The air was thick with tension. Everywhere Li Fan stepped, the ground beneath him trembled, as if the world itself was holding its breath, waiting for the next pulse of divine energy. The remainder of the Celestial Tribunal was still scattered across the world, weakened but not gone. Even their broken forms lingered in the ether, waiting for the right moment to return.

  The heavens above had not been the same since Li Fan tore through the Deep Gate. Now, the stars were not just twinkling—they were burning, as if calling to each other across the void. The sky had become a mirror, reflecting not just the present, but echoes of the past and future.

  As Li Fan and Yue Xian walked the reborn world, they could feel watchful eyes on them—eyes older than time itself, eyes that had seen the birth and death of gods.

  “It’s not over, is it?” Yue Xian asked softly, her voice filled with unease.

  Li Fan’s gaze hardened.

  “No. This is just the beginning.”

  Suddenly, a dark crack appeared in the sky, jagged and deep, a wound in the fabric of existence. From it poured a strange, cold mist that seemed to freeze the very air.

  Out of the crack stepped a figure cloaked in shadow, its form shifting like liquid. Its presence alone made the world feel smaller, its very existence felt like an opposing force to the light of the world.

  “I see you, heir of the flame,” a voice rumbled, echoing in the vastness. The words were ancient, each syllable carrying a weight far beyond mortal comprehension.

  Li Fan’s chest tightened.

  “Who are you?”

  “I am Ostravah, the First Fallen, the one who chose darkness,” the figure intoned, its eyes gleaming like burning suns. “I am the beginning of the end. And you…” it paused, its gaze settling on Li Fan. “You are the one who will reshape the world.”

  Yue Xian stepped forward, protectively positioning herself between the figure and Li Fan.

  “What do you want from us?”

  The figure’s laugh was cold, the sound like frost cracking.

  “I don’t want anything from you. But I must warn you. The gods you’ve angered are not just celestial, mortal, or divine. They are timeless. And they will come for you.”

  A ripple spread across the landscape, and a massive tremor shook the ground. Far off in the distance, pillars of light began to emerge from the earth—glistening, radiant structures that reached into the heavens.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Ostravah’s form flickered, then solidified, and his voice became a whisper, curling around their minds.

  “The gods are awakening. They will stop at nothing to reclaim what you’ve stolen from them. The gate you opened is a wound in the heavens… and the gods will close it.”

  Li Fan’s flame surged, black-gold energy spiraling around him as his aura shifted, becoming something far more primal.

  “Let them come.”

  “You misunderstand.” Ostravah’s voice grew darker.

  “They are not coming for you alone. They are coming for everything.”

  With that, the shadowy figure vanished, leaving behind a silence so heavy it felt like the world had stopped spinning.

  The next morning, Li Fan woke to find the world had changed again. The wind was no longer gentle; it carried screams. The earth itself was trembling, as if responding to a call from beyond.

  In the distance, the towering pillars of light remained. The sky, though still clouded, now churned with unseen forces.

  Yue Xian, still reeling from the events of the night before, gazed toward the horizon, where figures—glowing with impossible energy—began to emerge from the ground, their bodies made of starlight and fire.

  “The gods…” she whispered, her voice breaking. “They’ve come.”

  Li Fan’s heart beat heavily in his chest. His instincts screamed at him to run, to escape the divine wrath, but there was nowhere to run. Not anymore.

  “They’re here,” he said simply. “And I will face them.”

  The first of the gods appeared before them—a figure adorned in a crown of stars, their body draped in shimmering robes. This was Suveth, the Celestial King, whose eyes radiated with the force of a thousand suns. His very presence bent the air around him, distorting the light and space.

  “Li Fan,” the Celestial King’s voice boomed, carrying the weight of eternity. “You’ve done what no mortal should. You’ve unbound the chains that held us. And now, we must reclaim what is ours.”

  The sky grew darker as more gods manifested, their forms materializing like great mountains of power. Tandris, the Serpent of Eternity. Levera, the Mother of Storms. Faevor, the Heart of War. Each of them was a force of nature, their divine auras crackling through the world.

  Yue Xian gripped Li Fan’s arm, her body tense.

  “They’re too powerful. We can’t…”

  “We can,” Li Fan said, his voice resolute, the flames within him burning brighter. “I’ve faced worse than gods before. And I’ll face them again.”

  With a sudden surge of will, he lifted his hands to the sky, calling forth the flame of the First Godslayer. It burned with a force so pure that the very earth around them seemed to bend to its will.

  “You may be gods,” Li Fan said, his voice rising. “But you are not invincible. I will remake this world, whether you like it or not.”

  The gods stepped forward, their eyes flashing with rage.

  “Then you will perish,” Suveth declared.

  And thus, the battle for the world’s future began.