Silence was never peace inside ancient places.
Silence was… aftermath.
The sealed heart hung suspended in the void, its cracks now stitched shut by Jin Wei's sacrificed core shard—golden runes wrapped around it like chains of living law. The seven-colored blood inside slowed to a hateful crawl.
Thum… thum… thum…
Fainter now.
But not dead.
Not sleeping.
Watching.
Qi Shan Wei stood motionless before it, shoulders rising and falling as if every breath was a battle. The half-spoken name still burned at the edge of his mind, like a blade lodged between soul and memory.
"祁…玄…赤…"
The heavens had tried to erase it mid-syllable—but the echo remained.
Xueya stepped closer, voice quiet.
"Shan Wei… talk to me."
He didn't answer.
Because he couldn't.
The moment the entity spoke that name, it was as if a hidden door inside his soul cracked open. And from that crack—
something looked out.
Something vast.
Something ancient.
Something that made even his own heartbeat feel small.
Drakonix watched him from the side, wings lowered, eyes sharper than ever.
"Brother… that name… it wasn't ours."
Shan Wei swallowed hard.
"No."
1. The True Name Echo Tears at His Soul
Without warning, Shan Wei's vision distorted.
The chamber blurred into streaks of prismatic light. His ears filled with the sound of distant bells—slow, massive, echoing through time.
Doooom… Dooooom… Dooooom…
He gripped his head.
A thin line of blood trickled from his nose.
Xueya rushed forward, catching him by the shoulders.
"Shan Wei! Breathe—stay with me!"
He tried.
But the echo kept vibrating inside his soul—like the heavens had stamped him, like the universe itself had marked him as a contradiction.
Jin Wei's voice crackled from his kneel, weakened and dim.
"MASTER…SOUL SIGNATURE FLUCTUATION…HEAVENLY DETECTION PROBABILITY: RISING."
Drakonix's pupils narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
Jin Wei's head lowered.
"It means…the heavens may have just noticed him."
Xueya went still.
"…Noticed?"
Shan Wei's eyes lifted slowly—golden but strained.
"Noticed… like a hunter noticing a footprint."
2. The Vault Begins to Collapse
A low rumble shook the Starhall above.
Dust drifted from the ceiling of the Heart Chamber.
The golden chains around the heart flashed violently—resisting, overloading, burning.
Jin Wei's core flickered.
"SEAL STRESS EXCEEDING THRESHOLD.VAULT STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY: 63%… 58%… 51%…"
Xueya's breath caught.
"This place can't hold that seal."
Drakonix bared his teeth.
"Then we leave. Now."
Shan Wei's gaze remained fixed on the sealed heart.
The heart pulsed once—almost as if mocking him.
And the entity's voice—faint, muffled, but clear enough—
whispered through the chains:
"Run, little Emperor.""The heavens already smell you."
Shan Wei's fist clenched.
Xueya squeezed his hand hard.
"Don't listen. We're getting you out."
He nodded once.
But the moment he turned—
the chamber screamed.
A deep crack formed in the air itself, like reality splitting under pressure.
A sliver of golden light spilled through it.
Not abyssal.
Not prismatic.
Not mortal.
Heavenly.
Jin Wei's head snapped up.
"ALERT: HEAVENLY SIGIL PRESENCE."
The Empress, pale and trembling at the edge of the chamber, whispered:
"…No… not the Tribunal…"
Drakonix stiffened.
"What is that?"
Xueya's voice was tight with fear she refused to show fully.
"The heavens' enforcers."
3. The Heavenly Sigil Appears
The sliver widened.
A symbol formed in the air—a rotating circle of celestial script, too complex to be fully seen.
It didn't attack.
It didn't speak.
It simply existed—
and the weight of its existence made the chamber feel like it was kneeling.
Shan Wei's skin prickled.
Every instinct screamed at him to hide.
But he didn't move.
Because that sigil wasn't looking for the vault.
It was looking for him.
The sigil rotated once—
and a beam of pale gold light shot down, striking Shan Wei's forearm.
SSSSSHH—!!
He grunted, teeth clenching.
A burning pain spread through his flesh, not like fire—
like a verdict.
Xueya screamed.
"SHAN WEI!"
She grabbed his arm and saw it.
A brand.
A heavenly mark etched into his skin:
A circle, crossed by seven small lines…and at its center, a single crimson dot.
Jin Wei's voice shook.
"…HEAVENLY IDENTIFICATION BRAND.CLASSIFICATION: PARADOX ENTITY."
Drakonix snarled, flames leaking from his throat.
"They marked you."
The Empress covered her mouth.
"They… they don't mark people unless… unless they plan to erase them."
Shan Wei stared at the brand as it pulsed, faintly syncing with his heartbeat.
Thum… thum…
Xueya's hands shook with anger.
"I'll cut it off."
Shan Wei caught her wrist instantly.
"No."
She stared.
"What do you mean, no?! They branded you like a criminal!"
Shan Wei's expression darkened—calm, but with something colder underneath.
"If I cut it off, they'll confirm I'm resisting. They'll escalate."
Xueya's jaw trembled.
"Then what do we do?"
Shan Wei lifted his eyes.
"We get stronger."
His voice was quiet—but absolute.
"We build enough power that when the heavens come…"
He looked at the sealed heart.
"…they won't be the only ones who can judge."
4. Jin Wei's Emergency Path Opens
Jin Wei tried to rise.
His body shook violently.
Cracks spread across his chest plating where the core shard had been torn away.
"CORE STABILITY: CRITICAL.UPGRADE PATH REQUIRED…SEAL-LOSS IMMINENT…"
Shan Wei stepped toward him.
"Hold on. I won't let you fall."
Jin Wei's mechanical voice softened—almost human.
"MASTER…I WAS BUILT TO FALL FOR YOU."
Shan Wei's eyes narrowed.
"Then I'll rebuild you."
He placed his hand on Jin Wei's chest.
Prismatic energy pulsed into the puppet's cracked frame—gentle, controlled.
Not as fuel.
As a promise.
Runes flickered.
A hidden sub-panel opened in Jin Wei's torso, projecting a faint blueprint in light:
EMERGENCY UPGRADE PROTOCOL:'RUNIC HEART-PLATE'REQUIREMENT: STAR-METAL + PRISMATIC RESONANCE + BLOODLINE FLAME
Drakonix's eyes widened.
"That's… a path to Phase 2. Runic Guardian."
Shan Wei exhaled.
"Good. We'll do it."
5. Drakonix Demands the Truth
Drakonix stepped close, voice low.
"Brother… tell me honestly."
Shan Wei looked at him.
Drakonix's eyes were fierce, pained, protective.
"In that memory… was I yours? Or was I the Heart's?"
Shan Wei didn't answer immediately.
He reached out and pressed his forehead gently against Drakonix's.
"You are mine."
Drakonix trembled.
"But before—?"
Shan Wei's voice softened.
"Before… you followed me too. As family."
Drakonix's eyes glistened with starlight.
"…Then I'll follow you again."
He pulled back, snarling toward the sealed heart.
"And if that hunger tries to claim us—"
His wings flared.
"I'll burn it until even void turns to ash."
6. The Vault Forces Them Out
The chamber shook harder.
Cracks formed in the walls.
Chunks of starlit stone fell into the void below.
The golden chains around the heart blazed.
Jin Wei's voice boomed through the trembling chamber:
"MASTER.IMMEDIATE EVACUATION REQUIRED."
Xueya grabbed Shan Wei's arm—careful not to touch the brand too hard.
"Move. Now."
The Empress stumbled after them, still shaking.
As they raced up the staircase, the heartbeat behind them grew fainter—
but the whisper followed:
"Run, little Emperor…""The Tribunal will come…""And when they do…""I will open."
Shan Wei didn't look back.
Not because he wasn't afraid.
Because he refused to let fear lead him.
They burst into the Starhall—
just as the vault ceiling cracked and a wave of prismatic dust rained down.
Outside the sealed gate—
the three Executioners were gone.
Vanished.
Retreated.
Not from defeat—
but to report.
To summon.
To escalate.
Xueya looked at the brand on Shan Wei's arm, then up into the air above the vault as if expecting the sky to split again.
Her voice was quiet, trembling with fury.
"They marked you."
Shan Wei's jaw tightened.
"And I will make them regret it."
Then the vault shuddered one last time—
and a final rune ignited on the door, visible through the sealing light:
TRIBUNAL COUNTDOWN: 7
The number pulsed once.
Then again.
Like a clock.
Drakonix's flames dimmed into a dangerous, quiet glow.
Jin Wei steadied himself, damaged but standing.
Xueya tightened her sword grip.
The Empress whispered, almost inaudible:
"…Seven days."
Shan Wei stared at the glowing countdown.
And smiled—slowly—dangerously.
"Good."
His golden eyes sharpened.
"That's enough time to become someone they can't erase."
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
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