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The moment the words left Lord Kezhong's mouth, the forest fell into a dead, icy silence. Even the remnants of shadow flames seemed to retreat from the sudden weight of his authority.
Lian Yue felt her pulse stop.
"Arrest… me?"
Lord Kezhong descended fully, boots touching the scorched earth with the quiet finality of a judge delivering a sentence. His armor gleamed with cold silver light, etched with ancient runes that marked him as one of the Heavenly Council's most feared enforcers.
Li Yun stepped in front of Lian Yue instantly, sunlight unfurling around him like a shield.
"You must be joking. On what grounds?"
Lord Kezhong didn't spare him a glance. His gaze locked solely on Lian Yue — sharp, piercing, almost disappointed.
"The Moon Goddess stands accused of cosmic interference, forbidden contact, and harboring a Fallen Star entity."
His eyes drifted to Lian Feng's trembling form on the ground.
"Evidence is right there."
Lian Yue stepped forward, anger and fear clashing inside her.
"That's my brother. He's dying. He needs help, not your chains."
"Which is precisely why you should have reported him," Kezhong replied coolly. "Instead, you attempted to purify him alone — a direct violation of Council protocol."
Li Yun scoffed.
"Protocol? He was in agony. And she acted because none of you ever came."
Kezhong's eyebrow lifted.
"The Sun God should consider his words carefully. You are not exempt from celestial law."
Li Yun's jaw clenched, but he didn't back down.
"And neither are you. You appear out of nowhere after centuries of silence and dare accuse her?"
His aura flared hotter.
"You're not taking her anywhere."
Kezhong finally turned to him — slowly, like a mountain acknowledging a spark.
"Step aside, Li Yun."
"No."
The air tightened.
Lian Yue swallowed hard. This was spiraling too fast.
"Kezhong… I can explain everything. But not here. My brother—"
"Is corrupted beyond redemption."
Kezhong's calm voice cut like ice.
"He should have perished the moment he fell into the rift. Whatever dragged him back is not your brother anymore."
Lian Feng stirred weakly on the ground.
"That… is not true…"
His voice cracked, full of pain.
Kezhong didn't even look at him.
"He will turn feral within the hour. I will deal with him after I secure you."
"Deal with him?" Lian Yue repeated, disbelief cracking her tone. "You mean kill him?"
Kezhong did not deny it.
Li Yun's eyes darkened.
"You touch him, and I'll burn the armor off your body."
Kezhong's lips thinned.
"Threats from the Sun God. How predictable."
Suddenly, a thin wire of light snapped into existence beside Kezhong — a celestial binding thread.
He flicked his wrist toward Lian Yue.
Li Yun reacted instantly.
His hand shot out, forming a blazing wall of sunlight. The thread sizzled and dissolved before it could reach her.
Kezhong's expression hardened.
"You protect her at the cost of treason?"
"She has done nothing wrong," Li Yun growled.
"She has broken at least four laws."
"She saved her brother."
"She interfered with a cosmic anomaly."
"She followed her heart."
Kezhong's aura surged, pressing down on the forest like a suffocating storm.
"You forget your station, Sun God. Your sentiment clouds your judgment."
"And yours rots your soul," Li Yun shot back.
The air snapped like a whip between them.
Lian Yue stepped forward, forcing herself between the two gods.
"Enough!"
Her moonlight burst outward, soft but commanding, silencing the tension with a glow that cast long silver shadows across the ruined forest.
Kezhong hesitated — just a flicker — before speaking.
"Moon Goddess… please do not worsen your situation. Come with me peacefully. You will be granted a trial."
"A trial based on lies?" Lian Yue shot back.
"Based on your actions."
"I acted because the Council did nothing."
Kezhong's jaw tightened; his calm was beginning to crack.
"You do not understand what you've entangled yourself with."
"Then explain!" she pleaded. "Stop speaking in riddles!"
"I cannot."
His voice lowered.
"Not here. Not before him."
His gaze flickered toward Li Yun.
Something like warning.
Or fear.
Li Yun noticed.
"What does that mean? What are you hiding?"
Kezhong ignored him and reached for Lian Yue again.
Li Yun grabbed her arm, pulling her behind him protectively.
"Touch her, and you answer to me."
Kezhong raised a hand.
"You are obstructing celestial law."
"Good," Li Yun snapped. "Then charge me too."
The forest trembled under their clashing auras — sunlight heated the air, moonlight swirled behind them, and Kezhong's cold power coiled like chains preparing to strike.
Lian Yue's heart pounded painfully.
They were going to fight.
And if they did… someone would bleed.
"Kezhong," she tried once more, voice cracking, "please. My brother needs help. Let us bring him to the Celestial Hall. There must be a way to—"
"There is no cure for Fallen corruption," he said flatly.
"There never has been."
A soft groan rose behind them.
Lian Feng was pushing himself up, trembling violently.
Kezhong tensed, hand lifting as if to strike.
"No!" Lian Yue ran to her brother's side, kneeling.
"Don't! He's still conscious!"
Li Yun rushed beside her, forming a protective arc of light around them.
Lian Feng grabbed her wrist weakly.
"Yue… listen…"
His breath rattled.
"He… can't take you. If he does… the prophecy…"
His sentence broke into a cough of shadowy mist.
"The prophecy?" Lian Yue whispered.
Kezhong's eyes widened — for the first time, genuine alarm.
"Lian Feng. Enough."
But Lian Feng kept speaking, voice raw:
"They want to control your power… don't let them… they'll use you as a vessel—"
A blast of celestial force shot out from Kezhong's palm.
Li Yun reacted just in time, throwing a shield of sunlight that absorbed the blow — but barely. Li Yun staggered back a step, teeth clenched.
"Kezhong!" Lian Yue cried. "Stop!"
But he was already walking toward them, aura cold and merciless.
"This ends now," he said.
"All three of you will come with me. The Council will decide your fate."
Li Yun's sunlight flared, blinding the clearing.
"You're not taking her."
Kezhong's hand tightened around his weapon.
"Then we settle it the old way."
The crescent moon glowed behind Lian Yue in panic.
"Li Yun, don't—"
But it was too late.
The Sun God and the Celestial Enforcer stepped toward each other—
—and the heavens themselves braced for war.