The light from Chen's Soulflame Unison lingered in the sky like a scar.
Where once the divine heavens had been clear in their hierarchies—power dictating dominion, cruelty polished into law—now came the tremors. The flames of one mortal had touched divinity itself. And the gods… did not all agree on what came next.
In the Crystal Hall of the Celestial Balance Court
Divine scales tipped and teetered, glowing with celestial weight.
Lady Xirian, Goddess of Order, paced in growing agitation. "He turned soldiers into supplicants with a feeling. This 'Chen Ming' has introduced variables the divine realms are not equipped to handle."
"Then equip us," muttered Lord Etharion, an ascendant demigod of the Mortal Ascendancy Division. "Soul-based influence of that magnitude hasn't been seen since the Exile of Lysaria. You remember her, don't you?"
Xirian's knuckles turned pale.
The room fell silent.
One whispered, "Is it possible he carries her spark?"
In the Onyx Vaults of the Obsidian Court
The Matriarch watched through a pool of black starlight. Chen's Soulflame still shimmered across her palm.
"Do you feel it, my children?" she cooed to her shadow-born disciples. "The god of Yang... no longer rising. He's igniting."
"But is he ours?" asked a sharp-toothed shade.
She smiled. "He will be—if we burn away his distractions."
Her eyes narrowed toward Ye Yue and Lanmei—silhouetted beside Chen in the Soulflame's final radiance.
In the Passion Court
Velvet curtains fluttered with divine gossip. Sensual spirits stirred on silk clouds, intoxicated by the echo of Chen's pulse across the realms.
"He made empathy a weapon," purred Lady Na'valei, lounging among incarnate fantasies. "Delicious."
"Dangerous," added her sister. "If one man can unify hearts, what place do our manipulations have?"
Na'valei sipped wine. "Then perhaps we join his rhythm before we're left behind."
In the War Court
Cracked armor. Shattered spears.
War gods stared in stunned silence at the images of soldiers laying down arms—not in defeat, but in awakening.
"His flame turned my army into lovers," one general spat.
"They felt. That's worse than losing," said another.
High Commander Var'khan clenched his fists. "Then we remind them of the cost of feeling."
He stepped forward, gripping a blood-bound axe.
"We kill the dream before it becomes law."
In the Exile Veil
A hidden temple. Forgotten light.
Lysaria knelt before the last petals of a sealed oath.
"Chen Ming… you've kindled the path I once failed to walk."
A tear fell.
"But you are not ready."
She reached into the veil, her divine touch brushing the edges of his soul—a warning and a blessing.
"You will be tested again. But not by gods. By the one thing even divinity fears…"
"…the truth of love unbroken."
Back to the Realm of Chen's Sanctuary (Teaser)
Lanmei stirred awake first—eyes locked on Chen's sleeping form.
Ye Yue sat beside her, quiet.
"Did you feel them?" Lanmei asked. "The gods watching?"
Ye Yue nodded. "Let them watch."
Chen exhaled in his sleep. A flicker of divine flame rippled across his chest.
And far beyond the clouds, the heavens held their breath—for the next blow would not come from a blade… but a heart.