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Chapter 19 - Chapter 19 – "Ruins of Azure Crown"

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The journey east took two days through scorched mountains and corrupted fields.

Li Tianming walked alone, wrapped in a tattered cloak, blade across his back, Chaos Eye partially sealed to avoid detection.

But the system still pinged every hour.

> [Host Trail: Being Tracked]

[5 Surveillance Pings Detected – Origin Unknown]

[Recommended Action: Temporal Concealment Unavailable]

> "Let them watch," Tianming muttered. "They'll find nothing but ash."

By the time he reached the edge of the Azure Crown zone, stormclouds had already begun to spiral above — glowing with soullight and electric red thunder.

What once floated high above the world was now collapsed into the earth like a meteor crater.

Steel towers twisted sideways.

Temple spires lay broken.

The Crown itself — a golden disc once suspended in orbit — now hung half-buried in black stone, humming like a dying engine.

> [Welcome to Azure Crown – Chaos Cataclysm Site #07]

[Threat Level: Relic Class]

[Detected: Residual Divine Energy]

[Target: Chaos Memory Core II – Location Unknown]

Tianming stepped into the ruins.

Immediately, the air changed.

He heard voices. Echoes.

> "It's burning—"

"Don't touch the mirror—"

"The Crown is bleeding—"

"I don't want to become one of them—"

His Chaos Eye pulsed. A memory unfolded.

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[Flashback – 411 Years Before]

The Azure Crown stood whole, bathed in morning gold. Skyborn cultivators flew between floating pagodas. Aerial libraries, cultivation domes, and celestial spirit pools all shimmered with light.

In the center — a glass palace. Inside it, the first God Mirror spun above a black altar.

A young man stood before it — long silver hair, robes of pure light. He raised a hand, and the mirror showed...

Li Tianming.

> "He is the fracture," the man whispered.

"The one who escaped deletion. We must seal the Crown before he reaches it."

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[Present – Azure Crown Ruins]

Tianming snapped back to reality — gasping.

> "They saw me before I was born…"

The Chaos Eye pulsed again — sensing something alive deeper in the ruins.

He followed the pull through broken shrines and fallen reactors, into a spiral descent beneath the Crown's main platform.

The air grew colder.

The system pinged again.

> [Divine Artifact Detected: God Mirror Frame – Broken]

[Chaos Memory Core II Located – 184 meters below]

[Warning: Area guarded by Sub-Divine Entity]

A faint, melodic hum echoed through the corridor.

Tianming stepped into a chamber of shattered glass and bone.

Floating in the center was a humanoid figure — slender, ageless, with a crown of crystal vines around its head and no face. Its body flickered like data-glitch, phasing in and out of visibility.

It spoke without words — its voice felt like memory.

> "You're not him.

But you carry his breath."

Tianming raised his blade.

> "Who are you?"

> "I am what remains of the Skyborn King.

I chose to guard the second Core.

And now… I must judge you."

Without warning, it attacked.

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Boss Battle: The Skyborn Echo

The entity's fingers snapped — and the mirror shards on the walls came alive, forming six mirror-clones of Tianming with warped features, each wielding a twisted version of his sword.

> [Skill: Mirrorbind – Clone your target's worst intentions and give them form.]

Tianming moved fast — slicing through the first clone with Echo Pulse, disrupting its soul.

The second stabbed him — but he deflected it using Reflective Dissonance, forcing the attack back at double force.

> [Remaining Clones: 4]

The entity flew forward, it

..

Ye...,s body trailing glitch-light, and struck Tianming with a touch to the forehead.

And suddenly —

Tianming was somewhere else.

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[Mind-Field Triggered]

He was back in the Dragon Empire's lab.

Only this time — he wasn't in the pod.

He was outside it. Watching.

And inside the pod...

Was Yue'er.

She looked terrified.

He watched as scientists engraved a fake Chaos Seal onto her soul — a seal meant to link her fate with his. Not out of love. Out of control.

> "She was never chosen," a voice said behind him.

"She was programmed to love you."

He turned.

It was the Skyborn King — wearing a human face now.

> "How much of your heart is real?"

"How much of you is still you, Chaos Lord?"

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[Back – Azure Crown: Real World]

Tianming roared — slicing through the final two clones with a soul-empowered strike that left his blade glowing blue.

The King stumbled back — phasing rapidly — and for a moment, smiled.

> "Good.

You still fight for your own mind."

It crumbled into light.

And at the chamber's core, a black shard floated.

> [Chaos Memory Core II: Secured]

[Trait Unlock Available: Choose one]

🔹 Option 1: "True Chaos Vision" – Expand Chaos Eye to view alternate decisions in real-time (Combat Prediction +15%)

🔹 Option 2: "Bloodline Override" – Gain 1 random trait from a defeated enemy per day (low chance)

Tianming whispered:

> "Give me both."

> [Access Denied. One Only.]

He clenched his fists.

Then selected: Bloodline Override.

> [Trait Gained: Kuro-Yue's Memory Leech – Partial]

[New Skill: Soul Thread – Steal and anchor up to 3 memories from an enemy per battle]

[Warning: Thread may cause emotional feedback]

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[Far Above – Dominion Sky Vault]

The Empress of Chains stood in her glass temple, staring at the dark horizon.

> "He's unlocked two memories.

And now he remembers Yue'er."

She turned to her masked generals.

> "Send the Leviathan Host.

And tell the Architects…"

> "The game is ending early."

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