Jason Wu had felt many kinds of pain in his life.
He'd been stabbed, crushed, thrown off cliffs, electrocuted by malfunctioning formations, punched by elders, used as test subject for Lily's "totally safe experimental talismans," and nearly bisected by the Butcher.
But the pain of absorbing the Defier's Source Fragment—
**—was something entirely different.**
It wasn't physical.
It wasn't spiritual.
It wasn't mental.
It was EVERYTHING at the same time.
Like his bones were being rewritten.
Like his blood was being boiled into new equations.
Like fate itself was screaming as he bent the rails it wanted him to follow.
He felt himself dissolving and solidifying in cycles, as if the universe couldn't decide whether or not he should exist.
Longwu Sword's voice trembled—not sarcastic, not arrogant, but genuinely alarmed.
*["Boy—FOCUS on holding yourself together! The fragment is testing your right to remain whole!"]*
Jason grit his teeth as the light around him pulsed violently.
"Working on it—!" he yelled through clenched teeth.
He couldn't see anything.
He couldn't feel his body.
Only the roaring, unending clash between **fate's will** and **his own**.
The energy surged suddenly—sharp as a blade—
And a voice thundered through the void:
**"UNAUTHORIZED DEVIATION DETECTED."**
Jason froze.
That wasn't his grandmother.
That wasn't Longwu.
That was the System.
The same voice he heard in the Termination Order chamber.
The same presence that had hunted the first Defiers.
Cold.
Mechanical.
Absolute.
**"CORRECTION PROTOCOL INITIATED."**
The void shattered.
Jason found himself floating in a pitch-black expanse—no ground, no sky, only infinite darkness and a single glowing thread extending from his chest.
It was delicate.
Thin.
Almost beautiful.
Longwu whispered sharply:
*["Jason Wu—DON'T LET THEM TOUCH THAT THREAD!"]*
Jason blinked. "Why? What is—"
The void rippled.
A colossal hand of pale blue light emerged from the abyss—massive, made of pure fate-force, descending toward the thread like a giant trying to snip a puppet's string.
Longwu's voice sharpened:
*["That thread is your life path. If they cut it, they rewrite you."]*
Jason's stomach twisted. "Rewrite me? As in—erase memories? Change my fate?"
*["As in,"*] Longwu corrected grimly, *["you become a docile NPC. A background extra in your own story."]*
Jason's blood ran cold.
"No. Absolutely not."
He tried to move—failed.
He had no body here.
Only will.
The giant hand closed in.
Jason screamed, "NO!"
His will surged like fire—
And the thread glowed red, reacting to his defiance.
The giant hand paused.
A second voice emerged—calmer, older, echoing with distorted layers:
**"Subject Jason Wu has exceeded deviation threshold."**
**"Initiate correction override."**
Jason felt something else awaken inside him.
A second force—not from fate.
Not from the system.
Not from any world.
It was raw.
Chaotic.
Ancient.
The Defier Source.
The orb he had just absorbed was no longer outside him.
It was him.
And it pulsed like a second beating heart.
Jason whispered, "No one decides my fate except me."
The red light exploded.
His thread thickened—splintering into dozens of branching lines.
The giant hand recoiled.
The system voice boomed:
**"UNSTABLE PATH DETECTED."**
**"UNAUTHORIZED MULTI-TRAJECTORY PROJECTION."**
Jason smirked despite the burning pain.
"Translation: You can't control me."
The system responded instantly—
**"ADJUSTING."**
The darkness tore open again.
This time, Jason found himself standing on an endless reflective surface—like a mirror lake stretching to infinity. The sky was white, too white, like the world had been erased and only the outline remained.
And in front of him—
A figure formed out of swirling white smoke.
Faceless.
Shapeless.
But human in outline.
And holding a blade made of pure fate-light.
Longwu hissed.
*["Oh brilliant. They sent a Correction Sentinel."]*
Jason frowned. "A what?"
*["A fate enforcer designed to prune deviations before they grow too big. One level below a Termination Agent."]*
Jason tensed. "So this thing is weaker than the Butcher?"
Longwu hesitated.
*["…Not exactly. It doesn't kill bodies."]*
*["It kills possibilities."]*
The Sentinel stepped forward silently.
Jason instinctively raised Longwu, who materialized in his hand even in this metaphysical plane.
The fate-blade and Longwu's edge met—
**CLANG!**
And the world cracked beneath them.
Jason was flung backwards, rolling across the reflective surface. The Sentinel didn't move from its spot.
Jason cursed. "It's strong!"
*["Of course it's strong! It's the administrator's favorite eraser tool!"]* Longwu shouted.
*["Hit it HARDER!"]*
The Sentinel lifted its blade again—no expression, no sound, only the intent to erase.
Jason forced himself to breathe.
"This is MY fate. Not yours."
He charged.
They clashed again—sparks of red and blue scattering across the blank world. Every strike sent reality distorting. Every block forced Jason's arms numb.
The Sentinel moved with terrifying precision:
Every slash meant to cut a branch of his possible futures.
Every thrust aimed at the thread of his lifespan.
Every counterattack poised to reduce his choices.
Jason felt the blade graze him—
Not his body, but his **existence**.
The hit erased a memory—
A small one, but still.
Jason gasped. "I—what—did I just forget—?"
Longwu barked:
*["IT REMOVED A TINY POSSIBILITY OF YOU LEARNING FIRE COOKING."]*
*["NOT IMPORTANT BUT STILL—STOP LETTING IT HIT YOU!"]*
Jason growled. "I WILL!"
He flung himself forward—
But the Sentinel vanished.
Jason froze. "Where—"
**SLASH.**
Pain not of flesh but fate tore across his chest.
A piece of his future peeled away like fragile paper.
Jason staggered. "Damn it—!"
The Sentinel appeared behind him, blade raised for a killing strike—
Longwu screamed:
*["BOY—NOW—UNLEASH IT!"]*
Jason felt the Defier Source pulse inside him—
A roar of red-black energy bursting from his heart.
He didn't know how to control it.
He didn't know how to direct it.
He only knew one thing—
He refused to let fate decide anything for him.
"GET AWAY FROM MY PATH!"
The energy exploded outward.
The Sentinel's blade shattered.
Its form flickered—first smooth, then jagged, then unstable.
For the first time—
It trembled.
Jason stepped forward, the red-black aura swirling like a storm around him.
"Listen carefully," he growled, voice echoing across the empty plane.
"I am Jason Wu."
"I don't kneel to fate."
"I don't kneel to systems."
"And I sure as hell don't kneel to something that doesn't even have a face."
The Sentinel froze.
Jason raised Longwu.
And slashed down.
The reflective world split apart as the Sentinel dissolved—shattering into white particles that evaporated like mist.
Jason collapsed to one knee, breathing harshly.
Longwu spoke softly now.
*["Boy… you just survived your first counterattack from destiny itself."]*
Jason exhaled.
"…Then destiny better get ready."
He stood.
"Because I'm not done fighting."
The void twisted again—
And Jason felt reality pulling him back to the real world.
But one whisper lingered behind.
A new voice.
Cold.
Familiar.
Watching.
**"So… the next Defier has awakened."**
Jason's eyes snapped open.
**Someone was waiting for him.**
Someone powerful.
Someone who was NOT supposed to exist in the Xuan World.
And the chapter ended.