The wind howled as Rui Shen stood beneath the fading dawn. The spiral of clouds had dispersed, leaving behind a sky too calm—too still. It was the kind of silence that didn't bring peace, but anticipation.
Inside his mind, the mark of balance pulsed once, twice… then settled into a steady rhythm that matched his heartbeat. From that pulse, faint whispers arose—echoes of an unseen world.
> "Do you feel it?"
"The eyes have opened again…"
Rui's hand trembled slightly. "What… are you?"
No answer. Only the faint sound of thunder in the far distance, though no storm clouds lingered.
He turned toward Mei Qian, who stood at the temple gates, her expression grim.
> "Grand Elder," Rui said softly, "the sky… it looked at us."
She nodded slowly. "Not us, child. You."
---
The Temple of Echoing Stars
That night, Rui was brought to the Council of Elders—a group of seven, each one powerful enough to shake mountains. Yet even they were uneasy.
> "The Heavens trembled, but not from imbalance," said Elder Zhuan, his beard flowing like silver silk. "Something watched us from beyond the Celestial Veil."
> "The last time such eyes appeared," Mei Qian murmured, "was before Wang Lin's ascension."
The room fell silent.
> "If this truly is the work of the Outer Void, then peace was only an illusion," another elder said. "We may be entering a Second Era of Strife."
Rui clenched his fists. "If Wang Lin foresaw this, why didn't he stop it?"
Mei Qian's eyes softened. "Because he couldn't, child. Even gods cannot destroy what was never born in their world."
---
Later — The Pavilion Gardens
Rui sat beneath a glowing spirit tree, his mind heavy with questions.
Suddenly, a faint ripple disturbed the air behind him.
He turned.
A woman stood there—barefoot, draped in white, her face veiled by translucent silk. Her presence was serene yet chilling.
> "So you've inherited his path," she said, her voice calm as moonlight. "Wang Lin's shadow lives again."
Rui rose immediately. "Who are you?"
The woman smiled faintly. "A messenger of the Outer Void. We've waited for your kind to rise again. The balance must be tested."
Her form flickered—half human, half mist—and from her back, countless eyes blinked open, glowing red.
Rui's heart pounded. "You're not human."
> "No," she said softly. "I am Echo, the Voice of the Unborn Sky.*"
She raised her hand, and the air around Rui collapsed inward, pulling him toward an endless dark void.
Instinctively, Rui summoned the mark on his chest. White and black qi spiraled out, forming a lotus that held back the distortion.
> "So… you truly bear the Cycle of Balance," Echo whispered. "Good. Then the heavens still remember their mistake."
The ground shattered beneath Rui's feet.
Power surged around him—the same type Wang Lin once unleashed against Mo Xie—but this time it wasn't pure destruction. It was equilibrium. Every strike Echo made was mirrored by Rui's counter.
> "You are not ready," she said, smiling faintly. "But you will be."
She dissolved into mist. Her last words lingered in the wind:
> "When the Second Eye opens, the true Thief shall be tested. The world will demand another sacrifice."
---
Aftermath
Rui collapsed to his knees, gasping. The lotus mark dimmed, leaving faint burns across his skin.
From above, a single star fell—then stopped midair, frozen in place. It shimmered, then split into two, forming a pattern like two open eyes in the night sky.
Mei Qian arrived moments later, her robe fluttering in the night wind. "What happened here?!"
Rui looked up, voice shaking. "They're coming."
Mei Qian followed his gaze and saw the double stars staring down like watching gods.
> "So it begins," she whispered. "The Second Era of Eyes."
And far beyond mortal sight, deep in the silent Outer Void, a colossal figure stirred—its voice rumbling across realities.
> "Wang Lin… your heir walks the same path. Let us see if his balance can steal even the heavens themselves."
---