Night settled quietly over the Duke residence.

The laughter and movement from the day’s preparations had finally faded, replaced by soft silence and the distant sound of wind brushing against bamboo leaves.

Inside the residence shrine, warm candlelight flickered beneath rows of ancestral tablets. Thin threads of incense smoke curled upward toward the dark ceiling, carrying a calming fragrance through the room.

The Empress sat cross-legged on a prayer cushion.

Her long sleeves pooled around her quietly as she adjusted another incense stick into the burner.

Tonight, she had come here alone to clear her thoughts.

Or at least—

She intended to be alone.

Unfortunately—

That was impossible.

Because the three ghosts hovering behind her had been arguing for the last fifteen minutes.

"She’s definitely pretending."

Fen Yu crossed her arms dramatically as she floated near the shrine lanterns.

"There’s no way someone suddenly becomes sick the moment His Majesty stays here."

General Wei Rong snorted.

"Obviously fake."

Scholar Li Shen adjusted his sleeves thoughtfully.

"Statistically speaking, the timing is suspicious."

The Empress sighed softly.

"You three have too much free time."

Fen Yu floated directly in front of her.

"No, listen carefully."

"She suddenly falls ill."

"Then palace servants send word."

"And what happens?"

She pointed dramatically toward the outside world.

"The Emperor’s attention returns to her."

Wei Rong nodded immediately.

"Classic strategy."

Li Shen added calmly,

"Emotionally manipulative."

The Empress pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You all sound ridiculous."

Fen Yu gasped.

"You’re defending her?"

The Empress looked up calmly.

"I’m saying not everything is a conspiracy."

Wei Rong scoffed.

"This palace literally runs on conspiracies."

"...That’s unfortunately true," Li Shen admitted.

The Empress remained quiet for a moment.

Then she lowered her gaze toward the incense smoke.

"...Lady Chen may have many flaws."

Fen Yu folded her arms triumphantly.

"Aha."

"But..."

The Empress continued softly.

"...I don’t think she would fake illness."

The ghosts froze slightly.

Wei Rong frowned.

"You trust her?"

"No."

The Empress answered immediately.

"But there’s a difference between distrust and assumptions."

Li Shen watched her carefully.

"You believe she’s capable of harming you."

The shrine fell quiet.

The candle flame flickered once.

Then the Empress finally nodded.

"...Yes."

Fen Yu floated closer.

"Then why are you defending her?"

The Empress stared silently at the burning incense for several long seconds before speaking.

"...Because something feels wrong."

The ghosts exchanged looks.

"What do you mean?" Li Shen asked quietly.

The Empress leaned back slightly.

"At first..."

"I thought Lady Chen was simply jealous."

"She wanted the Emperor’s attention."

"She disliked me."

"All of that makes sense."

Wei Rong nodded.

"Normal palace behavior."

"But then..."

The Empress’s eyes darkened slightly.

"...there was the lake incident."

The room became still again.

Fen Yu’s expression slowly changed.

The Empress continued quietly.

"I remember how it felt."

"My body..."

"...wasn’t listening to me."

The memory sent coldness through her chest.

That feeling—

Like invisible strings pulling her forward.

Toward the lake.

Toward death.

She closed her eyes briefly.

"And afterward..."

"The attack outside the palace."

"The strange strength of those men."

"The unnatural energy."

Her fingers tightened slowly around her sleeve.

"...None of this feels like ordinary jealousy anymore."

Li Shen’s expression became serious.

"You think there’s another person involved."

The Empress opened her eyes again.

"...Yes."

Wei Rong crossed his arms.

"That Shin Gu woman."

Fen Yu immediately nodded.

"She gives me bad energy."

The Empress slowly frowned.

"...Shin Gu."

The moment the name left her lips—

Something clicked.

A memory.

Fragments suddenly connecting together.

Lady Chen.

Shin Gu.

Always together.

Always whispering.

And every strange event—

Happened after Shin Gu entered the palace.

The Empress’s expression slowly changed.

Fen Yu noticed immediately.

"...You remembered something."

The Empress spoke quietly.

"When Lady Chen first entered the palace..."

"She wasn’t like this."

Wei Rong frowned.

"What changed?"

"...Shin Gu."

The shrine became silent.

The Empress stared toward the flickering lanterns.

"At first Lady Chen only wanted favor."

"She wanted attention."

"But slowly..."

"...everything became darker."

Fen Yu’s eyes widened.

"You think Shin Gu is influencing her?"

The Empress didn’t answer immediately.

But deep inside—

She already knew.

Because the more she thought about it—

The clearer it became.

The strange rituals.

The unexplained energy.

The timing of every incident.

And Lady Chen herself—

Sometimes seeming nervous.

Restless.

As though she were being guided by someone else.

Li Shen spoke carefully.

"...If Shin Gu truly knows dark arts..."

"...then Lady Chen may not fully understand what she’s involved in."

The Empress lowered her gaze.

"...That’s what worries me."

Wei Rong looked unconvinced.

"She still tried to kill you."

"Yes."

The Empress’s voice remained calm.

"I know."

Fen Yu floated lower beside her.

"Then why do you look sad?"

The Empress smiled faintly.

"...Because this palace destroys people."

The ghosts fell silent.

The Empress looked toward the ancestral tablets quietly.

"At some point..."

"People stop knowing where ambition ends and darkness begins."

The incense smoke curled slowly upward between them.

Outside, wind rustled softly through the trees.

Then suddenly—

The shrine candles flickered violently.

All four of them froze.

Wei Rong’s expression hardened instantly.

"...Did you feel that?"

Li Shen stood immediately.

"Yes."

Fen Yu grabbed the Empress’s sleeve nervously.

"That energy again..."

The Empress slowly rose to her feet.

Coldness spread through the shrine.

Not natural cold.

Something heavier.

Watching.

Breathing.

Waiting.

The lantern flames trembled again.

And for a brief second—

A dark shadow moved across the shrine wall.

Not human.

Not ghost.

Something else.

Fen Yu whispered shakily,

"...It found us."

Deep within the palace grounds—

Far from the warm laughter of the Duke residence—

Another courtyard remained awake.

But unlike the Duke residence, where lanterns glowed with warmth and joy—

This courtyard felt cold.

Silent.

Wrong.

Even the servants avoided walking near it after dark.

They said the air there felt strange.

Heavy.

As though something unseen watched from the shadows.

And tonight—

Inside that courtyard—

Someone was laughing.

Softly.

Quietly.

But enough to make the candle flames tremble.

—

Inside the chamber, black incense smoke curled through the dim air like living snakes.

Ancient talismans hung from the walls.

Bowls filled with dark liquid rested near a strange altar carved with symbols no ordinary person would recognize.

At the center of it all sat—

Shin Gu.

Her long black robes spread across the floor around her like darkness itself.

One pale hand rested beneath her chin.

And on her lips—

A smile.

Not warm.

Not human.

Something colder.

Something twisted.

Before her burned a shallow bronze bowl filled with crimson flame.

Inside the flame—

Images flickered.

The Duke residence.

The shrine.

The Empress.

The ghosts.

Shin Gu watched quietly.

Then—

She laughed again.

Low.

Amused.

"They finally noticed."

Her voice echoed softly through the chamber.

A shadow behind her moved unnaturally across the wall.

Not from candlelight.

Not from wind.

But alive.

Listening.

Waiting.

Shin Gu tilted her head slightly.

"Too late."

The crimson flame flickered violently.

Inside it, the image of the Empress standing in the shrine appeared again.

The ghosts surrounding her looked tense.

Alert.

Fearful.

Shin Gu’s smile widened.

"So..."

"You finally remembered me."

There was satisfaction in her tone.

Because for weeks—

She had hidden perfectly.

Guiding events from the shadows.

Whispering into weak hearts.

Twisting fear.

Planting suspicion.

And now—

The Empress had begun seeing the truth.

But Shin Gu wasn’t worried.

No.

She was excited.

Because realization came with terror.

And terror—

Made people weak.

Shin Gu slowly stood from her seat.

The shadows in the room stretched unnaturally beneath her feet.

Long.

Distorted.

Almost alive.

She walked toward the altar slowly.

Each step silent.

Measured.

On the altar rested several strange objects.

Black candles.

Ancient bones.

Dried flowers soaked in dark liquid.

And at the center—

A lock of hair tied with red thread.

The Empress’s hair.

Shin Gu picked it up carefully.

Her fingers brushed across it gently.

Almost affectionately.

Then her eyes darkened.

"No one will stop me now."

The shadows behind her trembled violently.

As if responding.

Shin Gu closed her eyes briefly.

And memories surfaced.

Old memories.

Buried beneath centuries.

Blood.

Fire.

Screaming temples.

Cultivators hunting her kind.

Kingdoms burning dark practitioners alive.

Her smile slowly disappeared.

Replaced by hatred.

Pure.

Ancient.

"I survived."

Her voice dropped lower.

"They all died..."

"But I survived."

The room darkened slightly.

The candles dimmed.

Even the air itself seemed afraid.

Shin Gu opened her eyes again.

And now—

There was no trace of softness left.

Only obsession.

Only rage.

"This kingdom..."

"...belongs to weak people."

"They fear power."

"They fear truth."

"So they bury it."

Her fingers tightened around the lock of hair.

"But they forgot something."

The crimson flames behind her rose higher.

Dark smoke spread across the ceiling like living creatures.

"Darkness never dies."

A sudden whisper echoed through the room.

Not from her.

From something else.

Something unseen.

Hungry.

Shin Gu smiled slowly.

"Yes..."

"Soon."

She walked toward another part of the chamber where an enormous painted seal covered the floor.

Complex symbols carved into black ink.

At the center—

A deep crack.

As though something beneath it had tried to claw its way upward.

Shin Gu looked down at it quietly.

Then crouched.

Her fingers traced the edge of the crack.

"The seal weakens more every day."

Excitement flickered across her face.

"Soon..."

"...the gate will open."

The shadows around the chamber began moving faster now.

Restless.

Like beasts sensing prey.

Shin Gu stood again.

Then turned toward a mirror resting near the altar.

But the reflection inside—

Was wrong.

It wasn’t her face.

Instead—

Dark shapes twisted inside the mirror like screaming souls trapped beneath water.

And slowly—

One shape emerged clearer than the others.

A massive shadow with glowing eyes.

Watching her.

Waiting.

Shin Gu lowered her head respectfully.

"My lord."

The shadow remained silent.

But pressure filled the room instantly.

Heavy.

Crushing.

Even the walls groaned softly.

Shin Gu smiled.

"I have prepared everything."

"The kingdom is already weakening."

"The palace is filled with fear."

"The Emperor doubts his own court."

"The Empress attracts death."

"And the spiritual barriers protecting this land continue collapsing."

The shadow inside the mirror pulsed once.

Approval.

Shin Gu’s smile widened further.

"No one suspects the truth."

"They search for enemies outside."

"They blame ghosts."

"They blame assassins."

"But none of them understand..."

Her eyes darkened completely.

"...the real horror has already entered their world."

The mirror suddenly cracked.

A sharp sound echoed through the chamber.

But Shin Gu only laughed softly.

Then—

A voice emerged from the mirror.

Distorted.

Ancient.

"Bring... her..."

Shin Gu’s eyes gleamed.

"...The Empress?"

The voice whispered again.

"She... opened... the path..."

For the first time—

Shin Gu’s expression shifted slightly.

Interest.

Curiosity.

Then realization.

The lake incident.

Her death.

Her return.

The broken spiritual balance around the Empress.

Suddenly—

Everything connected.

Shin Gu slowly smiled again.

"...So that’s why."

The voice faded.

The pressure lessened.

But the room remained cold.

Shin Gu touched the cracked mirror lightly.

"You chose an interesting vessel."

Her gaze turned distant.

Thoughtful.

Then amused.

"Poor Empress."

"She still believes she returned because of love."

The shadows behind her twisted violently again.

Shin Gu laughed softly.

"She doesn’t understand."

"She crossed death itself."

"And when someone returns from the other side..."

"...something always follows."

The chamber trembled slightly.

Far away—

At the Duke residence shrine—

The candles extinguished all at once.

Back inside the palace—

Shin Gu closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

As if savoring something sweet.

Fear.

Confusion.

Weakening spiritual energy.

All of it feeding the darkness around her.

Then slowly—

She opened her eyes again.

Cold.

Terrifying.

Certain.

"Now..."

"No one will destroy me."

Her lips curved upward.

Because the kingdom still believed this was merely palace politics.

Jealous concubines.

Ambition.

Power struggles.

How foolish.

How blind.

They still didn’t understand—

This was never about the throne.

Never about the Emperor.

Never about Lady Chen.

No.

Those were only tools.

Distractions.

Pieces on a board.

And Shin Gu—

Had already begun the real game.

She walked back toward the altar slowly.

The black candles reignited one by one without being touched.

The shadows around her bowed like servants before a queen.

And beneath the palace—

Far below stone and earth—

Something ancient stirred awake.

Hungry.

Waiting.

Listening to her voice.

Shin Gu smiled into the darkness.

Then whispered softly—

"I will destroy them all."