He opened his eyes.
"Okay," he said.
She looked up at him, disbelief flickering across her face.
Then she moved quickly, standing and touching the chains binding Neo.
"I know the Qi inscription passwords for all the locks in the royal prison. Heaven designed them, but he told me how they work."
The chains loosened.
Neo stepped free.
He escaped that night.
The years that followed blurred together.
Neo fought Heaven again and again.
And again.
Each time, he was crushed.
The difference was that now, he knew what he was fighting.
He couldn't defeat Heaven. Not directly. Not yet.
But he could move faster than Heaven expected.
He saved the children.
Kidnapped them, if one wanted to be precise.
He rescued the Empress before Heaven could devour her.
And yes, Neo confirmed it with his own eyes.
Heaven had been planning to eat them.
When Heaven realized what Neo had done, his fury shook the world.
He united kingdoms, empires, sects, armies.
