Chapter 1
The day I failed to win my master Elias Sterling's heart, he brought his first love, Lila Sullivan, into the sect.
For seven hundred years, I fought side by side with him, risking my life.
But in the end, he called me a "disgrace to his name" and threw me into Purgatory.
The System stripped my emotions away, cold and final.
Later, that once untouchable Elias came to find me, eyes red, begging for my love.
I looked at him, indifferent.
Why was he crying? He'd had everything he wanted.
*****
"Chiara Gray, you have proven yourself a selfish and wayward disciple, unworthy of my teachings.
"From this day on, you are expelled from Brightspire Hall and sent to guard Purgatory. You'll not leave unless the sect summons you," Elias declared.
His voice, cold as ice, pierced straight through me.
The hurt ran so deep, it felt like my very bones were weeping blood.
I looked up at him.
Standing beside him was a woman in flowing white robes, Lila, his first love, the one he'd searched three hundred years for.
Now that he had her, I was the shadow he no longer needed.
Seven hundred years by his side, and all it earned me was one word, "Go."
A bitter laugh escaped me.
Tears streamed down my face, no matter how hard I tried to stop them.
The entire hall watched, their stares making me feel like I'd lost my mind.
Lila's voice, soft and delicate, broke the silence. "Elias, perhaps Chiara is overwhelmed. Maybe not..."
Elias cut her off, his voice icy. "She deserves every bit of this."
He looked at me, his eyes filled with disgust and coldness. "Chiara, do you accept your judgment?"
I pushed myself up from the ground, slowly getting to my feet.
My head was spinning, the room tilting around me.
I saw it all: the unyielding hardness in Elias's eyes, the smug smile Lila couldn't quite hide, and the stares of the others, a mix of pity and scorn.
So this was what seven hundred years of loving Elias got me?
"Yes, I accept it," I said, my voice steady.
As I turned to leave, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in my mind.
[Mission failed.]
[Punishment activated: emotions stripped.]
Instantly, an indescribable pain tore through me, like something vital was being ripped from my soul.
My vision went dark, and I fell.
In that last second before everything faded, I thought I saw Elias step forward.
But what did it matter?
*****
When I woke up again, I was already at the entrance of Purgatory.
The wind here cut like knives, and all around me echoed the wails of the dead and the howls of the damned.
I pressed a hand to my chest.
It didn't hurt anymore.
And I felt nothing.
I stood up and brushed the dust from my robes.
My mind felt hollow, as though I'd lost so much, yet remembered everything.
But when I thought of Elias's face, my heart stayed completely still.
It was like looking at a stranger.
A Purgatory guard handed me a token and a notebook, his expression flat.
"Keep the gate sealed. Log the energy shifts. Don't screw it up," he said.
I took them and opened the notebook.
The writing was neat, and the rules were straightforward.
I nodded. "Got it."
The guard seemed taken aback by my calmness. He gave me a curious look before turning to leave.
I stood before the massive gates of Purgatory, the wind pulling at my hair.
My eyes fell on the first rule in the notebook. [No unnecessary contact with non-Purgatory personnel.]
Perfect. I liked the rules.
*****
Life in Purgatory was monotonous, but everything ran like clockwork.
Every day, I sat by the gates with my notebook, tracking the energy seeping from behind the doors.
There were no seasons here, only endless dark and howling wind.
Honestly, it suited me.
With all feeling stripped away, my senses sharpened, and my cultivation advanced faster than ever before.
A single glance, and I could understand the sword techniques that once required Elias's explanation, and even forge something fiercer.
Turned out, my love for Elias had been holding me back.
One day, as I was logging the readings, an uninvited guest arrived.
It was Lila.
She was draped in a lavish gown and a snowy fox fur, utterly out of place in this grim, haunted place.
Two juniors trailed behind her, glaring at me with open contempt.
"Chiara, what happened to you? You look like a total mess," Lila sneered, pressing a handkerchief to her nose like the air here stank.
I didn't look up, just kept recording the energy fluctuations.
[Noon, dark energy surged up three inches. Suspected third-tier wraith trying to breach the seal.]
Once noted, I closed the notebook.
Lila's face went pale, and she raised her voice. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"
Only then did I look up, meeting her gaze without a flicker.
"This is Purgatory. If you have no business here, turn back," I said.
"You!" Lila trembled with anger. "Don't push your luck. You think you're still Elias's prized disciple? Now you're nothing but a guard dog."
Guard dogs watched the gates, and so did I.
I nodded. "Just fulfilling my duty."