The Cyber Ascension Arc 4 | Volume 4 | Chapter 36 — "The Armies"
Future Jin Yuan stood at the edge of the ancient battlefield, the cold winds of year 650 brushing past him like ghosts whispering forgotten truths. The sky above bled shades of crimson and gold, torn apart by lingering fire from the Heaven-and-Hell war that had reshaped all of existence. The ashes of burned kingdoms floated like dying snowflakes.
He breathed slowly. Deeply. Calmly.
He was now the only Jin Yuan alive across all timelines.
He had killed the Present Jin Yuan.
He had manipulated the Past Jin Yuan.
He had erased his peaceful life.
He had severed the last version of himself that held innocence.
He existed now as the final Jin Yuan — sharpened by tragedy, sustained by purpose, fueled by the last promise he made to his friends.
Jin Yuan whispered into the wind:
"The Queen Victoria Reona… the Nine Gates… the Armies…"
His eyes narrowed, glowing with cold calculation.
"So much stands between me and the future I must create.
It may feel late…
But I must do it."
He stepped forward toward the towering structure before him.
---
The Gate of Heaven's First Army
A massive gate rose from the earth like a metallic mountain. Engravings of phoenix wings, swords, and ancient symbols spiraled across its surface. It didn't just guard the Heaven's army — it radiated an oppressive aura that crushed weaker beings instantly.
Jin Yuan felt the aura wash over him.
He did not flinch.
He pressed his hand against the cold metal and whispered to himself:
"Once I cross this gate, there is no going back. I will walk a path with no return.
A war… once stepped into… demands everything."
He entered.
---
The 9 Gates — The Nine Phoenix Armies
As he walked deeper, he studied everything. Every soldier. Every formation. Every pattern.
Nine rows.
Nine thousand soldiers per row.
Every row possessing a unique Phoenix power — different shades, different strengths, different abilities.
A perfect hierarchy.
A perfect nightmare for anyone foolish enough to challenge the Three Heavens.
Jin Yuan murmured:
"Nine Gates… nine armies… nine powers…"
His mind had already begun reshaping strategies, predicting weaknesses, mapping escape routes, calculating probabilities of infiltration and manipulation.
---
The Silent Killing
He spotted an isolated soldier walking toward the edge of the barracks.
Opportunity.
Jin Yuan's footsteps were silent. One movement — fluid, practiced, merciless — and he dragged the man into the cover of thick bushes.
The soldier gasped in shock:
"Wh–who are yo—"
Shhk!
Jin Yuan's blade pierced his chest before the sentence could form.
His voice was cold as winter steel:
"No more talks.
It's time for all actions."
The soldier's body fell limp.
Jin Yuan removed the Heaven-army armor, feeling the ancient metal. It was lighter than it appeared, forged with celestial materials unknown in his era.
Strange symbols glowed faintly across the chest plate and gauntlets — runes that resonated with Phoenix energy.
He slipped into the armor and felt it adjust to his body, as if accepting him as one of its own.
---
A Thought From the Past
For a moment, as he tightened the gauntlet straps, a memory flickered—
that day on Earth… the day he saw two Musukonis.
One real.
One fake.
And before the truth could unfold, the fake Musukoni evaporated into mist.
A mystery that remained unsolved.
Jin Yuan's eyes darkened.
"That second Musukoni…
Who was it?
Why did it vanish before the fight even began…?"
Even now, in the depths of history, the question lingered like a shadow.
But Jin Yuan pushed it aside. This was not the time.
---
Joining the 9th Army Row
He walked into formation, blending seamlessly into the 9th row — the first and lowest of the nine armies.
A soldier turned to him, speaking casually:
"Why did you take so long?"
Jin Yuan's expression didn't change.
"Just checking if anything unusual was around."
The soldier nodded.
"Find anything?"
"Nothing."
Jin Yuan replied calmly.
"We're safe."
But inside, he whispered to himself:
"Until I begin my manipulation."
His heartbeat remained slow. His face, unreadable. His mind, relentless.
All around him were soldiers who would eventually kneel to the Hell King… and soon, unknowingly, become pieces on Jin Yuan's chessboard.
---
On Earth…
Far away, in a timeline that believed him dead—
Nashino.
Yuzurei.
Youchina.
Musukoni.
Emily.
Shinoki.
Shioinkin.
One by one, they tried to return to normal life.
One by one, they failed.
Because to them…
Jin Yuan had died.
The Present Jin Yuan — their Jin Yuan — had indeed died at the hands of his Future self.
His desk remained untouched.
His room remained cold.
His voice, gone.
His presence… a ghost that clung to every memory they shared.
Musukoni sat alone, fists trembling.
Emily cried silently every night, holding the small photo of Jin Yuan she kept hidden.
Yuzurei refused to believe he was gone.
Nashino kept expecting him to walk through the door.
But he never did.
Their world had lost him.
Their hearts were breaking.
And Jin Yuan knew this.
He had chosen this.
Because in his version of 'saving them', they had to forget him.
His death… was his protection.
---
Back in Year 650
Night fell, spreading shadows across the heavenly barracks. Lanterns glowed with mystical fire along stone corridors carved with ancient phoenix motifs.
Jin Yuan received a small room allocated to soldiers from the Queen Victoria's command.
He entered the room.
Minimal. Clean. Stone bed. A shelf of scrolls and books. A small table. A faint Phoenix crest carved into the wall.
He closed the door behind him.
Silence.
He approached the shelf and pulled out a book — one of the Heaven's historical records.
Opening it, he read carefully:
"The Three Heavens, defeated by Hell in the War of Realms.
In fear of the Hell King's overwhelming power, the Heavens constructed Nine Armies, each with a thousand soldiers, each granted a unique Phoenix resonance to defend their realm from future threats."
He closed the book with a soft thud.
Everything aligned.
Strategically. Militarily. Historically.
The Heavens had built the perfect defense… and yet they still lost.
He placed the book back on the shelf, sat down on the bed, and removed his small notebook.
A notebook he carried across timelines.
A notebook containing his real memories.
His real priorities.
His real heart.
He flipped it open.
A tiny picture slipped out — Emily, smiling shyly, unaware of the storm that would one day swallow Jin Yuan whole.
Jin Yuan held the picture between his fingers. His chest tightened.
"I hope she is… alright…"
His voice trembled just slightly — the only crack in his cold exterior.
"Everyone must forget about me…
That's what I want."
Because if they remembered him…
They would suffer.
They would fight.
They would die in battles they didn't deserve to see.
He closed the notebook before emotion could drag him back toward weakness.
He placed it into his pocket, laid down on the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
All light faded.
All warmth disappeared.
Only the cold promise remained.
His breathing slowed.
And in the darkness of that stone room, beneath the weight of history and destiny…
Future Jin Yuan silently prepared to manipulate an entire army.
A kingdom.
A timeline.
A universe.