"If the Heavenly Dao is a machine of selection...Then where have the unchosen gone?And if one can call them back—Then who, truly, is the Dao?"
The Night After the Ashen Ravine – Ten Thousand Souls Stir
Lâm Mạc sat atop a massive black-gray boulder, eyes gazing straight into the sky.
Around him—no trace of Spiritual Energy.And yet, deep within his marrow, a faint resonance hummed—not a summoning… but a communion.
Across the myriad realms:
In a shattered ancient cave dwelling, the spirit of a wrongly condemned cultivator trembled.
Beneath the River of Withered Blood, resentful souls long buried stirred from their slumber.
Within the Silent Void Divine Domain—where only those who defied fate were entombed—phantom shadows turned northward.
"Someone… is calling us?""Not a saint's chant. Not a devil's whisper.""But one who bears no Dao… and yet makes us long to return."
From within Lâm Mạc's Ashen Dao Heart, a sigil emerged—not cultivated, not studied,but born of the resonant will of countless spirits.
A single archaic character took form:
"Guide Souls – Bind Spirits – Defy the Heavenly Dao."
No Spiritual Energy, no divine techniques.
And yet, he became the nexus—the anchor connecting all souls erased from the cycle of reincarnation.
A state never recorded,beyond mortal, immortal, or celestial.
In the distance, a headless figure in ancient Daoist robes appeared.Carved upon his chest was the mark for "Eradicated"—a symbol of annihilation by the Celestial Court.
And yet…he knelt before Lâm Mạc.
"You… bear the Dao without Dao.""Hold no fate, yet lead fate.""Please… let me be reborn within your Dao.""I ask not for another life—only for a purpose… worth dying for."
Lâm Mạc possessed no power of ascension.But the Ashen Dao within his blood responded to what the heavens had denied—a refuge for rejected wills.
"Then come.""These ashes shall be your grave—""and the very foundation of my Dao."
From all nine directions of the heavens, over three thousand souls of defiance gathered.
No thunder. No light.
Only… an ashen vortex unfurling behind Lâm Mạc.
"From this moment… I am the Soulbearer.""No ascension. No scripture.""Only the return of wandering spirits—to live on within the New Dao."
Within the heart of the Celestial Law Court,Heaven-Ranked Lawkeepers assembled.
A trembling elder spoke:
"This was never recorded in the Celestial Tome.""The one whose Dao was destroyed… has become a sanctuary for ten thousand souls.""This is… an anomaly beyond reversal!"
Another voice, grave and cold:
"Summon the Ancient Divine Hall immediately.""This one… must not be allowed to survive another day!"
As Lâm Mạc completed the Soulbearing Rite,a tear in space cracked open before him.
From within—a woman in black robes stepped forth.Her face concealed by an ancient mask, her eyes deep blue as an endless abyss.
She spoke no word.Only bowed her head… and knelt.
"You are the Soulbearer… but not the first.""You are… the last one who remains."