Chapter 10 — Echoes of Two Worlds
Alex woke to the soft whisper of wind and the faint hum of energy coursing through the air. His head throbbed like a collapsing star. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the sky — vast, iridescent, streaked with streams of glowing energy that pulsed like veins of light. The world felt alive. Every breath he took seemed to fill his body with a warmth that wasn't heat but vitality itself.
He tried to move, but pain flared through his limbs. His armor was cracked and smoking, patches of molten metal fused to the ground beneath him. Somehow, it had held long enough to keep him alive.
"Don't move," said a calm, melodic voice. "You're lucky Elder Feng didn't finish you."
He turned his head. The woman who had saved him stood a few meters away. Her silver-blue robes shimmered faintly with a light of their own, embroidered with constellations that seemed to shift as she moved. Her black hair floated slightly as if gravity had forgotten her.
"You…" Alex rasped, "stopped him."
She inclined her head slightly. "I did. Though it wasn't mercy — curiosity, perhaps. You are the first human from Earth to cross into Blue Star in thousands of years. That makes you… valuable."
Her eyes glimmered with unreadable emotion. "What do they call you?"
"Alex Grams," he said, trying to sit up. "Chief Scientist of the Dimensional Defense Division."
The woman smiled faintly, as though savoring the sound of a forgotten tongue. "Chief… scientist. You use reason to touch truth, not spirit. You seek the laws of existence, but not its heart."
"Where I come from," Alex replied, voice steady despite his exhaustion, "laws are the heart of existence."
A small, amused hum escaped her. "How quaint. Yet admirable."
Before he could answer, the ground trembled. The air rippled as a formation circle ignited nearby, and several cultivators appeared — robes flaring, weapons gleaming with spiritual light. They bowed low to the woman.
"Saintess Liuying," one said. "Elder Feng demands your presence at the Council. He claims the invader must be executed immediately."
Alex's pulse spiked. "Invader?"
Liuying's expression softened, but her eyes stayed sharp. "To them, you are. To me… you are proof that the old legends were true."
She gestured to one of the cultivators. "Bring him. But touch him, and you'll answer to me."
The group exchanged wary glances but obeyed.
They ascended through the skies — literally. The flight talismans under the cultivators' feet shimmered as they rose, carrying Alex's damaged armor along on a floating platform of spiritual energy.
As they passed over vast mountain ranges, Alex's eyes widened. Cities hung suspended among clouds, connected by bridges of light. Rivers of molten Qi flowed through the air, feeding colossal temples that pulsed like living hearts. In the distance, immense beasts the size of skyscrapers moved slowly, each breath shaking the heavens.
"This is… impossible," Alex whispered. "The gravitational structure alone—"
"Is held together by formation arrays older than your world's recorded history," Liuying interrupted softly. "What you call 'physics' bends before cultivation. Our ancestors learned that reality is clay, not stone."
He studied her face. "Then why return? Why invade Earth?"
Her lips tightened. "Because Earth is awakening again. The Qi that once left your planet is returning. When it floods back, divine treasures will be born — relics, pills, immortal beasts. And whoever controls the source controls the heavens for the next thousand years."
"So this is about resources," he said bitterly.
"Everything is," she replied, "even enlightenment."
They arrived at the Celestial Assembly Hall, a massive arena of carved jade and living crystal. Thousands of cultivators filled the terraces, their collective Qi pressing down like the weight of an ocean.
At the center, seated atop a golden dais, was Elder Feng. His eyes glowed with disdain.
"The intruder stands before us," he boomed. "A man who wields no spirit, who dares to breach sacred borders with machines and arrogance. What say you, Saintess Liuying?"
Liuying met his gaze calmly. "He is not a soldier. He came to observe, not conquer. Killing him gains us nothing."
"Nothing?" Feng rose, his aura flaring until the entire hall trembled. "His world mocks the heavens with false suns and steel beasts. They have forgotten reverence. And you would protect one of them?"
Alex struggled to remain standing under the sheer pressure of Feng's Qi. His body felt as though it were being crushed from every direction.
"I didn't come to fight," Alex managed to say, voice strained. "But I won't apologize for what humanity has become. We evolved because we had to. Because your ancestors left us behind."
A murmur rippled through the hall. Even some cultivators looked uncertain.
Liuying smiled faintly. "You see, Elder? Even without Qi, they've learned defiance."
Feng's fury intensified. "Defiance leads to annihilation."
Before he could strike, a deeper voice echoed through the chamber. "Enough."
From the shadows of the upper dais, a new figure emerged — tall, robed in pure white, his face ageless and calm. His very presence silenced the hall.
"The High Sage," Liuying whispered.
The man's gaze fell upon Alex. "You are from Earth?"
Alex nodded weakly. "Yes."
"Then you have brought change," the High Sage said. "This war need not begin with blood. Tell me, child of science — what does your world seek from the heavens?"
Alex met his gaze, heart pounding. "Survival… and understanding. We don't want to conquer you. But if you try to take our home, we'll defend it."
The High Sage studied him for a long moment, then smiled — faintly, yet with something like sorrow. "Then perhaps you are not so different from us after all."
He turned to the assembly. "This man lives. Prepare the Council of Dual Realms. The age of isolation is over."
The hall erupted in murmurs. Liuying looked at Alex — half relief, half warning in her eyes.
As the cultivators dispersed, Alex stared at the glowing ceiling, where symbols of the cosmos shifted like constellations.
Two worlds had collided. And now, the fate of both hung in the hands of those who dared to bridge the impossible.
He didn't know whether to feel victorious or terrified.
Because deep within the Rift — unseen by either side — something vast and ancient had begun to stir.