The mist fell silent.
Not the silence of peace, nor the pause before words…But the kind that came before a sword was unsheathed.A breath before a universe collapsed.
Qi Shan Wei's pulse thundered in his ears as the tall, rotting figure stepped fully into view. His robe fluttered like torn funeral cloth. Thin strands of golden puppet wire trailed behind him, slicing the fog into ribbons.
The mask he wore was the color of old gold—smooth, expressionless, and cold enough to drain warmth from the mountain air.
Jin Wei's frame stiffened. His crimson core flickered like a dying star.
Elder Lu whispered hoarsely, voice cracking:
"Shan Wei… stay behind us.That man… that monster… is the last true Master of the Puppet Hunter Clan."
Ling Xueyao's eyes narrowed, frost aura spiraling around her feet.
"What is a Puppeteer?" she asked.
Elder Lu swallowed.
"They don't hunt beasts.They don't hunt people.They hunt—"He pointed to Jin Wei."…creations like him."
The Golden-Masked figure tilted his head, golden wires whispering behind him.
"Correct," the man said softly. His voice was thin, eerie, like old silk tearing. "Puppets do not belong in the hands of children.Divine constructs belong only to masters."
His golden mask turned to Jin Wei.
"You were forged to kneel to us.Not to a boy."
Jin Wei stepped between Shan Wei and the puppeteer, cracked armor humming.
"Incorrect.Recognized Master: Qi Shan Wei."
The Puppeteer's fingers flexed.Thin golden threads unraveled from his wrists like strands of liquid sunlight.
"Then I will tear out your corrupted recognition core," he said. "And forge it anew."
Ling Xueyao instantly stepped closer to Shan Wei, frost domain expanding sharply.
"You will not touch him."
Drakonix puffed his feathers, tiny fangs bared. His prismatic flame flickered dangerously—more unstable than usual.
Shan Wei's heart slammed against his ribs. He felt fear claw at him, but beneath it something deeper stirred:
Responsibility.Leadership.Resolve.
He stepped forward.
"Don't engage recklessly," Shan Wei murmured to his companions. "He wants Jin Wei… and he's watching every move we make."
Ling Xueyao's golden eyes flickered."You're calm at a time like this?"
"No," Shan Wei whispered. "But I can't show fear."
The Puppeteer's head tilted again.
"Fascinating.He speaks like a leader—but he is still just a child."
His tone turned colder.
"Let us test his worth."
He lifted a single finger.
Golden wire snapped forward with impossible speed—
Jin Wei moved before thought could form.
He slammed his arm guard down, blocking the strike. Sparks burst like molten stars.
Shan Wei felt the weight of the moment.He inhaled.
He chose to lead.
"Xueyao—form a perimeter of frost. Slow those wires.""Drakonix—harass from above, hit the joints, distract him."
Then—
"Jin Wei…protect everyone."
All three reacted instantly.
Ling Xueyao spun, her frost aura exploding outward in a swirling lotus. Sharp ice petals filled the mist, slowing the Puppeteer's threads by precious fractions.
Drakonix launched upward, wings flapping clumsily but ferociously."Fwee-CHIIIR!"Prismatic sparks shot forward, tiny but burning hot.
Jin Wei stepped in front, massive frame shielding the group, blade-arm at the ready.
The Puppeteer watched with a surgeon's interest.
"Coordinated.Unexpected.Promising."
He flicked his fingers.
Dozens of gold threads erupted.
Jin Wei blocked six—Ling Xueyao froze four—Drakonix melted two—Elder Lu deflected one—
But the remaining threads sliced past.
One aimed for Shan Wei's throat.
Too fast—
"QI SHAN WEI!" Lu shouted.
Shan Wei's instincts screamed. His wrist flared with prismatic light, but—
A wall of molten gold slammed into the thread.
Jin Wei had moved faster than sound.
His arm—The very limb—Had been cut off to block the strike.
The severed piece hit the ground with a heavy clang.
Shan Wei's breath left his lungs.
"JIN WEI!"
The Puppet Guardian did not stop.He stepped forward, towering protectively, blade-arm humming.
The Puppeteer chuckled.
"You sacrificed your limb to protect him?How adorable."
Jin Wei's single remaining arm shifted, transforming into a massive shield of interlocked plates.
His voice, normally mechanical, now carried a faint growl:
"Threat level… adjusted.Hostile entity: lethal.Priority: Protect Master."
The Puppeteer sighed.
"How disappointing.Your recognition protocols are far too loyal.I will enjoy dismantling you."
He flicked his wrist.
A sphere of golden threads erupted like a blooming flower of death.
Ling Xueyao's frost domain shattered.Drakonix shrieked and dove behind Shan Wei's robe.Elder Lu was thrown back, crashing into boulders.
And Qi Shan Wei…
…stood alone.
The attack rushed toward him.
He could feel it—the sharpness, the ruthlessness, the death in those wires.
He couldn't run.
He couldn't hide.
He couldn't rely on others.
He could only move forward.
Shan Wei's eyes hardened.
"JIN WEI!"
The puppet dropped to one knee in front of him.
Shan Wei placed his hand on Jin Wei's cracked armor.
His prismatic mark ignited—power swirling violently around him.
The ruin awakened again.Faint runes across the mountain glowed.
Jin Wei's crimson core surged, cracks sealing slightly, plates tightening.
Qi Shan Wei's voice boomed:
"DEFEND!"
Jin Wei rose like a golden mountain.
The golden threads slammed into him.
Sparks erupted across the peak.
Metal screeched.
Ancient armor screamed.
But Jin Wei held.
Every wire embedded into him, slicing cracks deeper, tearing plates, shattering runes—
Yet he held.
Inch by inch, step by step, he forced himself forward.Bleeding light from hundreds of cuts.A broken guardian refusing to kneel again.
The Puppeteer's voice rose in frustration.
"STOP RESISTING.YOU.ARE.MINE!"
Jin Wei's core pulsed violently—
"I… DO NOT… BELONG… TO YOU."
He tore the wires free with a shriek of metal.
Shan Wei's eyes widened.
Not just because Jin Wei resisted—
But because he said those words.
He was evolving.
Gaining will.
The Puppeteer took a staggering step back.
"A puppet… developing instinct this early…?"
His tone turned enraged.
"No.No, no, no.I must take you now before you awaken fully."
He raised both hands.
A storm of golden wire erupted—
A hundred threads.A thousand.
The entire mountain peak trembled under the pressure.The sky darkened.The clouds ignited gold.
Shan Wei stood straight, prismatic light forming a thin veil around him.
Ling Xueyao rushed to his side, frost aura burning cold enough to freeze air.
Drakonix leapt onto Shan Wei's shoulder, tiny flames swirling feverishly.
Elder Lu rose, battered but determined.
Jin Wei stepped forward—
Broken.Cracked.Missing an arm.Runes flickering dimly.
Yet towering like a dying star refusing to collapse.
Qi Shan Wei clenched his fists.
"Everyone—"his voice rang like steel"—we fight together."
The Puppeteer roared:
"THEN ALL OF YOU DIE!"
The golden storm descended.
The Final Stand on Cloudpierce Peak
Everything erupted at once.
Ling Xueyao's frost lotus expanded, spinning like a blizzard of blades.
Drakonix unleashed a primal burst of prismatic flame—far stronger than ever before.
Elder Lu cast his strongest binding spell, vines glowing with emerald light.
Jin Wei's shield-arm expanded, splitting into layered plates like a fortress.
Qi Shan Wei raised both hands—
Crimson flame at his right.Golden lightning at his left.Void shadow beneath his feet.
Prismatic Light erupted.
The golden storm collided with prismatic radiance.
The mountain cracked.Trees snapped.Rock shattered.Mist exploded outward.
The sound was deafening—not like thunder,but like a titan roaring across heaven and earth.
Shan Wei felt his bones vibrate, his eyes burning, his limbs shaking—but he endured.
Because behind him stood the trust of his companions.
Because beside him stood a divine beast and a frost guardian.
Because kneeling before him was a puppet who tore himself apart for him.
And because he had chosen—
I will not be hunted.I will not be owned.I will lead.
The golden and prismatic lights clashed—
And then—
A scream.
The Puppeteer's golden mask cracked.
One thread snapped.Then another.Then a dozen.
His body spasmed, his wires recoiling violently.
"No…!A child…!A child cannot overpower me—!"
Qi Shan Wei stepped forward, prismatic aura burning like a newborn star.
"You made one mistake," he said quietly.
The Puppeteer trembled.
"What…?"
"You thought I was alone."
He gestured at Jin Wei, Ling Xueyao, Drakonix, and Elder Lu.
"I will never fight alone."
The words struck like a sword.
The golden storm shattered.
The Puppeteer stumbled backward, mask fracturing.
A final golden wire snapped with a piercing metallic shriek.
He staggered into the fog—
But not before turning his cracked mask toward Shan Wei.
"This… is not over…Prismatic Child…"
He dissolved into shadow—
vanishing.
But his final whisper crawled across the stone:
"The heavens will come for you."
Aftermath
The fog slowly cleared.
The wind returned.
Silence fell once more.
Jin Wei collapsed to one knee, severely damaged.His core flickered weakly.
Ling Xueyao sheathed her sword, breathing hard, frost aura trembling.
Drakonix slumped on Shan Wei's shoulder, exhausted.
Elder Lu leaned heavily on his staff.
Qi Shan Wei stood in the center of the ruin, shoulders trembling, breath sharp, prismatic mark pulsating like a living flame.
He had survived.
He had led.
He had won.
He walked to Jin Wei, placing a gentle hand on the puppet's cracked armor.
"Jin Wei," he whispered, voice breaking.
The puppet's core glowed faintly in response.
"Master… safe.Mission… accomplished."
Qi Shan Wei's eyes burned.
Not with power.But with gratitude.
"We're going to fix you," he said quietly."I promise."
Above them, thunder rumbled.Storm clouds spiraled in unnatural patterns.
Ling Xueyao whispered:
"Qi Shan Wei…I think the heavens heard you."
And far away—in realms beyond mortal sight—
something ancient… opened its eyes.
To be continued..
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