The Heart of the Sky was a floating crystal above the palace — the anchor of cosmic balance.
It was now cracked.
Not chipped.Not scratched.Cracked like an egg that really wanted to become an omelet of doom.
Lin Yue and Xuan Mo stood beneath it, staring upward.
"This is my fault," she whispered.
"No," Xuan Mo said. "This is the heavens throwing a tantrum."
The crack pulsed.
A voice echoed across the sky:
"THE PROPHECY MUST BE RESET."
Xuan Mo snarled, "I refuse."
A second crack split the crystal.
Lin Yue clutched her chest — her soul ached in mirrored agony.
"Xuan Mo," she gasped, "it's reacting to me!"
"I know," he said, gripping her shoulders.His voice shook.He never shook.
"The sky seeks to erase your presence. It believes removing you will restore balance."
"So… kill me."
"No."
The sky boomed:
"THE PROPHECY-BEARER MUST FALL."
Lin Yue backed away, terrified. "Xuan Mo—if I stay near you, you'll—"
The sky dropped a beam of celestial destructive force.
Straight at Xuan Mo.
Lin Yue screamed—
But Xuan Mo didn't move.
He raised his hand.
Caught the celestial beam.
With his bare palm.
The world trembled.
Air shattered.
Light warped.
"You," he hissed at the heavens, "will NOT take her."
The beam shoved him downward, cracking the palace floor under his feet.
"Xuan Mo!" Lin Yue cried.
His voice thundered back:
"RUN? And leave you? Never."
His knees buckled.The sky pressed harder.Fate pushed with murderous calculation.
Then—
The prophecy surged inside Lin Yue.
She felt the laws of the universe bending.
Twisting.
Collapsing.
She screamed—
And everything went white.