The third rift opened.
It did not hold beasts. It held people.
Versions of Tian that had never made it this far. Chained. Sealed. Broken.
They screamed at him.
"Why did you not let us stay forgotten?"
Tian lowered his voice.
"Because I could not forget you."
Darkness answered. Not as void. As memory. Solidifying into something real.
The Mirror Engine cracked.
The Dream-Hunters dissolved.
The glyph on Tian's chest shimmered.
Then everything went silent.
For a moment, the world paused between breath and memory.
And Tian opened his eyes.
Not in power.
In peace.
★★★
The courtyard was on fire.
Xihe Academy was under siege. Crystals shattered in the sky. Mana storms twisted through broken towers. Another Voidspawn, massive and skeletal, tore across the main plaza. Its body twisted with impossible geometry.
Tian gasped. His chest ached. He stumbled back.
No throne. No flame. Just him. And a war.
"Tian!"
