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The heavens were never silent. But that night, even the constellations held their breath.
The moon, pale and calm through countless ages, turned crimson — its light dripping across the clouds like spilled wine.
High above the endless sky, the Palace of Radiance burned with gold.
There, upon its highest tower, stood Li Yun, the Sun God — ruler of light, son of flame, and heir to the Celestial Throne. His armor shimmered like dawn breaking through the dark sea of stars.
He lifted his gaze to the blood-red moon and felt the heavens shift. A ripple of power, ancient and familiar, moved through the void.
It was her.
Behind him, a voice broke through the trembling air.
"Your Majesty," said General Xian, bowing low. "The Moon Goddess stirs again. The Oracle of Stars has spoken — the prophecy is awakening."
Li Yun's fingers tightened on the marble rail. "The prophecy died a thousand years ago," he said coldly. "As did she."
The general hesitated. "Yet the stars move once more, my lord. The Eclipse mark burns in the sky."
Li Yun turned his face back to the moon, its red glow flickering in his golden eyes.
> "When the Sun finds the Moon, the heavens will bow or break."
He remembered those words — whispered in the dying breath of a god. Words he had spent lifetimes trying to forget.
If the prophecy had truly returned… then so had she.
---
Far below, in the mortal world, a woman awoke to the same red light spilling through her window.
Lian Yue gasped, clutching her chest as her pulse raced faster than her breath. Dreams slipped from her mind like smoke — fragments of fire, gold, and a voice calling her name from beyond the stars.
Her room was dim, the candle beside her flickering weakly. As she exhaled, the flame bent toward her, trembling — as if bowing.
She rose and walked to the mirror.
For an instant, her reflection shimmered — not the simple healer she knew, but a goddess robed in silver and moonlight.
> "You should not have returned," a whisper echoed through her mind.
Lian Yue stumbled back, her eyes wide. "Who's there?"
But only silence answered.
Silence — and the soft hum of power beneath her skin, like the pulse of another life trying to awaken.
---
Above, Li Yun drew his celestial blade. The air split, flames curling around him like a crown.
"Summon the chariots," he commanded. "If the Moon rises again, I will face her myself."
The general bowed deeply. "And if the prophecy is true?"
Li Yun's voice was calm, but his heart thundered with something he hadn't felt in centuries — fear. Or was it longing?
"Then the stars will bow," he said, his gaze still locked on the moon. "Or burn."
---
Far beneath the blazing heavens, Lian Yue stepped out into the night. The red moon hung low, and the stars swirled as though dancing around her.
A gust of wind brushed her hair — warm, golden, and alive.
Somewhere, across realms, another heartbeat answered hers.
The Sun had found the Moon.
And eternity itself began to tremble.
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End of chapter one