original

The Black Star Monarch

Prologue: The Death of a celestial.

The sky was gray, and a dark cloud loomed over the peaks of snowy mountaintops. The scent of blood lingered in the air as the sound of a deep exhale rumbled through the air, parting the misty clouds above. A man with long dark hair and a flowing white robe lay on his back, resembling a scholar in appearance. He looked up with an unreadable expression as another towering figure dashed towards him.

"Patriarch Chen! Prepare to die!" The figure screamed, his broad shoulders and muscular physique evident. His rusted sword, with jagged serrations, slashed towards the scholarly man's throat.

The scholarly man looked up, his eyes flashing with darkness as he reached out with one hand and pressed his index finger against the tip of the blade. The sword shattered into a million pieces, turning to dust as it crumbled onto the cold stone floor.

"What!" The muscular man almost screamed, his eyes widening in horror. "Don't tell me— You finally broke through?" He couldn't believe his eyes.

"Zhu Lan," Patriarch Chen said calmly. His gaze pierced the man like a sharpened knife as he slowly climbed to his feet. "All these years, I treated you like a brother. I gave you wealth, power, and freedom." His voice remained calm as he strode forward, but his words resonated like the roar of a ferocious beast.

Zhu Lan scurried back a few paces, and the familiar aura of death settled upon him like a cold frost. A chill ran down his spine as he looked at his old friend with regret.

Patriarch Chen stopped walking and looked around. His mountain sect was in ruins. Buildings had been crushed, and disciples had been slaughtered. Off in the distance, he saw two young children wearing red robes; their heads had been sliced off completely and were left in a puddle of blood a few paces away from their bodies. He took a deep breath.

"You have killed your own disciples," Patriarch Chen muttered. A deep red glow illuminated his eyes as the temperature of the world around them seemed to decrease. A crushing wave of spiritual energy emerged from his eyes as he looked down upon Zhu Lan with a thirst to tear him limb from limb.

Zhu Lan froze. No matter what he tried, his body was incapable of moving. All he could do was watch as a blast of energy, unlike anything he had seen before, crushed him into the ground.

He remained standing at first until his knees buckled beneath the pressure, and he fell onto them with a pleading expression.

"Wait! Don't kill me! We're sworn brothers. You can't kill me!" Zhu Lan croaked as he could no longer even remain kneeling. His face slammed against the stone floor, and his nose flattened beneath him. Blood pooled around his head.

Suddenly, the pressure vanished. Patriarch Chen felt a pain shoot through his chest, and when he looked down, he saw the tip of a silver blade sticking out between his ribs. Despite the blade looking quite normal, a poisonous aura emerged from the hole in his body, and he could no longer use his spiritual energy to crush Zhu Lan.

Zhu Lan looked up, a smile running along his lips and turning into a cackling laugh. "You are far too arrogant, my dear friend. Did you really think I was stupid enough to challenge you alone?"

Patriarch Chen turned to see a woman standing behind him, holding the sword that had been thrust through his chest.

"Xue Yan," he muttered as he saw the woman's doll-like features. Her silky black hair waved in the wind as though it were a living creature, and she quickly jumped away from him. A cold shiver ran through her body as their eyes met.

Patriarch Chen remained silent and pressed his hand against the tip of the blade. It shot back out, creating a hole that spilled blood down his white robes. He gritted his teeth as he saw the wound wasn't healing and looked up once more as Zhu Lan's laughing fit came to an end.

"I bet you never expected this, did you?" He said with pride as he stepped forward and held out his arm. "Xue Yan, my dear, come join me over here so we can give your husband a proper goodbye."

Xue Yan quickly joined Zhu Lan with a hesitant look in her eyes. She seemed as though she wanted to say something but couldn't open her mouth.

Patriarch Chen smiled as he watched Zhu Lan wrap his arm around Xue Yan. He seemed to realize something, and his smile then turned into a chuckle.

"The Brain Devouring Parasite. You know, I wondered what you would do with such an evil creature. It turns out that you have been planning this for centuries."

"Xue Yan," he spoke softly as their eyes met again. "I don't blame you for this. It wasn't your fault. But you know as much as I do what that parasite will do to you."

Xue Yan's eyes widened as she stared at him, unable to even nod her head.

Patriarch Chen's gaze fell back down to the hole in his chest. It was becoming wider. The poison in his body would slowly eat away at the edges of the wound until it eventually reached his heart. As for his wife's condition, The Brain Devouring Parasite would soon turn her into a puppet, unable to form a single thought without Zhu Lan's permission. It seemed that both husband and wife would enter heaven together.

Patriarch Chen smiled bitterly as Zhu Lan held out his hand, and the poisonous sword flew toward him.

"This time, you will die!" He screamed as he rushed forward with the sword outstretched.

"I never wanted to use this technique," Patriarch Chen whispered as he stared at Zhu Lan, who was quickly approaching with a murderous aura. It was clear that this was the end of the line.

He could either die upon the sword of the man he now hated the most or choose a death worthy of someone of his stature. He closed his eyes and circulated energy throughout his body.

"That's not going to work!" Zhu Lan laughed as he reached Patriarch Chen and jabbed the sword forward. But he couldn't move.

The world around them went silent. The wind stopped blowing, and not even a single bird chirped in the forest below the mountain. Everything came to a halt as the gentle thumping of a heart enveloped the world.

Zhu Lan watched on, his face turning pale as it drained of blood. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't even draw a single breath.

Patriarch Chen waved his hand toward Xue Yan, his eyes gentle as a centipede-looking creature crawled out of her ear and flew toward him. The insect then wriggled its way into the hole in his chest, and he smiled with satisfaction.

"Chen Xiao!" Xue Yan screamed as she gained control of her body.

Patriarch Chen smiled as his eyes fell upon Zhu Lan.

"It seems that you are the one that is far too arrogant."

Xue Yan opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Patriarch Chen reached out and grabbed Zhu Lan by the shoulder. The two of them vanished; not a trace of their life forces existed as the landscape changed from the ruins of an immortal sect to complete darkness. The only thing around them was the distant starry sky.

The thumping of his heart echoed with a spiraling vortex of spiritual energy as the two of them stared at each other with murderous intent. Patriarch Chen let out a final laugh as a shock wave shot out from his body, followed by a blinding light that felt as though it could outshine even the brightest of stars.

The light died out and revealed a fracture in space, a rift in time, and a crack in the essence of reality. The two of them ceased to exist.