Darkness.
Silence.
Only the sound of his heartbeat—heavy, pounding like war drums inside his chest.
Li Shen stood at the center of a void. Half the sky was blinding golden light, the other half swallowed by an endless abyss of shadow. The boundary between them trembled violently, as though the world itself rejected their coexistence.
From the light, a figure emerged—his own likeness, but with radiant golden eyes, calm as a deity, his body glowing with sacred brilliance.
From the darkness, another figure stepped forward—again his reflection, but with burning crimson eyes, a twisted smile, and shadows writhing around him, whispering in a thousand demonic tongues.
Both spoke at once, their voices cutting into his bones:
"Choose me."
"Choose me."
Li Shen staggered. His chest felt as though crushed by two colossal hands. His Qi rioted, blood trickling down his lips. This was no illusion—if he gave in, his soul would shatter, his body erased within the altar's glow.
The light spoke softly, like a prayer:
"Without me, you are nothing but a devil. With me, you will protect everyone. You will save this world."
The darkness laughed, a hoarse, poisonous sound:
"Lies! The world needs no savior. The world only bows to power. With me, you can crush those who trample you. You will rule, not serve!"
Li Shen clenched his teeth, ears ringing, his body nearly torn apart by their pull. But in the haze of pain, memories clawed their way forward:
—Himself, scorned as a traitor's child.
—Disciples calling him a curse.
—The moment he swore never to kneel before fate.
His fists tightened. Slowly, he opened his eyes, fire burning within them.
"I… am no one's puppet," he whispered.
The figure of light stepped closer, its sacred aura pressing like a mountain.
"Without me, you will lose yourself. You must choose the light, Li Shen."
The figure of darkness loomed, its aura gnawing at the air.
"And without me, you will be nothing but a fragile flame, easily snuffed out. Choose the darkness, Li Shen."
Li Shen lowered his head. His body trembled violently, as if he were about to collapse.
Then, he laughed. Soft at first, then louder, until his laughter roared across the void.
The two figures froze, anger twisting their faces.
"What's so funny?" the shadow snarled.
"What blinds you from the sacred path?" the light demanded.
Li Shen straightened, his gaze sharp, unwavering.
"You… both of you… are the same. You both want chains around my neck. You both want to make me a tool. I'm done being a slave to destiny."
He lifted his hands. His left blazed with golden light, his right writhed in pitch-black shadow. The two forces trembled violently, rejecting one another, threatening to rip him apart from within.
"If the world only knows light and darkness… then I will forge a third path."
His body cracked, blood pouring from his mouth. Pain beyond imagination tore through every nerve. Yet Li Shen did not falter. He roared—not from agony, but from unshakable resolve.
"I AM LI SHEN!"
His cry shook the void. Light and darkness wavered, intimidated by the force of his will.
The figure of light shrieked, its face shattering like glass.
The figure of darkness bellowed, its body exploding into smoke.
Both tried to devour him, to claim him as theirs. But Li Shen grasped both powers in his hands, dragging them into his core.
A blinding explosion erupted. Boom!
The void fractured. Rifts of light split the heavens, chasms of shadow tore the ground. Li Shen stood amidst the storm, body nearly destroyed—yet his eyes remained open, fixed forward.
Then, the impossible happened.
Light and darkness no longer repelled. They swirled together, merging into a spiraling force within him. A new aura was born—not pure light, not absolute darkness, but a fragile, trembling harmony of both.
Li Shen collapsed to his knees, panting, blood dripping from his chin. Yet a faint smile tugged at his lips.
"At last… the voices are gone."
Yes. For the first time since the awakening of his powers, the whispers vanished. No commands, no chains—only silence, and a power that was truly his.
From the altar, a voice thundered, ancient and filled with awe:
"Three paths revealed, yet only one dares to forge his own.
You, heir of the void, have stepped into a new destiny.
The world shall know you… as the Void Emperor."
Li Shen closed his eyes, letting the words sink into his soul. He knew—this was only the beginning. Greater trials awaited him. But now, he no longer walked with alien whispers at his ears.
He walked his own path.
When he rose once more, the void trembled.
Beneath his feet, a new road stretched forward—empty, untrodden.
A road that belonged to him alone.