Chapter Two — Heirs of the Void
At the heart of the void, where there is neither beginning nor end, light flowed like the breath of a dying being.
Distant stars swayed within an infinite darkness, where radiance and nothingness blended together, and pathways staggered like the specters of a memory forgotten across countless ages.
There, within this eternal emptiness, stood Ethan.
He gazed around in silence, as though staring into the very first particle of existence, where truths are laid bare without a veil.
Before him stood Jichang, Lord of Space, recounting a tale born from the womb of legend—the fall of the King of Destruction ten thousand years ago.
Jichang's features were rigid, carved like stone, yet within his eyes burned a strange light, a fusion of pride and regret.
Ethan spoke softly, as though speaking to himself:
> "How can the current Time King possess the gem whose power was lost when the King of Destruction was sealed?"
Jichang lifted his gaze to him, as though the question had reopened an ancient wound. He replied with a calm voice, heavy with unseen weight:
> "I do not know the origin of those gems, nor where they came from.
But the real question is not where… it is why.
Why does the Time King wield such power?
Even at the height of my glory, I could barely contend with him."
Their silence stretched long, as though time itself had halted in reverence for what had been said.
Then Jichang turned his head and took two steps toward the horizon. Suddenly, space shattered around them like broken glass, dimensional lines collapsing one after another.
In a fleeting instant, he and Ethan transitioned into the real world.
Atop one of the skyscrapers, in a city drowned in cold lights, the air whistled around them as though whispering secrets from forgotten ages.
Jichang spoke, his voice resembling the echo of a distant galaxy:
> "You must observe him.
The intellect of this planet is what will open your path.
You now possess four gems… yet you have not reached even a tenth of their true power."
He stepped closer, placed a hand upon Ethan's shoulder with immeasurable weight, and added:
> "You no longer need me.
That individual alone… is the one who will make you the strongest."
No moment passed before the air around them began to tremble.
Shapes of glowing mist appeared, as though spirits descending from an ancient glory.
They were the remnants of the four Venerated Ones—human silhouettes carrying the marks of bygone eras.
They gathered before Ethan, and the rooftop beneath them transformed into a vortex of celestial energies.
They stood like mountains of forgotten splendor, while Ethan before them seemed like a speck of dust before a storm.
Yet that speck… burned fiercely from within.
The Venerated One of Crimson Shadows stepped forward, his eyes gleaming like blades forged from eternal wrath.
He extended his hand, and from his fingers surged a colossal blade that cleaved the sky. He struck without hesitation.
The wind screamed as it tore apart, and the heavens split open as though crying out beneath the pressure.
Ethan raised his head—and without retreating a single step… blocked the attack.
The shock vanished. A silence fell so profound that even the air seemed to freeze.
He spoke in a rough voice, filled with pride and defiance:
> "I am no one's slave… and I will not be a tool moved by your commands.
I will not be the shadow of those who failed to protect what they swore to defend."
His aura ignited in an instant, as though fire had finally found a soul to inhabit.
> "I am not a coward who seals away evil, then waits behind it for others to finish what he could not.
You… are the reason this planet was destroyed."
The air quaked.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
> "Your weakness, your arrogance, is what turned your successors into servants of the King of Destruction.
Zhao's sacrifice was not for your sake—
it was in spite of you."
No one spoke.
Even the remnants of the four Venerated Ones froze in place.
Only the Venerated One of the World Tree's Roots smiled faintly.
He stepped forward with slow strides, each one sending ripples through space itself.
He reached out and placed his hand upon Ethan's head.
In a single moment, a green energy resembling life itself poured into his body.
Ethan's eyes flared with light, and the sky above them fractured.
The Venerated One spoke in a deep voice, as though emerging from the heart of the first tree:
> "If you cannot become the strongest…
then become his version."
The light vanished.
Darkness spread.
Yet the void itself began to breathe once more.
In that moment… something new was born.
Something that was neither human… nor demon… nor chaos.
But a fusion of all three.
End of Chapter Two