Whispers of the Crystal, Fragments of Spacetime, and Shadows of the Past
Winter snow came to Heaven Dou City earlier than in previous years.
Fine snowflakes covered the glazed tiles of the council building, adorning this symbol of balance and renewal like a palace carved from ice crystals. Tang San sat in his study, rolling the crystal fragment that had absorbed the Chaos Mark's energy between his fingertips. Moonlight cast through the window lattice played across the crystal, refracting into tiny, eerie flecks of light.
The chaotic energy inside the crystal had stabilized. It was no longer scorching hot, but instead felt gently warm and smooth, pulsing softly as though alive. Stranger still, when Tang San infused it with Soul Power, hazy images appeared on its surface-broken mountains, floating islands, and even the figure of Li Mo standing with his back turned before a spatial rift, like fragments of frozen memories.
"Still looking at that?" Xiao Wu came in carrying a bowl of hot soup and set it on the desk. The rising steam blurred her features. "Sect Master Ning said it might be a 'Spacetime Crystal.' It can record the paths energy has traveled, like... a stone that remembers."
Tang San took the bowl, warmth spreading from his fingertips to the depths of his heart. "It does more than record. Look here." He traced an arc across the crystal with his Soul Power, and the image on its surface suddenly warped, revealing another scene-the Forgotten Ice Cave in the Far North Ice Plains. The chains sealing the Nine-Headed Ice Serpent were glowing, and the Ice Plains Ancient Dragon's sleeping place shimmered with white light. The scene seemed to show a time before their own experience there.
"This is... the ice cave before we went there?" Xiao Wu leaned closer in surprise. "It can see the past?"
"More than the past." Tang San's gaze grew grave. He guided the power of the Chaos Azure Lotus, and the image on the crystal's surface changed again. This time, it showed the shore of the Deep Sea Forbidden Land. The black reefs were bare, and the spatial rift had yet to appear, but the mist over the sea was a strange shade of purple, utterly unlike what they had seen later. "This looks like... a scene from another timeline."
Xiao Wu's face went pale in an instant. "Another timeline? You mean... there's a past different from ours?"
Tang San did not answer, only stared at the crystal in silence. He recalled what Li Mo had said, and the chaotic nature of the Primordial Plane-if the primordial was the womb of all laws, then it must contain every possible timeline, like the countless branches of a great tree, each choice capable of giving rise to a different future. And this Spacetime Crystal might be a leaf fallen from one such branch.
"Jingle-"
The bell in the study suddenly rang, signaling an emergency communication from the council. Tang San put away the crystal and rose to approach the communication array. Lin Ye's face appeared on the screen, his expression unusually serious. "Tang San, there's been another incident in the western frontier. Strange shadows have appeared on the two newly formed hills in the Broken Mountains. They look like... human silhouettes, but you can't touch them, and they say strange things."
"Shadows?" Tang San frowned. "What sort of things?"
"The herders say those shadows keep repeating, 'Balance is a shackle' and 'Chaos alone is freedom.' It sounds a lot like Li Mo's rhetoric." A trace of unease entered Lin Ye's voice. "I suspect the Chaos Energy absorbed by the Spacetime Crystal has overflowed and affected the surrounding space."
Tang San's heart sank, and he immediately thought of the timeline images in the crystal. "I'll come right away. Don't go near them for now. Wait until I get there."
After the communication ended, Xiao Wu looked at him worriedly. "Could they be... remnants of Li Mo's soul?"
"Unlikely, but they must have something to do with the Spacetime Crystal." Tang San picked up his coat, his gaze resolute. "Whatever they are, we have to deal with them as soon as possible. If they really are shadows from another timeline, letting them spread could disrupt the timeline of reality."
By the time they reached the western frontier, dusk had already settled over the Broken Mountains. A pale purple mist shrouded the two newly formed hills. Countless black shadows could just be seen wandering through it, their forms indistinct, but their whispers were clear. Sure enough, they matched Lin Ye's description, full of worship for chaos and doubts about balance.
"These shadows have no physical form. Physical attacks don't work." Dai Mubai pointed at a shadow trying to approach; Netherworld Thrust passed through its body without affecting it in the slightest. "But their voices can interfere with people's minds. A young patrol member was nearly bewitched just now and jumped off a cliff."
Tai Long held up his giant shield, protecting several herders behind him. "They seem to be afraid of Golden Crow Fire. Whenever Lin Ye gets close, the shadows retreat."
Lin Ye stood before the hills, Golden Crow Fire forming a wall of light around him. The shadows lingered outside it, letting out piercing shrieks. "See? They really are afraid of pure energy, but there are more and more of them. My Soul Power is nearly exhausted."
Tang San walked to the edge of the wall of light and released a trace of the Chaos Azure Lotus's power. Strangely, the shadows did not retreat. Instead, they gathered around him, their whispers growing more urgent. "Heir to chaos... break the shackles... choose freedom..."
"They're calling to you." Xiao Wu tugged at Tang San's sleeve, her eyes full of worry.
Tang San stared at the shadows, then suddenly asked, "Who are you? Which timeline are you from?"
The shadows' whispers stopped at once. They slowly gathered together, forming a gigantic black shadow whose outline bore some resemblance to Li Mo, though its voice sounded like countless voices layered atop one another. "We are souls abandoned by balance... we are you, devoured by chaos in another timeline."
The answer made everyone suck in a cold breath.
"Us from another timeline?" Oscar cried out involuntarily. "We were devoured by chaos?"
"Yes," the black shadow said slowly. "In that timeline, you failed to stop Li Mo from opening the primordial passage. Chaos Energy engulfed the continent, and everyone who refused to merge with chaos was torn apart. Only we 'enlightened ones' became part of chaos and gained eternal 'freedom.'"
Tang San's gaze turned exceptionally cold. "This so-called freedom means giving up yourselves and becoming shadows without physical form?"
"The self is an illusion to begin with." The black shadow's voice was beguiling. "Only by merging with chaos can you escape the bonds of time and truly understand the nature of balance-it was never order, but the coexistence of all possibilities. The balance you protect now is merely the most fragile of countless possibilities."
"Shut up!" Lin Ye roared. Golden Crow Fire erupted, and the wall of light expanded in an instant. Scorched by the flames, the black shadow let out a scream of pain. "Whoever you are, don't even think about bewitching us!"
The black shadow twisted in the flames, but it did not disperse. Instead, it grew more solid. "Resistance is useless. The Spacetime Crystal has already connected the two timelines. As long as we obtain it, we can make chaos cover every timeline and grant every 'you' 'salvation.'"
As it spoke, it suddenly broke into countless tiny shadows that swept around the wall of light and lunged at Tang San-the Spacetime Crystal really was their target!
"Protect Tang San!" Dai Mubai roared. The power of space formed a barrier, blocking the shadows' path.
Tai Long and Oscar also stepped forward at once. Giant shields and sausage shields of light overlapped, forming a sturdy line of defense. Xiao Wu used Teleportation, repeatedly disrupting the shadows' movements as she tried to buy Tang San time.
Looking at the onrushing shadows, Tang San suddenly understood their nature—these were neither remnant souls nor illusions, but projections of a "possibility" from another timeline, the erosion of reality by Chaos Energy. Brute force could not stop them; he had to sever the connection between the two timelines.
He took out the Spacetime Crystal and infused it with the power of the Chaos Azure Lotus and the residual energy of the Proof of Balance at the same time. "In my name, be still!"
The crystal burst with dazzling light, and images of countless timelines appeared within it. There were futures in which they succeeded in protecting balance, apocalypses in which chaos devoured everything, and many more bizarre and fantastical possibilities. The images surged toward the black shadow like a tide. The moment they touched them, the shadows let out piercing screams and began to dissolve inch by inch.
"No-! We are the future! We are the ones who are right!" The black shadow struggled in the light, but it could not resist the torrent of timelines. At last, it vanished completely into the air.
As the shadows disappeared, the pale purple mist gradually dispersed as well. Peace returned to the two hills, and exotic flowers and strange grasses swayed gently in the evening breeze, with none of the earlier eeriness remaining.
Tang San put away the Spacetime Crystal. It had regained its gentle warmth and no longer showed any images, as though everything that had just happened had been nothing but a dream.
"Is it over?" Xiao Wu asked softly.
"For now." Tang San looked at the crystal, his gaze grave. "But this is only the beginning. The Spacetime Crystal has connected different timelines, which means... other possibilities may also come into our world through it."
Lin Ye walked over to him, Golden Crow Fire illuminating his conflicted gaze. "You mean there could be more 'shadows'?"
"Very likely." Tang San nodded. "The chaotic nature of the Primordial Plane is that it contains every possibility. The balance we protect is only one choice among them. But it's precisely because of that choice that life has meaning and a warmth worth protecting."
He looked toward the Broken Mountains beneath the setting sun. The herders had already begun packing their belongings, preparing to return home, and the children's laughter carried through the dusk, clear and warm.
"No matter how many timelines there are, no matter how many possibilities, we'll stand by our choice." Tang San's voice was exceptionally firm. "Because what we protect isn't just balance, but also these real smiles, these living, breathing lives."
His companions looked at him, the same resolve appearing in their eyes.
Night fell, and starlight spilled over the Broken Mountains. Tang San carefully put away the Spacetime Crystal. He knew the trials it brought were not yet over. Like a mirror, it reflected every possible future, and also the path they had to hold fast to.
Balance might be only one of countless possibilities, but as long as they believed, as long as they protected it, it would become the firmest reality.
And deep in the distant starry sky, a hazy figure watched the planet, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of their mouth. The Spacetime Crystal's fluctuations had disturbed not only different timelines, but also more distant beings.
A new game was quietly unfolding.