Snow drifted silently across the broken chasm.
But the silence was wrong.
Too dense.Too heavy.Too full of invisible eyes watching from the cracks of space.
Qi Shan Wei stood still, breath steadying, but every muscle taught with awareness.Xueya gripped his sleeve tightly — not from fear, but from something deeper: the instinct that she had just witnessed a threat beyond comprehension.
The Moon-Sealed Empress stared upward, lips parted in horror, her cultivation trembling visibly.
Yue Lian clutched her skirts, unable to form words.
Jin Wei moved into a protective stance immediately, positioning himself slightly ahead of Shan Wei — as if his ancient instincts recognized the Sovereign more clearly than anyone else.
The Observer finally spoke, voice tight and strained.
"Shan Wei… you must understand what has just happened."
Shan Wei's golden eyes narrowed.
"I know an enemy when I see one."
"No," the Observer said, stepping closer."You saw a Sovereign.That is not the same thing."
1. The Abyssal Crown Court — Explained in Fear
The Observer traced a sigil into the air — a crowned eye surrounded by nine broken rings.
Xueya recoiled instantly.
The Empress gasped.
"That sigil—! That's forbidden—!"
The Observer nodded.
"Yes.Because the Ninth Heaven itself forbade even speaking their name."
He pointed at the sigil.
"This… is the mark of the Abyssal Crown Court."
Shan Wei frowned.
"What are they?"
The Observer hesitated — which was terrifying in itself.
"They are the remnants of the first beings who awakened consciousness in the primordial void."
Yue Lian's voice cracked.
"T-they're older than the Heavenly Dao…?!"
The Observer nodded.
"Older… and hungrier."
He sighed.
"They are Collectors. They steal broken fragments of universes. Lost relics. Forgotten cores."
Shan Wei's pulse sharpened.
"They want the Forgotten Core inside me."
The Observer nodded grimly.
"Yes.Because the Forgotten Realm was the only universe that once defied their dominion."
The Empress whispered, shaking:
"No wonder he watched you with such… obsession."
The Observer revealed the dark truth:
"To them, you are not a threat…but a prize."
Shan Wei's jaw clenched.
"I will never be someone's prize."
Xueya's grip tightened, her eyes fierce and cold.
"Anyone who tries to take you will freeze."
2. Why the Sovereign Came Personally
The Observer stepped closer to Shan Wei.
"Understand something, Shan Wei: Sovereigns do not move personally. They send lieutenants. Shadows. Proxies. Never themselves."
Shan Wei's stomach tightened.
"Then why now?"
The Observer met his gaze.
"Because of the Devourer's reaction."
Xueya froze.
The Empress's breath hitched.
Jin Wei's runes dimmed like a flinch.
The Observer continued:
"When the Devourer screamed, the entire higher structure of fate trembled.That scream was the death-cry of a being that has never feared anything in its existence."
Shan Wei remembered the moment.
The Devourer recoiling.Its horror-stricken roar.Its frantic retreat.
"What did it see inside me…?" he murmured.
The Observer's voice dropped.
"Another Emperor.A forgotten one.A rival to the Abyssal Court."
The Empress whispered hoarsely:
"And the Sovereign came to confirm it…"
Yue Lian shivered.
"…confirm that Shan Wei is the successor of something beyond universal law."
Jin Wei rose a fraction taller.
"MASTER IS CROWNED TWICE."the puppet rumbled.
The Observer stiffened.
"…Yes. That is what they fear."
3. The Sovereign Left Something Behind
A thin ripple of distorted space flickered in the air where the Sovereign once stood.
The Observer raised a hand.
"Careful. Do not step closer."
Shan Wei frowned.
"What is it?"
"A mark."
Xueya's eyes widened.
"Like the Devourer's?"
"No," the Observer said."This one does not consume fate.It watches it."
He drew out a long obsidian needle engraved with circular runes — a forbidden tool.
The Empress gasped.
"You're actually using a Void Needle?!"
The Observer closed his eyes.
"I have no choice."
He flicked the needle.
KRRRRRRRACK—
Reality screamed.
An image appeared.
A black-and-gold eye.
Slowly blinking.
Watching.
Always watching.
Xueya's breath trembled.
"A surveillance mark…"
The Observer nodded.
"Yes. And not a normal one."
He turned to Shan Wei.
"This one is bound… not to your body… but to your destiny."
Shan Wei froze.
Meaning:
Even if he hideven if he changed realmseven if he sealed his auraeven if he died and reincarnated—
The Abyssal Court would still track him.
The Empress whispered:
"Not even the Devourer tracks destiny marks…"
The Observer replied quietly:
"Yes.Because the Devourer consumes destiny.The Abyssal Court manipulates it."
A chill ran down Xueya's spine.
She stepped in front of Shan Wei.
"You will not touch him," she whispered sharply to the empty air.
Her frost moon reformed behind her, burning with cold lunar resolve.
The Observer gestured.
"Do not worry. He cannot see us now."
Xueya glared anyway.
"He will not take him.He will not claim him.I won't allow it."
Shan Wei felt warmth in his chest at her fierce protectiveness.
4. Shan Wei's First Controlled Nullification Spark
A faint prismatic glow flickered behind Shan Wei's ribs.
Everyone froze.
The Observer whispered:
"…He's activating it again."
Shan Wei's hand shook slightly as he spread his fingers.
Tiny prismatic motes gathered in his palm—but unlike before, they did not rage wildly.
They obeyed.
A tiny sigil formed:
Seven lines.One circle.
The Forgotten Core symbol.
The Empress stepped back instinctively.
"That's… that's nullification energy…"
Yue Lian hid behind her.
Even Jin Wei lowered his head—not in fear, but in respect.
The Observer spoke softly.
"That spark… destroys laws."
Shan Wei closed his hand slowly.
The spark faded.
But the air did not recover immediately.The fabric of reality hesitated, as if afraid to vibrate in his presence.
Shan Wei whispered:
"I can feel it now.Something inside me woke up."
The Observer nodded solemnly.
"And whatever it is…it is not done awakening."
5. The Empress Reveals a Fragment of Her Real Identity
The Empress suddenly stepped forward.
She had been trembling the entire time, but now, she dropped to one knee.
"Qi Shan Wei… there is something I must tell you."
Shan Wei turned.
"Empress?"
She lowered her head.
"I… am not who you think."
Xueya's eyes widened slightly.
"What do you mean?"
The Empress swallowed.
"I was not merely born into the Moon-Sealed Clan…I was made."
Shan Wei stiffened.
"Made…?"
The Empress nodded.
"My mother was not human.Nor beast.Nor spirit."
She lifted her face, eyes glowing faintly with a strange luminescent silver.
"My mother was a fragment of the Abyssal Court who escaped."
Xueya gasped.
Yue Lian staggered back.
Jin Wei's runes flared protectively.
Shan Wei's expression darkened.
"You are saying the Court has blood ties to you?"
The Empress shook her head quickly.
"No—please understand—my mother defected. She fled them. Hid in this realm. Fell in love with a human man. And when I was born…"
She looked at Shan Wei with trembling lips.
"…they marked me as a traitor's child."
The Observer muttered:
"That explains the suppression marks around her cultivation…"
The Empress bowed deeply.
"I can sense the Sovereign's presence more clearly than any of you.And right now…"
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
"…he is not just watching Shan Wei."
Shan Wei frowned.
"Then who?"
Her voice cracked.
"Me."
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
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