Frosty silence blanketed the shattered chasm.
Only the sound of Shan Wei's heartbeat echoed—slow, heavy, thunderous with power that did not belong to this world.
Xueya held him tightly, her hands trembling.Tears streaked silently down her pale cheeks; she didn't bother to wipe them away.
The Empress and Yue Lian stood a few steps away, shaken to their core.Jin Wei loomed protectively, glowing chest-cracks pulsing in patterns Shan Wei had never seen before.
Drakonix lay curled on his side, unconscious but breathing steadily, tiny chest shimmering with faint time-light runes.
The Observer stepped closer.
His tone was no longer calm.
It was grave.
"Stand up, Shan Wei," he said quietly. "Your fate has changed."
Shan Wei inhaled and rose to his feet—unsteady, but burning with controlled determination.
"What was that thing inside me? That voice… that power… why did the Devourer recoil?"
The Observer's masked gaze sharpened.
"Because what awakened in you…is not supposed to exist in this universe."
Xueya's grip tightened.
Shan Wei frowned.
"Explain."
The Observer lifted his hand. A small fragment of prismatic light flowed into his palm—an echo of the sigil that had appeared behind Shan Wei's heart.
He projected the sigil into the air.
Seven converging lines.One central hollow circle.
A shape that felt familiar yet alien.
The Empress gasped.
"Th-that symbol… it's forbidden in all ancient records!"
The Observer nodded slowly.
"Yes. Because it did not originate in our cosmos."
Shan Wei clenched his jaw.
"You're saying the power inside me comes from… somewhere else?"
The Observer replied:
"From a universe the Devourer already consumed."
1. The Forgotten Core — Origin From a Dead Universe
The sigil rotated, casting multi-realm shadows across the ice.
"This symbol," the Observer said, "is known as the Core of the Forgotten Realm. It is the final echo of a world erased so completely that only fragments of its power drifted into other universes."
The Empress whispered:
"A world erased… by the Devourer?"
"No," the Observer said."By the Devourer's predecessor."
Xueya stiffened, her breath freezing in her throat.
"There… was something worse?"
The Observer nodded.
"The Devourer is only a fragment of a greater calamity.But the Forgotten Realm…the one that birthed this Core…fought back."
He pointed at Shan Wei's chest.
"A shard of that realm has fused into your soul.Not reincarnation.Not inheritance.Something far rarer."
Yue Lian swallowed hard.
"F-far rarer than reincarnation?"
The Observer replied:
"A trans-cosmic survival imprint."
Shan Wei blinked.
"…Meaning what?"
"Meaning," the Observer said, "that someone from that dead universe placed a fragment of their origin inside you before their world fell."
The Empress paled.
"Someone sent a piece of themselves across universes… just to find him?"
The Observer nodded.
"The one who left that imprint in you…was not a cultivator."
He looked at Shan Wei.
"He was an Emperor."
Shan Wei's eyes widened.
Xueya took a sharp breath.
"You mean—"
"Yes," the Observer said.
"You carry the final spark of a Prismatic Emperor from another universe."
2. Why the Devourer Fears Him
The Observer turned to the burned remnants of the scroll.
"Now you understand why the First Emperor couldn't write this openly.The Devourer is drawn to the Prism…but it FEARS the Forgotten Core."
He summarized with chilling clarity:
The Prismatic Dao attracts the Devourer.
The Forgotten Core repels it.
Having both in one soul is something the Devourer cannot process.
"It sees you," the Observer whispered,"as the rebirth of the only Emperor who ever wounded its progenitor."
Shan Wei's breath stilled.
"…Wounded it?"
The Observer nodded.
"With a power that broke primal laws—the power of Prismatic Nullification."
The Empress shuddered.
"Prismatic… nullification? A force that can erase—"
"Yes."
The Observer met Shan Wei's gaze.
"You hold inside you the ability to erase the Devourer's existence.Not seal it.Not wound it.Erase it."
A tremor passed through the chasm.
Xueya stared at Shan Wei with a mixture of awe and terror.
"Shan Wei… if this is true… then the Devourer will—"
"—hunting me is only the beginning," he finished.
The Observer nodded.
"And so will others."
3. Xueya Breaks — And Makes a Vow
Shan Wei looked down at his trembling hand.
Then—
A soft weight pressed into his side.
Xueya hugged him.Not gently.Not shyly.Desperately.
Tears fell onto his robes.
"I thought I lost you…" she whispered. "For the first time, I truly thought— I truly felt—"
Her voice cracked.
Shan Wei slowly lifted a hand and placed it on her back.
"Xueya…"
She shook as she spoke.
"You can't face this alone. Not this. Not something that comes from beyond creation itself. I won't stand aside. I won't let you disappear like— like…"
She bit her lip.
"—like the First Emperor did."
Shan Wei's eyes softened.
"Xueya… I'm not planning on dying."
She met his gaze fiercely.
"Then don't leave me behind.Ever."
His heart thudded once.
Twice.
The Observer watched silently.
So did the Empress.
Even Jin Wei lowered his head, acknowledging the vow.
4. Drakonix's Condition — And What He Unlocked
A low groan echoed nearby.
Drakonix twitched.
His runes flickered.
His wings spasmed weakly.
Shan Wei rushed to him and knelt.
"Drakonix—! Can you hear me?"
The Observer crouched beside them.
"His evolution is unstable. The time-light lines in his blood… they've begun rewriting his innate abilities."
Shan Wei paled.
"Is he in danger?"
"No," the Observer said."But he is entering a semi-dormant metamorphic state."
A cocoon?No—something deeper.
Yue Lian whispered:
"What is he becoming?"
The Observer stared at the glowing runes.
"…A beast capable of breaking fate."
Everyone froze.
"Fate?" the Empress whispered. "As in—"
"Yes," the Observer said.
"Drakonix will one day be able to sever the Devourer's entry-point into this world."
Shan Wei exhaled in relief—
But the Observer wasn't done.
"However…"
He lifted Drakonix gently.
"…there is a cost."
Shan Wei stiffened.
"What cost?"
The Observer met his gaze with unmasked gravity.
"This evolution will shorten Drakonix's lifespan…unless you grow strong enough to stabilize him."
Shan Wei's blood froze.
Xueya gasped.
The Empress covered her mouth.
Jin Wei's eyes glowed fiercely.
Shan Wei clenched his fists.
"…Then I'll grow strong enough.No matter what."
The Observer nodded once.
"As you must."
5. Jin Wei Activates the Guardian Protocol
A deep metallic hum resonated.
Jin Wei stepped forward, kneeling before Shan Wei.
A new rune burned on his chest:
王衛(Royal Guardian)
The Observer jolted.
"Oh… that protocol…"
The Empress stared.
"I've never seen that rune before."
The Observer explained:
"That is the Royal Guardian Mode — a protocol used only when the puppet acknowledges its master as a legitimate Emperor."
Xueya's breath caught.
"He… he sees Shan Wei as—"
Jin Wei's voice rumbled:
"MASTER.YOU CARRY TWO PATHS.ONE MUST NOT BREAK."
Shan Wei swallowed.
"Two paths?"
The puppet's eyes glowed gold.
"THE ONE WHO AWAKES THE PRISM.AND THE ONE WHO AWAKES THE LOST."
Everyone froze.
Jin Wei lowered his head.
"I WILL PROTECT BOTH."
6. A Watching Presence — A New Ancient Enemy
A sudden chill slithered across the chasm.
Not Devourer-like.Not void-like.Something else.
Something…ancientand patientand amused.
The Observer snapped his head upward.
"No. No no no—NOT NOW—"
Shan Wei activated his Prismatic senses instantly.
A figure stood on a high cliff hundreds of meters above—
Tall.Shadowed.Cloaked in black and gold.Watching them with glowing hierarchical eyes.
The Observer cursed.
"Damn it—A Sovereign of the Abyssal Crown Court!"
Shan Wei felt his heart pound.
Xueya's breath stilled.
The Empress nearly collapsed.
Yue Lian trembled violently.
The Abyssal Crown Court—one of the Nine Forbidden Courts that ruled higher realms.
The figure's voice drifted down.
Calm.Smooth.Horrifying.
"So the Prismatic Successor has awakened."
He tilted his head.
"And the Forgotten Core… survived another age."
Shan Wei glared up.
"Who are you?"
The figure smiled faintly.
"One who has been waiting far longer than the Devourer."
Shan Wei's eyes narrowed.
"What do you want?"
The figure stepped back—
Space warped around him.
"To watch you grow."
Then—
"So that I may kill you at your peak…and claim what sleeps inside you."
Before anyone could respond—
The figure vanished.
Leaving only silence.
And terror.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.