The morning came to Cloudpierce Pavilion like a bruise across the heavens.
The sun rose, but light didn't follow.Clouds churned in spirals, tinged with crimson and black — colours that did not belong to this realm.
Qi Shan Wei stepped out of the hall, cloak stirring behind him in the bitter wind.
Drakonix emerged beside him, wings tucked, scales glowing faintly from residual prismatic power.
"Fwrree…"He growled softly, unease rippling through his body.
Ling Xueya appeared behind Shan Wei, her frost aura faint but alert.
"This sky…" she murmured, "is not natural."
Gravel ground under armored feet.
Jin Wei, standing at the stairway, slowly lifted his head toward the sky.
"WARNING.UNKNOWN VOID SIGNAL APPROACHING.HOSTILITY: 92% PROBABILITY."
Shan Wei frowned.
"From who?"
Jin Wei's eyes glowed.
"SIGNAL SOURCE:THE CALAMITY HEIR."
The world went silent.
The Message Arrives
A single point of black light appeared in the sky — no bigger than a firefly.
Then it expanded.
Like a pupil dilating.
Like an eye opening.
Shan Wei's heartbeat slammed in his chest.
The light folded inward, twisted, then dropped.
A shard.A sliver.A small piece of corrupted starlight.
It fell with the weight of destiny.
BOOM.
It struck the ground before Shan Wei, embedding itself into the stone courtyard.
Elder Lu, the Pavilion Master, numerous disciples—everyone rushed out with panic on their faces.
But no one dared approach the shard.
Even before touching it, Shan Wei felt the energy pouring from it:
Destruction.Karma rot.Twisted fate.Broken futures.
Qingyue stepped forward.
"I'll destroy it."
"Wait." Shan Wei raised a hand.
He approached.
Drakonix bared his teeth.
Jin Wei stepped closer, massive hand half-raised in protective mode.
Xueya put a hand on her sword.
Shan Wei touched the shard.
The world… stopped.
A Shadow Appears
The courtyard dissolved.Cloudpierce vanished.Everything melted into a void shaped like a silent dream.
A silhouette stood there.
Human.Tall.Smiling.
He looked near Shan Wei's age… but the aura behind him was older than stars.
Hair black with streaks of bloodlight.Eyes glowing with fractured starlight.A shadow-throne behind his back.
The Calamity Heir.
He had no killing intent.
That somehow made it worse.
He smiled warmly — impossibly warmly.
"Well," he said softly. "You're even more interesting up close."
Shan Wei's chest tightened.
"You're using a consciousness projection."
"Of course," the Heir replied. "If I came in person, your realm would crack."
He took another step, hands behind his back.
"You saw it, didn't you?"His eyes gleamed."The throne."
Shan Wei stayed silent.
The Heir tilted his head.
"Don't worry. I'm not here to fight. Not yet."A soft laugh."I simply wanted to greet my… rival."
Rival.
Shan Wei exhaled sharply.
"You think I'm interested in some cosmic throne?"
"No," the Heir said brightly."That's what makes this fun."
His smile sharpened.
"Because fate? Destiny? Heaven? They hate people like you. The ones who don't want power—but earn it anyway."
He stepped so close their foreheads nearly touched.
"And that… is why you're dangerous."
Shan Wei didn't move.
"I don't fear you."
"I know," the Heir said."That's why I like you."
He snapped his fingers.
The void cracked.
"Grow stronger," he whispered. "Climb. Struggle. Bleed. Break. Become magnificent."
He leaned forward.
"So when I kill you…"He smiled gently."…you won't disappoint me."
The projection shattered.
The Realm Responds
Shan Wei gasped as reality snapped back into place.
Drakonix roared.Flames burst from his mouth.
Qingyue rushed forward.
"Shan Wei!"
Xueya grabbed his shoulder.
"What did he say?"
Shan Wei inhaled deeply.
"He said… he's waiting for me."
The disciples erupted in whispers.
"Th-The Calamity Heir contacted him!?""This is madness!""What does this mean for Cloudpierce!?"
The Pavilion Master's face turned grave.
"Qi Shan Wei," he said. "This is beyond anything we can contain."
Qi Longye limped out, leaning on a spirit cane.
"That message was not a threat," he rasped.
Shan Wei turned.
"What was it, then?"
Qi Longye exhaled slowly.
"A declaration of obsession."
The courtyard froze.
Longye stared at Shan Wei with heavy eyes.
"The Calamity Heir… has chosen you."
The Path Forward
The Pavilion Master gathered everyone.
"Qi Shan Wei," he said solemnly, "you must leave Cloudpierce within nine days."
A stunned silence fell.
Shan Wei nodded slowly.
"I know."
Xueya stepped beside him.
"Where will we go?"
A cool wind blew across the courtyard.
Shan Wei looked to the horizon.
"To find allies.""To find power.""To grow beyond this realm.""To learn why Heaven marked me."
He closed his fist.
"And to prepare for him."
"Fweeeeh!" Drakonix roared, wings flaring.
Jin Wei turned, eyes glowing.
"REQUEST:BEGIN UPGRADE PHASE.PHASE TWO… POSSIBLE."
Shan Wei raised an eyebrow.
"Now?"
"YES.DANGER LEVEL: RISING.PREPARATION REQUIRED."
The Pavilion Master nodded.
"Then your next destination is clear."
Everyone looked at him.
He lifted a scroll shimmering in multi-coloured light.
"The entrance invitation to the Heavenly Auction Conclave."
Gasps rippled through disciples.
"The most powerful organization in five realms…"
"They want Shan Wei!?"
Qingyue grinned.
"It begins."
Xueya whispered:
"Yes."
Shan Wei took the glowing scroll.
"We leave tomorrow."
The winds shifted.Qi began to tremble.The very air vibrated with fate.
Something was coming.
Something bigger than Calamity.Bigger than prophecy.Bigger than Cloudpierce or this realm.
A presence stepped through a spatial ripple—
A woman.
Tall.Clad in moon-silver armor.Hair of midnight blue flowing behind her.Eyes sharp like the edge of a spear.
Lightning crackled around her feet.
Xueya's breath hitched.
"That aura…"
Qingyue's eyes widened.
"…she's from another realm."
The woman bowed.
"Qi Shan Wei," she said, voice smooth as thunder.
"I have traveled from the Azure Dominion under orders of the Heavenshatter Spear Sect."
She lifted her gaze.
"I am Lan Qingyue."
To be Continued
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