DEMON SOVEREIGN'S REIGN

The hidden door beneath the broken altar pulsed again, faint blue light seeping through ancient carvings. Liu Shen's body stiffened, every thread of his demonic qi resonating in tandem with the buried force. The battlefield around him blurred—the clash of weapons and roars of power fading for a brief heartbeat. The Sanctum's heart was alive.

"Protect the door!" he barked.

Meixing spun midair, strands of her shadow silk webbing wrapping around the stairwell as she fell back toward the temple's depths. Zhao Ying parried an arc of celestial fire before leaping after her. Lei Qing snarled, releasing a thunderclap that sent two envoys sprawling as he backed away.

The Celestial envoy leading the charge stepped forward, staff blazing with golden flame. "You cannot be allowed to reach what lies below."

Liu Shen landed before the door, his palm pressing against its sigil. "Then you were fools to leave it beating for this long."

He poured his essence into the symbol. At first, the seal resisted—but with a sudden lurch, it gave way. Stone groaned as the altar split apart, revealing a spiral stair of shimmering crystal, descending into lightless depths.

The surge of released energy knocked everyone off their feet. The blindfolded envoy staggered back, snarling. "You've doomed this realm!"

Liu Shen descended without answering, steps echoing against the ancient stair. The others followed swiftly, the clash above left behind as the temple roof began to crumble. As they entered the passage, the door resealed behind them with a low hum.

The Sanctum was still intact.

The spiral led them into a vast chamber unlike any they had seen—circular, filled with floating motes of golden stardust. Runes spun slowly in the air, forming constellations and diagrams of forgotten cultivation systems. At the chamber's center hovered a crystalline heart, the size of a mountain, suspended by chains of ink-black energy.

"This... isn't just the Sanctum's core," Meixing whispered, eyes wide. "This is a fragment of the World Heart."

Lei Qing's brow furrowed. "How did the Cradle of Dusk hide this here?"

Zhao Ying stepped forward. "They must have used spatial manipulation techniques far beyond current understanding—maybe even sacrificed their entire sect's legacy to encase it."

The heart pulsed again. As it did, a voice—ancient, and not entirely human—filled the chamber.

"Gatekeeper… You have returned… at last…"

Liu Shen's breath caught. "You know me?"

"We know all of you who bear the mark of rebellion. You once sought to destroy the seal… but failed."

The others turned to Liu Shen. He stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "Then I have returned to finish what I started."

"You were not ready then. You were betrayed… broken… scattered across time. Now, you carry the soul and wrath of the Sovereign. Perhaps… you are ready."

Suddenly, a memory surged within Liu Shen's mind—images of a massive gate made of abyssal stone, of himself in a different form, standing before the heart with thousands behind him. Celestials falling from the sky, blood raining upon the realms. Then the gate being sealed… and his soul torn apart.

He stumbled.

Meixing caught him. "What did you see?"

"My failure."

The heart pulsed once more, and a crystal tear detached from its surface, floating toward Liu Shen.

"Take the Shard of Dusk. With it, the path to the Abyss Gate will open again. But beware—this time, you will not face betrayal from above… but from within."

He caught the shard as it entered his palm. Darkness coiled around it, then vanished into his flesh. A mark burned onto the back of his hand—three interlocking eyes, the symbol of the Cradle of Dusk.

From above, a distant tremor echoed through the temple.

"They're trying to break in," Zhao Ying said.

"We can't let them reach the heart," Lei Qing added.

Liu Shen turned to the others. "Then we take it with us."

Meixing blinked. "The Sanctum's heart? You can't mean to move it—"

"I don't intend to move the heart." Liu Shen raised his hand. "I intend to awaken it."

The runes spiraled faster. Chains rattled. The voice of the heart deepened, darkened.

"Then bear the burden of dusk once more. Awaken the Sanctum."

Liu Shen's aura erupted. Demonic energy clashed with ancient spatial flows, flooding the chamber. The ground beneath them shattered as the heart began to beat faster—louder.

One pulse.

Two.

Three.

The entire ziggurat shook. Above, the celestial envoys reeled back as the temple cracked open. A dome of dark-blue energy surged upward, shielding the structure from their approach.

From the skies, a distant horn blared—urgent, divine.

The heavens had noticed.

Back in the chamber, the Shard of Dusk glowed in Liu Shen's hand, and he felt the knowledge of the Cradle flow into him—seals, techniques, ancient gates, forbidden names.

Meixing stepped beside him. "This is more than just a power source, isn't it?"

He nodded slowly. "It's the key to ending the heavens."

As the Sanctum's heart awakened, a new path opened beneath them—a tunnel of starlight, leading through realms untouched by time.

Liu Shen looked to his allies. "Beyond this path lies the true Abyss Gate. We move now. Before the heavens descend in full."

Without hesitation, they stepped into the light.

The path to truth—and war—was open.