When Yun opened his eyes, the world didn't look like a world anymore. The illusion temple behind him had cracked apart like a giant had punched it, and the shards of the illusion rose slowly into the air, floating around him like pieces of broken stars. His chest kept rising and falling too fast, like he had been running for days.

He didn't even realize the silver flame on his back was still burning until Shen Yu grabbed his shoulder with a half-panicked, half-annoyed voice:

"Kid—stop glowing before you set the whole mountain on fire!"

But Yun couldn't turn it off. The flame wasn't normal flame; it had patterns inside it, swirling spirals and faint, ancient runes that were older than history itself. His vision still shook, but it was clear. Too clear.

Everything felt unnaturally real.

Realer than real.

Real enough that it scared him.

For a moment Yun whispered to himself, his voice rough:

"Why… do I feel like I've been gone for years?"

Shen Yu didn't answer. His eyes narrowed instead, sensing something Yun didn't.

And then—

BOOM.

The silver flame collapsed inward, then shot outward in a ring of soft light. It didn't explode anything, it didn't destroy the ground—

but it changed.

It turned into a crest.

Right on Yun's forehead.

A star-shaped symbol with three sharp points and a faint silver beating pulse.

Shen Yu's breath caught.

"That's… the Second Astral Crest… You awakened it early. Too early."

Yun didn't understand. But inside his mind, something else moved—

a voice.

Ancient, calm, almost like his own blood was speaking:

—Second Bloodline Stage Awakened:

Astral Pulse Sovereign (Incomplete)

Yun staggered. "Incomplete?? Why incomplete??"

The voice faded, leaving him with a headache and ten new questions.

Before Shen Yu could explain, the air in front of them rippled.

Space folded like a book being slammed shut.

Out of the collapsing illusion fog stepped three figures.

Not illusions.

Not enemies.

Not Hunters.

People.

Strangers… yet not strangers.

The first was a tall woman with ash-white hair tied back in a messy bun, wearing battered silver armor with cracks spider-webbing across the chestplate. She walked like she used to command armies but hadn't slept in about two months. When she saw Yun, she exhaled like she finally found someone she was looking for.

"I—finally… made it in time."

The second was a shorter boy about Yun's age, skinny, with bright orange eyes that flashed too much excitement. He waved both hands wildly.

"HEY! You're Yun! I've been trying to reach you for like three illusion layers but you kept exploding stuff!"

The third was a quiet girl with dark-green hair, a long staff on her back, and a strange glowing leaf on her forehead. She didn't smile—she just stared at Yun like she was examining a rare animal she wasn't sure she believed existed.

Yun blinked hard.

"Umm—who are you?"

Shen Yu sighed heavily.

"Those three idiots are your future companions. They br— ahem, they 'tried' to enter the illusion to help you before it collapsed. Took them long enough."

The boy pointed at Yun excitedly.

"You're the one the Cosmos keeps screaming about, right??"

Yun felt his heart stop.

He turned slowly.

"...What did you say?"

But before he could ask anything else—

the sky above them cracked.

Like glass.

Like something enormous had punched it.

Shen Yu instantly pushed Yun behind him. "Get back. All of you."

A cold wind blew through the broken illusion grounds, carrying a voice that did not come from any living throat:

We found the scent.

The Starborn Child lives.

The Hunters.

They were gathering.

A LOT of them.

Out in the cosmic void, a huge battlefield of black metal platforms and floating monoliths was forming. Dozens of dark silhouettes knelt before a towering figure wrapped in shadow chains.

"Begin preparations," the chained giant commanded.

"He awakened his second crest.

Move the front legion. The boy must not reach the Celestial Sky."

The Hunters' roars echoed through the void.

And Yun far below felt the pressure strike his heart.

Like a hand squeezing it.

Like something marking him.

He grabbed his chest, gritting his teeth.

"Why… why does it hurt?"

Shen Yu answered quietly,

"Because they found you. Because awakening early paints a target on your soul."

Yun forced himself to stand straight, even though his legs shook.

"So what? Let them come."

Shen Yu stared at him, startled.

Yun had never spoken with that kind of coldness before.

Something in him had changed.

Inside his mind, the ancient voice whispered again not kindly this time:

Awakening early demands a price.

Your heart will harden.

Your emotions will quiet.

This is the path you chose.

Yun didn't know if he should be relieved or scared.

But he lifted his head anyway.

Determined.

Sharper than before.

His new companions stared at him, surprised by his sudden shift.

The ash-haired woman smiled slightly.

"Hah… looks like the training worked. The illusions weren't for nothing."

The orange-eyed boy pumped his fist.

"YEAH! Our future leader's cool now!!"

The green-haired girl tilted her head.

"He changed more than he should have. Interesting."

Shen Yu finally nodded to Yun.

"Then we move. Celestial Sky won't wait. And neither will the Hunters."

Yun looked up at the cracked heavens, feeling the calling grow stronger and stronger.

Something above wanted him.

Something ancient.

Something dangerous.

He spoke quietly but firmly:

"Let's go.

Let's save my world."

And that was the moment the choice that would shape all of his future.

He didn't know it yet…

But that choice had awakened an enemy stronger than anything he had faced.

And allies who would one day fight beside him until the stars themselves shattered.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.