The world exploded into chaos.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of twisted silhouettes rushed from the purple fissures, each one bearing Shan Wei's face twisted into something monstrous.
Empty eyes.Cracked skin.Prismatic veins glowing with corrupted light.
The Echo Devourer spread its colossal arms as if presenting a stage.
"Fight, Qi Shan Wei.Fight the futures you fear."
Shan Wei's pupils contracted.
Drakonix hissed viciously, wings flaring open.
"FWEEE—!!"("I'll help! I'll help!")
Jin Wei stepped in front with a thunderous impact.
"PROTECTING MASTER.TARGETS: MULTIPLE.ENGAGING."
Xueya's sword trembled—and so did she.
Not with fear.
With awakening instability.
Her frost aura flickered violently, ice fractals spiraling from her hair.
"Shan Wei… those things…"Her voice shook."They're using your sword stance—"
The first Echo lunged.
It moved exactly like Shan Wei.
Same footwork.Same shoulder angle.Same momentum shift.
Shan Wei barely dodged the mirrored blow.
Xueya's eyes widened.
"They fight like you… think like you… strike like you…"
The Empress spoke through clenched teeth.
"No.They fight like what he could become."
Yue Lian flicked her wrists, lightning crackling.
"We can't let them near him—this is a direct psyche attack!"
The Echo Devourer roared.
"BEGIN."
The First Clash
Three Echo-Shan Weis rushed forward simultaneously.
Shan Wei exhaled, grounding his stance.
"Drakonix!"
"Fwee!!"
Prismatic flame exploded from the divine beast's wings, igniting Shan Wei's arms with a golden-red aura.
He punched—
A shockwave cracked the ice—
The first Echo shattered into shards of destiny.
But the second Echo swept behind him—
Its palm glowing with a twisted version of Heavenstep Flash.
Shan Wei's heartbeat spiked.
He used that move only once… how—
The Echo teleported—
Straight at Shan Wei's heart.
Xueya blurred.
A moonlit streak cut across the battlefield.
CLANG—!!
Her sword intercepted the Echo's strike, frost exploding across its surface.
Xueya screamed:
"DON'T TOUCH HIM—!!"
But as she parried—
Her eyes flashed silver-blue.
Her aura shook wildly.
Her pulse spiked.
Shan Wei stiffened.
"Xueya—your awakening—!"
She bit her lip.
"I'm… holding it… back—"
Her aura surged violently again.
"No—it's resisting—"
The Empress cursed.
"Your Lunar Frost Domain is overclocking itself.If you lose control—you will freeze yourself first!"
Another Echo leapt—
Straight at Xueya's exposed flank.
Shan Wei moved without thinking—
Heavenstep Flash.
Seven steps in seven directions.
Reality blurred.The Echo flew backward as Shan Wei struck it with a golden lightning kick.
It burst into dust.
Xueya blinked, breath catching.
"You… moved like light…"
But the battlefield gave them no time.
The Devourer laughed.
"Ahhh…The bonds you cling to are cracking already."
Jin Wei Activates a Forbidden Protocol
Ten Echo-Shan Weis leapt at once.
Jin Wei stepped forward—
Armor splitting open like blooming metal lotus petals.
"EMERGENCY PROTOCOL:ARCANE GEAR ASCENDANCE — FORBIDDEN LEVEL 1."
Shan Wei's eyes widened.
"Jin Wei—stop—!"
But the puppet couldn't hear him.
Its ancient core roared to life.
Golden chains of glyphs wrapped around its limbs.
Jin Wei thrust both arms forward—
And the battlefield IGNITED.
A golden sphere expanded outward—
A shockwave so strong the air screamed.
The Echo-Shan Weis evaporated instantly.
Yue Lian shielded her face.
"T-that's puppet power far beyond this realm—!!"
The Empress frowned sharply.
"No…That's a fragment of his final upgrade path.But he shouldn't be able to access this level yet—not without the Prismatic Core!"
Shan Wei shouted:
"Jin Wei!! CANCEL PROTOCOL!"
Jin Wei staggered.
Its armor flickered.
"WARNING…SYSTEM… OVERRIDE…MASTER'S… ORDER...ACCEPTED."
Jin Wei fell to one knee, smoke rising from its joints.
Shan Wei grabbed its arm.
"You idiot… you pushed too far."
Jin Wei's head bowed.
Light flickered in its eye slits.
"…Protect… Master… primary… directive…"
Shan Wei clenched his jaw.
"Thank you.Rest for now."
But the Devourer spoke again.
"How touching.Save your puppet while you can, Prismatic Child."
The ground cracked.
More fissures opened.
More Echo-Shan Weis climbed out.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
The sky darkened under their number.
Yue Lian's lightning flickered.
"No…This is too many—!"
The Empress whispered:
"This is no longer a battle…this is a purge."
Xueya Begins to Break
Xueya raised her sword—
But her hand trembled.
Her breath grew ragged.
Her vision blurred.
Shan Wei turned instantly.
"Xueya!What's happening!?"
Her pupils constricted.
Ice crawled across her veins.
"My awakening…it's trying to force itself open—I can't—I can't stop it—"
Shan Wei grabbed her shoulders.
"Look at me."
She blinked, dazed.
Her frost aura exploded—
Shattering the ice under her feet.
"Shan… Wei…"
Her voice cracked.
She looked terrified.
Terrified of herself.
"Please…don't let me hurt anyone…"
Her aura surged again—
THIS time with enough force to freeze the horizon.
Yue Lian gasped.
"She's going into Ice Soul Overclock mode—uncontrolled!"
The Empress shouted:
"Qi Shan Wei!If she loses consciousness, her domain will kill her—and everyone within 500 meters!"
Shan Wei's eyes hardened.
"Then I'll keep her here."
He pressed his forehead to hers.
Her breath hitched.
Her aura flickered.
Her entire body froze—but not literally.
Emotionally.
Mentally.
Shan Wei whispered:
"I'm here.I won't let you fall."
Her heartbeat steadied.
Her aura dimmed—
Then surged again violently, tearing the sky.
She cried out.
Shan Wei cupped her face.
"Stay with me, Xueya!Breathe—focus on my voice!"
Her breath stuttered.
Snowflakes hovered around them.
Shan Wei continued, gentler:
"You're not alone.Not anymore."
Her hand gripped his robe.
Her pulse slowed.
She whispered—
Barely audible:
"…Shan Wei…"
He held her steady.
She held him back.
And the battlefield paused for a heartbeat.
But then—
The Devourer roared.
"ENOUGH."
The Echoes charged again.
Shan Wei pushed Xueya behind him.
"Stay with me."
She forced a nod, eyes burning with determination.
Drakonix Ignites — Nearing Nirvana
Drakonix screamed.
A long, powerful, piercing cry.
His scales ignited—
But not with ordinary flame.
With Prismatic Nirvana Fire.
Yue Lian staggered.
"T-that's Nirvana ignition!!He's too young—he'll burn himself—!!"
The Empress stared in awe.
"No…He's igniting because his master's fate is under direct threat.This is not planned evolution—this is instinctive transcendence!"
Drakonix shot upward—
His wings leaving trails of multicolored stars.
"FWEEEEEEEE—!!!"
Prismatic fire spears rained down—
obliterating entire clusters of Echo-Shan Weis.
Shan Wei's eyes widened.
"Drakonix—stop before you destroy your—"
But Drakonix wasn't listening.
He was roaring.
Crying.
Screaming in pain and fury.
His flames turned white—
Then gold—
Then rainbow.
The Empress gasped.
"That coloration—that flame pattern—that is Phoenix-Draconic Nirvana Emergence!"
Shan Wei clenched his fists.
If Drakonix completed Nirvana here—
he'd be unconscious and vulnerable for days.
He couldn't.
Not now.
Not in the middle of a Zone King attack.
Shan Wei shouted:
"Drakonix!!Come back—come back to me—!!"
Drakonix shrieked—
And the flames flickered—
But the ignition continued.
"FWEEEE—!!"
He was terrified.He was protecting Shan Wei.And his body was responding in the only way it knew—evolution.
Shan Wei reached desperately with his qi—
And grabbed him mid-flight.
"STOP!!I'm alive!!I'm HERE!!"
Drakonix crashed into his chest.
Shan Wei hugged him tightly.
The flames flickered—
dimmed—
and finally collapsed.
Drakonix sobbed into his shoulder.
"Fw… fw… fwwee…"("Don't leave me… don't leave me…")His tiny body shook violently.
Shan Wei whispered:
"I'm not going anywhere."
The Calamity Heir Speaks
The Echo Devourer slammed a hand into the ground.
A crack of purple lightning raced across the battlefield—
And suddenly—
Everyone froze.
Time stopped.
Only Shan Wei could move.
And then he heard it.
A voice.
Not from the Devourer.
Not from the chasm.
Not from the sky.
But from inside his own mind.
Soft.Cold.Mocking.
"You disappoint me, Qi Shan Wei."
Shan Wei stiffened.
His heartbeat stopped.
He whispered:
"…You."
The Calamity Heir chuckled.
"Oh, you recognize me.Good.Remember this voice.It is the one that will end your story."
Shan Wei snarled.
"What do you want?"
A pause.
Then:
"To show you a simple truth."
Time twisted.
Reality bent.
The Calamity Heir whispered:
"Every future where you love…is a future where you break."
The world shattered.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025All rights reserved.