Chapter 137 – Echoes Across Divinity

The Obsidian Sky was still unraveling when the first tremors hit the divine courts.

Across the Flame Court's inner sanctum, oracles collapsed in unison—eyes bleeding fire, tongues spouting contradictions. The divine map fractured down the center, splitting timelines the court had long kept shackled.

"He unmade a future," the High Flame Chancellor whispered. "One we buried under ten thousand layers of fate."

The God of Calculated Ash rose from his scorched throne. "The Vault of Echoing Time is no longer silent. He is invoking the old paths—the raw paths."

"And the Spiral Relic responded," murmured the Seer of the Second Spark, her voice hollow. "We are no longer dealing with rebellion. He is rewriting possibility itself."

They turned to the artifact pulsing in the center of the chamber—once dormant, now glowing red.

The Flame Court wasn't panicking.

They were preparing.

Far beyond, in the Skyshard Citadel of the Luminous Court, divine architects paused their endless scripting of the stars. One scribe gasped as the threads of a dozen converging prophecies unraveled in her hands.

"The Beast is gone," she breathed.

An old god of clarity spoke then, calmly but with dread. "This is what happens when you ignore the threads woven in shadow. They always find new weavers."

The Luminous Queen narrowed her eyes toward the broken sky. "Chen Ming now walks the untrodden road. We must decide if we fight him—or follow."

Even deeper still, within the Sealed Chambers of the Obsidian Court—those who once called Chen ally—watched in silence.

"He's accelerating," the Pale Empress said, her voice like falling ash. "At this rate, he'll reach the Heart Beyond Time before the war can even fully begin."

One of the old warlords grimaced. "He moves like a flame through history. But flames are hard to follow. Harder to control."

"Then don't control him," said a young voice, one of the last-born gods of dusk. "Let him burn what needs burning."

Back in the Spiral's ruins, Chen's group stood atop a floating relic platform, watching the horizon shift. The air still shimmered with fragmented timelines—and somewhere in the silence, Chen swore he heard the gods arguing.

"Not just angry," Sarina muttered. "They're scared."

Mei tilted her head. "Because we won?"

"No," Ye Yue said, her eyes still glowing faintly with mirrorlight. "Because we changed the rules. They're used to dominion, to conflict—but not improvisation. We just did something they didn't predict."

Lanmei cracked her knuckles. "So… what's next?"

Chen rose slowly, his breath steady despite the drain.

"We move before they can settle. While they scramble for control, we keep burning the old pathways down. One strike at a time."

A new map unfurled between them—built from the remnants of the Spiral and pieces of the relics they'd claimed.

The Heart Beyond Time, the Chains of Judgment, and the Temple of Final Order—all waited.

But first, they'd need allies.

And perhaps… more than just mortal courage.