The dense forest below the Eternal Lotus Sect was a labyrinth of ancient trees and spiritual beasts. Yun, Shara, and Meilin moved like shadows, their energies suppressed. The "Annihilation Light" had drained Yun significantly, and Meilin's connection to her clan's flames was still recovering from its forced merging with the void. Only Shara, with her calm wood-elemental Qi, seemed relatively stable.
"They won't just send cultivators," Shara whispered, glancing at the distant glow of the burning sect. "The Imperial Capital must have sent 'Fate Puppeteers'—cultivators who track by destiny, not by Qi signature."
Just then, a wave of oppressive spiritual energy washed over them. Three figures, cloaked in black, materialized in the canopy above. Their eyes glowed with an eerie blue light, and they held ornate staffs topped with crystal orbs. These were the legendary Imperial Fate Puppeteers.
"The anomaly has left its mark on the threads of fate," one of them rasped, his voice echoing in the forest. "The Heavens demand its return. Prepare to be bound, creature of Chaos!"
Meilin's eyes blazed. "Fate Puppeteers? I'll burn their 'fate' to ashes!" She unleashed a torrent of fire, but the Puppeteers simply twisted their staffs. The flames, instead of hitting them, swirled around and harmlessly dissipated.
"Foolish girl," another Puppeteer sneered. "Our power is not Qi; it is the manipulation of destiny itself. We can make your very next step lead to your death."
Yun Caos stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous violet. "Destiny?" he murmured. The purple whirlpool in his heart pulsed. This was a new kind of "meal." He reached out with his mind, not to attack, but to touch the threads of fate the Puppeteers spoke of.
[Image: Yun Caos standing in a dark forest, holding out his hand. Wisps of purple and blue energy are swirling from his hand towards three cloaked figures in the trees, who look surprised as if their power is being drawn away.]
To the Puppeteers' horror, Yun wasn't severing the threads of destiny—he was devouring them. The blue light in their crystal orbs flickered, then dimmed. Their connection to the great tapestry of fate began to fray.
"Impossible!" cried one Puppeteer, clutching his staff. "He's consuming our very causality!"
Yun focused. He wasn't just taking their connection; he was drawing their destiny into his own void. With a sudden burst of power, he tore at the fabric of existence around the Puppeteers. Their forms wavered. They weren't killed, but their presence was erased from the timeline. They simply... ceased to be in that specific moment and place, their destined paths devoured by Yun's growing power.
The forest fell silent once more. Shara stared at Yun, awestruck. "You didn't just defeat them, Yun... you made them disappear from this specific timeline. That's... a power even the Heavens might fear."
Meilin looked at Yun with new, complex emotions. Her own fate had been a burden, a chain binding her to her clan's prophecy. If Yun could devour destiny itself, perhaps he could devour hers, freeing her from a future she secretly resented.
"The Imperial Capital will send more," Yun said, his voice now carrying a hint of cold authority. "But now they know what they are hunting. We need to leave this realm. Find a place where the threads of fate are thin."