The sky split open.
Not by Lin Xuan's will this time—but by theirs.
From the farthest reaches of the Celestial Domain, a **golden vortex** formed. It wasn't a portal—it was a command. A summons. A decree of absolute authority.
> *"By the will of the Heavenly Tribunal, bearer of Chaos, Lin Xuan… you are summoned."*
The voice rolled through every plane of existence. Mortal realms trembled. Cultivators across the continents paused in horror. Beasts fled into the deepest caves. Sects held emergency councils.
For the first time in millennia… **Heaven moved directly.**
---
☁️ **The Chains of Divine Command**
Golden chains formed from script—words of law itself—snaked through the void, aiming to wrap around Lin Xuan's soul.
He stood silent, watching.
His fingers twitched.
> *"So this is what the Divine Decree looks like…"*
> *"A command not to speak. Not to act. Not to resist."*
The chains struck.
And shattered.
The Sixth Pillar's power flared—the **True Name Resistance** activated instinctively. Threads of fate broke as soon as they touched him.
> *"I bear no name you can bind."*
Lightning howled.
The rift widened, no longer a summon—but a battlefield.
---
🌌 **Arrival at the Tribunal Gate**
Lin Xuan stepped through the vortex on his own terms.
No kneeling. No fear.
He emerged into a colossal hall of white marble floating in endless starlight. Thrones lined the edges—each occupied by beings of impossible scale. Some were shaped like humans made of flame. Others were clouds, swords, or rotating geometries of law.
At the center sat the **Supreme Arbiter**, face veiled by flowing cosmic fabric. His hands held a scale, perfectly balanced—but trembling now, for the first time in eternity.
> "Bearer of Chaos," the Arbiter intoned. "You stand accused."
> "Accused of what?" Lin Xuan's voice was steady, cold.
> "Defiance. Corruption. Breaching sealed truths. Awakening forbidden Pillars."
> "Truth isn't forbidden," Lin Xuan said, stepping forward. "Only hidden."
---
⚔️ **The Council Reacts**
A voice thundered from one throne—an ancient sword spirit.
> "Silence! You tread where mortals have no place!"
Another, a swirling pillar of wind and flame:
> "The Chaos Dao was erased for the sake of order. You awaken disaster!"
And another, softer but cruel:
> "Accept the seal, Lin Xuan. Become memory. Fade."
Lin Xuan's gaze never wavered.
> "No."
---
🔥 **Unleashing the Nexus Flames**
Five flames ignited behind him—Memory, Void, Dream, Karma, and Chaos.
Then the Sixth—**Soul Sovereign Ghostfire**—roared into existence.
The hall dimmed. For the first time… Heaven felt fear.
> "You would fight the heavens themselves?" the Arbiter asked.
Lin Xuan's lips curved into something not quite a smile.
> "Not fight," he said. "Reshape."
He raised his hand.
---
🌌 **Heaven-Snare Domain: Activated**
A pulse of warped reality exploded outward.
* Celestial laws twisted.
* Oaths unraveled.
* Divine commands bent into static noise.
The sword spirit tried to rise—its form trembled. The flame-being flickered uncontrollably. Even the Supreme Arbiter's scales faltered, wobbling for the first time since time began.
> "This is...impossible..."
> "It's Chaos," Lin Xuan said quietly. "It was never meant to follow rules."
---
⚖️ **Revelation Unfolds**
As the domain expanded, cracks appeared in the Tribunal walls—**cracks not of damage, but of illusion.**
Behind the pristine marble… were prisons.
* Caged memories.
* Suppressed knowledge.
* Echoes of those who came before—rebels, bearers, seekers of truth—all wiped from history.
> *"So that's what you do,"* Lin Xuan whispered. *"Not balance. Not justice. You... erase."*
---
A voice whispered behind him.
Soft. Familiar.
> "You found me…"
He turned.
There, in one of the cracks, was **Yun'er.**
Not alive. Not dead.
Frozen in a sliver of stolen time—trapped by the Tribunal as leverage, as punishment.
Lin Xuan's hand trembled—not with fear, but with fury.
> "They caged you too…"
---
The Arbiter's voice thundered.
> "Cease! The Pillars are forbidden! Your path ends here!"
> "No," Lin Xuan said, turning fully toward him. "My path ends... **at the Seventh Pillar.** And I walk it now."
His Chaos Core spun wildly.
The Tribunal's seals shattered.
The sky broke.
---
> *"The Seventh Nexus Pillar…"*
> *"...is in the heart of Heaven itself."*