In the Celestial Realm, summons were not requests.
They were commands written in stars and sealed with divine light, visible across the heavens, unignorable by those named.
And that morning, three such summons shimmered across the skies.
One to the Eastern Sky.One to the Frozen Court.And one to the Peach Blossom Sect.
Each carried the same message, scrawled in the signature script of the High Celestial Court:
"Come to the Hall of Judgment.The Sealed Council bids your presence."
🌸 Peach Blossom Sect
Lian Qiao was midway through chewing a lotus bun when the summons descended from the clouds — literally — in the form of a glowing scroll that smacked her squarely in the forehead.
"OW—what the—?!" she yelped, nearly choking.
Master Bai, lounging nearby with a fan over his face, didn't even look up. "Divine summons. Don't toss it. It'll explode."
Qiao unfurled the scroll with trembling fingers.
Hall of Judgment.
She paled. "A-Are they sending me to celestial jail?!"
"No," Bai said. "If they were, you'd have received a summons made of iron. With flames. And a dramatic gong sound."
"Then what is this?"
Bai finally sat up, his expression sober.
"They're not jailing you," he said softly. "They're acknowledging you."
❄️ The Frozen Court
Xue Ran accepted her scroll with perfect grace — her fingers gloved in spun frost, her expression unreadable.
But inside?
She was seething.
Lian Qiao again.
The girl's name now traveled faster than her own — a name no one knew a season ago, now spoken in corners of the realm that once whispered only of Xue Ran.
But it didn't matter.
Because now they would meet.
In front of the Council.
In front of the heavens.
And I will remind him, she thought, who stood beside him when all others fled.
🌌 The Eastern Sky
Mo Yujin did not react when the scroll burned into existence before him.
He simply read it.
And quietly rolled it shut.
His gaze lifted to the horizon.
Lian Qiao was standing in the garden ruins again, talking to a spirit beast — a fluffy golden rabbit with wings — who'd taken a strong liking to her ever since she'd accidentally sneezed fire into its burrow.
She was laughing. Unbothered. Alive.
He stared at her for a long moment.
And then, for the first time in over ten thousand years, he summoned formal robes — layered with armor, etched with warlight — and prepared to return to the place he had once vowed never to enter again.
The Hall of Judgment.
⛰️ The High Celestial Court — Hall of Judgment
The structure loomed at the very center of the heavens — a place between all realms, untouched by day or night.
Its doors were carved from pure jade, its floor lined with starlight dust. Pillars bore the names of the original immortals — faded with age but never forgotten.
As the three arrived — separately, but within minutes — the chamber grew heavy.
Lian Qiao was escorted in by two silent guards, both towering and masked.
She looked nervous but held her head high. Her robes shimmered with subtle gold, her hair twisted into a loose crown knot, and the flame-mark of the Southern Sky glowed faintly at her collar.
Then Mo Yujin entered.
The room shifted.
Some bowed. Others stepped back.
Lian Qiao's breath caught.
He was... radiant.
Black and gold robes. Sword at his hip. Hair swept high, revealing a face that looked carved by divinity itself. His eyes met hers for only a second — unreadable, but undeniably locked.
And then the third entered — cold as winter wind.
Xue Ran.
Clad in silver, her gown a trail of frost, eyes sharp as obsidian ice. She did not spare Qiao a glance.
But she looked at Yujin.
And he did not look back.
Then the Council descended.
Twelve figures, robed in colorless light, faces hidden behind veils of time.
Their voices echoed as one:
"Three immortals.Three threads of fate.One forgotten war.And a prophecy reborn."
They turned their gaze to Lian Qiao.
"You are the girl who fell.The flame that refused to extinguish.The soul once lost… and now found."
She swallowed, but stepped forward. "If I am being judged—"
"No," they interrupted. "You are being offered a choice."
A glowing disc appeared before her — spinning slowly.
"Three paths.One fate.Choose your trial.Choose your truth."