Yun stepped out of the illusion world like a man stepping out of a long sickness.

The light was too bright. The air felt thin. His body didn't hurt, but it felt… used, like muscles after a long fight you barely survived. Shen Yu was already there, standing beside the shattered remains of the ancient formation, arms crossed, eyes sharp.

"You took longer than expected," Shen Yu said.

Yun let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Felt shorter inside," he replied. Then paused. "And longer. I think. Time was… broken."

Shen Yu nodded once. "That means it worked."

Yun looked down at his hands. They didn't glow anymore, not openly, but when he focused he could feel something deeper, quieter, coiled and watching. His emotions didn't spill like before. Fear still existed, but it didn't choke him. It waited its turn now.

"I don't feel the same," Yun said slowly.

"You aren't," Shen Yu replied. "But don't mistake that for becoming heartless. The Brush Master didn't create monsters. He created survivors."

The destroyed temple groaned behind them, ancient stones collapsing inward like a body finally letting go. The illusion era was finished.

And the road forward… opened.

They didn't leave the world immediately.

Not with light pillars or dramatic tearing of skies. Shen Yu led Yun through a hidden path in the mountains, a place where space folded slightly wrong. The stars above shifted when Yun looked at them too long.

"This path leads upward," Shen Yu said. "Not physically. Conceptually."

Yun frowned. "So… a higher world?"

"Yes. Celestial Sky. Bigger than this realm. Crueler. More honest."

Yun didn't hesitate. "Then we go."

That alone made Shen Yu look at him again, a flicker of approval hidden deep.

But before the ascent could complete—

The air split.

Not violently. Cleanly. Like a blade cutting silk.

Someone stepped through.

He was young. About Yun's age. Dressed in pale armor threaded with starlight veins. His hair floated slightly, like it didn't fully obey gravity. His eyes—cold, sharp, ancient in a way Yun hated immediately.

Starborne.

No doubt about it.

"So you're the one causing distortions across three layers," the stranger said calmly. "I expected… more noise."

Yun felt his blood react instantly. Not fear. Not anger. Recognition. Like two flames noticing each other in the dark.

"And you are?" Yun asked, surprisingly steady.

"Xie Ren," the boy replied. "Heir of the Northern Star Tribunal."

Shen Yu's expression darkened.

That name mattered.

Xie Ren's gaze slid to Shen Yu. "Ah. The hidden blade finally shows himself. You're risking much escorting him."

"I've already risked everything," Shen Yu replied flatly.

The air between Yun and Xie Ren tightened. Not killing intent. Judgment.

"You shouldn't exist freely," Xie Ren said to Yun. "Your bloodline destabilizes balance."

Yun met his gaze, calm, face unreadable now thanks to the illusions. "Funny. I was thinking the same about you."

For a second—just a second—Xie Ren smiled.

"Good," he said. "That means when we clash later, it'll be honest."

Later.

Not now.

Something else interrupted.

Far beyond, in the star-drowned void—

Yun's parents moved.

Emperor Lianxing stood atop a collapsing constellation, blood on his sleeve, breath heavy. Empress Yueran's aura flared wide, shielding entire refugee star-clusters behind her.

"They've committed too many Hunters," she said grimly. "If we retreat now, Yun will be exposed."

"Then we don't retreat," Lianxing replied.

He raised his hand.

And burned a seal that should never be broken yet.

Across the cosmos, ancient watchers stirred.

The price would come later.

But their son would gain time.

Back on the path, the ground shook violently.

A Hunter sigil ignited beneath Yun's feet—delayed, hidden, waiting.

"Too late," Xie Ren muttered. "They tracked you anyway."

Shen Yu cursed under his breath for the first time Yun had ever heard.

The path to Celestial Sky destabilized. If they didn't move now, it would collapse.

Yun stepped forward.

"We go," he said. "Even if it means fighting on the way."

Xie Ren studied him, then clicked his tongue. "Annoying."

Then, surprisingly: "Fine. I'm not letting Hunters claim this kill."

Not allies.

Not enemies.

Yet.

The higher world's gate began to open—vast, overwhelming, beautiful.

And behind them, the Hunters closed in.

The journey had started.

And nothing would ever be simple again.

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