**The Return Of Ancient Gods Return**

**Chapter 2: Echoes of the Divine**

The sun had barely risen when Huang Lin stepped outside his small wooden home. His father, an old man with calloused hands and a weary face, barely glanced at him as he prepared to head to the fields.

"Huang Lin! Don't stand there like a dreamer. Get to work!" he barked.

For a fleeting moment, Huang Lin hesitated. His father had raised him, provided for him, but something inside whispered that he did not belong in this life. He did not belong to this world of dirt and toil.

"Father… I—" Before he could speak, a sharp pain stabbed through his head, and visions flooded his sight.

A celestial palace bathed in golden light… A throne of jade and obsidian… The laughter of gods who once called him brother… Then, the sickening moment of betrayal. The bitterness of poisoned wine searing his throat. The twisted smiles of those who once stood beside him. 

Huang Lin fell to his knees, gasping. The memories were coming faster now, stronger, more vivid. He clutched his chest as a warmth spread outward, radiating from his core. The ground beneath him cracked slightly, trembling under an unseen force.

"Huang Lin? What are you doing?" His father's voice wavered, eyes wide with sudden fear.

Huang Lin exhaled, his breath misting unnaturally in the warm air. He turned his gaze skyward, where the clouds above twisted in strange, unnatural patterns. He could hear them—the gods. Their voices called from the heavens, warning of his awakening, fearing his return. 

A small smile played on his lips.

"They know," he whispered. "They know I am coming."

The age of mortals was ending.

The return of the ancient gods had begun.

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