When the Observer lifted his mask, moonlight poured out like liquid, radiating a pressure different from divine Qi—this was Chrono Qi, the energy of time itself.
Even Xueya stepped back involuntarily.The Empress clutched Yue Lian's arm in shock.
Shan Wei remained unmoving, golden eyes steady.
"Explain," he said quietly.
The Observer lowered the mask into his robes and began:
"You must understand the past… or you will repeat it."
A pulse of light surged from his palm—and the Frozen Chasm transformed into a projection dome of stars, nebulae, and ancient realms.
The others gasped.
Shan Wei simply watched.
And the Observer told a story that no living being had heard in a million years.
1. The First Prismatic Emperor
At the center of the star-filled vision, a figure appeared—
Tall.Radiant.Wearing armor forged of prismatic light.
He stood atop a floating palace surrounded by seven rotating halos—representing the Seven Prismatic Daos.
The Observer spoke:
"Before your era… long before your world was even formed… there existed another.A man who unified the Seven Prismatic Forces."
Shan Wei felt his chest tighten.
"…Another me?"
The Observer's gaze sharpened.
"No.He was the first.You are the second."
Xueya's frost galaxy shrank into a tight sphere.
The Empress whispered, trembling:
"Impossible… a Prismatic Emperor lived before the creation of our realm…?!"
The Observer nodded.
"Yes. And he reshaped countless worlds."
The vision changed.
The First Prismatic Emperor stood before armies of divine beasts, puppets, and celestial cultivators.
He commanded them with a single raised hand—and the heavens themselves bowed.
"He created the first Prismatic Empire," the Observer said softly."A realm-spanning dynasty of peace, innovation, cultivation, and unity."
Shan Wei felt something deep inside—an echo, a resonance—like his soul recognized this story.
The Observer continued:
"Under his rule, realms grew stronger.Stars aligned in harmony.Beasts and humans evolved together.The empire thrived for tens of thousands of years."
Yue Lian whispered:
"Then what happened…?"
The Observer's face darkened.
"Fate rejected it."
2. The Era Devourer's First Appearance
The vision changed again—
and readers would hold their breath here.
The empire burned.
Not from war.Not from rebellion.
It simply vanished.
Cities flickered out like candle flames.People dissolved into motes of dust.Mountains disappeared.The sky fractured like shattered glass.
A colossal shadow hovered in the void—
featurelessformlesstimeless.
The Observer whispered:
"Era Devourer."
Drakonix screamed again, flames turning violet.
Xueya grabbed Shan Wei's arm, her hand cold with fear.
"Th-that thing… it devoured an entire empire?!"
"Not devoured," the Observer corrected."Erased."
He traced a finger across the void.
"The Prismatic Empire was too advanced.Too unified.Too powerful.It disrupted the equilibrium of the cosmos."
He looked at Shan Wei.
"And so fate corrected it."
Shan Wei's jaw clenched.
"What happened to the first emperor?"
The Observer exhaled.
"He fought alone."
The vision intensified.
The First Prismatic Emperor unleashed prismatic storms that cut through galaxies.He wielded a weapon made of shifting light.He commanded divine beasts and puppets beyond imagination.
He tore through the Devourer's fragments—
but his empire still erased behind him.
"He fought for seven days," the Observer whispered."Seven realms shattered.Seven heavens burned."
"And then?"
The Observer's voice lowered.
"He disappeared."
Silence.
Heavy.Deep.Inescapable.
Xueya whispered:
"…No one knows what happened to him?"
"No one," the Observer replied."He was simply… gone."
Shan Wei's heart pounded.
"…And now fate is repeating itself."
The Observer nodded.
"You carry the same Prismatic Fate.""But unlike him—your existence was not meant to happen."
3. Why Shan Wei Is an Anomaly
The Observer closed his hand—and seven threads reappeared around Shan Wei.
But now, behind them, the white fading thread pulsed weakly.
"Qi Shan Wei… you were born into the wrong cycle."
The words struck like a sword.
The Observer continued:
"There was a destined time for the next Prismatic Emperor to be born—far in the future."
"But you arrived early."
He pointed to the fading white thread.
"You stole fate from your future self.You forced the universe to reorder itself."
The Empress staggered.
"…He… stole his own destiny?"
"Yes," the Observer said."You burst into existence before fate was ready.That is why your birth broke the thread."
Xueya trembled.
"…Then his entire life… is a mistake?"
"Not a mistake," the Observer corrected."A miracle.A rebellion."
He turned his gaze to Shan Wei.
"You are a Prismatic Emperor born outside the timeline.A being fate did not account for."
A pause.
"And that is why the Era Devourer has awakened again."
Shan Wei's voice was calm, but the fire beneath it was absolute.
"So my birth triggered the Devourer."
"Yes."
"And you came to warn me."
"Yes."
Shan Wei's eyes sharpened with a resolve that made even the Observer hesitate.
"Good.Then tell me something."
The Observer nodded once—cautious.
Shan Wei stepped forward.
Drakonix growled.Xueya held her breath.The Empress and Yue Lian watched in fear.
Shan Wei asked:
"Where is the first Prismatic Emperor now?"
The Observer froze.
The ice cracked beneath him.
A faint tremor passed through the fate-lines.
"…We do not know," he admitted.
"But we do know one thing."
His voice turned cold.
"Something survived that final battle."
The vision showed a single surviving spark of prismatic light—
hidden in the void.
The Observer whispered:
"That spark now resides within you."
Shan Wei's eyes widened.
Xueya grabbed his hand instinctively.
Drakonix pressed tighter.
The Observer finished:
"You carry the last remnant of the lost Prismatic Emperor."
Lightning cracked through the sky.
The chasm rumbled.
And fate itself trembled.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.