The Vanishing Time
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1. The Ticking Clock
Chen Zhen sat in meditation, his mind sinking into the vast ocean of qi around him. He had hoped to center himself, to silence the storm of thoughts raging in his head. Instead, he felt something… wrong.
The Sacred Abyss pulsed with energy, as it always had, but its rhythm was irregular, as though the world itself was out of sync. The sky still bore the sickly tinge he had noticed before, but now he could hear a faint hum beneath the usual resonance of qi—something unnatural, something that didn't belong.
He opened his eyes just as Julong stepped into the chamber.
"You feel it, don't you?" Julong asked.
Chen exhaled, rubbing his temples. "Something is wrong with the qi flow. It's shifting, unstable."
Julong nodded grimly. "Because Earth is spiraling out of control."
Chen's body stiffened. "Explain."
Julong stepped closer and knelt beside him, placing a small obsidian stone on the ground. The moment it touched the earth, swirling golden symbols illuminated its surface, forming a web of interconnected lines.
"This is a temporal anchor," Julong said. "It allows me to map how qi flows between our two worlds. When I left for Earth, I wasn't sure if our realms were still connected. But they are. And that connection isn't stable."
Chen studied the flickering map. He saw the ley lines of the Sacred Abyss stretching toward an unseen force, intertwining with another network—the ley lines of Earth.
But the latter was erratic, pulsing wildly as if struggling to hold itself together.
"Earth's time is accelerating."
Julong met his gaze. "One day here… is one week there."
The realization hit Chen like a falling mountain.
Every hour he spent in the Sacred Abyss was an entire day on Earth. Every hesitation, every delay—it cost them time they didn't have.
"How long was I gone?" he asked, his voice tight.
Julong hesitated. "You've been here nearly a month."
Chen's breath caught in his throat. "Then on Earth…"
"It's been nearly seven months."
His pulse pounded. Li Na. His children. The Guardians.
He had thought he was moving cautiously, preparing for the battle ahead. But while he trained, while he debated with the Shanggu elders, Earth had been fighting for survival without him.
He had left them for too long.
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2. The Abyssal Warning
Shanggu Xian and the elders gathered around as Julong continued his explanation. Some were skeptical, others wary.
"If what you say is true," Meilin said, "then why have we not noticed? If Earth collapses, we should feel the backlash instantly."
Julong pointed to the golden web on the stone. "Because the Eclipse Queen is holding back the collapse. For now."
Chen's brow furrowed. "She's slowing it down?"
"No," Julong corrected. "She's waiting for it to fall apart on its own. She wants Earth to destroy itself so that by the time we realize what's happening, it'll be too late."
Shanggu Xian stroked his beard, deep in thought. "That means we are playing by her timeline, not ours."
Chen clenched his fists. "Then we need to act."
"And do what?" Meilin challenged. "You would have us abandon our fight here to run to Earth?"
"I would have us stop acting like these are separate wars!" Chen shot back.
The air grew tense.
Julong placed a hand on Chen's shoulder. "We can't rush blindly. The Queen expects you to react this way."
Chen took a slow breath, trying to rein in his frustration. He knew Julong was right. The Queen wanted him to panic, to act impulsively.
But if he did nothing…
He couldn't let himself think about what might be happening to Li Na right now.
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3. The Voice of the Past
That night, as Chen tried to center himself again, the voices in his soul stirred.
"You know what must be done," Shenggu Feng's voice echoed. "You must return."
Lou Tian's presence flickered alongside him. "But if you do, you leave the Abyss vulnerable."
Chen closed his eyes. "Then tell me what to do."
Feng scoffed. "War waits for no one. You must move."
"Not alone," Tian countered. "You aren't just yourself anymore, Chen. You carry two legacies. You carry us."
Chen exhaled. "And that is exactly why I can't make the wrong choice."
The voices quieted, but their presence remained. He wasn't alone.
He never had been.
And if Earth's time was slipping away…
Then neither could he afford to waste a second more.
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4. The Path Forward
At dawn, Chen stood before the Shanggu elders. "I need a way back to Earth."
Silence stretched between them.
Then, for the first time, Shanggu Xian nodded.
"Then we must open the path before the Queen does."
The battle had always been inevitable.
But now, the race against time had truly begun.
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Next Steps:
Chen finally realizes how much time he has lost—and how urgent Earth's crisis has become.
The Eclipse Queen is holding back Earth's collapse intentionally—she's waiting for the worst possible moment to strike.
The Sacred Abyss is still crucial—if Chen leaves too soon, the Queen may claim this world first.
Chen's connection to Feng and Tian deepens—he is carrying more than just his own burden.
The Shanggu elders finally agree to help—but opening a path to Earth may have its own consequences.
The war is no longer just about preparation.
It's about survival.
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