Chapter 17: Beneath the Surface of Stars
"The sky has always lied," whispered the old starreader. "But tonight… it screams the truth."
Scene 1: Luo Shen's Dreams Turn Strange
Luo Shen stood beneath a sky of swirling constellations, their lights warping into sigils and eyes.
In the dream, the stars whispered his name—not Luo Shen, but another.
A forbidden one.
"You were not meant to return," said a voice behind him, soft as falling ash.
"Yet here you are… Void Monarch."
He turned, but the dream shattered like glass.
He awoke in his dorm at the academy, breath sharp, eyes glowing faint silver.
Something was breaking free within him.
Another layer of memory. Another seal undone.
And far beneath the surface of the world… something answered his awakening.
Scene 2: System Trials Continue – Chaos Accelerates
The Second Phase of the Global System Trials launched across all major zones.
This time, it wasn't individual challenges—it was faction-based war zones.
Each awakened system wielder had to choose:
Join a nation's banner…
Or go rogue and survive alone.
Luo Shen?
He chose neither.
Instead, he watched from the shadows, reading the systems like a grand cosmic game.
His own System—unranked and unnamed—began adapting.
New protocols awoke:
[Protocol Update: "Stellar Disruption Detected."]
[Calculating Counter-Strategies… Authorizing "Null Cascade."]
Scene 3: Aria's Mission – Searching for Him
Elsewhere, Aria stood at the edge of a burning jungle in the Trial Zone of Eastern Nuvaria.
She'd saved hundreds during Phase One. Her radiant power marked her as a "Chosen Saint."
But all she wanted was to find the one who vanished.
She looked at her glowing system interface:
"Tracking anomaly: Luo Shen… No data."
"Why did you disappear?" she whispered.
Behind her, a girl with violet hair and burning eyes watched silently.
Scene 4: Astrid Valen Makes Her Move
At the Academy, Astrid Valen stood before the council.
She'd risen faster than any in academy history, her system rumored to be ranked Mythic-Class, possibly God-Class.
But her interest wasn't in medals or praise.
"I want to spar with Luo Shen," she said calmly.
"He's hiding something. I intend to find out what."
No one dared challenge her request.
Luo Shen watched from above the hall, unseen, his eyes narrowing.
"You're not afraid of me… That's new."
Scene 5: A Demon King's Eyes Open
Beneath the shattered remnants of the Abyssal Gate, sealed since the old gods' war…
A pair of molten crimson eyes blinked open.
Chains forged by divine oaths cracked.
"The boy awakens…" the Demon King murmured, voice like thunder.
"Then I must move before the gods do."
Flames erupted in a spiral.
The First Demon God had returned.
Ending Moment:
Luo Shen stood beneath the moon, unaware that every move now echoed across realms.
He looked at his reflection in a pool.
For a moment, it flickered—not him, but something else.
A crown of black starlight. Eyes that devoured time.
A name that had not been spoken since the First Collapse.
He touched the surface, and it returned to normal.
"Not yet," he whispered.
But the world was already too late.