Far above the clouds, where the air no longer belonged to mortals, the Throne of Radiance split with a thunderous crack.
Light spilled through the fracture, sharp and blinding, like a wound in Heaven itself.
From that wound, voices spoke.
Ancient. Cold. Without warmth or mercy.
"The seal has broken. The boy has awakened the Void."
"Then Heaven must respond."
"Send the first Seraph."
The clouds trembled as figures of gold descended, beings not born, but forged. Each wing shimmered like a blade of light. Their faces were human, yet hollow, and in their chests burned sigils that pulsed like captive suns.
One of them raised his gaze toward the mortal world below.
"His name," he said, voice echoing like metal striking stone, "is Jian Wu."
And then, the light fell.
Yue Shan knelt on the cold jade floor.
Her breath was shallow, her mind heavy. Around her, the elders of the Azure Sky Sect sat in silence, their robes rippling faintly with spiritual energy.
At the center, Grand Elder Mo Tian opened his eyes. The faint blue glow behind his pupils could slice through stone.
"Is it true?" he asked.
Yue Shan bowed her head lower. "Yes, Elder. The boy… he survived."
A murmur passed through the hall.
"Impossible."
"He had no core. He should be dead."
"What kind of monster cheats the Heaven's Will?"
Yue Shan's fists clenched at her sides, but she kept silent.
Mo Tian leaned forward. "And what of the energy detected last night?"
She hesitated. "It wasn't demonic… nor celestial. It felt like.."
"Void," another elder interrupted. "The same forbidden resonance from the Lost Age."
The word Void chilled the room.
Silence stretched.
Then, Mo Tian rose from his seat. "The balance is shifting. If the boy carries the mark of the Void, Heaven itself will intervene."
He turned to Yue Shan.
"You will lead the search. Find Jian Wu before the Seraphs do."
Her eyes widened. "Elder, if Heaven has already.."
He cut her off. "Do not question the order."
Yue Shan bowed again, but her voice trembled.
"Yes, Elder."
Inside, her heart screamed.
Rain fell again.
Soft, but endless.
Jian Wu walked through the mist, the hood of his torn cloak pulled over his head. His boots squelched in the mud, and each breath fogged in the cold air.
Days had passed since the battle at the Azure Tower. His wounds had healed unnaturally fast, yet the mark on his chest burned hotter each night.
Sometimes, it whispered.
Sometimes, it breathed.
He stopped by a stream and stared into the water.
The reflection staring back wasn't the same boy who had once begged to join a sect.
His eyes, once black, now shimmered faintly blue in the dark.
He muttered, "Is this what you wanted?"
The wind answered, carrying the faint hum of thunder far above.
He closed his eyes. The symbol on his chest flared briefly, lighting the mist around him. For a second, he saw visions, ruins in the sky, angels chained in fire, and a woman standing amidst the storm, her back to him.
Her voice echoed faintly.
"Jian Wu… if you keep walking this path, you'll lose everything."
He gasped and stumbled back, clutching his chest.
The vision vanished.
He knelt, panting. "Who are you?"
No answer, only the rustle of the rain and the whisper of the forest.
Somewhere Beyond the Mortal Sky
The Seraph Envoy descended.
Golden feathers burned away as it landed on the edge of a mountain, taking the shape of a man in a white cloak. His eyes glowed faintly with holy fire, and every step he took left scorched grass behind.
He gazed at the horizon, at the direction of the Azure Province.
"So… the vessel of the Void walks again."
He turned to the shadows behind him.
A group of armored cultivators bowed deeply. "Lord Seraph, do we pursue?"
He lifted a hand, silencing them.
"Not yet. The boy's existence will draw Heaven's attention… and the eyes of Hell. Let the world tear itself apart first."
His gaze darkened.
"Then we'll decide whether he is salvation, or annihilation."
Yue Shan followed the trail alone.
Every step sank into mud. Every sound, thunder, rain, heartbeat, bled together until she could no longer tell them apart.
She carried only a lantern and a blade.
When she reached a clearing, she saw a faint glow in the distance, a small fire burning under the trees.
Her heart skipped.
She stepped closer, careful not to make a sound.
There he was.
Jian Wu sat by the fire, his back against a tree, eyes half-open, exhaustion written across his face.
The rain had finally stopped.
Steam rose from his shoulders where the heat of his body met the cold night air.
Yue Shan hesitated.
She'd come this far, to obey, to report, to maybe capture him.
But now, seeing him like that… something inside her cracked.
"You should've died," she whispered.
Jian Wu looked up slowly. His expression didn't change, calm, distant, unreadable.
"I did," he said. "But Heaven wasn't satisfied."
Yue Shan tightened her grip on her sword.
"They're coming for you. The Seraphs."
"I know."
He said it like it was nothing, like he'd been expecting it all along.
"You can't fight them, Jian Wu," she pressed. "You don't understand what they are."
He smirked faintly.
"Then maybe it's time they remember what I am."
Yue Shan's heart sank. "Don't say that."
He looked away, into the forest.
"I'm not saying it," he murmured. "The mark is."
For a brief moment, the symbol on his chest glowed again, faint but alive.
The lantern light flickered, and Yue Shan felt the air around them twist.
Something vast stirred above, unseen, yet heavy.
Her eyes widened. "You've already drawn their gaze."
Jian Wu stood. "Then let them look."
The wind howled as if in answer, sweeping through the trees and scattering embers from the fire.
He turned his back on
her and started walking into the darkness.
"Jian Wu!" she shouted.
He didn't turn.
His voice drifted through the rain.
"If the sky wants a fight, it knows where to find me."