The ground shook like a living beast.
Stone cracked.Light bled from ancient runes.The monumental silver door—half-buried beneath the battlefield—pulsed with a heartbeat that did not belong to this era.
Xueya held Shan Wei tightly, helping him steady his weakened legs.
"Shan Wei… this door, this seal… it's reacting to you."
He didn't deny it.He couldn't.
The moment the Fateburn Petal struck the earth, the vault beneath awakened with terrifying eagerness—as if a sleeping giant had opened its eyes after millennia.
Drakonix landed beside them, wings flaring wide.
His voice was low, ancient, almost reverent:
"…Brother.You found it again."
Jin Wei approached the glowing door, golden sensors firing rapidly.
"IDENTITY CONFIRMATION:MASTER'S SOUL SIGNATURE— 91% MATCH WITH ORIGINAL KEY BEARER.ACCESS LEVEL: SOVEREIGN."
The Executioners reacted instantly.
Veyruth screamed, spear fragments rattling in his hands.
"STOP HIM!THE VAULT MUST NOT OPEN—EVER AGAIN!!"
Serakai's shadows writhed violently.
"That vault contains memories, artifacts, and forbidden power! It will awaken what should remain dead!"
Morkhul slammed his fist into the ground, shockwaves cracking earth.
"WE CANNOT LET THE EMPEROR RECLAIM EVEN A FRACTION OF HIS INHERITANCE!"
But Shan Wei stepped forward—and the entire vault vibrated in recognition.
A deep, metallic groan echoed through the valley as the runes brightened.
"WELCOME HOME…"a voice whispered from the door.
Everyone froze.
Even the Executioners trembled.
1. A Memory Emerges — The Emperor's Shadow Speaks
Shan Wei's vision blurred.
Voices not his own whispered in his mind.
A throne room of burning stars.Kneeling generals.A war that consumed worlds.A betrayal.A seal.Erasure.
And a vault—a vault he built himself—
"…to store everything they could not destroy."
Xueya clutched his hand.
"Shan Wei? What did you see?"
He exhaled shakily.
"My past."
The Empress paled.
"Then that vault… It holds your power. Your weapons. Your memories."
Shan Wei did not answer.
He simply closed his eyes—and placed his palm upon the door.
2. The Vault Recognizes Its Master
The runes ignited.
Seven rings of prismatic light spiraled outward, washing the valley in rainbow brilliance. Time warped—air thickened—gravity momentarily shifted.
The vault spoke again:
"THE SOVEREIGN RETURNS.ACCESS GRANTED."
A deep, booming CLICK echoed as titanic locks disengaged one by one.
Xueya's heart pounded.
Drakonix's wings flared.
Jin Wei knelt automatically.
The Executioners screamed in unison:
"NO—STOP HIM—BEFORE THE VAULT FULLY—"
TOOOOOOOOM!!!
The door opened.
A blinding wave of prismatic light exploded outward, sweeping the battlefield.
Veyruth was thrown backward—Morkhul was buried under shattered stone—Serakai's shadow body shredded at the edges.
The valley became still again.
And before them—
The vault gaped open.
Inside shone a world of cosmic silver and drifting starlight.
Xueya gasped softly.
"…It's beautiful."
Drakonix stepped forward reverently.
"This place once shook the heavens.Only the Emperor could open it."
Jin Wei scanned the surroundings.
"SYSTEM ALERT:ENERGY READING— BEYOND DIVINE CLASS.CAUTION ADVISED."
Shan Wei weakly nodded.
"Everyone… stay close."
He stepped inside.
Xueya followed without hesitation.
Drakonix entered next, wings brushing the vaulted ceiling.Jin Wei sealed the entrance behind them with a barrier.
The Executioners clawed at the forming barrier desperately—but could not enter.
Veyruth screamed:
"YOU CANNOT ENTER THAT VAULT!YOU CANNOT—YOU MUST NOT—!!"
The door sealed.
Silence.
3. Inside the Vault — Starfall Hall
The interior resembled a cathedral built from starlight and fragments of collapsed galaxies.
Floating platforms turned slowly in the air.Prismatic rivers of energy flowed through crystal channels.Ancient pillars stood engraved with symbols Xueya had never seen before.
But Shan Wei had.
His heart tightened.
"I carved those symbols…in another life."
Xueya squeezed his hand.
"Then this place… it belongs to you."
Shan Wei shook his head slowly.
"No.It belongs to the Emperor I once was.Not the man I am now."
Drakonix approached a large floating formation.
"Brother… this hall was your refuge.Your sanctuary.Your memory vault."
Jin Wei scanned the nearest pedestal.
"PRIMARY ARTIFACT IDENTIFIED:'MIND-CRYSTAL OF AEONS.'STATUS: DORMANT."
Xueya tilted her head.
"A memory crystal?"
Shan Wei swallowed.
"Not ordinary.It contains… all of his memories."
She froze.
"All?"
He nodded slowly.
"If I touch it…I might remember everything."
Xueya's heart squeezed in fear.
Everything.Who he once loved.Who betrayed him.What he lost.What he became.
Would he still be Shan Wei afterward?
4. The Memory Crystal Awakens
As Shan Wei stepped toward the crystal, it lit up—responding to his presence.
Lines of light traced across its surface.
A voice echoed from within:
"SOVEREIGN SHARD RECOGNIZED.DO YOU SEEKTHE MEMORY OF YOUR FALL?"
Xueya grabbed his arm.
"Shan Wei—don't.Not yet.You're not stable—your soul is barely holding together."
Shan Wei hesitated.
She was right.Drakonix's evolution…The Fateburn Petal…The Emperor's awakening…The Executioners…Now this vault…
His soul felt like thin glass.
Crackable.Breakable.Fragile.
But the crystal pulsed again—
"…remember…before they erase you again…"
Shan Wei clenched his jaw.
He reached out—
And touched the crystal.
5. A Vision of the Past — The Emperor's Fall
Light swallowed the world.
Xueya screamed his name—but her voice was distant.
He fell through time.
Through memory.
Through fate.
He saw—
A grand throne room.Hundreds kneeling.A crown of burning starlight on his head.Beside him—a dragon-phoenix of cosmic flame (Drakonix in divine form).Behind him—six women whose faces blurred with time.
He saw enemies bow.He saw realms fear his gaze.He saw a war that tore apart dimensions.He saw betrayal—from someone he once trusted.A blade through his back.A seal.A falling crown.A whisper:
"You will be erased."
Then darkness.
The memory shattered.Shan Wei collapsed to his knees.
Xueya ran and caught him, shaking violently.
"Shan Wei! Shan Wei—please—stay with me!"
He clutched his head, tears in his eyes.
"I… I remember…some of it…"
Drakonix bowed his head deeply.
"That was the Emperor's final day."
Jin Wei knelt beside him.
"MASTER— SOUL INTEGRITY AT RISK.RECOMMEND WITHDRAWAL."
But before anyone could move—
The vault rumbled.
A second pedestal ignited.
A relic floated up from the shadows.
A crown.
Broken.Cracked.Dripping faint crimson light.
Xueya whispered:
"…Is that… your crown?"
Shan Wei stared at it.
His heartbeat stopped.
Because the crown whispered one sentence—the same prophecy that once doomed him:
"The Emperor shall rise twice—but only one rise shall survive the heavens."
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.