chapter 60:The Otherworld — The Core of Truth

The light behind the gate was unbearable—brighter than a sun exploding in the heart of darkness. It lasted only a moment, but it felt like an eternity before Shao's eyes adjusted to the vision before him.

A world unlike any of the Nine Realms… it had no sky, only a dome of fractured mirrors reflecting endless faces—some of them were Shao's own, in various forms of fate. One was dead, another laughing madly, a third wore a crown of bones.

The air was heavy, as though it were a blend of dreams and memories. Every step in this place felt like walking through a thought rather than across solid ground.

Astyr whispered:

*"This is the Origin… the center of all universes… the Core of Truth the gods tried to bury."*

Shao replied as he gazed into the horizon:

*"And here… everything will be decided."*

They advanced further until they reached a circular platform suspended in the void. At its center sat a strange throne—not made of gold or iron, but of memories. It pulsed with light whenever one of them drew near, revealing visions from their past.

Shao appeared as a child, running through the fields, his mother calling out to him. Then he saw himself falling in his first battle. Then again, slaughtering his first corrupted god.

Suddenly, a radiant form manifested upon the throne.

Its body glowed, features shifting every second—man, woman, child, elder, even animal—until settling into the shape of a young girl with cosmic eyes.

She spoke, not aloud, but directly into their minds:

*"You who have crossed beyond all thresholds… what is it that you seek?"*

Shao responded without hesitation:

*"I seek to end the Curse of Blood… to free the realms from this endless spiral of ruin."*

The entity replied:

*"But the Curse of Blood is a safeguard… without it, balance collapses."*

Astyr stepped forward and asked:

*"Are we merely pawns on a divine board? Do we not deserve the right to choose our fate?"*

The being smiled, and then—suddenly—the light vanished, plunging the space into void.

They found themselves inside a massive chamber—a mirrored inversion of the Sky Temple. On the walls were inscribed every moment Shao chose life over annihilation, every instance he chose redemption over sacrifice.

Then came an ancient voice—the voice of the First Father, the original Bloodkeeper:

*"If you free the world from the blood, you will also free it from its protection… and the souls will fall into a bottomless abyss."*

Shao stood at the center of the vortex, his heart swaying between two destinies.

Then he whispered to himself:

*"But I am not like any other bearer of blood… I am the last… and the beginning."*

He raised his hand. His sword appeared like a flash of lightning—longer, heavier, yet purer.

And he stepped forward toward the core of truth.