The full moon cast long shadows across the trees as a cloaked figure made its way through the forest. The figure was careful not to tread on any twigs that would give away its presence. It would also occasionally pause, head cocked as though it was listening for pursuers, before continuing on its way.

After around an hour of travel, the figure reached a cliff face. At that moment, the moon passed overhead through the canopy above and threw down an ellipse of light, illuminating the figure’s features hidden under the hood.

The same righteous bearing, the same proud features, it was Li Yuan, or at least someone wearing his face. But now there was something different in his eyes, a hollowness that hadn't been there before.

Li Yuan took a final look around. It was silent, except for some birds' hooting or scurrying of the small creatures in the underbushes. Satisfied that he was not being followed, he entered a simple cave that had its entrance partially hidden under a curtain of vines.

The entrance to the cave was deceptive; what started as a narrow opening soon opened up into a vast cavern system. The sound of Li Yuan's footsteps echoed back from the high roof as he made his way deeper underground. The walls were smooth, too smooth to be natural, and veins of luminous crystal emitted dim illumination at infrequent intervals. These weren't ordinary spirit crystals either – they pulsed with an unsettling rhythm, like a heartbeat just slightly out of sync with normal time.

He pressed on through a series of branching corridors, never pausing at the intersections. He had made the trip many times before. As he went lower, the air grew colder. There was also the faintly metallic tang of something strange, something that imbued the crystal light with a reddish tinge, casting long crimson shadows that seemed to writhe at the corner of the eye.

Finally, the passageway opened into a huge circular chamber. The ceiling rose into darkness, lost beyond the reach of the crystal light. The walls were lined with alcoves containing what looked like cultivation resources: jade boxes, spirit herbs, mysterious artifacts that hummed with power. But these weren't arranged with the careful organization of a sect's treasury. Instead, they were scattered about haphazardly, as though whoever placed them there didn't quite understand their proper use or care.

At the far end of the room, on a throne that looked to have been hewn from a single piece of black crystal, sat a figure. Its surface writhed with patterns that hurt the eye to look directly at—like they existed in more dimensions than the human mind could conceive. The seated figure wore pitch black robes, and a mask that looked as though it were constructed from the same material as the throne.

Li Yuan walked up the steps to the throne and dropped to one knee. "Master," he bowed his head. "I have completed my mission."

The masked figure inclined its head slightly and spoke, but there was something odd about its voice—as though many people were speaking in perfect unison, each voice speaking from a slightly different point in time.

"Yes," he said, "I have given you the power to carry out your revenge. Now your soul is mine to command as I will."

Li Yuan kept his head bowed, fighting to keep his composure as memories threatened to overwhelm him. He remembered very clearly the moment of his death: the burning, searing pain when the Elemental Realm cultivator's spiritual flame devoured his skin and flesh; the terror at the sensation that his soul began to break apart. He had been ready for his demise—ready to fall into whatever fate awaited cultivators after death.

But then he had felt it – a tug, gentle at first but swiftly growing irresistible. His dissolving soul had been drawn through something, reforming in this very chamber. He had found himself before this being he would come to know only as the Masked One. He was then offered a choice: serve and have his revenge, or cease to exist entirely.

Li Yuan had been consumed by rage then, burning with the humiliation of his defeat and the injustice of his death. He hadn't thought clearly about the implications of the deal. All he had seen was a way to wreak vengeance on those who had so casually ended his life. He had accepted without hesitation.

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The Masked One had been true to his word, in a way. He had created this new body for Li Yuan's soul, had granted him power beyond what he had possessed in life. Power enough to kill not only Xiao Feng, but the cultivator of the Elemental Realm who had burned him – though news of that death wouldn't reach the city until long after Li Yuan had fled.

But the revenge had left him feeling empty. Hollow.

Watching Xiao Feng die, seeing the fear in his eyes as Li Yuan drained his cultivation base, should have been satisfying. It should have filled the burning void in his chest. Instead, it had only made the emptiness grow larger. Even killing the Elemental Realm cultivator, watching him burn just as Li Yuan had burned, brought no peace.

Li Yuan finally realized, far too late, that he had made a terrible mistake. He had sold his soul to a devil, and for what? A moment of revenge that brought no satisfaction, only a deeper understanding of his own damnation.

"Give up any thoughts of escaping our contract," the Masked One’s words pulled him out of his thoughts. "They are futile."

Li Yuan looked up at his master, watching as the masked figure made strange gestures in the air – sweeping motions as though reading something invisible. Li Yuan had been confused by this behavior at first, thinking it must be some kind of technique or formation art. But nothing ever came of these gestures. His master would simply swipe at the air for minutes or hours at a time, occasionally muttering to himself.

The Masked One waved his hand dismissively at whatever he had been examining, then sighed. "No one interesting around," he muttered, almost to himself.

Li Yuan gathered his courage. "Master," he said carefully, "what are you looking for?"

The masked figure turned to look at him, remaining silent for a long moment. Then he shook his head. "Is there any point in telling you? An NPC like yourself wouldn't understand."

Li Yuan fought down the surge of anger that rose in his chest. There it was again – that strange word, 'NPC'. He didn't know what it meant, but his master always used it with such dismissive contempt that it could only be an insult.

The Masked One seemed to notice Li Yuan's reaction and laughed. "Very well, I’ll humour you. Tell me, do you know anyone who was born with a special constitution that lets them absorb spiritual energy faster than others? Someone who found an ancient technique or inheritance in their simple village?"

Li Yuan shook his head, confused by the strange line of questioning.

"What about someone who was wronged by a young master but survived through some hidden power? Or maybe someone who looks ordinary but has a mysterious background and unfathomable potential?"

Again, Li Yuan could only shake his head.

"What about a cultivator who acts righteous and seems weak but is actually..." the Masked One tapered off as he saw that Li Yuan still looked confused. "You see? You NPCs are blind to protagonists. Only I can find them. Or create them, just as I did you."

Li Yuan kept his face neutral, but his thoughts were racing. This man was clearly insane – rambling about protagonists as though this world were some kind of novel. But mad or not, he was incredibly powerful. When Li Yuan finally found a way to break free of this monster's control, he would have to kill him. It would be a service to the world to eliminate such a dangerous lunatic.

"The search for protagonists will have to continue another time," the Masked One said with another sigh. "My storage of Life Realm energy has run out."

Li Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly at that detail. It was an interesting weakness – either his master was a Stellar Realm cultivator who had somehow acquired a limited supply of Life Realm energy, or he was in the early stages of the Life Realm himself and couldn't maintain his full power constantly. Either way, he was still far too powerful for Li Yuan to challenge directly. Patience would be required.

"The energy from your two kills should keep you stable for a while longer," the Masked One continued, "but you should enter my inner world and rest. I'll summon you when you are needed."

A portal of swirling darkness appeared beside the throne. Li Yuan felt his body begin to move without his consent, his legs carrying him forward despite his desire to resist. He had been in the Masked One's inner world before – or rather, the small portion of it that his master allowed him to access. It was simply empty space, a void where he would wait until he was needed again.

As Li Yuan stepped through the portal he caught one last glimpse of the chamber before the darkness closed in. Then he was in the void, that familiar nothingness which was his prison between missions. He could feel his body beginning to stiffen as the animation drained from his limbs.

The last thing he saw before his eyes closed was the two other statues beside him – fellow puppets in the Masked One's collection. He wondered if they, too, had sold themselves for revenge, only to learn too late the true price of their deal.

Then consciousness went, and Li Yuan was just one more statue in the void, waiting for his master's call.