Jason Wu had faced assassins, puppets, Observers, Administrators, corrupted constructs, cosmic algorithms, a Butcher, and even a future version of himself.
Nothing—and absolutely NOTHING—prepared him for the words:
"Your grandmother."
Jason froze mid-step.
Not emotionally.
Not mentally.
Physically.
As in his legs refused to move, his breath locked, and his brain simply threw an error screen.
"My WHAT—?!" he shouted again, voice breaking like a teenager learning his crush already had a boyfriend.
Older Jason didn't flinch.
Didn't repeat.
Just kept walking deeper into the twisted forest.
Jason chased after him.
"Hold on—wait—WAIT! I don't HAVE a grandmother!"
Older Jason didn't look back.
"That's what you were told."
Jason grabbed his arm.
Older Jason instantly pivoted, twisting Jason's wrist—not hard, but enough to remind him that experience beat youth every time.
Jason winced. "Stop doing that!"
"Then stop grabbing me."
Jason huffed.
Longwu chimed in.
*["Technically, boy, you DO have a grandmother. Everyone with a father usually does—unless you're born from cosmic fire, which admittedly would explain a lot."]*
Jason snapped, "NOT HELPING."
Older Jason sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Wow. Seeing himself do that was infuriating.
"Listen," Older Jason said, "we don't have time for an identity crisis."
"I'm HAVING ONE ANYWAY!" Jason shouted.
Older Jason looked unimpressed.
"Keep your voice down unless you want Phase Three tearing you in half."
Jason shut up immediately.
But he wasn't done.
"…My grandmother is dead," he insisted, quieter.
"My father said so."
Older Jason's jaw twitched—an emotion flickered, then vanished.
"He lied," he said simply.
Jason staggered as if pushed.
"What do you mean… he lied?"
Older Jason glanced at him, eyes sharp.
"Your father hid it from you for your safety. From the people in the sect. From the world. And from the ones who issued the Termination Order."
Jason felt his pulse thump through his palm.
Older Jason continued:
"She didn't die. She *disappeared*."
Jason swallowed.
"…disappeared where?"
Older Jason pointed forward.
Into the part of the forest that didn't look like a forest anymore.
The trees grew sideways instead of upward.
Roots twisted into spirals instead of digging into earth.
Time felt sluggish.
The wind bent around invisible shapes.
Jason whispered, "What… is this place?"
Older Jason answered:
"The Border of Dissolution. Where timelines that shouldn't touch… overlap."
Jason blinked.
"Wait—so this is—"
"Where erased worlds linger."
"Where broken branches drift."
"Where anomalies hide."
Jason's spine tingled.
"And she's in THERE?!"
"Yes."
Jason stared at the distorted treeline.
"…Is she trapped?"
Older Jason paused.
"No."
Jason breathed out in relief—
"She's hiding."
Jason choked on that relief.
"Hiding from WHO?!"
Older Jason didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he extended two fingers and touched a warped root—it rippled like water. Behind it, a faint crack in space hovered like a half-forgotten memory, faint enough to miss, heavy enough to crush anyone who approached without permission.
Longwu vibrated uneasily.
*["Boy… whatever is in there… it is older than the Administrators."]*
*["Older than the Observers."]*
*["…older than any presence we've sensed so far."]*
Jason's skin prickled.
"Older… like how old?"
Longwu groaned.
*["As in 'this realm wasn't done cooling after creation' old."]*
Jason nearly dropped the sword.
Older Jason glanced at him.
"Your grandmother wasn't just a warrior."
He stepped toward the distortion.
"She was the first anomaly."
"Before the First Defier."
"Before the Silent Protocol."
"Before the Termination System."
"Before the timeline grid even stabilized."
Jason gaped.
"You're telling me my grandmother is some kind of cosmic fugitive?!"
Older Jason shrugged.
"That's one way to put it."
Jason's jaw fell open.
Older Jason approached the distortion, placing his hand near a thread of light. The crack fluttered—but didn't open.
"She won't respond to me," Older Jason muttered. "She only reacts to the primary bloodline."
Jason frowned. "Primary? You're a Wu too."
"Yes," Older Jason said tiredly. "But I'm displaced. I'm a remnant. You're the original thread."
Jason blinked slowly.
"So I'm the real one… and you're like an echo."
Older Jason squinted.
"Call me that again and I'll throw you into the crack myself."
Jason shut up instantly.
Longwu wheezed.
*["I like him. He's direct."]*
Jason ignored them both and approached the distortion cautiously.
"Grandma?" he tried.
A soft hum rippled through the crack.
The air grew warm.
The forest bent inward.
Something old—ancient—turned its attention toward him for the first time.
Jason froze.
He couldn't see her.
Couldn't hear her.
But he felt something brush against his consciousness.
Female.
Sharp.
Ancient.
Fiercely alive.
Terrifying.
A voice whispered—
Not in his ears.
Not in his mind.
But in the space behind thought.
**"…Child…?"**
Jason's knees almost buckled.
Older Jason grabbed his shoulder, steadying him.
"Don't collapse," he muttered. "She hates weakness."
Jason swallowed hard.
"Noted."
The presence grew closer.
A silhouette flickered behind the crack—
a woman's outline, tall and lithe, hair flowing like a comet trail, her qi burning hotter than any Sect Master Jason had ever encountered.
Jason breathed, "She's—"
Older Jason finished.
"—the strongest person the Wu bloodline ever produced."
Jason's chest tightened.
Longwu whispered, voice steady for once.
*["…I remember her."]*
Jason's breath caught.
"What?"
Longwu vibrated, tone reverent.
*["I served three generations, boy."]*
*["I was forged under the hand of the First Defier."]*
*["But the FIRST hands that held me… were hers."]*
Jason's heart shook.
"My grandmother wielded Longwu… before ANYONE?"
*["Yes."]*
Jason felt dizzy.
Older Jason nodded.
"She's the one who created the first prototype of the Longwu resonance technique."
Jason's eyes widened.
"She's the one who taught the First Defier how to shatter fate."
Jason's pulse raced.
"She's the reason the Wu bloodline is considered a threat."
Jason's breathing stopped.
"And she's the reason they're trying to erase you."
Jason whispered:
"…Grandmother…"
The crack rippled harder.
The silhouette stepped closer.
And this time—
Jason heard her voice clearly.
**"…Come closer, child of my child… let me see what remains of our line…"**
Jason lifted his hand.
Older Jason grabbed his wrist.
"WAIT!"
Jason froze.
"What?"
Older Jason stared at him sharply.
"You don't understand."
"You don't just 'meet' her."
"You SURVIVE her."
"She tests everything."
"Your mind. Your flesh. Your fate. Your future."
"And she kills without hesitation if you don't meet her standard."
Jason stiffened.
"…She kills her own family?!"
Older Jason looked away.
"…She's killed more than that."
Jason's throat tightened.
"So she's dangerous."
Older Jason snorted.
"She's BEYOND dangerous."
Then he looked at Jason seriously.
"Once you step through…"
"—there is no guarantee you come back."
Jason felt a tremor inside his chest.
But something in him steadied.
He stepped forward anyway.
Older Jason hissed, "Jason—!"
Jason didn't turn around.
"She's my grandmother," he said softly.
"And I need answers."
"About Father."
"About the Termination Order."
"About why the Wu bloodline terrifies gods and ghosts and systems alike."
"About why the universe wants me dead."
His voice hardened.
"She's the only one who knows."
Older Jason didn't argue.
He just whispered:
"…Then go."
Jason took a deep breath.
Placed his hand on the edge of the crack.
Reality shivered.
Light pulled inward.
The crack widened—
And a hand reached out.
A woman's hand.
Strong.
Elegant.
Old as stars.
Cold as fate.
Jason could barely breathe.
The hand touched his cheek.
And a voice, low and ancient, whispered:
**"…You look just like him…"**
Jason's heart skipped.
"…Like who?"
The silhouette leaned closer.
**"…Your father."**
Jason's breath trembled.
Her fingers tightened slightly.
**"…Let me see what kind of child he left behind."**
Darkness surged around Jason.
Older Jason shouted—
"JASON!"
But it was too late.
The crack swallowed him whole.
The world snapped apart.
And Jason Wu vanished.