The chasm trembled as the colossal shadow rose through the blizzard.
Ice cliffs shattered.Snow spiraled upward instead of downward, as if gravity itself bowed to the creature's presence.
The violet eyes burned like twin supernovas.
And then—
That voice.
His voice.
"Qi… Shan… Wei…"
Xueya's breath caught.Her heart hammered so violently she clutched her chest.
"That voice—it sounds like—"
Shan Wei whispered hoarsely:
"…me."
Drakonix clung to his neck, trembling violently.
"Fw…fw-fwweee…!"A terrified sound Shan Wei had never heard from him before.
Jin Wei's runes exploded into crimson warning lights.
"ALERT.SOUL FREQUENCY MATCH: 72%.DANGER LEVEL: EXTREME.PROTECT MASTER AT ALL COSTS."
The Empress staggered back.
"No…No.No.Not this one.Why is THIS one here!?"
Yue Lian grabbed her robes, panic wide in her eyes.
"Elder Sister—what Zone King is it!?"
The Empress looked as if she were choking.
Her lips trembled.
Her pupils shrank.
Her voice came out in a broken whisper:
"The Echo Devourer."
What Is the Echo Devourer?
Shan Wei steadied himself.
"Explain. Now."
The Empress swallowed hard.
Her face had lost all color.
"There are many Zone Kings.Colossal beasts, puppets, calamities… each ruling their territories."
She pointed at the monstrous silhouette.
"But that one…is not a beast."
"It is a Paradox Entity.A being created by broken timelines, shattered destinies, and collapsed fates."
Yue Lian gasped.
"A Fate Chimera!?"
The Empress shook her head violently.
"WORSE."
Her voice trembled uncontrollably.
"It devours the echoes of possible futures…and builds itself using the scraps of destiny."
Shan Wei frowned.
"Meaning?"
The Empress met his gaze.
"It builds itself using versions of you."
Xueya's eyes widened.
Her heart nearly stopped.
"What— what are you saying!?"
The Empress pointed at the glowing violet eyes.
"That voice—the tone—the resonance—the pressure—"
She whispered:
"It means one of the futures it devoured…was a future where Qi Shan Wei became a monster."
Silence slammed through the air.
Shan Wei's blood ran cold.
"A monster…?"
The Empress nodded, trembling.
"One where your Forbidden Awakening consumed your mind.One where you became the Eternal Emperor in the worst possible way—a god of ruin instead of creation."
Yue Lian covered her mouth in horror.
"So that thing…contains pieces of a dark future Qi Shan Wei?"
"Yes," the Empress whispered.
"And it's coming to reclaim the rest."
The Zone King Moves
The Echo Devourer took one step.
Just one.
And the world screamed.
Cracks webbed through the ice.Snow evaporated.Space distorted around its limbs.
Every heartbeat in the chasm skipped.
The creature leaned forward—
sniffing the air.
Then:
"You…are incomplete."
Shan Wei stiffened.
The Devourer tilted its head, studying him like a scientist examining a specimen.
"So many futures…"Its voice came in multiple layers, overlapping like a broken chorus."…but only one is true."
Shan Wei gritted his teeth.
"What do you want?"
The Zone King chuckled—a sound like worlds collapsing.
"To consume you, of course."
Xueya's aura exploded with frost.
"You will not touch him!"
She raised her sword—but the Empress grabbed her wrist.
"Are you INSANE?You cannot fight a Zone King!"
Xueya glared.
"He is MY—"Her face reddened."My… teammate!I will not let him fight alone!"
Drakonix hissed sharply.
"Fwee!!Fwwee—!!"("Don't! Too strong!!")
Jin Wei stepped forward, shielding Shan Wei.
"INITIATING PROTECTIVE OVERRIDE.MASTER THREAT: EXISTENTIAL."
The Echo Devourer laughed.
"You guard a man you do not even understand."Its eyes narrowed."Shall I show you the future he becomes…?"
It raised one colossal arm.
Reality distorted around its fingers—as if pulling on invisible threads.
The Empress screamed:
"DON'T LOOK!IT'S MANIFESTING A FATE MEMORY—!!"
But Shan Wei was already caught.
The creature touched the fabric of reality—
and a vision slammed into Shan Wei's mind.
VISION: The Emperor Who Devours Universes
He stood on a broken world.
Sky cracked like shattered glass.Stars fell like dying embers.Mountains burned.Rivers evaporated.
Drakonix lay dead at his feet.
Jin Wei shattered into pieces.
The six heroines—
gone.
And on a throne of prismatic flame…
sat him.
An older, colder Shan Wei.Eyes hollow.Aura monstrous.A god of ruin.
He looked down at the destroyed cosmos and whispered:
"…If I cannot save them…I will erase everything."
Shan Wei's chest tightened.
His breath stuttered.
"No…"His voice trembled."No, that isn't me."
The older version smiled coldly.
"You break.Over and over.And every time you break…this is who you become."
Shan Wei staggered backward.
Drakonix screamed in his mind:
"FWWWWEEEEE—!!!"("STOP LOOKING AT IT!!")
Xueya's voice pierced through:
"SHAN WEI!!COME BACK—!!"
He gasped—and the vision shattered.
Back in the Frozen Chasm
Shan Wei collapsed to one knee.
Sweat dripped down his face.
His heart thundered painfully.
Xueya grabbed his shoulders, shaking him.
"Shan Wei!Shan Wei, look at me—look at ME!"
Her cold aura wrapped around him, stabilizing his mind.
Drakonix pressed his forehead to Shan Wei's cheek.
"Fwee… fwweeee…"("Stay with us… please…")He was crying.
Jin Wei's runes dimmed in distress.
The Echo Devourer laughed.
"See?Even a glimpse shatters you."
Shan Wei wiped his forehead.
He stood.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
His hands trembled—but his eyes were steady.
"…You think that vision scares me?"
The Devourer paused.
Shan Wei clenched his fists.
"I saw myself become a monster.I saw myself alone.Consumed.Broken."
He lifted his head.
"But that future isn't real."
The Devourer tilted its head.
"Is that confidence?Or denial?"
Shan Wei stepped forward.
And spoke with absolute clarity.
"…Because this time—I'm not alone."
Xueya froze.
Her breath caught.
Her heart—
jumped.
The Empress blinked.
Yue Lian smiled softly.
Drakonix flared his tiny wings.
"Fwwee!"
Jin Wei raised both arms to shield Shan Wei.
The Devourer went silent.
Then it growled:
"Very well.Let us see if your allies can save you…"
The ground shook violently.
Purple fissures split open.
Something—SOMEONE—clawed its way out.
The Empress gasped in horror.
"No…He sent his avatars too!?"
The Devourer raised its hand—
and dozens of twisted, prismatic-shadow humanoids crawled from the cracks.
Each one—
had Shan Wei's face.
But twisted.Broken.Hollow.
"Fight your own future, Qi Shan Wei."The Devourer roared."Let us see which version survives."
Shan Wei's heartbeat steadied.
His eyes gleamed with resolve.
Drakonix growled.
Xueya raised her sword.
The Empress summoned moonlight.
Yue Lian unleashed lightning.
Jin Wei's armor expanded.
Shan Wei lowered his stance.
"Then come."
The echoes screamed—
rushing forward.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.