The world was ash and ringing silence.
Stone fragments hung in mid-air as if afraid to fall. The air itself trembled—half gold, half black—two realities bleeding into one another.
Li Feng stood at the epicenter, smoke coiling from his sleeves. His robes were shredded, his hair damp with blood and soot. The mark on his palm glowed faintly—half radiant sigil, half abyssal spiral.
He raised his eyes. The sky had split.
One half burned with blinding gold, lined with runes of divine authority; the other churned with ink-dark clouds and whispering eyes. Between them, a vortex roared—neither Heaven nor Abyss, but a wound connecting both.
[System Reinitialization in progress…]
[Dual-Origin Vessel stabilizing core matrix.]
[Warning: Reality drift detected — Anchor required.]
Li Feng inhaled. The air tasted of metal and ash. Each breath drew conflicting energies into him—one cold, one searing.
His veins glimmered like threads of molten silver and shadowed ice.
"So this… is what lies between Heaven and the Abyss," he murmured.
His voice carried strangely—half echo, half whisper—like two beings speaking through one mouth.
Around him, fragments of the Council Hall floated within the rift.
Elder Wu's staff spun slowly in the air, burned clean through. Of the elders, no trace remained—only motes of divine and abyssal light drifting where their spirits had disintegrated.
He stepped forward; each step rippled across shattered space. Beneath his feet, broken runes pulsed faintly before dissolving.
[Status Report]
Vitality 74%
Shadow Contamination 17% → 15% (stabilizing)
Celestial Integration 3% (increasing)
Energy Core Balance: Fluctuating
Li Feng wiped blood from his chin.
Even pain felt distant now, more data than sensation.
He searched the ruins. The Origin Fragment lay embedded in what was once the dais, still pulsing faintly.
He extended his hand. The fragment vibrated, resisting at first, then yielded—drawn to the same resonance within him.
[Fragment synchronized with Host Core.]
[Integration complete.]
[New Authority: Gate Bearer (Level 1)]
A swirl of information flooded his mind—coordinates, seals, and sigils that represented doors between realms. He saw fleeting visions of seven fragments scattered across existence, each acting as a key to something far greater.
The last image was of a titanic gate suspended in endless light, its surface carved with countless eyes—some weeping, some laughing.
The Celestial Gate.
His heartbeat quickened. "So that's what they were after… passage into the divine domain."
A crack of thunder tore through the sky.
From the golden half of the firmament, a beam of light descended—pure law condensed into form. Within it floated ranks of armored figures, wings formed from runic script.
The Heavenly Legion.
Their commander stepped forward, spear gleaming like dawn. His eyes glowed with the same mark now burned into Li Feng's palm.
"Identified target: Dual-Origin Vessel," the commander intoned. "By decree of the Heavenly Tribunal, you are to be unmade."
Li Feng tilted his head, calm despite the tremor of divine energy shaking the air.
"Unmade? Heaven made the error first. I'm only correcting it."
He spread his hand. Shadows rippled outward. The ground—if it could be called that—responded, birthing dark spears that twisted upward.
The first volley of divine light met the darkness. The impact was silent for an instant—then the world detonated.
Li Feng vanished. A dozen after-images split across the field.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Rift — Multi-Phase Echo]
[Energy Cost: 9%]
The spear-light sliced through one illusion; it burst into smoke. Another clone stabbed from behind, severing an angelic wing.
Yet divine law was relentless. Chains of gold formed mid-air, seeking to bind the concept of motion itself.
Li Feng extended his left palm; the mark flared.
[Skill: Abyssal Recall]
Specters of the Maze rose—silhouettes of devoured hunters—tearing into the golden chains with jaws of darkness.
The commander descended, striking with force that cracked dimensions. Li Feng met the blow with his bare hand; divine fire scorched flesh, yet his shadow aura devoured it instantly.
Gold and black spiraled together, neither overpowering the other.
Then, unexpectedly, the commander's eyes widened. "Impossible… balance between opposite laws—no mortal can—"
Li Feng's smile was faint, almost kind. "That's because I'm no longer mortal."
He twisted his wrist. The spear shattered. The commander dissolved into light.
But victory came with a price. The sky screamed as the balance tilted. The rift widened, dragging everything toward its core.
Fragments of Heaven and shards of Abyss collided, merging into a storm that erased form and time.
Li Feng's System flared.
[Warning: Reality collapse in progress.]
[Directive: Find Anchor Point or core will dissolve.]
He clenched the fragment tighter. "If Heaven and Abyss both reject me, then I'll forge my own realm."
He sat mid-air, legs folded, drawing both currents inward. Gold lightning and black flame spiraled around him, forming a double helix.
Pain carved through every nerve. His body fractured along glowing lines, but he didn't stop.
[Assimilation Protocol: Heaven Abyss Equilibrium]
[Success Rate unknown.]
He remembered the prologue of his own life—kneeling in the dirt, mocked for a broken spiritual root. The memory burned, then steadied him.
"If Heaven sets limits, then I'll break Heaven itself."
The twin energies crashed into his core. The mark on his palm expanded, covering his chest, his throat, his eyes. His vision turned white, then black, then both.
Time lost meaning.
When awareness returned, silence reigned.
The rift had transformed. Where destruction once spiraled, now floated a vast sphere of twilight—neither bright nor dark, a horizon of shifting balance.
Li Feng opened his eyes. Around him spread mountains of translucent shadow, rivers of molten gold.
Within this place, his breath carried authority.
[System Reboot complete.]
[Congratulations: Host has forged a Personal Domain.]
[Designation: Twilight Sanctum.]
[Effect: Full control within 50 li radius. External laws suppressed by 70%.]
He stood slowly. Each movement made the realm tremble in acknowledgment.
"So this is the Heaven-Abyss Convergence…" he whispered. "A world born from contradiction."
He tested the air. His energy flowed freely, limitless within this sanctum. The Hunter's voice, once venomous, now sounded almost subdued.
"You shaped a prison, yet call it freedom."
Li Feng replied without emotion, "A prison is only such when you can't leave."
He raised his hand; the edge of the domain rippled, revealing the outside world—Heaven's golden sky on one side, the Abyss's void on the other.
Both forces pressed against the barrier, unable to penetrate.
A figure appeared at the boundary—mist-white robes, hair like moonlight.
Yu Qingxue.
Her presence flickered, a projection carried by some divine resonance. Her eyes widened upon seeing him.
"Li Feng… you're alive…"
Her voice was soft, trembling with disbelief and hope.
He felt the memory lock strain—emotions trying to surface.
[Emotional Regulation Warning: Barrier breach 5%.]
"I told you once," he said quietly, "that I would climb high enough that even Heaven would look up to me."
Tears glimmered in her illusory eyes. "What have you become?"
He looked at his palm—the mark pulsing with dual light. "Something that cannot exist."
The projection wavered, dissolving as divine interference cut it off.
He closed his eyes briefly. "Then perhaps that's what I must be."
From the abyssal half of the horizon, motion stirred—silhouettes of ancient beasts crawling from black flame.
They knelt at the border of his domain, their voices echoing like thunder.
"Lord of Twilight," they intoned. "The Abyss acknowledges you."
From the opposite side, golden motes gathered—constructs of pure law forming angelic shapes.
"The Tribunal recognizes anomaly 000," they said coldly. "Containment required."
Li Feng stood between them, one hand to each side, feeling both currents tugging at his soul.
[Decision Node Triggered.]
[Choose Alignment: Heaven / Abyss / Independent Path.]
He smiled. "Choices are for those who fear consequence."
He tore the notification apart with sheer will.
[System Override — Manual Path Created.]
[Title Unlocked: Sovereign of Equilibrium.]
Light and dark surged, yet bowed.
He raised both hands; energy condensed into a sphere of silver-gray light—the heart of his new domain.
"I am the line between extremes," he declared, voice echoing through the void.
"Heaven claims perfection, the Abyss claims freedom. I claim truth."
The beasts roared; the angels screamed; both bent the knee as reality acknowledged the command.
[Domain stabilized.]
[Evolution Stage II Complete.]
[Next Objective: Locate Remaining Fragments — 0/6.]
A faint breeze stirred—a whisper from the Higher World beyond even Heaven's walls.
"So the vessel awakens…" a voice murmured, ancient and vast. "Perhaps the experiment succeeds after all."
Li Feng's eyes narrowed. "They're watching."
The System confirmed:
[Signal trace detected: Higher-World observation thread active.]
He clenched his fist, crushing the lingering surveillance rune into dust.
"Then let them watch. I'll show them what their creation becomes when it refuses its maker."
The Twilight Sanctum folded inward as he willed it.
He stepped through the veil, emerging once more into the mortal realm—above the Martial Academy's ruins.
Disciples and elders gaped as his silhouette formed from mist, cloaked in twilight light.
Some fell to their knees instinctively, overwhelmed by the aura of both holiness and terror.
Elder Wu, battered but alive, stared in horror. "You… you became the rift itself."
Li Feng regarded him coolly. "I became what you all sought but feared to touch."
He turned his gaze toward the horizon. Storms brewed—signs that Heaven and Abyss were realigning after the Convergence.
[Mission Update: World Stabilization — Optional.]
He ignored it. "Stability is just another cage."
He took one step, and the shadows swallowed him, leaving only the faint echo of his voice:
"When next I return, Heaven will remember my name.
Far beyond sight, in the upper reaches of the divine realm, the Celestial Gate trembled.
Figures of pure radiance gathered around it, murmuring.
"The Gate Bearer lives," one whispered.
"Then the experiment has surpassed containment," another replied.
"Should we intervene?"
A deeper voice answered, calm and absolute. "No. Let him walk. Every collector eventually reaches Heaven's door… and when he does, we will see whether he knocks—or breaks it."
The Gate's countless eyes opened, staring down upon the worlds below.
And somewhere between light and shadow, Li Feng smiled.