The abyss folded.
Reality did not shatter so much as rearrange. There was no sensation of speed, no feeling of crossing distance. There was only a moment where the concept of 'where' became irrelevant.
Then...
Everything returned at once.
Sound crashed into him first. Not a single noise, but thousands layered together. War cries, roaring beasts, clashing metal, chanting, thunderous proclamations that carried the weight of law and authority. Heat followed, dry and oppressive, infused with the scent of incense, blood, and scorched stone.
Jin Huang stumbled forward out of the rift and barely managed to keep his footing.
The ground beneath him was solid, cracked black stone etched with infernal sigils- many of them fractured, flickering weakly as if damaged by recent impacts. He looked down, then slowly lifted his head.
His breath caught.
Hell stretched before him. Not an imagined hell. Not a symbolic one.
This was the Hell described in old scriptures and forbidden texts- a vast realm of layered palaces forged from black jade and obsidian, suspended over seas of fire and punishment. Colossal bridges spanned chasms filled with molten light. Towers carved with judgment scripts rose endlessly into a crimson sky, where clouds churned like wounded flesh.
And it was not at peace. Hell was at war.
Legions clashed across the plains, armored spirits marching in disciplined ranks, demonic beasts charging beneath banners woven from shadow and bone. Celestial soldiers descended from above in formations of radiant light, their presence burning against the infernal air.
Above them all, immortals streaked across the battlefield, each movement bending space and leaving scars behind that were no different from the rift he had come through, only slightly smaller.
Jin Huang stood very still.
"Is this real?" he whispered, not daring to move.
A thunderous crack split the sky.
There was no lightning, but the sight of space itself being torn open as a miniature rift bloomed high above the battlefield, its edges flashing white. Something was hurled out of it- a massive demon general, screaming curses before a descending spear of golden light pierced through it mid-air.
The spear did not slow. It tore through palaces, shattered layers of hellstone, and finally embedded itself deep into the ground far below, leaving a glowing trench in its wake.
Jin Huang's legs felt weak.
At the heart of the battlefield, where the sky warped and distance seemed optional, two figures faced one another.
One stood upon a cloud of divine radiance, clad in resplendent armor that reflected the burning sky. A third eye blazed open on his forehead, shining with merciless clarity. In his grasp was a three-pointed spear that hummed with restrained destruction.
Erlang Shen.
The name rose unbidden in Jin Huang's mind, as if it had always been there.
Opposite him stood a throne of black jade and shadow, upon which sat a towering figure crowned with infernal authority. Chains of law and karma draped from his shoulders, each link inscribed with glowing characters of judgment.
King Yama. The ruler of this Hell.
Their voices rolled across the battlefield like proclamations carved into reality itself.
"You cannot hide it from me, Yama!" Erlang Shen declared, his voice fracturing the air. "The Supreme Immortal Body does not simply vanish!"
King Yama rose slowly from his throne, the motion alone sending shockwaves across the realm.
"You accuse me of falsehood?" Yama thundered. "I have told you time and again, Erlang, the last inheritor of the Supreme Immortal Body died as per the machinations of Heaven. If there is another, then I do not know where."
Erlang Shen's third eye flared.
"You dare lie to me!?"
He brought his spear down. A floating pavilion- ornate and ancient, suspended above a sea of punishment, was struck by divine force. For a heartbeat, Jin Huang felt two opposing systems of reality collide.
Then the pavilion ceased to exist as space collapsed inward.
White-veined rifts exploded outward from the impact, tearing through Hell like fractures in glass. One such rift tore open not far from where Jin Huang stood, the same design, the same pulsing veins as the one behind him.
Jin Huang turned sharply.
The rift he had come through was still there, quiet and stable.
Unnoticed. No one had looked his way.
No immortal's gaze lingered. No demon reacted. Even as chaos reigned, Jin Huang stood in a pocket of impossible irrelevance, as though the world had simply… refused to acknowledge him.
King Yama raised a hand, black law-characters spiraling around his fingers.
"The Supreme Immortal Body is lost, Erlang!" he proclaimed. "Heaven has ended its lineage."
Erlang Shen's spear shifted.
"Every Dao leaves a trace," he said coldly. "Every body casts a shadow."
For just a moment, his third eye turned toward Jin Huang, not looking at him, but past him.
Jin Huang felt something brush against his existence. An immense pressure that peeled at layers he didn't know he had. His golden energy reacted instantly, drawing inward, compressing, hiding itself so completely it nearly vanished.
The pressure passed.
Erlang Shen frowned slightly. "Odd."
King Yama remained resolute, paying Erlang's distraction no mind.
The battlefield roared on.
Jin Huang stood frozen, heart hammering, golden energy circulating quietly within him.
He did not know where he was, nor did he know why he felt terrified at the thought of Erlang Shen looking at him.
He only knew that Hell itself was being torn apart, immortals were arguing over a body he had never heard of, and somehow- somehow- he had arrived in the middle of it all.
"…I really," he whispered hoarsely, "should not be here."
Behind him, the rift pulsed softly, as if reminding him that he could run at any time.
However, as he started to consider it, there was a pulsation so profound that it seemed to have come from everywhere all at once. Ever soldier of heaven, every warrior of hell, every iota of space, reality and time resonated with that pulse, and then everything in Jin Huang's sight lost color.
Then, it all came to a grinding halt. Everything stopped, and the feeling of danger vanished. Jin Huang stood in awe, confused for only a moment before he smelled something that made him forget he was confused.
"There it is again..." he said, intoxication in his voice.
He looked around, sniffed at the still air, but could not determine where he needed to go to get closer to that scent.
He did not notice someone moving amidst the countless legions of motionless bodies.
He did not notice King Yama descend from his throne and start approaching him. Not until the towering figure was already upon him. Jin Huang stiffened, but his nose did not stop twitching.
He realized in that moment that the scent was coming from King Yama himself. The man was staring at him with ghostly eyes, but eyes that also seemed to see everything there was to see.
"You are lucky I noticed your arrival," the man's voice, softer now, still boomed and echoed throughout Hell.
Jin Huang gulped. "Lord King Yama Sir, I am sorry to have inconvenienced you," he said as he bowed his head.
With a voluminous chuckle, King Yama landed, looking down at Jin Huang with amused eyes. "Do you know where you are?
"Yes, great lord king-"
"Just King Yama is fine."
"Ah- Yes, King Yama. This is the beautiful and amazing realm of Hell." Jin Huang bowed again, sucking up as best as he could.
"My apologies. What I meant to ask was... do you know when you are?" King Yama smiled.
Jin Huang paused, confused at the question as he looked around at place frozen in time. "No... I assumed..."
King Yama looked at the motionless rift behind Jin Huang as understanding filled his eyes. "Erlang Shen struck this pavilion, and his attack tore through space and time. That rift you came through... I understand now."
Jin Huang gulped again, looking up and waiting for King Yama to continue.
"I assumed you had come from the past when I sensed you at first. I truly believed that you had vanished from the world for good. Never would I have thought..."
King Yama knelt down, getting as low as he could before he... kowtowed!
Jin Huang's jaw agape, he hurriedly threw his arms up to stop King Yama from debasing himself, but the giant being continued speaking with his forehead pressed against the ground.
"Never would I have thought that the Supreme Immortal Body would still exist in the future. It is an honor to see you again."