The next morning dawned beneath a trembling sky.
Over the Azure Flame Mountains, the sun rose pale and distant, its warmth dimmed by a strange, silvery haze that hung like a veil over the heavens. The flames that usually danced proudly upon the peaks flickered uneasily — as if afraid.
Even the phoenix spirit that slept beneath the sect stirred restlessly in its sacred cavern.
Elder Mei Lian stood at the gates with the Sect Master and dozens of disciples, her brows furrowed. "The heavens are descending power upon us, Sect Master. I can feel their divine imprint — it's not a blessing."
Yan Lie's eyes hardened. "No. It's judgment."
A ripple of golden light tore through the clouds.
Then, silence — perfect and heavy — fell over the world.
A celestial gate opened in the sky, vast and radiant, framed by runes of divine law. From it descended a figure clad in silver-white armor, her presence brighter than the sun. Each step she took condensed immortal qi into clouds beneath her feet.
When she finally touched the sect grounds, every disciple dropped to their knees instinctively.
> "Heavenly Envoy!"
Her face was calm — beautiful, but cold as the divine stars. Silver hair framed her face, and her eyes glowed faintly gold, each iris containing the reflection of countless worlds.
> "I am Envoy Seraphis, emissary of the Heavenly Palace," she said, her voice soft but resonant, carrying the weight of celestial decree.
"By order of the Immortal Emperor, I come to investigate the anomaly known as Feixue of the North."
Gasps spread among the disciples.
Feixue stood among them, motionless, her snow-white robe fluttering gently in the wind.
Envoy Seraphis's gaze landed upon her immediately. For a moment, the divine light in her eyes wavered — confusion, perhaps, or recognition.
> She looks… familiar.
---
Yan Lie stepped forward, bowing deeply.
"Envoy Seraphis, this disciple of ours has committed no offense. She merely—"
"Silence." The envoy's voice echoed like thunder, yet remained strangely serene.
"Heaven does not act on offense or defense. It acts on imbalance."
She turned back toward Feixue. "You bear stillness within flame. That is not harmony — it is defiance of law. Show me your soul."
A golden sigil flared upon her hand — a mark of divine order. The pressure that followed was immense. Mountains bowed; disciples coughed blood; even Yan Lie was forced to one knee.
Feixue, however, did not move.
The light fell upon her — and shattered.
Fragments of divine radiance scattered like glass, dissolving into mist.
Seraphis's golden eyes widened slightly. "Impossible. My divine law cannot touch her essence…"
Feixue spoke softly, her tone calm, but her words carried through the mountain like song.
> "You search for imbalance where there is only reflection. Flame seeks motion; ice seeks silence. Both are halves of the same origin."
The envoy's aura trembled. "Origin…? That word is forbidden. Who taught you this?"
Feixue tilted her head slightly, as if listening to a voice only she could hear.
"No one. I simply remembered."
---
The world stilled.
For an instant, everything — the sky, the sect, the very qi of the realm — froze in suspended motion.
And in that stillness, Seraphis saw it: a reflection behind Feixue — vast, ancient, infinite. A shadow of something that existed before Heaven itself.
A woman of boundless light, her hair cascading like silver rivers, her eyes containing galaxies.
The image faded as quickly as it appeared, but the echo of its presence made Seraphis's heart quiver.
> What did I just witness…? That form… That aura... Could she be—
Feixue's voice broke the silence.
> "Heaven fears what it cannot understand. But tell me, Envoy — does Heaven remember where it came from?"
Seraphis stepped back unconsciously. For the first time in centuries, she felt the weight of doubt.
Then, to the astonishment of all, she slowly knelt.
Not from reverence — but from something far older. Recognition.
"I… know this feeling," she whispered. "It is the same as the First Light — the breath that birthed Heaven itself."
Yan Lie's eyes widened. "Envoy, what are you saying?"
Seraphis stood again, her expression unreadable. She looked to Feixue, her tone quieter now, almost reverent.
"The Heavens will not understand you. They will brand you as a threat, as a mistake. But…" She hesitated. "You are not their enemy. You are their beginning."
Feixue looked at her calmly. "Then why do you serve those who chained their own birth?"
The envoy said nothing. Her golden eyes flickered — perhaps with shame, perhaps with remembrance.
---
As Seraphis prepared to leave, a whisper of divine flame appeared in her palm — the Emperor's decree. She crushed it before anyone could read.
"Tell no one of this," she said softly to Yan Lie. "The Emperor must not know what she truly is… not yet."
And then she looked once more at Feixue.
"If Heaven moves against you, girl of snow, know this — not all stars burn against the night."
With a sweep of light, she vanished, ascending back into the divine sky.
---
Feixue stood alone amid falling snow, her gaze distant.
The world was silent again, save for the faint whisper of her own thoughts.
> "The Heavens remember me," she murmured. "Then they will remember what they tried to forget."
Above the clouds, lightning rippled across the firmament.
The Heavens themselves seemed to shudder — as if something ancient, buried deep within their foundation, had begun to awaken once more.