Chapter 14: Sparks Behind Smiles
The next few weeks at Aegis Sect passed in a blur of grueling missions and suspicious "mistakes." Jin endured, but he did not flourish. His cultivation stagnated; his bones ached. Squad Nine continued to be assigned low-reward, high-risk tasks—clearing cursed swamps, investigating broken formations, retrieving beast cores from nests no sane squad would dare approach.
None of them complained aloud. But the silence between them deepened like a widening chasm.
One morning, Jin entered the mission hall alone to find the usual crowd of disciples bustling about. Eyes flicked toward him. Whispers followed in his wake.
"That's the one who thinks fire makes him special…"
"…barely made it out last time. Lucky, that's all."
"He's going to get someone killed."
At the counter, Elder Varek stood with a parchment in hand. His expression was all calm dignity, but Jin had learned to read the subtle curve of satisfaction in his lips.
"Jin of Squad Nine," Varek said smoothly. "Another mission for you."
"Where's the rest of my squad?" Jin asked.
Varek didn't answer directly. "This task requires only one of moderate strength and a flame affinity. A soul trap has been reported in the Whispering Hollow. Your fire may dispel it."
Jin kept his face blank, though the name Whispering Hollow set warning bells off in his mind. It was said to be haunted by remnants of failed soul cultivators—echoes that could drain essence or even the will to live.
"That's a late Foundation Realm task at best," Jin said carefully. "I've just broken into mid-stage."
Varek raised an eyebrow. "Refusing a direct assignment from your elder? That would be… unfortunate."
"No, Elder," Jin replied stiffly. "I'll go."
Behind him, Mira's voice broke in. "He won't go alone."
Jin turned to see her step forward, jaw set. Kio stood just behind her, looking equally determined.
Elder Varek's smile thinned. "This is not a squad mission."
Mira didn't back down. "Then punish us after."
Varek's eyes glinted, but he waved his hand. "As you wish. It makes no difference."
That afternoon, as they passed beyond the outer sect boundaries, Jin broke the silence.
"You shouldn't have come."
"We're a team," Mira said. "Besides, you saved our lives back in the Mistfang Valley."
Kio nodded. "It's our turn."
The Whispering Hollow was a dead zone of tangled vines, bone-colored fog, and no essence flow. The land felt starved, like it had forgotten how to live. Not long into their trek, the trap made itself known.
Shadows swirled, forming the shape of a gaunt, eyeless figure—its mouth stretched unnaturally wide.
"Careful," Jin warned. "It feeds on fear."
Mira conjured ice spikes, but they passed harmlessly through the phantom. Kio's spirit tether faltered, flickering like a candle in wind.
Jin stepped forward, summoning fire—not just heat, but light, essence, will. It burned orange at first, then shifted to white at the edges, pushing back the fog.
The shadow recoiled, shrieking soundlessly before vanishing in a hiss of smoke.
Breathing hard, Jin collapsed to one knee. His essence reserves were nearly spent. Mira caught his arm.
But even as they tended to him, Jin noticed something. A mark on a tree—too clean, too precise.
A signal.
"We weren't the only ones sent here," he muttered.
Kio looked up. "You think someone followed us?"
Jin's eyes narrowed. "No. I think someone planned for us not to return."
That night, they didn't make camp. They moved silently, taking the long route back to the sect through an unmarked ridge.
By the time they returned, exhausted and wary, Jin knew one thing with certainty:
This wasn't just sabotage anymore.
Someone in Aegis wanted him gone.