The hidden staircase spiraled downward into a shaft of living starlight—as if the vault itself had peeled open a wound in reality.
Shan Wei took the first step.
The moment his foot touched the luminous surface—
the entire staircase resonated like a heartbeat.
Thum… thum… thum…
Drakonix froze mid-flight.
Xueya's fingertips trembled.
Even Jin Wei—the indomitable Divine Puppet who feared nothing—took one step backward.
His voice crackled, distorted:
"MASTER…THIS RESONANCE—IT BELONGS TO SOMETHING BEYOND MY ERA."
Shan Wei turned.
"Jin Wei… are you afraid?"
Jin Wei's glowing eyes flickered violently.
"…YES."
That single word chilled the entire chamber.
Drakonix landed beside Shan Wei, feathers flaring.
"If something can frighten him, Shan Wei…we need to tread carefully."
But the staircase kept beating—louder, deeper, heavier.
As if calling one person only.
And that person stepped forward without hesitation.
1. Xueya's Vision — A Glimpse of a Fate She Cannot Escape
When Xueya touched the railing, the world around her froze.
The starlit chamber faded.
A silent, frozen vision swallowed her sight—
A battlefield of endless white.Galaxies hanging in the sky like dying snowflakes.A moon cracked in half above her.Her own silhouette standing atop a frozen throne.
Her voice—older, colder, imperial—echoed:
"The Astral Winter will return…and you will choose who lives."
The vision shattered like ice.
Xueya staggered forward, gripping Shan Wei's sleeve.
He caught her instantly.
"Xueya—!"
She forced her breath steady.
"I saw… a future. A throne of ice.A moon split in half.And myself—"Her voice lowered to a whisper."—wearing a crown."
Drakonix inhaled sharply.
"That's… your Forbidden Awakening."
Her pupils tightened.
"…Astral Winter Annihilation."
Her destined catastrophe.
Shan Wei held her shoulders gently.
"We'll rewrite that future," he said, calm but firm.
Her lips quivered—just a little.
"…Yes."
2. Drakonix Hears the Heartbeat
The deeper they descended, the louder the heartbeat grew.
Thum… THUM… THUM…
Drakonix winced.
He pressed a claw to his chest.
"Shan Wei…that heartbeat…it's synchronizing with mine."
Shan Wei froze.
"Synchronizing…? How?"
Drakonix shook his head, eyes wide.
"I don't know.But whatever's below…it's connected to my lineage."
A pause.
"Or your destiny."
Even the flames along his wings dimmed.
He whispered:
"This heartbeat isn't human."
3. Jin Wei Stops Walking — and Kneels
Halfway down, Jin Wei abruptly collapsed to one knee.
Metal shrieked against the glowing steps.
"ERROR.ERROR.COSMIC PARADOX DETECTED."
Shan Wei rushed to him.
"What's happening?!"
Jin Wei's chest core flickered violently, runes glitching in rapid patterns.
"MASTER…BELOW US IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST IN THIS ERA.SOMETHING EVEN THE RED EMPEROR FEARED."
Shan Wei stiffened.
"What did he fear?"
Jin Wei looked up slowly.
His voice lowered to a whispering hum—
"THE HEART OF THE FIRST PRISMATIC BEAST."
The stairway fell silent.
Even the heartbeat paused—as if listening.
Xueya's voice trembled.
"The First Prismatic Beast…The ancestor of all divine Dragon-Phoenix hybrids…?"
Drakonix stepped backward unconsciously.
His heart pounded in terror—and something else.
Recognition.
"Shan Wei…"His voice cracked for the first time."I—I can feel it.It's calling me."
Then—
No warning.
No buildup.
4. The Heartbeat ROARS
THUUUUUUUUUUUUUM!!!!
The entire staircase shook so violently Shan Wei had to brace Xueya against him.
Drakonix cried out, curling in pain as multicolored flames burst from his wings.
Jin Wei's body locked into a kneeling posture, unable to rise.
The vault above them sealed itself shut.
Four ancient runes ignited on the descending stairway walls:
FATE.ORIGIN.ANCESTRY.AWAKENING.
Shan Wei clenched his fists.
"Something down there…is tied to all of us."
And then—as if in answer—
A voice whispered from below.
A voice older than worlds.A voice that bypassed ears and spoke directly into their souls.
"Child of Seven Lights…descend."
The staircase lit in blazing prismatic brilliance.
Xueya tightened her grip on Shan Wei's sleeve.
Drakonix's flames trembled.
Jin Wei's core dimmed in submission.
Shan Wei inhaled deeply.
Then he stepped onto the final landing.
The air cracked—the heartbeat roared—and the chamber opened.
Revealing—
A colossal crystal heart, suspended in black void, beating with seven-colored cosmic blood.
Alive.
Ancient.
And waiting for him.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.