The three Executioners stepped through the cracked vault gate—bloody, trembling, and radiating murderous intent.
Veyruth's armor was half-melted.Serakai's right arm was wrapped in black qi to keep it from falling off.Morkhul bled from six places, yet his eyes were rabid with desperation.
They had been crushed over and over.
But they kept coming back.
Because the sight before them—Shan Wei floating above the starlit floor, surrounded by prismatic flames—was something the world itself feared.
Veyruth screamed first.
"You rejected the crown?! YOU DARE?!"
His spear shook violently in his grip.
Shan Wei lowered himself to the ground, Xueya steadying him, but his eyes—
His eyes burned with steady golden resolve.
"I chose my own path," he said quietly."And that_path denies you."
The words hit harder than any attack.
Serakai lunged forward like a rabid beast, lightning cracking around him.
"THEN DIE WITH THAT PATH!"
Before his fist could land—
DRAGONFIRE ERUPTED.
1. Drakonix Unleashes the Monarch Flame
A roaring plume of Prismatic Monarch Flame blasted between Serakai and Shan Wei.
The floor melted into glowing rivers.
Serakai skidded back, howling as his armor fused into his skin.
Drakonix hovered above, wings unfurled, every scale burning like a tiny star.
"You worms should have died outside," Drakonix growled."You are not worthy to stand in my brother's presence."
Even Veyruth, proud and cruel, flinched.
"This flame—this is not mortal… not even divine—"
Morkhul swallowed.
"It's Drakonix-class…an extinction-tier beast…how is he still evolving?!"
Drakonix's pupils narrowed.
"Because he is my master."
He pointed one wing toward Shan Wei.
"And I follow only him."
2. Xueya Steps Forward — Lunar Frost Domain Awakens (Partial)
But Xueya didn't hide behind Drakonix.
She stepped forward, drawing her sword.
A pale moon ignited behind her—not full, not complete, but unmistakable.
Her Core Awakening stirred.
Veyruth blanched.
"That's a… Lunar Frost Domain…but incomplete—"
Xueya raised her blade, frost swirling around her feet.
"It's complete enough to cut you."
The temperature plummeted.Silver frost crawled along the walls.Her hair floated in the freezing air as her eyes sharpened into lethal focus.
Serakai's breath froze mid-exhale.
Morkhul trembled.
But Xueya's voice remained calm.
"You won't touch him.Not while I breathe."
3. Jin Wei Activates Formation Fusion Mode
Jin Wei stepped forward with heavy mechanical authority.
A hum of ancient gears shook the chamber.
"FORMATION FUSION MODE:ENGAGED."
Seven glowing rings expanded from his chest core and locked into the vault floor.
Instantly—
The entire Starhall came to life.
Runes ignited.Platforms rotated.Ceiling crystals reshaped themselves.A circular arena formed beneath them.
Morkhul's eyes widened.
"H—He activated the Emperor's Starhall Formation?!Impossible—only the Emperor himself could—"
Jin Wei's voice boomed:
"MASTER PERMISSION GRANTED.INITIATING FULL STARHALL WAR MODE."
The vault roared awake.
A battlefield built by the Red Emperor himself—now under Shan Wei's command.
Drakonix grinned.
"Come on then.Try your fate again."
4. The Executioners Make Their Final Stand
But the three Executioners, cornered and humiliated, became even more dangerous.
Veyruth's spear lit with cursed bloodlight.
Serakai wrapped his arm in lightning, ignoring the bone sticking out.
Morkhul activated forbidden qi, burning his own lifespan into power.
"We may die," Veyruth snarled,"but we'll drag your reincarnated corpse with us!"
They charged—
All three at once.
The Starhall trembled.
Drakonix fired an arc of prismatic breath—
Serakai jumped through it, losing half his armor.
Xueya slashed a freezing arc—
Morkhul shattered the frost with blood-burning fury.
Jin Wei slammed a shield formation—
Veyruth forced his spear through with exploding qi.
The three reached Shan Wei—
And Shan Wei stepped forward.
5. Shan Wei's New Strength — Clear, Steady, His Own
He didn't use the Emperor's power.
He didn't use the crown.
He used—
Himself.
He raised one hand.
Prismatic flame ignited—not wild, not unstable—but calm.
Pure.
Controlled.
As if he had finally decided:"I choose who I am."
The flame condensed into a single sphere before his palm.
Serakai screamed,"THAT'S—THAT'S VOID PULSE—!!"
But it wasn't.
It was—
Prismatic Void Pulse.
Seven-colored lightning laced through the collapsing sphere of vacuum.
A pulse that bent space in on itself.
Shan Wei whispered:
"Break."
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The vault exploded into a shockwave of prismatic annihilation.
Serakai was thrown back, his arm vaporized.Morkhul slammed into the wall, coughing blood.Veyruth's spear shattered into glittering fragments.
The three Executioners collapsed, barely alive.
Drakonix landed beside Shan Wei, eyes gleaming with pride.
"Now that," he said softly, "was your own strength."
Xueya sheathed her sword and stepped to Shan Wei's side, frost glittering around her.
"You didn't disappear into the Emperor's shadow," she whispered."You rose as yourself."
Shan Wei exhaled slowly, shoulders relaxing.
"Yes… and I feel clearer than ever."
But then—
The floor beneath them began to glow.
A section of the Starhall rotated, revealing a descending staircase of starlight.
Jin Wei scanned.
"MASTER… THIS DOOR DID NOT EXIST BEFORE.IT ONLY OPENS FOR THOSE WHO REJECT THE CROWN."
Drakonix's wings twitched.
"Another trial…?"
Xueya tightened her grip on Shan Wei's arm.
"What lies below…?"
Shan Wei stepped forward.
The starlight staircase pulsed beneath his foot.
He whispered:
"…The Emperor's final secret."
And the vault door opened.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.