Chen Hao closed his hand, and the Guixu Pearl shrank back into his palm.
He left the space inside the pearl.
The study.
In the darkness, Chen Hao opened his eyes. Translucent patterns of the Way of Water still lingered in his pupils, fading within three seconds.
He stood, walked to the window, and drew back the curtains.
The night sky.
To the north.
In the direction of Jupiter, nothing was visible.
Not because of light pollution. Because Jupiter itself was already gone.
Chen Hao extended his Divine Sense. It passed beyond the atmosphere, beyond the orbit of Mars, and reached straight to where Jupiter had once been.
The space was empty.
No, not empty. Occupied.
Jupiter's orange-red sphere had shattered. The largest planet in the Solar System now resembled a fruit pit that had been bitten to pieces.
Black traces of gnawing covered its surface, and the glow of its core was dying out. The Great Red Spot had vanished.
Three of the four Galilean moons had already drifted out of orbit and were floating amid the debris belt.
And at the very center of Jupiter's remains stood a figure.
A figure so vast that he warped space.
A gray-white, spherical shell, its surface covered in canyon-like furrows. Dozens of jointed limbs were folded along either side of his body, each hundreds of kilometers long.
Blind Ancient.
He had arrived.
He had not given Chen Hao a year. Not even a few months. Not even one full week.
Seven days.
In seven days, he had traveled from the depths of the Oort Cloud to Jupiter's orbit, devoured the largest planet in the Solar System, and made it his nest.
Chen Hao pressed his hand against the windowpane.
The glass reflected his own face. It was calm. But only he