Cang Xuanren, a fallen prince living his seventh punished mortal life. He was traveling through a dark forest at dusk when he sensed something wrong in the fate-threads around him. A hollowed spirit beast attacks, recognizing the hidden divine mark on his forehead.

Forced to reveal a fragment of his forbidden power, Xuan summons the Star-Crowned Abyss Wolf and kills the creature, but the battle leaves him badly wounded. As rain falls and his strength fails, he stumbles through the forest until he sees a faint light in the distance. Once he sees it, his legs give out and he passes out, uncertain whether it means rescue, danger, or fate wearing a gentler face.