The stars above the Heavenly Sky Sect were wrong.
Not visibly.
Not to the elders. Not even to the watchers on the peaks or the core disciples still whispering Wang Lin's name like it was half a curse, half a prophecy.
But to him?
They felt… closer.
Like something on the other side of the sky was no longer just watching.
It was listening.
Wang Lin sat alone on the top of a broken pillar where Pavilion Seventeen had once stood, the egg resting against his chest in a bed of coiled blue Qi. It no longer shimmered gold. It no longer pulsed like a heartbeat.
Now it breathed.
Each inhale subtle. Each exhale carrying motes of light that drifted upward and disappeared into the air.
It had slept for three days.
But that night, under a sky where stars refused to twinkle—
It opened its eye.
Just one.
Wang Lin didn't move.
The surface of the egg split ever so slightly. Not cracked — opened — revealing a glowing, slitted pupil that stared directly at him.
And in that instant—
"Wang Lin."
His breath caught.
Because Long Shan's voice didn't come as a suggestion or a warning this time.
It came as a revelation.
"I know what it is."
He looked down, gaze narrowing. "Say it."
"The egg's true species… its essence… has been hidden behind a spiritual cipher embedded within your bloodline's ancestral code.
But after the hatch pulse… I accessed it."
"It is a Dragon."
Wang Lin didn't blink. "I already knew that."
| "Not Celestial.
Not Flame, not Ice, not Earthbound, not Skyborne.
This… is different." |*
The air around him thickened. The stars pulsed. The egg hummed louder now, heat radiating up his arm.
| "Species: VOID DRAGON.
Name: Unknown.
Status: Dormant Phase II.
Classification: Proto-Primordial Entity.
Bloodlink: Wang Lin (Anchor Point Confirmed)." |**
Wang Lin said nothing.
He just listened.
| "The Void Dragon is not born in realms like this. It's a creature from outside the celestial cycle. Outside reincarnation. Outside karma.
It is not deathless. It is not immortal.
It is simply… uncounted." |*
The egg let out a low, spiritual vibration.
A whisper.
A hum.
A promise.
"Its traits will manifest in you as it evolves. But even now…"
Wang Lin's palm pulsed once with deep, violet energy — a color that had no place in this realm. It flickered along his wrist before fading.
"…It's feeding me power."
"Yes. And through you… it's beginning to exist."
"Why me?"
"Because your bloodline is broken."
Wang Lin froze.
"…Say that again."
"You're a Celestial Dragon without a complete inheritance.
You are… a fracture of what was."
And the Void Dragon found in you a shape it could fill."
The egg closed its eye.
Its glow dimmed.
But it didn't sleep.
Wang Lin stood slowly.
And as he did, the earth trembled slightly beneath his feet.
In the far distance, at the edge of the forbidden northern range, a pillar of black light erupted skyward — unseen by most, but unmistakable to those who felt such things.
"The hatching triggered a response."
"From what?"
"Something old.
Something hungry.
Something that heard the Void's cry."
Wang Lin summoned his robe, tightening the belt across his chest.
"I'll go."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"Then let me walk with you."
He touched the egg gently.
It vanished into his spiritual inventory — sealed, anchored, and silent once again.
Then he turned.
And walked toward the darkness.
Across the mountains, elders gathered.
"Where did the energy spike go?"
"North. Into the Forgotten Ring."
"The cursed land?"
"No longer cursed," one whispered. "Now claimed."
And none dared follow.
Not yet.
Not without permission.
Wang Lin reached the edge of the forest by dusk.
The air was already heavier.
His heartbeat slower.
Every tree leaned away from the path forward.
"Void," he whispered to the egg sealed inside him, "show me what comes next."
The earth cracked beneath his footstep.
From the shadows ahead, something crawled out.
Massive.
Clawed.
Eyes blind but still searching.
It wasn't a beast.
It was a test.
"It's made of broken karma.
The hatching called it.
Destroy it… and you awaken your first Void Trait."
Wang Lin raised his palm.
Blue light flickered.
Then turned violet.
He took one step forward, eyes cold.
And said four words:
"Then I will break it."