When Wang Lin next opened his eyes, dawn had no color.
The heavens above him were blank, painted in silver haze, and the mountains below gleamed like polished jade. Rivers of qi cut across the land, glittering threads that sang softly as they flowed. Everything felt alive—not with chaos, but with calm rhythm, like the world itself was breathing again for the first time in ages.
He pushed himself upright.
His wounds were gone. The air entering his lungs was neither hot nor cold—it carried the balance of both.
> "So this… is the world born from my fight."
Around him, vast floating islands drifted in slow orbits. On each island, spiritual beasts kneeled as though recognizing him. Far beyond, the sky curved upward into an endless ring of light where once the heavens had been sealed. It was a new law: no one would rule, only rise.
A figure approached through the mist—an old man with clear eyes and a faint smile. Wang Lin remembered him at once: the first soul he had ever absorbed, a nameless farmer who once prayed for peace.
> "You've done it, child," the old man said gently.
"You devoured the tyrant and gave the heavens back their heart."
> "Then why does it feel so heavy?" Wang Lin asked.
The old man's smile faded.
> "Because creation demands cost. Every soul you carried found release, but their memories rest inside you now. You are their bridge—between what was lost and what begins again."
As the man faded into light, a tremor shook the sky. From the horizon descended three pillars of radiance—one gold, one crimson, one violet. Each took the shape of a celestial being forged from the new order. Their voices intertwined:
> "Sovereign of Balance. You who remade the heavens.
The cycle cannot exist without a guardian.
Will you accept the mantle of Eternity?"
Wang Lin looked upward, silent. He felt the Abduction Mark on his chest stir—the half-black, half-white seal glowing softly.
> "Guardian… or prisoner again?" he murmured.
"No. I've stolen enough from fate. Let mortals walk freely."
The pillars trembled, uncertain.
He raised his hand and drew a circle in the air. Qi surged outward, forming a single decree that echoed across the realm:
> "From this day forward, no path shall bind another.
Power shall exist to protect, not devour."
The pillars bowed, dissolving into the firmament. In their place, countless new stars appeared—souls reborn, destinies rewritten.
A gentle wind passed. Somewhere far below, children laughed. Farmers tilled shining fields. The world no longer feared cultivation; it danced with it.
Wang Lin stood upon the edge of a cliff, robe fluttering in the clean air.
He closed his eyes and smiled faintly.
> "Heaven's Thief… no. I'm just Wang Lin again."
And for the first time since the Abduction Path awoke, his heart was quiet.
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