The summit of Mount Cangshan was a graveyard.

Yun Che stood at the edge of the ancient ceremonial ground, looking at the stone markers that dotted the clearing. Forty-seven markers, each carved with a name he recognized from history books. His ancestors. The first generation of Blue Wind emperors and empresses, their bodies interred here on the mountain where they had sworn their founding oaths.

And in the center, a single unmarked grave.

He didn't need to ask whose it was. He knew.

His mother.

The Sky Poison Pearl had belonged to her before it belonged to him — a treasure of the Evil God's lineage, passed down through the maternal line for generations. She had died giving birth to him, transferring the Pearl to his infant body with her final breath. He had never known her, never seen her face, never heard her voice. But he had lived his entire life in the shadow of her sacrifice.

He knelt beside the unmarked grave and placed his palm against the cold stone.

'Mother,' he said, and the word felt strange in his mouth — a sound he'd never had reason to make before. 'I don't know if you can hear me. I don't know if the dead can hear anything. But I want you to know: I'm not done yet. The empire you died for is dying. The clan that betrayed our family is rising. And I'm going to stop them.'

The wind stirred across the mountaintop, carrying the scent of distant snow and ancient stone. For just a moment, Yun Che felt something warm press against his chest — not the Pearl, but something older and gentler.

Then it was gone.

He stood up, brushed the dirt from his knees, and faced the eastern horizon where the first light of dawn was breaking. 'One more day,' he said. 'And then everything changes.'