I AM the Progenitor
Sometimes, life is not merely unfair—it is a beautiful, fragile dream, and the gods are careless sleepers. One moment, I was counting the seconds until meditation ended, my greatest concern the arrival of the next batch of candied hawthorns for my little sister. The next, I was counting the bodies of my clan, my world painted in the shades of a nightmare.
My name is Jin Tie. I was the heir to the mighty Jin Clan, though I never wanted the title. I possessed a secret—a Primordial Monad Gate that gifted me a wellspring of power others could only dream of. Yet, I saw it as a curse, a cheat code for a game I never wished to play. My heaven was not a distant throne in the clouds; it was the sun-drenched courtyards of my home, the proud, stern face of my father, Jin Long, and the serene, brilliant smile of my sister, Jin Yue. She was different, touched by a grace that even I, in my ignorance, could not comprehend.
I did not care for immortality. I did not hunger to become a deity. My universe was simple, and it was enough.
That changed the day the sky broke. A horned god descended not with thunder, but with a sigh of utter boredom. He didn't even deem us enemies. While his storm of frozen daggers slaughtered my clan, he executed my father—a peak martial master—with a lazy, backhanded flick. Our strength, our legacy, was less than an insect to him.
His only interest was my sister. He called her a "familiar echo" and took her, vanishing back into the heavens as if he'd merely picked a flower.
Now, the power I once scorned is my only weapon. The path I refused to walk is my only road. I will forge myself into a blade aimed at the heart of heaven. I will use my gift to climb. I will use my rage as a hammer. I will tear down the gilded palaces of the heavens and shatter the silent, uncaring thrones of the divine until I find where she is.
I will look that horned Envoy in his cold, blue eyes, and I will show him the terrifying patience of a brother who has nothing left to lose.
Let the gods have their immortality.
I just want my sister back.
