The ruined temple moaned beneath a wind that held no warmth—only echoes.This place wasn't part of the Sanctuary.It wasn't part of any memory Xiao Wang consciously possessed.
It was… between.
Between truth and illusion.Between past and present.Between the emperor he was… and the boy he had become.
The woman beside him—her soft steps barely bending the dust—walked with a sadness so heavy it dulled even the crimson glow beneath her eyes.
Xiao Wang's grip on the Devouring Sword tightened.
The inscription carved onto the broken wall burned brighter:
THE TRUTH OF YOUR DEATH.
His heart throbbed, an aching weight heavy enough to bruise bone.
He forced out a breath.
"Show me."
The woman flinched.
Her fingers curled, knuckles whitening.
"Xiao Wang… once you see it, you cannot unsee it."
"Good," he said quietly. "I'm tired of running from shadows."
Her eyes glistened.
"You never ran. In your last life… you walked into death willingly."
Xiao Wang froze.
"What?"
She didn't answer—not yet.Instead, she gently took his wrist.
"Come. The truth must unfold as it once did."
The temple walls trembled, melting into darkness.
A faint ring echoed, like the soft chiming of windbells.
Light pulsed—
—then the world snapped into focus.
A City of Fallen Stars
Xiao Wang blinked.
They stood at the gates of a colossal celestial city—vast towers of shimmering stone rising like spears toward the heavens. Lanterns of star-fire floated overhead, weaving between spires and bridges. The sky itself rippled with auroras.
But this wasn't beauty.
It was a battlefield waiting to happen.
The air tasted of fear.
The distant hum of divine qi vibrated beneath his skin.
Xiao Wang frowned.
"I… know this place."
His once-lover nodded.
"You ruled it."
She turned toward the grand city's heart, where the largest tower rose—a black monolith wrapped in drifting constellations.
"That was your throne. The Celestial Seat of the Emperor."
He swallowed.
He had seen fragments of this in dreams.But seeing the city alive… hearing faint laughter… seeing couples walk beneath the lanterns…
It felt real.Too real.
Then something else hit him—
"Where are the guards? The soldiers?"
Her body stiffened.
"They are at the border. Heaven's armies march tonight."
Just as she spoke—
A horn sounded in the distance.Low.Haunting.Terrifying.
Xiao Wang felt his blood run cold.
"That horn…"
She finished for him.
"The Horn of Heavenly Judgment."
The Beginning of the End
They walked deeper into the city.
The lights dimmed.
The crowds thinned.
People whispered in fear, rushing into their homes.
Children were ushered off the streets. Shopkeepers slammed their doors shut. A priest extinguished a line of lanterns—one by one—murmuring a prayer that Xiao Wang recognized instinctively.
A prayer for mercy.
A prayer Heaven never granted.
Xiao Wang exhaled sharply.
"Why didn't the Emperor—that is, me—why didn't I flee with them?"
Her steps slowed.
"You couldn't."
She turned back, gaze trembling.
"Heaven didn't come to conquer you."
Her fingers curled into her dress.
"They came because you refused… to sacrifice your people."
Xiao Wang froze.
"…Sacrifice?"
She nodded.
"They demanded the lives of ten million mortals. Your city housed twelve million."Her voice cracked."They wanted you to hand over ten million to die as tribute—so the heavens could balance a prophecy."
Xiao Wang's jaw clenched.
"That's insane."
"It is Heaven."
She met his gaze.
"You refused… so they declared you a heretic. A traitor. A threat."
The world flickered.
A memory stabbed into his mind—
Himself, standing atop the celestial throne.A decree burning in his hand.A voice echoing across the heavens:
"I do not bow."
Xiao Wang staggered.
Her hand caught his arm immediately.
"Careful."
He shook his head.
"I'm fine."
But he wasn't.Every glimpse of the past dug into him like nails.
THE NIGHT
They reached the central plaza.
A courtyard paved with luminous jade.
A familiar balcony overlooked it—one he had seen in the illusions of Chapter 43.Lanterns drifted above like falling stars.
"This…" Xiao Wang whispered. "…this is where you died."
Her breath caught.
"Yes."
The lanterns flickered.
The sky darkened.
A cloud—a single streak of divine light—pierced through the heavens, descending like a spear.
Xiao Wang instinctively reached for his sword——but she caught him.
"No," she whispered. "This scene plays as it did. You cannot change it."
Xiao Wang's chest tightened painfully.
He had to watch himself fail.He had to watch her die.Again.
The spear's light sharpened.
She stepped toward her past self.
"You see this part every time and think I betrayed you."
The past version of her appeared—walking toward the balcony with a gentle smile, humming softly.
A song Xiao Wang somehow remembered.
A song he didn't know he'd forgotten.
She whispered:
"Listen carefully."
Xiao Wang stared hard at the scene.
Past-him walked out—tall, serene, a sovereign yet a man softened by love.
He wrapped his arms around her.
She cupped his cheek tenderly.
Neither saw the spear.
Only Xiao Wang did.
And he screamed—
"MOVE!!"
But the scene flowed on.
The spear of divine judgment descended.
Past-him sensed it an instant too late, whipping around—
—but she had already stepped in front of him.
The spear struck her chest.
She collapsed.
Xiao Wang flinched as if stabbed himself.
His throat closed.
He watched his past self fall to his knees, cradling her.
He screamed her name until his voice tore.
She looked at him, trembling, blood staining her lips.
"...my emperor…"
Her breathing hitched.
"I… made my choice…"
The spear should have hit him.
Not her.
Why?
WHY?
The present Xiao Wang's voice trembled.
"You said you betrayed me… but I don't see betrayal."
Her tearful gaze met him.
"This is not the betrayal."
She pointed.
The scene continued.
The celestial light surged again.
Past-him raised his sword, roaring—
"HEAVEN!! COME TAKE MY LIFE IF YOU DARE!!"
He flew upward—straight at the heavens.
But something else happened.
Something Xiao Wang had never seen in the cracks of memory.
A second spear.Not aimed at the Emperor.
Aimed at the city.
Millions of people screaming.
Xiao Wang's chest locked.
"No… no no no—"
The spear struck.
Light engulfed the entire population.
Children. Families. Soldiers. Mortals. Innocents.
Gone.
In one breath.
Xiao Wang screamed, falling to his knees, hands shaking.
His past self froze mid-air… and shattered.
Utterly.
Xiao Wang stared in horror.
"They… killed everyone?"
She nodded weakly, tears streaming down her face.
"You believed I betrayed you because you died soon after…"
She pressed a hand to her heart.
"But the betrayal… wasn't mine."
The temple rumbled.
The air cracked.
Another figure emerged from the darkness—cloaked in celestial robes, radiating divine authority.
Xiao Wang's breath froze in his lungs.
He knew that face.
He had seen statues, murals, illusions.
He had met its echoes.
The man who erased him from the heavens.
Heaven's Grand Executor.
The Executioner of Ten Thousand Realms.
The one who declared the Emperor a threat.
And the one—
—who whispered something to the dying him.
Something Xiao Wang had never fully remembered—
Until now.
The illusion zoomed closer.
Xiao Wang heard the words clearly:
"Blame her. She delivered the blade."
The world cracked.
Xiao Wang staggered backward.
His heart raced.
"That… that wasn't her voice…?"
"No," she whispered shakily. "He planted it. Into your dying soul. Into your memories. So when you reincarnated… all you would remember…"
She covered her mouth.
"…is me killing you."
Xiao Wang's hands trembled violently.
He pressed them against his head, breath quickening.
"So Heaven… rewrote my death?"
"Yes."
"So you didn't kill me."
"No."
"And you never betrayed me."
Her voice broke.
"I never betrayed you."
The illusion dissolved.
The temple walls snapped back into existence.
Xiao Wang stood frozen.
The Devouring Sword hummed—mourning.
His other personality whispered, stunned:
"…We blamed her all this time… for nothing."
The system chimed weakly.
⚡ [System Notice]
[Memory Fragment Restored: 12%]
[Emotional Load: HIGH]
[Warning: Mental collapse risk]
The woman stepped closer.
Her hand hovered inches from his cheek.
"Xiao Wang… please say something."
He couldn't.
He couldn't breathe, let alone speak.
His heart felt like it was cracking.
Not from her—
From himself.
He had hated her for a lifetime he did not remember.He had blamed her.Feared her.Resented her.
Yet she had died for him.
She had saved him.
And Heaven had turned his love… into hatred.
His soul shook.
He forced out a whisper.
"…I'm sorry."
Her eyes widened.
Then she broke down.
"Xiao Wang—!"
She threw herself into his arms.Warm. Trembling. Real.
He closed his eyes.
For a moment, the Trial of Souls felt human.
But the moment ended.
The temple crumbled.
The floor shattered.
Light flooded his senses—
—and Xiao Wang gasped awake.
RETURN TO REALITY
He inhaled sharply.
Air.
Cold, sharp Sanctuary air.
He was back.
His eyes shot open—
—and two faces hovered over him.
The silver-haired girl in white—eyes full of tears and frantic relief.
And Yun Xi—breathing hard, sword pointed at the portal behind him.
"XIAO WANG!!!"The girl grabbed his sleeve, shaking. "You're awake—you're awake—you scared me!"
Yun Xi exhaled deeply.
"Good. We don't have much time."
Xiao Wang groaned, pushing himself up.
"What happened while I was inside—"
A voice cut him off.
Cold.Emotionless.Close.
"Your trial is over."
The Silent Eraser stood only a few steps away, hand raised, a sphere of devouring darkness swirling at his fingertip.
"You may awaken."
He aimed at Xiao Wang's heart.
"So now… you may die."