The sky no longer held color.
What remained was graytorn only by the silence of lightning.
The crackle of burning leaveswas louder than thunder's roar.
The earth split—without quake.The air grew heavy,like the sorrow of a world that had forgotten how to speak.
In that valley,where silent wanderers once gathered,a hushed voice began to rise.
"What is happening…""The sky… it's changing.""It feels like the end…"
Lao Wen stood still, eyes blank, staring up at a sky rearranging its own hues.
San Lie clenched his fists—Chaosqi within him boiled, then fell silent.
Li Rou hugged herself.The Yuanqi around her trembled—as if afraid.
Lu Wen remained calm—but his soul shivered.
The valley had become the heart of the worldand now that heart was beating too fast,as though awaiting something unstoppable.
Far beyond the valley,someone walked—wordless.
Heng Zhen descended a small hill.His body, once like an old stone,now moved like flowing water.
His face was no longer that of a man in his forties.
His face… was young.
Expressionless, yet clear.Unburdened.
But his eyes—held an age that could not be counted.
"This body… this Qi…is no longer the remnant of what once was.
This is a beginning.
But… a beginning of what?"
Yuanqi flowed gently with each step.Yet Chaosqi did not retreat—it watched him silently.
When Heng Zhen emerged between the cliffs of the valley,all fell silent.
Lao Wen stepped forward, narrowing his eyes.
"Who… are you?""No, not who… your face—what has happened to you?"
San Lie widened his eyes.Even he could not hide his shock.
Li Rou clutched her chest,feeling something strange—a subtle resonance from the world itself.
The sky gradually turned blue.The wind carried again the scent of leaves and earth.
But nothing truly returned to how it was.
"The world has answered,"Heng Zhen whispered in his heart."And that answer…is not for me alone."