The north wind bit harder the farther Jian Wu walked.
Snow covered the broken road, hiding the trail that once led to the Azure Tower.
He'd been walking for two days straight.
No food. No rest.
Just the quiet hum from the mark on his chest, guiding him like a heartbeat that refused to die.
By the third morning, the mountains turned blue from frost.
He stopped on a cliff and looked ahead.
Far in the distance, half-buried in fog, stood the Azure Tower.
Its shape was twisted, like lightning frozen into stone.
Yue Shan's words echoed in his head.
"The Tower is forbidden. Even the Elders don't enter it."
He smiled faintly.
"Good thing I was never a good disciple."
The mark on his chest pulsed again, stronger this time.
Each beat sent warmth through his body, keeping the cold away.
He tightened the strap of his torn cloak and started moving again.
When he reached the foot of the tower, the ground shook.
A low rumble spread through the snow as cracks appeared under his feet.
From the fissures, blue light shot upward, forming lines like veins in the ground.
Something was waking up.
Wu's hand went to his belt. His body lowered into a stance.
Then, the snow exploded.
A creature made of ice and lightning crawled out of the earth.
Its body was long like a serpent, eyes glowing bright blue.
Chains hung from its neck, runes carved deep into the metal.
"Another envoy?" Jian Wu muttered.
The creature hissed, its voice like thunder.
"Trespasser of Heaven… you are forbidden here."
Wu raised an eyebrow. "I've heard that line before."
The serpent's eyes narrowed. "Your kind should not exist."
"Yeah," he said, cracking his knuckles. "That's what makes me interesting."
The beast roared, and lightning shot from its mouth.
Wu jumped aside, rolling through the snow.
The blast hit a nearby rock and split it in half.
Sparks rained across the frozen ground.
He dashed forward, fists glowing violet.
The serpent lunged.
Wu ducked, punched upward, and smashed into its jaw.
A loud crack echoed.
The serpent staggered back, its neck twisting unnaturally.
But the chains around its body began to move on their own, wrapping around Jian Wu's arm.
"Tch, again with the chains!"
He tried to pull free, but the chains tightened, digging into his skin.
The runes on them started glowing red.
Pain shot through his arm like fire.
He gritted his teeth. "You think pain will stop me?"
He slammed his other hand into the ground. Lightning burst from his chest, running through the chains, and the runes shattered like glass.
The creature howled. Wu used the moment to jump, landing on its head.
"Let's see how you like it!"
He drove his fist down..
BOOM!
Blue lightning erupted, lighting up the sky.
The serpent's body broke apart, turning into fragments of glowing ice.
When it was over, Wu stood alone again.
Steam rose from the snow.
The chains had melted into nothing.
The mark on his chest pulsed faster, like it was reacting to something.
Then he saw it, The gates of the Azure Tower glowing faintly, symbols crawling across the surface like living light.
He walked closer.
The air changed.
It was heavier, colder, and filled with something that made his skin prickle.
When his hand touched the gate, his vision blurred.
The world shifted.
Suddenly, he wasn't outside anymore.
He was standing in a vast hall filled with floating pillars of light.
Each pillar held an image, scenes from the past.
He saw warriors fighting in the sky.
Heaven's soldiers burning mountains.
And a single figure standing against them all, eyes glowing the same violet as his own.
Wu took a step forward. "Who… are you?"
A voice answered from behind.
"You already know."
He turned fast.
A man stood there, tall, wearing robes of blue flame.
But his face..
It was identical to Jian Wu's.
Wu froze.
"You're.."
".. you," the man finished. "Or what you could become."
The clone smiled faintly. "You were chosen by the mark, but you still fight it. Why?"
"Because I don't want to lose myself."
"You already did, the moment Heaven bled for you."
Wu clenched his fists. "Who put this mark on me?"
"The Tower," said the clone. "This place isn't a monument. It's a prison. Every Heaven-Breaker before you was sealed here after they defied the sky."
"Then why bring me here?"
"To finish what we couldn't."
Wu stared at him. "And if I refuse?"
The clone smirked. "Then you'll die like the rest."
He raised his hand.
The air cracked.
Lightning flashed between them.
Wu charged first, fist glowing violet.
The clone mirrored him, moving with the same speed, the same form.
Their punches collided.
BOOM!
The impact blew apart the floor, sending shards of energy flying.
Wu spun, kicked, blocked, every move matched perfectly.
"Fighting yourself," the clone said, laughing. "Feels familiar, doesn't it?"
"Shut up!"
He jumped back, gathering energy into his palm.
The mark on his chest glowed brighter, releasing waves of blue light.
But the clone raised his own hand, copying the same motion.
Two identical blasts of lightning crashed into each other, lighting up the hall like day.
When the light faded, both were standing, barely.
Wu wiped blood from his mouth. "You're annoying."
The clone smiled. "That's because I know every weakness you have."
"Then you should know what comes next."
Wu lunged forward, feinting a right hook.
The clone blocked, exactly as he expected.
Wu twisted, slamming his knee into the clone's ribs and following up with a straight punch to the jaw.
The clone stumbled back.
For the first time, he looked surprised.
Wu didn't stop.
He grabbed the man by the collar and slammed him to the floor.
"Get out of my head!"
He raised his fist again, then hesitated.
The clone was smiling.
"Finally. You're not running anymore."
The mark on Wu's chest flared once more, blindingly bright, then everything went dark.
When he opened his eyes, he was back outside.
The Azure Tower was silent again.
The snow had stopped falling.
He looked down at his hands. The violet glow was gone.
But inside, he felt something new.
The chaos in his body had quieted.
The mark no longer burned, it hummed, calm and steady.
You've accepted it, the voice whispered.
The Heaven-Breaker Path begins now.
Wu exhaled slowly. "About damn time."
He walked away from the tower, the cold wind biting at his face.
The sunrise painted the sky orange.
For a moment, he thought of Yue Shan.
She'd probably be furious when she found out where he'd gone.
Maybe even worried.
He smiled faintly. "Guess I owe her an explanation."
Behind him, the Azure Tower pulsed once before going completely dark.
In its silence, a faint whisper echoed through the frozen air:
He has awakened… again.
Far above the clouds, a place beyond mortal sight stirred.
A throne of light cracked down the middle.
Figures made of golden fir
e opened their eyes.
"The seal is broken," one said.
"Then the war begins again," said another.
"Summon the Seraph Envoys."
And somewhere between the heavens and earth, Jian Wu kept walking, alone, unaware that the entire sky was now watching him.