The sealed chamber pulsed with silver light.
Xu Shen stood frozen before the floating sarcophagus, face pale, heartbeat slowing with each word.
The figure inside—Aether Xu—looked exactly like him, but older. Wiser. Colder. Not just a version of himself… but the foundation.
"You are not the origin," the being repeated.
"You are the continuation."
Xu stepped forward slowly. "Then who… are you?"
The chains surrounding the sarcophagus rattled but did not break.
Aether Xu's lips moved, voice echoing from everywhere and nowhere:
"Before cycles, before sects, before fate, there was only one path—the Void Path. I walked it alone."
"I devoured what the heavens refused to teach. I took from forbidden systems. I fused souls across timelines. I became a contradiction."
"They called me the First Heretic."
"And for my crimes… the Divine Sky Court broke the world into cycles to keep my knowledge buried."
Xu's blood ran cold.
"Then… all of this… the trials, the rebirths—"
"Manufactured. Fragmented. Controlled."
"The Devourer Path you walk is not a gift."
"It is a curse forged from my exile."
Yue Qian stood trembling behind Xu, trying to keep up.
She whispered, "If you're the origin, why are you sealed here?"
The sarcophagus flashed.
"Because he locked me away."
Xu blinked.
Aether Xu's voice darkened.
"You, Xu Shen, are my spiritual offspring. My second soul. My error. The Devourer Core was never meant to be split."
"But in my final breath… I fractured it. Buried my essence in time."
"You were born to carry what I could not finish."
"But you are incomplete."
Xu's fists clenched.
"If I'm just your shadow, why do I remember lives you never lived?"
Aether Xu smiled.
"Because you didn't just inherit my path. You changed it."
"You chose compassion. Restraint. Love. You remembered their names. I never did."
"That's why you're still alive."
Xu stepped closer.
"What now?"
The sarcophagus glowed.
"Break the seal, and I'll give you everything. My knowledge. My laws. The true final form of the Devourer Core."
"But know this—once you merge with me, there is no turning back. You will become the true heir of the Void Path."
"The heavens will erase entire realms to stop you."
"You may never be Xu Shen again."
Silence.
Yue Qian reached for his sleeve.
"Don't rush," she whispered. "There may be another way."
Xu's eyes didn't leave the sarcophagus.
Aether Xu… the one who started it all.
The one they feared enough to remake time itself.
He took a slow breath.
"What if I want the knowledge—"
"But not the curse?"
Aether Xu chuckled.
"Then rewrite me."
The chamber pulsed with silver and shadow.
"Become the Devourer… and set your own path."