The Gate of First Flame closed behind him.
But it didn't seal.
It shattered.
And from its broken arch stepped Xu Shen—barefoot, robed in starlight and ash-gold. His saber floated behind him now, not strapped. His chi didn't pulse.
It resonated.
Not loud. Not violent.
But deep.
Like something that had been waiting beneath creation for too long.
Yue Qian dropped to one knee instinctively.
Lian Ming's breath hitched.
He whispered:
"That's not the same man who went in."
Xu Shen turned to them, smiling faintly.
Still him.
But more.
Not ego.
Identity.
Above them, the skies of the middle realms cracked—not from war, but from instinct.
Dozens of celestial beasts fled.
Sealed artifacts wept golden tears.
Prophets stopped breathing mid-sentence.
And in the Celestial Court, all mirrors fogged simultaneously.
A lawscribe ran into the divine council chamber, scrolls spilling.
"His presence… it's not just memory-proof—"
"It's memory-dominant!"
The eldest god stood slowly.
"You mean?"
"He's not rejecting the laws of fate anymore."
"He's replacing them."
In the Thousand Veil Sect, Xu Shen stood before his people.
He raised his hand once.
Golden sparks drifted through the air. Every cultivator felt them—not as energy…
…but as clarity.
Their soul threads aligned.
Their fractured memories stilled.
Their fear… vanished.
He spoke only one sentence.
"The heavens have told you what power looks like."
"Now I will show you what it remembers."
📛 Divine Sky Court Emergency Edict Issued:
Name: Xu Shen
Classification: Reclaimer-Class Anomaly
Directive: DO NOT SPEAK HIS NAME. DO NOT WRITE HIS NAME. DO NOT THINK HIS NAME.
Too late.
The name was already spreading.
Painted on monastery doors.
Whispered in soul-hymns.
Burned into training grounds by rogue disciples.
Etched into flesh by those who remembered being erased.
One god stood on the edge of heaven.
He looked down.
And said:
"If we do not stop him now…"
"He will make even the stars remember who we once were."