*Era of the Origins... War Camp of General Titan XiMen... The Iron Mountains...*

The sky of the Era of the Origins never knew true rest. Above the sharp peaks of the Iron Mountains, storms of pure Qi tore through the clouds, illuminating with electric reflections the fortresses erected by the Titans.

These colossi, proud of their lineage of Courage, dominated this part of the world with an arrogance born of a brute physical force capable of shaking the very foundations of the earth. In this universe where size and the power of the Dantian dictated the hierarchy, humans remained shadows, parasites stirring in the blind spots of the gods’ perception.

However, a rumor was beginning to poison the banquets of the sovereigns: that of the Celestial Demon. A man with silver hair, devoid of significant Qi, but whose cold intelligence and ruthless methods had already caused the fall of several lineage lords.

Several decades had passed since BaiShe had bought a small terrified fox in the ruins of a destroyed palace. Consequently, the fragile creature of yesteryear had given way to an entity whose name alone made sentinels tremble: the Hundred Faces Demoness. One could no longer name the Celestial Demon without mentioning his shadow, that invisible blade capable of infiltrating the most protected sanctuaries to sow death there.

In the colossal tent of General XiMen, the luxury was on the scale of its occupant. Snow dragon skins covered the floor, and pillars of solid gold supported a purple silk vault. XiMen, a three-meter-tall Titan with tanned skin and eyes injected with solar Qi, was seated on his resting bed.

Facing him stood his favorite wife, or at least what he believed to be his devoted companion. Yi Lan, using her Immortal Constitution of 100 Faces, had copied every detail of the giantess with precision.

Her skin scent, the vibratory frequency of her Qi and even the golden gleam of her pupils were identical to the original, whom BaiShe had made disappear three days earlier.

"You seem worried, my queen..." thundered XiMen’s voice, a low vibration that made the crystal cups on the low table tremble.

Yi Lan, under her traits of a protective giantess, let a suave smile appear, a mixture of submission and carnal provocation. She approached the general, her wide hips swaying with a grace that immediately made the Titan’s blood boil.

"The weight of war weighs on your shoulders, my lord..." she murmured, her voice a melody of velvet. "Let me soothe the tensions of your Dantian before tomorrow’s battle."

She began to undo the ties of her silk tunic, revealing an opulent and firm chest that seemed to defy the laws of gravity. XiMen seized her by the waist, his massive hands almost entirely covering the hips of the metamorphosed fox.

He pulled her brutally toward him, crushing her against his muscular torso. Yi Lan let out a simulated moan of pleasure, her fingers with sharp nails getting lost in the Titan’s thick hair.

Simultaneously, a few hundred meters away, hidden in the dimensional interstices thanks to a camouflage artifact.

BaiShe observed the scene through his monocle. His silver pupils analyzed the flows of Qi inside the tent. His Omega Heart beat at a slow rhythm, pumping waves of calm that stabilized the telepathic link he maintained with his instrument.

’The moment of maximum vulnerability is approaching...’ he thought, his lips stretching into a predator’s rictus. ’The Titans are beings of courage, but their arrogance blinds them to the poisons that insinuate themselves through desire.’

As XiMen was about to kiss Yi Lan.

In a fraction of a second, she made appear between her fingers a draconic bone blade, imbued with death Qi. Without any hesitation, she slashed the Titan’s carotid artery with a circular gesture.

The sound was that of thick leather being torn, followed by a strident hiss. The golden blood of the Titans, a hot and viscous substance loaded with devastating solar energy, spurted out in a monumental fountain. The jet was so powerful that it instantly stained the silk of the sheets, the walls of the tent and Yi Lan’s body. XiMen opened his eyes, total incomprehension readable in his pupils that were fading. He tried to bring his hands to his throat, but the blood continued to flow in golden cascades, flooding the bed and creating a steaming puddle on the floor.

"Gllk... Gllk..." The Titan only managed to emit a horrible gurgling as his Dantian, deprived of its vital circulation, began to implode.

Yi Lan freed herself from the massive body that collapsed on the side with a dull sound. She returned to her original form in a swirl of pink smoke. The nine-tailed fox stood upright in the middle of the carnage, her porcelain skin covered with trails of golden blood that shone like liquid gold in the half-light. She did not cast a glance at the general’s corpse that was finishing emptying itself of its substance. She felt BaiShe’s presence approaching.

The young master emerged from the shadows, walking on the bloodied carpets with sovereign indifference. He adjusted his monocle, observing the Titan’s body with intellectual curiosity.

"A clean section..." he commented in a monotone voice. "Your precision has improved, Lan’er. The death of such a general will create a power vacuum that the titans will rush to fill."

"I don’t like it when you force me to do this kind of thing... I need my reward~"

Yi Lan threw herself against him, ignoring that she was soiling him with the blood of her victim. She sniffed his neck, seeking the scent of frosted lotus that was her only anchor in this cruel world. Her nine tails wrapped around BaiShe’s legs in a possessive embrace.

"You have become my obsession, BaiShe..." she murmured, her voice trembling with yandere devotion. "The Dao can curse me, as long as I am your blade. I live only to see your reflection in the blood of those who dare defy you."

BaiShe did not push her away. On the contrary, he raised his pale hand and began to slowly caress the base of her silky tails, a gesture of familiarity that provoked an electric shiver in the fox. His gaze remained cold, but a glimmer of narcissistic satisfaction shone in his eyes. He respected the absolute loyalty of this creature who had sacrificed everything for him, even if his Omega Heart remained incapable of feeling the love she devoted to him.

"You are my most precious treasure, Lan’er..." he replied, plunging his gaze into hers. "A Demon never wastes what is loyal to him. As long as you are my shadow, no sky will be able to loom over us without eventually collapsing."

BaiShe looked at the corpse.

< Devoration! >

Consequently, they left the tent together, leaving behind the corpse of a titan lord and a fortress that did not yet know it had lost its soul. The golden blood continued to flow from the silk sheets, testifying to the birth of a duo whose cunning was going to devour the centuries.

Yi Lan walked in her master’s footsteps, a smile of gentle madness on her lips, ready to change faces a thousand times more to satisfy the ambition of her only god. The banquet of khao was only just beginning, and the smell of iron mixed with the peach perfume marked the beginning of their bloody legend through the ages.