The world didn't move.
It waited.
The platform of ancient stone suspended above embryonic clouds felt like it was holding its breath, refusing to pulse until Jason Wu gave an answer. The robed figure stood before him, calm and still—too still—like a statue sculpted at the dawn of creation.
Behind him, the fractured reflection hovered in the air like a sheet of broken sky… showing a woman.
His mother.
Not a blur.Not a suggestion.Not a dream.
She was there.
Her hair floated faintly, touched by wind from a world Jason didn't recognize. Her expression was soft, almost melancholy. And her hand—her hand—reached through the torn reflection like she was close enough to touch him.
Jason's breath trembled.
"…Mother?"
The robed figure watched, voice steady.
"The past calls you.Will you answer?"
Jason took a half-step forward, unable to stop himself.
Longwu Sword vibrated sharply in his hand.
["Jason. Don't move."]
Jason swallowed. "Longwu, I… I can't ignore this. That's—she's—"
["No. That is an invitation.Not your mother."]
Jason clenched his jaw. "It's her face. Her voice. How can you be so sure—"
Longwu cut him off.
["Because real mothers don't stand behind reality fractures waiting to lure their children into unknown voids, Jason! Use your brain!"]
Jason winced. "Okay—good point—but what if it is really her? What if she's trying to reach me? What if she's trapped somewhere—"
The robed figure lifted his hand lightly.
Instantly, the fractured mirror brightened.
Jason's mother's eyes shimmered with warmth.
Her lips parted—
"Ja—"
Jason stepped forward unconsciously.
Longwu screeched.
["JASON IF YOU TAKE ONE MORE STEP I AM BITING YOUR FINGERS MYSELF—"]
Jason snapped, "You don't even have teeth—!"
["I WILL FIND SOME!"]
The robed figure chuckled softly behind his hood.
"Even now, you hesitate.Half of you reaches forward.Half clings to survival."
Jason's voice cracked.
"You… you expect me to ignore her? Ignore the only hint of who she is? I've spent my whole life knowing NOTHING about her!"
The air trembled.
"…Correct."
Jason blinked at him.
"What?"
"You know nothing.Because she wanted it that way."
Jason's heart pounded.
Longwu whispered softly—different from his usual sarcastic tone.
["Jason.Listen."]
The robed figure paced slowly, hands behind his back, movements elegant like flowing ink.
"Your mother severed her fate.You saw the shard.You felt the mark."
Jason swallowed.
"…Yeah."
"Then surely you understand what that means."
Jason's eyes narrowed.
"…it means she made a choice."
"Yes."A faint smile tugged beneath the hood."But not for you."
Jason froze.
"What did you say?"
The figure's voice lowered—gentle yet sharp like a blade wrapped in silk.
"Your existence is not the reason she severed her fate.You are merely a result."
Jason felt something cold crawl up his spine.
Longwu went stiff.
Jason clenched Longwu tighter.
"What do you mean? Speak clearly."
The figure tilted his head.
"If she had wanted you.If you were her purpose.You would not have been abandoned."
Jason's breath stuttered.
A flash of anger and confusion mixed in his chest like a chaotic storm.
"You—don't know anything about her."
"I know more than you."He stepped closer."More than you can handle."
Jason's teeth ground together.
"Stop talking like you know my life. Who the hell are you to judge—"
"I am not judging.I am informing."
The fractured mirror behind him pulsed.
Jason's mother's silhouette leaned closer to the crack.
He felt his chest squeeze painfully.
"Mother…?"
This time—her voice came through clearly.
"Jason…"
He staggered.
Longwu whispered:
["Jason. THINK. Real voices don't echo wrong.This one… flickers."]
Jason trembled.
He looked at the robed figure.
"You gave me a choice. So choose your next words carefully."
The robed figure stopped pacing.Turned toward Jason fully.
And for the first time—Jason felt something leak out from beneath the hood.
Not killing intent.Not malice.Not superiority.
But memory.
Old.Heavy.Painful.
"Very well."
He raised his hand.
The sky cracked open again—showing the moment Jason had nearly died in the Realm That Should Not Exist. The faceless versions. The chaos. The pull.
"You were not supposed to survive that."
Jason gritted his teeth. "Yeah, heard that a hundred times now."
"But she survived her own."
Jason froze.
Longwu stilled completely.
["…What did he just say?"]
Jason's voice dropped.
"My mother… survived a Severance?"
"She did more than survive."The robed figure's tone deepened."She created one."
Jason's world tilted.
"…created…?"
"She cut the fate of another.Not her own."
Jason's heart nearly stopped.
Longwu choked.
["J-Jason… your mother didn't sever herself.She severed SOMEONE ELSE."]
Jason stared, unable to breathe.
"That's… that's illegal. That's impossible. That's—"
The robed figure finished calmly:
"That is what made her dangerous."
Jason nearly dropped Longwu.
He forced his voice out.
"What does any of this have to do with me?!"
The figure lifted his palm again—a tendril of glowing thread rose from Jason's chest—
Not red.Not gold.
But black.
Jason gasped.
"What—what is that?!"
"A remnant."The robed figure's tone darkened."Of the fate she severed."
Jason stumbled backward.
Longwu trembled.
["Jason… that's NOT normal. Fate remnants don't pass down bloodlines—"]
The robed figure raised another finger.
"Unless the child was inside the mother when the severance occurred."
Jason's blood turned to ice.
"…N-no. No, you—you're saying—"
"You were touched by severance before you were born."
Silence crashed down.
Jason felt faint.
He clutched his chest, panting.
"Then—why are you showing me her? Why this choice? What does wanting to know her even matter if you're saying she—she—"
His voice broke.
The robed figure finally explained—
"…Because chasing her will lead you down her path."
Jason blinked.
His stomach twisted.
"…her path?"
"A path of severing others' destinies."
The mirror behind him cracked further.
Jason saw glimpses—
A silhouette cutting threads.A shadow walking through worlds.A figure whose hands glowed with severed fates.
Jason whispered, horrified:
"No…No, that can't be her.My mother wasn't—she wouldn't—"
The figure replied softly:
"She did.And if you chase her…you will learn HOW to do the same."
Jason's heart pounded painfully.
Longwu whispered cautiously:
["Jason… this is the real choice.Not 'mother or future.'It's 'what kind of power will you inherit.'"]
Jason swallowed.
"What happens… if I turn away?"
The figure smiled faintly.
"You follow the path you began the day you refused to kneel."
Jason blinked.
"…Severing my own fate."
"Correct."
"And if I chase her—"
"You learn to sever the fate of others."
Jason felt like the world spun under his feet.
The fractured sky glowed.
His mother's silhouette reached toward him again—
Soft. Gentle. Beautiful.
Jason felt tears sting his eyes.
Longwu whispered:
["Jason.Whatever choice you make… I'll follow you.But choose as yourself.Not as a desperate son."]
Jason wiped his face.
He looked at Longwu.
He looked at the mirror.
Then at the robed figure.
The figure folded his hands.
"Jason Wu.Choose."
Jason's breath trembled.
He took a single step—
Not forward.Not backward.
But sideways.
Between the two paths.
The figure blinked.
"…What are you doing?"
Jason's voice came out raw but steady.
"I'm tired of people giving me two choices and acting like that's the whole world."
He drew Longwu.
The sword hummed bright.
Jason pointed it at the mirror.
Then at the figure.
Then at the sky itself.
"I refuse both."
The figure stiffened.
"Jason Wu—"
Jason roared:
"I'll find my mother—BUT I won't become her.And I'll carve my future—BUT not the one fate wants."
He raised Longwu high.
Energy crackled around him.
"If those paths split the sky—then I'll make a third one."
The platform shook.
The clouds swirled violently.
The robed figure whispered:
"…The Third Severance."
Jason's aura exploded.
Longwu screamed with pride:
["THAT'S MY BOY—BREAK THE WHOLE DAMN SKY IF YOU WANT!"]
Jason pointed his sword upward.
"MY CHOICE—IS TO CREATE MY OWN PATH."
He struck.
The sky split open.
Literally.
A massive crack tore across the heavens like a streak of midnight lightning.The entire Origin Layer trembled.Clouds scattered.Fragments of star-seeds drifted upward like molten embers.
The robed figure whispered, stunned:
"Impossible…A mortal…created a new fate-line…"
Jason dropped to one knee, gasping—but smiling.
This was his choice.
Not past.Not future.
His.
Then—
A new sound emerged.
A deep, ancient rumble—
From the crack Jason had created.
The figure's mask of calm shattered.
"No—NO—THAT PATH WAS SEALED FOR A REASON—"
Jason looked up weakly.
"W…what…?"
Longwu's voice dropped.
Terrified.
["J-Jason…Something… is coming through the crack…"]
And from the shattering sky—a silhouette stepped out.
Tall.Human-shaped.But its presence was wrong—wrong enough to choke the air.
The figure whispered:
"…Jason Wu."
Jason froze.
He knew that voice.
Every bone in his body recognized it.
Longwu trembled.
["…Jason… that's—"]
Jason whispered:
"…Father?"