Moonlight pooled at her feet.
Soft.Silent.Deadly.
Qi Shan Wei stood frozen, Drakonix clinging to his chest in a trembling ball of gold and crimson flame.The air between him and the masked woman felt stretched—like a thread pulled taut between two futures.
And when she finally revealed her face—
Silver eyes.Pale moonlit hair.A divine beauty so ethereal it didn't feel mortal.
The Empress.
The Empress of Lunar Fate.
The woman who claimed to have already met him…in a future he hadn't lived yet.
And loved him.
Shan Wei's heartbeat thundered like a storm trapped in a cage.
He managed one word:
"…Why?"
She inhaled shakily.
"Because you were the only one… who ever refused to die."
The wind froze.
Yue Lian bowed with her forehead nearly touching the ground, trembling.
"Your Highness… you shouldn't be here…"
The Empress ignored her entirely.
Her eyes remained locked on Shan Wei.
Searching.Longing.Hurting.
Shan Wei swallowed hard.
"What do you mean 'refused to die'?"
Her fingers tightened around the fallen mask.
"In the future I saw… you stood alone at the end of creation.The realms collapsed.Time broke.Fate shattered.Millions screamed — not from death, but from erasure."
Her voice trembled.
"And you… still stood."
A soft silver tear slid down her cheek.
"You clenched your fist and screamed at the heavens themselves:
'I refuse.''I will NOT fade.''I will NOT end.''I will NOT be erased.'"
The ruins vibrated.Even the moonlight quivered around her words.
Shan Wei's breath hitched.
It sounded like him.
It felt like him.
But—
"That wasn't me," he said quietly."I'm not that man."
The Empress stepped closer until she stood an arm's length away.
"You will be."
Her voice softened with horrible, devastating certainty.
"And I… will be the one forced to watch you fall."
Shan Wei's eyes widened.
"I fell?"
She dropped her gaze.
"Yes."
Silence struck like a blade.
Drakonix whimpered.Yue Lian shut her eyes.The wind held its breath.
Shan Wei's fists trembled.
"…How?"
The Empress whispered:
"Because of him."
The Calamity Heir's sigil ignited in the distance like a burning omen.
The Dragon's Fear
Before Shan Wei could respond—
Drakonix suddenly shrieked.
"FWEEE—!! FWEEE—!!"
He flared in panic, claws digging into Shan Wei's robes.
His flames turned white-gold, uncontrolled.Crackling.Writhing.
Shan Wei quickly stabilized him with prismatic qi.
"What's happening—?"
Yue Lian gasped.
"Drakonix is reacting to time distortion!"
Silver runes flared around the Empress's feet.
Shan Wei's instincts screamed danger.
"You're affecting him!"
The Empress drew back a step, horrified.
"No—! I would never harm him—!"
But Drakonix curled tighter, trembling violently.
"Fweeee…"
Shan Wei's heartbeat spiked.
"Stop your power—NOW!"
The Empress lifted both hands, energy withdrawing instantly.Moonlight dimmed.
Drakonix collapsed weakly into Shan Wei's arms.
The Empress looked stricken.
"I… I lost control. I'm sorry. His bloodline rejects time-law instinctively. I should have suppressed my aura—"
Shan Wei glared.
"You almost hurt him."
Her expression shattered.
"I would rather destroy half the heavens than harm Drakonix."
Yue Lian slowly raised her head.
"…She means that literally."
The Empress didn't deny it.
Danger Approaches
A deep rumble echoed across the ruins.
Shan Wei's head snapped upward.
"What now—?"
Yue Lian stood abruptly.
"No… it's too soon—!!"
The sky fractured.
Moonlight twisted violently.
Drakonix snarled, flames recovering.
The Empress's eyes tightened.
"He followed me…"
Shan Wei's instincts sharpened instantly.
"Who?"
A secondary sigil of moonlight appeared beside the original—distorted, cracked, dripping black energy.
Yue Lian went pale.
"Your Highness—you drew his attention—THE ENVOY—!"
Shan Wei stepped forward, shielding Drakonix.
"Envoy of who?"
The Empress whispered—the words colder than the Chasm of Eons:
"…The Calamity Heir."
Lightning tore the sky apart.
The sigil split open—
Out stepped a man cloaked in black and starless void.
No face.No aura.Just emptiness shaped like a person.
His voice was dust over stone.
"Qi Shan Wei."
The Empress hissed, stepping between them.
"You are forbidden from entering this realm."
The void-faced man tilted his head.
"You broke the rules first."
A pulse of black energy rippled — freezing Yue Lian in place.
Shan Wei's blood boiled.
"What did you do to her!?"
"I merely silenced a lesser thread."The envoy's empty face tilted toward the Empress."You have interfered with his path too early."
The Empress bit her lip — eyes flashing with defiance.
"He was in danger."
"He was not."
The envoy raised a hand.
"You, however, are."
Black energy spiraled toward her.
Shan Wei's body moved instantly.
The Empress gasped.
"Shan Wei—DON'T—!!"
But he was already in front of her.
Drakonix roared.
Jin Wei's distant awakening shook the ground.
The envoy's attack reached him.
Shan Wei clenched his fist—
And the world bent—
PRISMATIC OVERDRIVE(UNSTABLE)[TRIGGERED]
Light exploded outward.
The envoy paused.
"…Interesting."
Shan Wei's aura burned.
"You won't touch her."
The Empress stared at him, breath trembling.
"You're… protecting me?"
But Shan Wei didn't look at her.
His eyes were locked on the envoy.
"If you want to threaten someone—"
He pointed directly at the void-cloaked figure.
"—threaten me."
A silent beat passed.
Then—
The envoy lifted his hand again.
"Very well."
The ground split.
A shockwave ripped the ancient ruins apart.
Shan Wei braced.
The Empress reached for him.
Yue Lian screamed silently.
Drakonix flared with prismatic flame.
And the envoy whispered:
"Time to test the one who dares defy fate."
Black energy surged toward Shan Wei—
Aiming directly for his heart—
Fast enough to kill—
Fast enough to erase—
And just before it struck—
A colossal metallic roar detonated across the realm.
"MASTER—!!LOCATION—LOCK—ACQUIRED—!!JIN WEI—ARRIVING—!!"
A golden comet blasted through the sky—
JIN WEIPHASE TWO EMERGENCY ARRIVAL
—and slammed into the envoy with planet-breaking force.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.