Millstone City slept uneasily after the hunters fled.
Even the night wind felt thinner, like something far above was inhaling the world's air.
In Hao Tianhai's courtyard, silence settled over the peach tree.
Not peace—silence.
Hao Wuya sat under the tree, legs folded, eyes half-closed.
Not cultivating—simply listening.
The way Tianhai taught him.
Hao Xueyi sat beside him, hugging her knees.
"Wuya," she whispered, "are they… gone?"
"For now."
Her shoulders relaxed for only a second.
"Then why do you look like you're still hearing something?"
Wuya opened his eyes.
"…Because I am."
Xueyi blinked.
"You hear what?"
Wuya gazed upward.
The night sky was dark.
But something behind it wasn't.
"A sound," he murmured.
"A sound? Like what?"
He shook his head.
"It's not sound. It's… watching."
Xueyi shivered.
"What do you mean, watching?"
Wuya didn't answer.
Because he didn't know how to explain that the sky above them—
the very fabric of the heavens—
felt like an eye slowly opening.
---
Tianhai's Tension
Inside the house, Hao Tianhai lit a small lamp.
The flame trembled violently the moment it rose.
He frowned.
That was no ordinary trembling.
He placed a hand above the flame.
It bent toward his palm.
Not because of heat.
Not because of wind.
Because something outside the house was pulling at everything with even slightly spiritual nature.
"…Already?" Tianhai muttered.
"Heaven should not move this fast…"
He walked to the window.
Hao Wuya sat beneath the peach tree.
Still as stone.
Listening.
Tianhai's heartbeat quickened.
"Wuya," he whispered, "don't look at the sky… not yet."
But Hao Wuya already was.
---
The First Pressure
A faint tremor passed through the city.
Not strong enough for mortals.
But every dog barked.
Every candle flickered.
Every shadow bent slightly in the wrong direction.
Xueyi grabbed Wuya's arm.
"Wuya… something's here. Isn't it?"
He nodded.
"It's above the clouds."
Xueyi's stomach dropped.
"A monster?!"
"No."
Wuya lowered his head.
"Something… bigger."
The wind stopped moving.
The trees stopped swaying.
The world held its breath—
And then it descended.
Very softly.
A ripple.
Like a fingertip touching the surface of water.
Then another.
Then another.
And suddenly—
The entire sky dimmed.
Not like a storm.
Not like clouds.
More like the world had been placed under a giant, translucent bowl that cut off Heaven's light.
Xueyi grabbed Wuya with both arms.
"What IS that?!"
Wuya didn't know.
But he felt it.
Like the sky had turned into a giant eye, staring directly at him.
---
The Heavenly Messenger
It did not descend like a person.
It did not walk.
It did not fly.
It simply…
Appeared.
A silhouette formed mid-air above the courtyard.
Not flesh.
Not spirit.
Not shadow.
Something between them all.
A long robe made of starlight.
A face hidden behind shifting clouds.
Feet that did not touch the ground.
Presence that pressed down lightly—but relentlessly.
Hao Xueyi collapsed onto her knees.
Her Moonveil Seal glowed faintly.
Wuya's breath caught.
His bones felt colder.
His blood heavier.
His skin trembled like strings under pressure.
He looked up—
And the Messenger looked back.
The voice that spoke wasn't male or female.
It wasn't loud or soft.
It simply existed inside the world.
"—You are here."
Wuya didn't flinch.
He stared back.
The Messenger tilted its head slightly.
"Forbidden pulse.
Fate deviation.
Unregistered origin.
Vast potential.
Unacceptable.
…Observed."
Xueyi screamed:
"Don't look at him!"
She lunged forward to shield Wuya—
—but she couldn't move.
Her body froze.
Not from fear—
from Heaven's binding.
Wuya's heartbeat slowed.
Something inside him—
his bloodline—
reacted again.
A low hum vibrated through his chest, faint as breath.
The Messenger's sleeve fluttered.
"A pulse of resistance… from a mortal?
…Illogical.
…Unacceptable."
Wuya whispered:
"…Why are you watching me?"
The Messenger's robe flickered.
And an answer came:
"You are the flaw."
Wuya blinked.
"The flaw?"
The Messenger floated down slowly—
each step creating ripples in the courtyard air.
"A life that should not exist.
A thread cut from destiny.
A child without a place.
Forbidden by Heaven.
Marked by the ancient sin."
Xueyi trembled, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Stop… STOP TALKING TO HIM!"
She forced her body to move—
her Moonveil Seal blazing in defiance.
The Messenger turned to her calmly.
"Moonveil bloodline detected.
Celestial deviation.
Unregistered.
…Irrelevant."
Wuya stepped forward, shielding Xueyi this time.
The Messenger paused again, analyzing him.
"Even now… the flaw resists.
Why?
You are powerless.
You are unawakened.
You are… mortal."
Wuya lowered his gaze.
"…I don't know."
The Messenger floated closer.
"Yet your existence shakes the heavens.
Your heart distorts the world.
Your breath defies fate."
Wuya said nothing.
Xueyi reached for his sleeve, whispering desperately:
"Don't… don't answer it anymore…"
Wuya looked at her.
Then back at the Messenger.
"…Why me?"
The clouds around its face twisted.
And for the first time—
The Messenger's voice deepened.
"Because your birth… killed a star.
Because your cry shook a million worlds.
Because Heaven fears you."
Wuya's chest tightened.
"…Fear me?"
"Yes.
You are the beginning of something Heaven cannot control."
The Messenger raised a hand.
A thin beam of light extended toward Wuya's forehead.
"A mark must be placed.
The Heavenly Brand.
So you may be watched.
So you may be judged.
So Heaven may decide your fate."
Xueyi screamed:
"WUYA!! RUN!!"
Wuya did not move.
The beam approached—
But suddenly—
The world snapped.
The peach tree's branches whipped violently.
The ground shook.
The night cracked like glass—
And Hao Tianhai appeared in front of Wuya.
---
Tianhai Intervenes
Tianhai didn't fly.
He didn't teleport.
He simply stepped.
But the air folded behind him as if struggling to keep up.
He stood between the Messenger and Wuya, palm raised.
His voice was low, calm—
And dangerously cold.
"Enough."
The Messenger's head turned slightly.
"You hide your presence well, mortal.
But Heaven sees through you.
You are not what you pretend to be."
Tianhai didn't answer.
He met the Messenger's gaze directly.
And the air shook.
The peach blossoms around him froze mid-fall.
The sky dimmed further.
Xueyi gasped.
Wuya's breath trembled.
Tianhai said quietly:
"You have no right to place a Heavenly Brand on my child."
The Messenger paused.
"Your child…?"
Tianhai stepped forward.
Just a single step.
The clouds flickered.
The Messenger floated back by instinct.
Tianhai's voice dropped to a dangerous whisper.
"Leave."
The Messenger's robe rippled violently, as if trying to resist something it couldn't understand.
"You…
You are not mortal.
Not human.
Not ascended.
Not celestial.
What… are… you?"
Tianhai answered by lifting a single finger.
Just one.
The Messenger froze.
Its clouds trembled.
Its body flickered.
As if the world could not maintain its shape near Tianhai.
"Take your gaze," Tianhai said softly,
"and leave this world."
The Messenger trembled like a candle flame in a storm.
"…You cannot defy Heaven's order."
Tianhai's eyes narrowed.
"I can."
A gust of invisible force struck the Messenger.
And for the first time—
The Heavenly Messenger staggered.
It looked at Tianhai with something approaching fear.
"The ancient aura…
The forbidden source…
You…
You are—"
Tianhai snapped his fingers.
The Messenger vanished.
Disintegrating into starlight.
Pulled away violently from the mortal world.
No explosion.
No scream.
Just silence.
---
Aftermath
Xueyi collapsed onto the ground, gasping.
Wuya stood still, trembling slightly.
Not from fear.
From something else.
A faint glow pulsed inside his chest.
A small resonance.
A beating fragment.
A whisper—
Not a system.
Not yet.
Just a warning.
Tianhai turned to him slowly.
"Wuya."
Wuya looked up.
Tianhai's face softened.
But his voice remained heavy.
"From tonight onward… Heaven knows you exist."
Wuya lowered his gaze.
"…I know."
Xueyi grabbed his hand tightly.
"You're not alone," she whispered.
"I'm here. I always will be."
Wuya squeezed her hand gently.
"…Thank you."
Tianhai looked at the sky.
The clouds had returned.
The moon shone normally again.
But something had changed.
Forever.
"Heaven sent only a Messenger tonight," Tianhai said quietly.
"Next time… it will send something far worse."
Wuya looked up at him.
"…What should I do?"
Tianhai placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Live," he said softly.
"Learn.
Grow.
Endure."
He looked into Wuya's eyes.
"And one day… stand tall enough to make Heaven regret watching you."
Wuya nodded slowly.
"…I will."
The peach tree swayed gently behind them.
But Wuya felt a new weight inside him.
The world was awake.
Heaven was watching.
Destiny was moving.
And deep inside his chest—
A silent Codex waited, unawakened.
Not yet.
But soon.
Very soon.