The darkness had not completely lifted.
The world beneath the Eternal Sky Terrace had been reborn—stitched together by Li Wei's triumph and power beyond reckoning. Yet, despite the glowing cities of crystal and rivers of starfire, an unsettling stillness lingered. It was the quiet before the storm, the breath held too long before release.
Li Wei stood alone, the first bloom of the Cosmic Lotus glowing faintly in the palm of his hand. The flower pulsed, its dark purple petals shimmering like a star trapped in twilight. The system's hum vibrated through his consciousness, weaving threads of power, knowledge, and dread.
"New system tree unlocked: Cosmic Lotus Path." The message echoed, as if both a promise and a warning.
He closed his eyes.
Visions shattered his mind.
Fractured timelines spiraled around him like broken mirrors—each shard a reflection of what could have been, or might yet come to pass. Faces swirled, memories unmade and remade. Some familiar, others alien, yet all somehow tied to him.
The air thickened. The ground beneath him seemed to pulse with a heartbeat not his own. The fabric of reality thinned, revealing the underlying weave of existence.
A sudden burst of movement.
Behind him, footsteps. The girls—Yue, Lana, Scarlet, Shen Ruo, Meiyu, Lotus—rushed forward, eyes wide with concern and awe.
"You're hurting!" Yue exclaimed, reaching to steady his trembling arm.
Li Wei shook his head, breathing hard. "It's the Lotus… it's rewriting me. Changing everything."
Meiyu stepped closer, hands glowing softly. "The system's not just a tool anymore—it's becoming part of your soul."
The Cosmic Lotus expanded, petals unfolding in slow motion, revealing an intricate spiral at its core—a symbol of endless cycles and transformations.
Suddenly, the world around them warped. The vibrant landscape melted away into mist, and a swirling vortex of colors opened at their feet.
"Where are we going?" Lana asked, voice tinged with nervous excitement.
"The Timelocked Zone," Li Wei answered, voice steady despite the chaos inside. "The system says we have to enter."
Together, they stepped into the portal.
The Timelocked Zone was a realm suspended between seconds—a place where time's river stood still, crystallized in an eternal moment.
Frozen echoes of past battles, ancient ruins untouched by decay, and ghostly silhouettes of warriors long gone shimmered in the air.
Li Wei's heart pounded as fragments of past system users flickered before him—each one trapped in their own trials, reliving moments of failure and triumph.
Each girl was drawn into visions of their own alternate futures—some bright and filled with hope, others dark and shadowed with despair.
Scarlet saw herself standing alone atop a battlefield, a fallen hero whose choices had doomed millions.
Yue glimpsed a future where her flames extinguished, her spirit broken by betrayal.
Lana's vision was of a joyous reunion lost to the cruelty of fate.
Meiyu found herself wandering a dreamscape of forgotten memories, her laughter fading into silence.
Shen Ruo's golden threads unraveled, binding her to a fate of endless servitude.
Lotus, calm but distant, saw a future where she sacrificed everything to protect those she loved.
Li Wei's vision was the most harrowing—a path where he embraced darkness, ruling with iron and crushing hope beneath his heel.
He staggered, clutching his head. The system's voice whispered through the storm in his mind:
"Choose. Embrace the system's true origin… or reject the power and be forgotten."
The trial began.
Li Wei was separated from the others, plunged into a void where reality was malleable and every thought shaped the world.
Visions attacked him relentlessly—temptations of godlike power, whispers of betrayal, and the haunting cries of those lost to his past.
He confronted twisted versions of himself—ruthless, cold, merciless.
"You could be so much more," one version hissed. "Rule all timelines. Become a god."
Another snarled, "Give up now. You're weak. You always were."
Through the torment, Li Wei gripped the stem of the Cosmic Lotus tightly. His voice, low and resolute, echoed in the void:
"I am not a monster. I am the master of my fate."
Light exploded around him.
The system granted partial access to the Origin Core—a source of ancient knowledge and power that predated even the system itself.
He absorbed it, feeling his mind expand beyond mortal limits, yet tethered to his humanity by the bonds of the girls who awaited him.
Reunited, they journeyed deeper into the Timelocked Zone.
There, in the heart of the realm, stood the First System User—a figure both majestic and tragic.
His eyes held millennia of regret, his form shimmering with fragmented time.
"I have waited ten thousand years for one worthy to inherit this legacy," he said, voice like the chime of broken glass.
He revealed the truth: the system was created as a failsafe—an experiment to contain a cosmic plague that could unravel all existence.
"The power you wield is a double-edged sword," he warned. "It grants creation but invites destruction. Every choice echoes through eternity."
One of the girls gasped, recognizing a symbol on the First User's arm—the same as her own birthmark.
A tense dialogue unfolded. Secrets spilled—about timelines erased, alliances broken, and a multiversal war looming on the horizon.
Conflict simmered between Li Wei and the First User—ideologies clashing over fate, free will, and sacrifice.
The final trial erupted into battle.
Shards of the Origin System surged forth—specters of ancient power that sought to consume Li Wei and the girls.
Each girl unlocked hidden potential in the crucible of combat.
Yue's flames roared brighter, weaving protective barriers that danced like phoenix wings.
Lana's control over ethereal fire became precise and deadly, slicing through shadows with surgical grace.
Scarlet's dagger blazed with starfire, each strike unraveling curses of time.
Shen Ruo's threads transformed into golden chains of light, binding enemies and healing allies.
Meiyu's illusions became so vivid they could influence reality, blurring friend and foe alike.
Lotus wielded her divine grace to shield the group, her aura expanding to calm the chaos.
Li Wei's Cosmic Lotus bloomed fully, emitting a spiral of light that opened the Cosmic Spiral Gate—a portal to the multiversal warfront.
The choice stood before them.
Step through the gate and face the endless conflict that awaited, or retreat to their reborn realm and consolidate their strength.
Li Wei looked at each girl, their eyes shining with fierce determination and quiet fear.
He nodded, heart steady.
"Together," he said.
They stepped through the Cosmic Spiral Gate.
Beyond the veil, the Council of the Shattered Trinity watched through dimensional tears.
Their eyes gleamed cold and calculating.
The multiverse was awakening.
And the Flower Beyond Time was just beginning to bloom.