fought for something."
Mei Lin nodded. "He believed. And that belief made him strong."
Yun Jian sat quietly.
His hand glowed faintly—shadow in one palm, flame in the other.
"They won't send warriors next time," he said.
Aran frowned. "Then what?"
Yun Jian looked up.
"They'll send a monster."
Far South – Ashen Sea
In a prison beneath molten rock, something stirred.
Something that slithered, screamed, and remembered the shape of gods.
Chains melted.
Eyes opened.
And a voice whispered from the void:
"Shadow Sovereign… I remember you."