The Ansha Awakes
The Celestial Realm stretched beyond comprehension.
It was not merely a place—it was a universe layered within another universe. Floating islands drifted like silent continents across a boundless sky, their edges dissolving into stardust. Rivers of light flowed through the void, spiraling around ancient pillars of cosmic stone. Distant suns burned quietly, their fractured light scattering across the heavens in endless prisms.
Cosmic winds circled the realm in slow, eternal loops.
Beautiful.
Serene.
Yet beneath that serenity lay something immeasurably heavy.
The air vibrated with ancient power.
On one of the largest floating islands sat a single figure.
The Ansha.
He sat cross-legged upon smooth white stone, his blue robe flowing gently as though moved by an invisible tide. His posture was relaxed, yet his presence pressed upon the entire realm like a silent law of nature.
He did not cultivate.
He did not move.
Yet every atom of the Celestial Realm seemed to pulse in quiet rhythm with his heartbeat.
The stars acknowledged him.
The winds bent around him.
Even time seemed careful not to disturb him.
Footsteps approached.
Soft.
Measured.
A woman appeared at the edge of the island. Her robes shimmered faintly with celestial energy, her movements graceful yet filled with urgency.
Her eyes held both reverence and concern.
"Master," she said, bowing slightly. "It has been a century since you withdrew from the world. What will you do now?"
For a moment—
Nothing happened.
Then the Ansha's eyes opened.
They reflected the distant stars, endless and calm.
"Nothing," he said.
His voice was quiet.
Yet it carried the weight of mountains.
The woman's expression faltered.
"But… Nem attacked Mi-An," she continued carefully. "Pretending to be you."
The Ansha did not react.
"Xiao Yan is approaching," she added. "With immortals… and the God-Destroying Sword."
Her voice lowered.
"Won't you intervene?"
Silence returned.
The Celestial winds slowed.
The stars flickered faintly, as if waiting for his answer.
The Ansha exhaled.
A single breath.
Yet the breath seemed to ripple through the cosmos itself, stirring distant light and bending the quiet currents of the realm.
"I have heard you," he said calmly.
"Go."
The woman hesitated.
But she understood.
Without another word, she bowed and vanished into the celestial wind.
The island grew silent again.
The Ansha's gaze lifted toward the endless sky.
Then—
Time shifted.
Not forward.
Backward.
The stars blurred.
The Celestial Realm itself seemed to dissolve as a memory surged through his mind.
Ten thousand years vanished like dust in a storm.
The present shattered.
And the Ansha was dragged into the distant past—
To a time before the prophecy.
Before Xiao Yan.
Before Nem's schemes.
To the beginning of everything.