The Celestial Capital stirred in cautious optimism following General Feng Zhen's fall. But beneath the surface calm, currents of fate began to shift. In secluded mountain peaks and shadowed valleys, old oaths cracked, and forgotten names stirred in sleep. The realm had felt Tianming's presence like a celestial hammer upon the balance of destiny, and the world would never be the same.
In the inner sanctum of the Azure Pavilion, Tianming sat cross-legged before the Celestial Core, which now pulsed with a brilliant mix of violet flame and silver starlight. His breath was steady, and his soul was deeper than ever before.
> System Notification: Celestial Core fully integrated. Phase Two Awakening Initiated. New Trait Unlocked: Etherwalk (Allows traversal of Void Layers for up to 60 seconds)
Destiny Threads Unlocked: 1/7
A humming glow settled on his skin as runes danced over his arms like living tattoos. From the lotus pond outside came the soft chirp of a starbird, echoing the harmony of the realm itself.
Zhao Yueyin entered, robes fluttering like red petals in a spring breeze. "The Emperor summons you. Urgently."
Tianming opened his eyes, clarity burning within them. "The Gate?"
"Worse. The Gate has already begun to crack."
---
Imperial War Council Chamber
Emperor Xi Wenlong, flanked by his four Grand Chancellors, stood before an enormous celestial map carved into obsidian and pearl. The image of a massive rift tearing through the sky flickered above the center.
"This is in the Northern Expanse," the Emperor said. "Where the seals of the Void Gate were buried centuries ago."
Zhao Yueyin studied the energy pulse displayed. "Someone is forcing a convergence."
"No. Something," corrected Grand Chancellor Xuan Lu. "The readings match no known formation technique."
Tianming stepped forward. "The Cult has abandoned subtlety. They wish to drown the world in shadows."
The Emperor nodded. "You must travel to the Northern Expanse. Find the breach. Seal it if possible. And if not… survive."
---
Northern Expanse – Two Days Later
The journey had been swift, aided by Zhao Yueyin's wind talismans and Lan Mei's artifact cloudbeast, a flying qilin named Fengyan. From the air, the Expanse looked like a scarred plain of broken stars. Once the site of an ancient war between Sky Lords and Nether Kings, the land was steeped in spiritual radiation.
Tianming's team disembarked at dusk, where silver mist coiled through dead pines and the air thrummed with spiritual static.
"We should set up wards," Lan Mei said.
"Already on it," Yueyin replied, laying crystalline formation stones in a hexagon.
Tianming knelt, placing his hand to the earth. He whispered, and the soil whispered back—memories of ancient blood, of chains broken, of a name:
"Xiangtu."
Lan Mei blinked. "You know that name too?"
"No," Tianming said slowly. "But the land does."
---
Midnight
The wind screamed.
A black monolith rose from the heart of the Expanse. Not built, but grown—a structure of pure void essence. Atop it stood a figure clad in a robe of molten night.
Master Corvus.
"So you came," he crooned, his voice like oil and silk.
Tianming stepped forward, stars swirling around him. "The shadows miscalculated. We are not as weak as you think."
Corvus tilted his head. "Oh, child. This isn't about strength. This is prophecy. The Shattered Sky is inevitable."
He raised his hand. The monolith cracked.
A portal began to form, swirling like a dark cyclone. From within came the smell of rot and lightning, and faint whispers from creatures not meant to exist.
Tianming summoned Starpiercer. The blade sang in resonance.
"Seal it!" Zhao Yueyin shouted, launching her Phoenix Flame Bindings.
Lan Mei invoked her Sea Crystal Shell, encasing the monolith in a shifting water barrier.
Tianming focused, activating Etherwalk. For a moment, he stepped between layers of reality, his form flickering like a mirage. In that second, he saw it—the true form of the rift. A clawed hand reaching for the sky. He hurled a sigil into its heart.
> Stellar Brand Applied: Disruption Successful.
The void screeched. The claw withdrew. The portal wavered.
Master Corvus screamed, his form writhing as divine light touched him. "You DARE!?"
Tianming landed hard, gasping. His Etherwalk expired.
Zhao Yueyin flung a storm of phoenix feathers, burning through the shadow aura around Corvus. Lan Mei's blade struck the base of the monolith, causing cracks to spread.
"Together!" Tianming shouted.
The trio poured their energy into one last attack. Stars, flame, and tide converged.
The monolith shattered.
The portal collapsed.
The night went still.
Corvus had vanished.
---
Campfire - Later That Night
Tianming sat alone, holding the Celestial Core in his palm. It pulsed steadily, but a new scar had formed along its outer shell.
Zhao Yueyin approached, handing him a flask. "You did it. We did it."
He nodded but said nothing.
"You saw something, didn't you? In the Void."
Tianming whispered, "A city. Floating. In chains. With a throne of bones."
Yueyin sat beside him. "The Cult calls it Nihilus. Their promised land."
"Then we must destroy it."
"First, we survive."
---
System Notification
> Subquest Complete: Prevent the Void Gate Opening Reward: Destiny Thread 2/7 New Ability: Stellar Phantasm (Summon a decoy construct of pure starlight) Hidden Stat Revealed: Echo Resonance - 3%
---
Elsewhere: The Silent Keep
Corvus knelt before a massive obsidian mirror. From its depths, a voice spoke.
"Your failure was expected. The boy has seen too much."
Corvus bowed his head. "He grows stronger."
"Then bring forth the Heralds. We will test his limits."
The mirror cracked.
---
Back at the Capital
Emperor Xi Wenlong held a golden scroll. He read it aloud to his Grand Chancellors:
"He who walks the stars has begun to echo. When seven threads align, the Shattered Sky will fall, and only the Echoborn may rewrite fate."
He looked out the window, where a single star blazed brighter than the rest.
"Prepare the Trials."
---
To Be Continued in Chapter 42: Trials of the Echoborn