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THE LEGEND OF NEZHA
A Lumina Whispers Retelling
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Part II — The Fury of the Dragon
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The night did not end when the child came.
It changed.
Beneath the stillness, something ancient opened its eyes.
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The rain grew colder — sharper — falling not as water but as silver needles that hissed against the earth. The sea beyond Chentang Pass rose in walls, as though a god's hand stirred its depths.
Far below, in the abyssal depths, something ancient woke.
The East Sea Dragon King, Ao Guang, opened his eyes. His mane of scales shimmered with lightning, his coils twisting through coral palaces and ruined ships. He had felt the thunder split not only sky — but fate.
"A mortal womb dares to birth a star?"
His voice rolled through the ocean like a collapsing mountain.
"If Heaven remains silent, then I shall answer in its stead."
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Above, Li Jing held the glowing child in trembling arms.
Nezha's body was small — warm as sunlight, impossibly light — yet every breath he took made the air ripple, every heartbeat made the flame-lamps bend.
Madam Yin wept with joy and fear alike.
Li Jing did not speak. He looked out the window — toward the storm-churned sea — and for the briefest moment, thought he saw eyes staring back from beneath the waves.
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The next morning, the storm was gone.
No bird sang. No wave dared to touch the shore.
But deep beneath that still sea, the Dragon King stirred, his fury bound in silence — for now.
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And thus, Heaven's balance had tilted.
A mortal house now cradled a god's mistake.
The child of thunder slept, unaware that his birth had already drawn the gaze of kings, spirits, and immortals alike.
The first act of defiance against Heaven had been written — not in blood, but in light.
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END OF CHAPTER I: BIRTH OF THE STORM CHILD
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