The sky did not darken.
It withdrew.
Stars vanished one by one, as if existence itself were stepping back to watch what would happen next. The Immortal Realm trembled, its laws thinning like fragile ice.
Feixue, Seraphis, and the collapsing Veil of Heaven stood at the edge of something ancient.
Then—
The True Throne reappeared.
Not above them.
Around them.
---
There was no pressure.
No authority.
Only inevitability.
The ancient voice echoed—not commanding, not judging.
> "THIRD TRIAL: CHOICE."
"NO ASCENSION."
"NO REWARD."
"ONLY CONSEQUENCE."
Seraphis inhaled sharply.
> "Choice… for whom?"
The Throne did not answer her.
It spoke to Feixue.
---
> "ORIGIN-BEARER."
"TWO PATHS REMAIN."
Space unfolded.
Two visions emerged.
---
The First Path: Severance
Heaven shattered.
The Immortal Emperor was erased.
All laws tied to Heaven collapsed instantly.
Freedom surged across realms—but so did chaos.
Sects warred endlessly.
Realms fragmented.
Time splintered without governance.
Billions lived.
Trillions suffered.
But existence continued.
---
The Second Path: Assimilation
Heaven was not destroyed.
It was absorbed.
Feixue became its anchor.
Law stabilized.
Order returned.
The Emperor's corruption was purged.
Peace endured for eternity.
But—
Feixue faded.
Her will dissolved into system.
She would become balance itself.
Not alive.
Not dead.
---
Seraphis's breath shook.
> "Those are not choices," she whispered.
"They're punishments."
Feixue remained silent.
Her expression unreadable.
---
> "CHOOSE," the Throne said.
"OR EXISTENCE DECAYS."
The Immortal Realm screamed.
The black sigil in the sky pulsed violently.
The Corrupted Emperor's laughter echoed distantly, tearing through dimensions.
> "Too late, Feixue… You already hesitated."
---
Feixue finally spoke.
> "You are wrong."
She stepped forward.
> "There is a third path."
The Throne froze.
> "INVALID."
Feixue's eyes sharpened.
> "Only because Heaven erased it."
She turned to Seraphis.
> "This is why you were never meant to be named."
Seraphis stiffened.
> "Me?"
---
Feixue raised her hand.
The Lotus of Balance appeared, its petals slowly unfolding.
> "The Third Path requires a variable," Feixue said.
"Someone outside law… yet capable of responsibility."
She met Seraphis's gaze.
> "Someone who can choose—without Heaven choosing for them."
The Throne shook violently.
> "ENTITY UNDEFINED CANNOT BE ANCHOR."
Feixue smiled faintly.
> "Exactly."
---
The realization struck Seraphis like lightning.
> "You want me to hold Heaven," she whispered.
"Not rule it… not destroy it… but bear it."
Feixue nodded.
> "You will not become law.
You will become limit."
Silence fell.
---
The Throne screamed.
> "THIS PATH LEADS TO UNSTABLE FUTURES."
Seraphis closed her eyes.
Memories surfaced—obedience, guilt, blood, silence.
Then choice.
She opened them.
> "Then I accept instability," she said calmly.
"Because stability without freedom is just a prettier cage."
She stepped forward.
The Lotus responded.
---
Reality rewrote itself.
Not violently.
Carefully.
Heaven's laws began to detach from the Throne, flowing instead toward Seraphis—not as chains, but as questions.
She did not command them.
She listened.
---
Far away, the Corrupted Emperor roared in fury.
> "NO—! She is NOTHING!"
Feixue raised her hand.
> "No," she corrected softly.
"She is the future Heaven was afraid of."
The Throne dimmed.
Not broken.
Retired.
---
Snow fell again.
This time, it carried weight.
Choice had entered the cosmos.
And it could never be removed.