Heaven watched.
The sky above the Golden Rebirth Sect split open — not with clouds, but with divine wrath. Pillars of golden fire spiraled down, scorching the clouds, revealing an ethereal bridge from the upper realm. Every step of the bridge rang with judgment.
Van Thien Phong stood at the center of a blood-etched rune circle, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the celestial gate.
"So," he muttered, "they finally noticed."
Bạch Tiêu Nhiên clenched her fists, her heart thudding in her chest. "Is that... a Heavenly Descent Ritual?"
"No," Phong said calmly. "That's a death sentence."
From the divine light emerged a figure clad in white robes lined with heavenly runes. Wings made of light stretched behind him, and his voice thundered like the laws of creation.
"Van Thien Phong. By decree of the Celestial Tribunal, you are hereby condemned for defying fate, corrupting causality, and wounding the fabric of karma. Surrender."
Phong's eyes narrowed. "You talk like I asked for mercy."
The envoy's voice grew colder. "Do not resist. Your soul will be judged and erased."
"Judged by a system I was born to destroy?" Phong scoffed. "I don't think so."
He raised one hand—and the crimson ground beneath his feet erupted.
Dark chains of qi slithered out from the runes, linking to a colossal figure behind him: a serpent-shaped beast with thousands of ghostly faces embedded in its scales. Its scream shattered the sound barrier.
"You unsealed the Soul-Eater of the Abyss," the envoy hissed.
"I didn't unseal it," Phong corrected. "I recreated it."
---
The first blow came fast — faster than light, faster than time. A spear of pure law stabbed toward Phong's heart. He leaned back, dodging with uncanny ease, and countered with a crescent slash of soul fire.
The clash split the sky.
Heaven quaked. Mountains far away crumbled. Time twisted in fragments as divine laws met chaos incarnate.
Celestial Executioners joined the battle — dozens of them. They chanted in unison, creating a binding array to crush Phong in every dimension.
But as their golden chains tightened, Phong whispered, "Break."
And they shattered.
---
Memories surged through him—visions locked away for centuries.
Chains. A throne. Betrayal.
A woman with snow-white eyes whispering, "They feared your truth, Sovereign."
A brother, smiling with poisoned words.
And a divine spear — piercing his heart as the heavens cheered.
It wasn't the first time heaven tried to erase him.
But it would be the last.
---
The Soul-Eater roared behind him, swallowing angels whole. The battlefield became a graveyard of light.
Bạch Tiêu Nhiên tried to step forward but was pushed back by the sheer pressure. "He's... becoming something else."
Her voice trembled — not with fear, but awe.
---
A Timekeeper descended — an ancient one with a face like flowing sand. "Enough. His past ends now."
She raised her hand, freezing time around Phong.
Everything stopped.
Everything but him.
Van Thien Phong moved inside the frozen world, looking directly at the Timekeeper. "Nice trick. Too bad I've already devoured a piece of Eternity."
He appeared behind her, fingers coated in dark-blue stardust — and tapped her back.
Time shattered like glass.
---
Blood rained from the sky.
The envoy gasped, backing away. "You… you absorbed a fragment of the Eternal Hourglass…?"
Phong wiped a drop of blood from his cheek. "I didn't absorb it. I killed the one who did. And took what was mine."
He stabbed upward — and the envoy dissolved into heavenly dust, his scream echoing through every realm.
Silence followed.
Then—
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
---
A new figure emerged from a tear in the void — golden robes, silver mask, long dark hair flowing like shadow.
"I see you still enjoy your theatrics," the figure said.
Phong froze.
That voice.
He turned, slowly. "No…"
The figure removed his mask — revealing a face that mirrored his own.
"Hello, brother."
Bạch Tiêu Nhiên gasped. "Twin…?"
The man's smile was razor-thin. "Did you really think you were the only one marked by fate? The heavens always prepare a backup."
---
The tension thickened.
Van Thien Phong clenched his fists. "You betrayed me. You let them seal me. You stood there—"
"—And watched you fall? Yes," the twin interrupted, voice calm. "Because only one of us could survive. And only one could ascend."
The sky trembled again. A new gate opened behind the twin — not divine, but darker. Abyssal. Forbidden.
"I didn't come to fight you," he said. "I came to offer you a deal."
Phong's eyes narrowed.
"You and I. Together, we can rewrite the heavens."
"Or," the twin added, smiling cruelly, "we can destroy each other and let the gods feast on our corpses."
---
Silence.
Then Phong spoke.
"You're still the same arrogant bastard."
He raised his sword, pointing it at the man who shared his face.
"I choose war."
---
[End of Chapter 25]