The stars above shifted.
In the silent expanse of the Temple's celestial domain, a bell tolled—a sound that never echoed in the mortal realm. It rang not for death, but for erasure.
Within the Voidglass Hall, the cloaked figure known only as "Whisper" stepped forward. His presence warped light. Even the Elders of the Temple didn't look directly at him. Whisper was no cultivator. He was a Ghost of the Erased Path—an existence trained not to kill, but to remove souls from the River of Time.
> "Target: Wang Lin," a voice announced coldly.
"Crime: Inheritor of the First Thief's Echo."
"Objective: Erase. All traces. No remains."
Whisper bowed once. Then vanished without a sound.
---
Meanwhile — Wuheng Mountains, Midnight
Wang Lin sat in deep meditation within a cavern lit by floating soul lanterns. His body had grown stronger—refined by the Echo of the First Thief. But strength had brought danger, not peace.
Suddenly, all sound vanished.
Not muted. Not quiet. Gone.
His eyes snapped open—only to see nothing. Even light itself seemed devoured.
> A temporal void... someone had sealed this space from all known laws.
Then came the whisper.
> "Wang Lin. You should never have existed."
From the darkness stepped Whisper—not walking, not flying, but unfolding, like a shadow turning inside out. No aura. No breath. Only a presence that made Wang Lin's soul flinch.
Wang Lin moved first—unleashing a wave of crimson fire from the Crimson Lotus Art. The flame roared, burning even space itself.
Whisper did not dodge.
He stepped through the fire as if it were fog. His palm, etched with silver runes, touched Wang Lin's forehead.
> "Erase—"
But then, the Echo surged.
> "Not yet," the First Thief's voice boomed within Wang Lin.
A surge of violet-black energy burst from Wang Lin's chest, sending Whisper skidding back. The entire cavern warped, cracks appearing in the sealed space. Time itself flickered.
Wang Lin stood, eyes bloodshot, but steady. "You're not the first assassin I've faced."
Whisper tilted his head. "You are wrong. I am not an assassin. I am history's broom."
He struck again—this time warping behind Wang Lin, aiming directly at his soul core.
But Wang Lin had changed.
He twisted mid-air, catching Whisper's arm—and for a split second, stole his technique.
The Veins of Reversal spiraled into motion, and Wang Lin's body began to shimmer with faint afterimages—a skill Whisper used to bypass causality.
> "You can't erase what already stole from fate itself," Wang Lin growled.
For the first time, Whisper hesitated.
And that was enough.
Wang Lin roared, unleashing a forbidden move—the Lotus Fang Ritual. A lotus of red-black petals bloomed from his back, biting into Whisper's body, not to kill—but to absorb his origin.
Whisper screamed soundlessly, disintegrating in layers, like an idea being forgotten.
As the sealed space shattered, and sound returned to the world, only a whisper remained:
> "The Temple… will not stop…"
Wang Lin fell to one knee, blood running from his mouth.
But he was still here.
Not erased. Not broken.
And now… he had stolen a fragment of the Erased Path.
---
Elsewhere — Temple Domain
Nine elders stood frozen.
> "He resisted Whisper."
> "No… worse. He stole from him."
> "This… this cannot be."
In the shadows, the Grand Oracle of the Temple finally opened her eyes.
> "The Second Thief… is no longer walking a path."
"He is writing his own."