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In the dark night the heavens suddenly trembled.
Without warning, the night split apart as if torn by an unseen hand. From beyond the firmament, nine colossal lights burst forth, each one a different hue, each burning with a brilliance so fierce that the very continent quaked beneath their glow.
Mountains rumbled. Rivers changed their course. The stars themselves dimmed, unable to compare to the divine radiance that swept across the skies.
Across the vast lands, every living being felt it. Beasts froze mid-hunt. Cultivators in meditation opened their eyes in horror. Even mortals who could not comprehend the heavens felt their hearts tighten as a force beyond understanding washed over them. It was divine, something ancient, something vast.
For one breathless moment, the world stood still. Then chaos erupted.
On the highest balcony of the imperial palace, the Emperor of the Azure Dragon Empire stood unmoving, his golden robes fluttering in the wind. The embroidered azure dragon upon his back seemed alive, its eyes glinting with reflected light from above.
His gaze pierced the heavens where nine divine lights streaked across the sky, tearing through the clouds like falling stars.
He turned sharply toward his servant.
"Quickly, gather the court, talk to scholars to check the old library to see if anything like this has happened before. I will go and see for myself."
"Your Majesty, your safety.."
"Humph."
The emperor snorted, and before the servant could finish, he stepped forward. With a burst of spiritual power, his body lifted from the ground, robes billowing as he soared into the night sky, chasing the divine lights with reckless determination.
Across the continent, similar scenes unfolded.
Emperors abandoned their thrones and rushed from their palaces, driven by greed and awe. Sect masters and elders burst from secluded chambers, their auras shaking the mountains that had stood quiet for years. From the Starwoven Grotto, prophets screamed of destinies reborn, their voices echoing through the mountains like thunder.
Masters from every corner of the realm took flight, their paths crossing and clashing as they fought to follow the nine divine lights. Blood spilled across the clouds. Countless lives were lost in the chaos, until one by one the divine lights vanished from sight.
And thus began an age of madness.
Mountains were searched. Temples unearthed. Sects raided and burned. Mortal villages were slaughtered without reason. Friends turned against one another, and alliances shattered overnight. The world itself seemed to shift under the weight of desire and desperation.
Above it all, the heavens remained silent.
Only faint trails of the nine fading lights lingered in the dark, like the final words of a prophecy no one yet understood.
Beneath the star-filled sky that had been by painted the nine divine lights, a small mortal village lay in silence. For a fleeting heartbeat, the humble rooftops and fields shimmered under their radiance, as though the heavens had chosen to notice it.
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End of Prologue