A cold wind swept across the broken chasm, whispering like threads of unraveling destiny.
Qi Shan Wei stood silent, absorbing the revelation that had just shattered the foundations of their path:
If the Empress is taken…the Forgotten Core in Shan Wei will awaken prematurely—and kill him.
The Empress lowered her gaze, shame and fear clouding her breath.
"I never wanted you to know," she whispered softly. "Because knowing… means carrying a burden that shouldn't be yours."
Shan Wei stepped closer, his voice unshakably calm.
"Your life affects my destiny. That means your burden IS mine."
Her breath trembled.
Xueya clenched her fists, frost gathering faintly around her as she struggled with emotions she had never learned to express.
Yue Lian was pale, eyes darting between them in disbelief.
Jin Wei stood behind Shan Wei like a silent mountain—unmoving, unyielding, resonant with ancient authority.
And Drakonix, still unconscious, flickered faintly with time-light, as though dreaming restlessly inside his evolving cocoon.
The Observer finally spoke.
"Before any of you make assumptions… you must understand why the Empress's existence is tied to yours, Shan Wei."
Shan Wei nodded once.
"Explain."
1. The Forbidden Link — Older Than This Universe
The Observer lifted both hands, weaving a pattern of runes into the air.
Two symbols appeared:
One was the Forgotten Core sigil — seven lines and a hollow central circle.The other was a crescent moon wrapped in abyssal threads — the Empress's suppressed bloodline.
The two sigils pulsed.
Then a thin, shimmering thread appeared between them.
Xueya inhaled sharply.
"That's… a fate link."
The Observer nodded.
"Not created here. Not formed by choice.This link originates in another universe — in the Forgotten Realm."
Shan Wei's eyes narrowed.
"So the Emperor whose core I possess… had a connection to the Empress's mother?"
The Empress looked away.
The Observer swallowed.
"…Not just a connection."
He tapped the moon sigil.
"A Crown Fragment of the Abyssal Court is not merely a servant. They are created with shards of primordial law."
He tapped the prism sigil.
"And the Forgotten Emperor wielded a power that could nullify primordial law."
The air cracked with tension.
Xueya whispered:
"So their powers… conflict."
The Observer shook his head slowly.
"No.They complete each other."
Shan Wei's heartbeat slowed.
"What exactly does that mean?"
The Observer met his gaze directly.
"It means your existence and hers are intertwined — not by destiny, but by cosmic design. You cannot reach your final awakening without her presence. And she cannot suppress her Abyssal bloodline without the stabilizing influence of your Core."
Yue Lian gasped.
Xueya's brows lowered sharply.
The Empress froze, chest rising rapidly with panic.
Shan Wei stepped closer to her.
"So our paths are bound."
The Empress looked at him helplessly.
"Yes. In ways I never asked for… and never wanted to trap you in."
Shan Wei spoke firmly:
"You didn't trap me in anything."
2. Xueya's Fear Finally Surfaces
Xueya stepped forward suddenly, frost swirling around her ankles.
"Shan Wei…"
Her voice shook.
"When the void pulled you in earlier… I— I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I thought—"
She cut herself off, swallowing hard.
Shan Wei looked at her gently.
"Xueya—"
"No," she whispered, trembling. "I'm not done."
She glanced at the Empress — not with hostility, but with something deeper:
Fear of losing him.Fear of destiny taking him away.Fear of not being enough.
Her eyes softened painfully.
"You cannot die.Not to the Devourer.Not to the Abyssal Court.Not because some bloodline link decides it."
Her frost moon gleamed faintly, stabilizing into a calmer light.
She whispered:
"I will not let you die."
A quiet, fierce promise.
Shan Wei placed a warm hand over hers.
"And I will not walk a path that leaves any of you behind."
Xueya's breath eased.Her frost dimmed.Her eyes glimmered with something unspoken.
3. Jin Wei's Memory Fragment Activates
Suddenly—
KRRRRR-CHIIING—
Jin Wei's chest cracked open with a burst of golden light.
Everyone jumped.
The Observer shouted:
"GET BACK! His ancient memory seals are breaking!"
But Shan Wei didn't move.He stepped closer instead.
Jin Wei kneeled, bathing Shan Wei in his golden glow.
Inside the puppet's chest, an image projected like a hologram made of divine metal and memory:
A woman with silver hair, crescent-moon pupils, and abyssal patterns on her skin—
The Empress's mother.
She stood before a figure made of pure prismatic brilliance:
The Forgotten Emperor.
Everyone froze.
The projection replayed their final conversation:
"You will die," the moon-woman whispered.
"So will your universe."the Emperor replied.
Her voice trembled.
"Then let me save one thing from it."
He paused.
"Your child?"
"Yes…" her voice broke."My daughter must not fall to the Crown. She must live freely… in a world untouched by the Abyss."
The Emperor placed a fragment of his power into her hands.
"This Core will protect her."
The Empress gasped.Her eyes filled with tears.
"My mother… she… she wasn't protecting herself. She was protecting me."
The projection continued:
The moon-woman reached out and touched the Emperor's chest.
"Then take something from me as well."
A small strand of her abyssal energy fused with his prismatic aura—
Forming the dual inheritance now living inside Shan Wei.
The memory ended.
Jin Wei's chest closed shut.
But the silence afterward felt like a mountain.
4. The Observer Explains the Truth Behind the Link
"Now you understand," he said quietly.
"The Empress's mother tied her child's survival to the Forgotten Emperor's final spark."
He turned to Shan Wei.
"And HE tied the Future Prismatic Emperor's survival to the Empress's bloodline."
Xueya whispered:
"…So without her, he dies."
"And without him," the Observer said gravely,"she will be reclaimed by the Abyss."
The Empress lowered her head.
"I did not want this fate for either of us."
Shan Wei stepped closer.
Then—
He placed his hand on her shoulder.
"You are not a burden," he said softly."You are a part of my path.And I of yours."
Her breath trembled.
For the first time, hope flickered in her eyes.
Xueya watched silently—struggling, but not rejecting it.
This bond wasn't romantic.Not now.
But it was destined.Necessary.Powerful.
5. A Signal From the Dark — The Abyssal Hunter Arrives
Suddenly, the Observer's masked eyes widened.
"Oh no—NO—It's too soon—"
A fissure tore open in the sky.
Not a void rupture.Not a spatial gate.
A hairline crack of abyssal royal authority.
Cold.Elegant.Deathly.Regal.
The Empress dropped instantly to her knees, gasping in terror.
"No—no—he sent— he sent THEM—"
Xueya unsheathed her sword.
Shan Wei gathered prismatic qi instinctively.
Jin Wei stepped in front of him, runes blazing.
Yue Lian fainted.
Drakonix groaned inside his cocoon.
The Observer whispered the name with dread:
"An Abyssal Hunter…"
The crack widened—
A single black boot stepped through.
Then a leg.
Then a robe woven from abyssal silk.
Then a face hidden behind a golden half-mask shaped like a crown.
In a voice elegant and cold, the figure spoke:
"Bow, traitor's child.Your Sovereign commands your return."
The Empress screamed.
Shan Wei stepped in front of her.
Xueya stood beside him.
Jin Wei raised both arms in defensive stance.
The Hunter's mask tilted.
"…Ah.So the Prismatic Successor protects his key."
He raised a hand.
A black crescent of abyssal energy formed—
A killing blow.
The Observer shouted:
"SHAN WEI—MOVE—!!!"
But Shan Wei didn't move.
He stepped forward.
His hand glowed with a faint, impossible spark—
The Forbidden Core.
And the abyss trembled.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
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