The world detonated.
The moment Jin Wei crashed into the envoy, reality rippled like a shattered mirror—stone pillars lifted from the ground,moonlight spiraled violently,and the sky cracked under the force of the impact.
Shan Wei shielded Drakonix as a shockwave blasted outward.
Dust and debris swirled in a storm around them, illuminated by golden and black energy clashing.
From the center of the crater—
A single, thunderous metallic roar echoed:
"THREAT IDENTIFIED."
The dust cleared—
revealing Jin Wei, gleaming like a newly forged war deity.
But this was not the gentle, damaged puppet Shan Wei had first awakened.
This was Jin Wei in Phase Two:
Runes across his armor spinning like mechanical constellations
Armor plates reshaped into streamlined battle plating
A golden-red core burning visibly through his chest
Eyes glowing like molten suns
Each step crushing the stone beneath him
The envoy staggered backward, a fissure torn through his void-like torso.
Yet even cracked, the enemy did not fall.
Instead, he tilted his featureless head as if studying Jin Wei.
"…A puppet."
Jin Wei's voice thundered:
"CORRECTION:DIVINE PUPPET.MASTER-PROTECTED DESIGNATION:QI SHAN WEI."
He raised both hands.
Battle arrays ignited.
Seven golden circles spun behind him—formation discs integrating with his body.
Shan Wei's breath caught.
"You… fused the battle formations directly?"
Jin Wei's voice rumbled.
"UPGRADE COMPLETE.ALL SYSTEMS—OPTIMAL."
The envoy extended a hand.
Black cracks spread around him like spiderwebs through the air.
"You resist fate."
Jin Wei stepped forward.
"FATE—INSUFFICIENT."
And then he charged.
Collision of Two Dooms
Jin Wei moved with devastating force.
Every punch carved craters.Every step shook the ruins.His fists left trails of molten gold in the air.
The envoy countered with void-blades tearing through space, each one capable of slicing a mountain in half.
Jin Wei caught them with bare hands.
The blades shrieked as his palms crushed void into sparks.
Shan Wei stared.
This wasn't puppet combat.
This was a war machine made to fight gods.
The envoy tilted his head again, studying Jin Wei like an insect that dared to sting.
"A relic from the Primordial Puppet Era…unexpected."
Jin Wei's runes flashed brighter.
"ANALYSIS:ENEMY DATA—UNACCEPTABLY LOW.RECOMMENDATION:ERASE."
He slammed his fist forward.
The envoy dissolved into smoke—then reformed behind Jin Wei, slashing his spine with a void-claw.
A metallic spark erupted—
but Jin Wei didn't budge.
Not even a step.
He turned his head mechanically.
"DAMAGE…NEGATIVE."
The envoy hesitated.
Just a fraction.
That was all Jin Wei needed.
His arm converted into a massive golden blade—a fusion of metal, runes, and Drakonix flame traces.
He swung.
CRAAAAAAACK—!!
The envoy's entire upper torso twisted unnaturally, nearly severed.
For the first time—
the void figure reeled backward.
Shan Wei Takes Command
Yue Lian broke free of the envoy's suppression and ran to Shan Wei.
"Your Highness, we must retreat! Jin Wei can't—"
"No."
Shan Wei's voice cut sharp and cold.
Yue Lian blinked.
"We hold."
Shan Wei rose with Drakonix perched on his shoulder, claws tight.
His voice carried command.
"Yue Lian — flank support.Keep the envoy's void distortions away from Jin Wei."
"Yes!"
"Empress — suppress time distortion; Drakonix can't handle it."
The Empress hesitated—startled by how naturally he gave orders.
"…Understood."
"Drakonix—"
The tiny dragon flared weakly, giving a squeaky "Fwree!"
Shan Wei smiled darkly.
"Assist Jin Wei.Only with flame rhythms — do NOT overexert."
"Fwree!!"
"Jin Wei!"
The puppet turned mid-battle.
"MASTER—COMMAND RECEIVED."
"Break his pattern.Force him to reveal his real form."
Jin Wei bowed mid-clash.
"OBEYING."
Yue Lian stared at Shan Wei, stunned.
He stood like a war general.Calm under pressure.Voice steady.Movements decisive.
The Empress whispered under her breath:
"…Just like the man he becomes…"
Drakonix Awakens a New Flame
The envoy flickered behind Jin Wei—
But before he could land a blow…
KRIIIIIIIIIISSSSH—!!!
A spiral of gold-white flame cut through the air.
Drakonix, perched on Shan Wei's shoulder, unleashed a thin beam of concentrated flame — small, but terrifyingly precise.
The envoy's arm dissolved like sugar in acid.
The void figure retreated instantly.
Its voice dripped with irritation.
"Dragon-phoenix…youngling…irrelevant."
Drakonix shrieked in fury, flames bursting around him.
Yue Lian gasped.
"His fire—It's changing!"
Shan Wei felt it too.
Not normal flame.Not prismatic flame.
Something new.
A rhythm.A heartbeat.
The flames pulsed like a second heartbeat syncing with Shan Wei's qi.
The Empress whispered:
"…This is his next evolution. A bond-triggered flame. Rare. Extremely rare."
Shan Wei placed a hand on Drakonix's tiny head.
"We'll use it carefully."
"Fwee!"
The Envoy Reveals His Power
Jin Wei engaged again—punch after punch, gold clashing against void.
He was overwhelming.
But then—
The envoy slowed.
Paused.
Raised a hand.
And the entire battlefield… stopped.
Jin Wei froze mid-punch.Drakonix's flames froze mid-air.Yue Lian froze mid-step.The wind froze.Light froze.
Only Shan Wei and the Empress remained moving.
Shan Wei staggered.
"What—what is this?"
The Empress's voice shook.
"Anti-Fate Stasis.He is using the Calamity Law."
Shan Wei's teeth clenched.
"Explain."
The Empress stared at the envoy with fear.
"Calamity Heir powers do not manipulate fate—they erase it."
She pointed at the still world.
"This… is erasure.A bubble where all cause and effect stand still.Anything caught inside cannot act, cannot evolve… cannot live."
Shan Wei looked at Drakonix — frozen in flame.
His chest clenched painfully.
"…Break it."
The Empress's eyes widened.
"You can't—!"
Shan Wei unleashed Prismatic Qi.
Light burst outward.
The envoy tilted his head.
"Useless."
But then—
The light pulsed.
Seven layers.Seven colours.Seven resistances.
The envoy's stasis cracked.
Hairline fractures spread through the bubble of stillness like ice breaking.
The envoy's voice deepened.
"…Prismatic resonance…Unacceptable."
Shan Wei pushed harder.
His feet dug into the ground.
His qi burned like wildfire.
"MOVE—!!"
The bubble shattered.
Wind returned.Sound returned.Drakonix roared.Jin Wei's fist completed its trajectory—
BOOOOOOM—!!
The envoy was sent tumbling across the ruins.
Shan Wei fell to one knee, panting.
The Empress stared at him in awe.
"You just—You defied anti-fate."
Shan Wei wiped blood from his lip.
"Then I'll keep doing it."
Jin Wei Unleashes Phase Two Fully
The envoy rose from the rubble.
His damaged form rippled.
"Enough play."
Shadows gathered.
He grew taller.Wider.Heavier.
A second layer of void-cloth unfurled.
The Empress gasped.
"That's… his Partial Manifestation. Shan Wei—fall back!"
Shan Wei stood his ground.
"Jin Wei."
The puppet looked over his shoulder.
"MASTER?"
"Phase Two. Release limiter."
Yue Lian's jaw dropped.
"W-WHAT!? If he releases it here, the entire—"
The Empress raised a hand.
"No.Let him."
Shan Wei nodded.
"Release it."
Jin Wei slammed his feet into the ground.
Rings of golden light spread outward like shockwaves.His armor plates shifted, locking into new battle configuration.Runes ignited in rapid sequence.
"LIMITER:DISENGAGED."
The golden core in his chest exploded with light.
And Jin Wei vanished.
He reappeared behind the envoy—
CRAAAAASH—!!!
The punch caved the void figure's torso inward like tin.
Another punch.Another shockwave.A knee.A hammer-blow.A runic burst that shook the floating islands.
The envoy staggered.
Jin Wei's voice thundered:
"MASTER-PROTECTED PRIORITY:ELIMINATE THREAT."
The envoy raised a trembling hand—
Only for Drakonix's flame beam to burn through it.
"Fwee!!"
The envoy actually stumbled.
For the first time, he sounded… unsettled.
"…You…grow too quickly."
He looked directly at Shan Wei.
"You should not exist."
Shan Wei's eyes sharpened.
"Try and change that."
The envoy froze.
Then spoke words that made the Empress gasp.
"Before this arc ends…you will kneel."
"Over my dead body," Shan Wei growled.
The envoy shook his head.
"Not your body."
His voice dripped prophecy.
"Your fate."
The sky cracked—
And the envoy dissolved into shadow.
Gone.
Aftermath
Silence.
The ruins shook from the aftertremors.Jin Wei returned to Shan Wei's side, kneeling.
"MASTER.ENGAGEMENT COMPLETE.STATUS:DAMAGED, BUT OPERATIONAL."
Shan Wei placed a hand on Jin Wei's shoulder.
"You did well."
The puppet's runes glowed warmly.
Drakonix nuzzled Shan Wei's cheek, trembling, but recovering.
"Fwee…"
Yue Lian collapsed onto the ground, shaking.
"He… he spoke a prophecy…"
The Empress stepped forward.
Her voice was ice.
"It wasn't a prophecy."
Shan Wei looked at her.
"Then what was it?"
She swallowed.
"An inevitability."
Shan Wei's blood turned cold.
"What inevitability?"
The Empress turned her silver eyes toward him, full of pain.
"Qi Shan Wei…the Calamity Heir's envoy has marked your destiny."
A pause.
"You cannot leave this realm…without confronting him again."
Shan Wei clenched his fists.
"Then I'll confront him."
The Empress shook her head slowly, expression heartbreaking.
"No.You don't understand."
Her voice cracked.
"Next time…he won't be alone."
Lightning cracked across the sky.
And a howl echoed through the distant ruins—
A howl not human.Not beast.Not puppet.
Something… ancient.
Something awakening.
Something hunting.
Shan Wei looked toward the sound.
His face hardened.
"Let him come."
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.