The skies, once adorned with countless twinkling stars like scattered jewels, were now stained by an encroaching ocean of darkness that devoured every speck of light. A deafening roar echoed, not from natural thunder, but from the cataclysmic clash of cosmic energies. In the midst of that vortex of destruction, an majestic golden figure stood firm, radiating a divine aura so pure it momentarily held back the encroaching gloom threatening to engulf him. This was Zhen Wu, the Great Heavenly Sovereign, a deity whose power was revered across the entire cosmos.
His golden robes fluttered violently in the energy storm, revealing gaping wounds that bled golden light, mingling with the dark, viscous ichor of the entities attacking him. In his hand, the World-Sundering Sword, a sacred artifact forged from the core of an ancient star, vibrated intensely after countless blows that could cleave planets in two. Opposite him stood a monstrous figure, the Demon King Morgoth, his eyes burning with a malevolent crimson glow, radiating a darkness so profound it extinguished the surrounding starlight.
"Zhen Wu!" Morgoth roared, his voice like the ancient growl of a dragon emerging from the depths of hell. "Darkness will consume everything! Your feeble power won't stop this age of annihilation!"
Zhen Wu grunted, a drop of golden blood trickling from the corner of his lips. Though his body was riddled with wounds and his energy severely depleted, his eyes still burned with unyielding conviction. "As long as the heart of the cosmos beats, as long as there's a flicker of hope, I will not surrender, Morgoth!"
Their battle was a dance of destruction, a symphony of obliteration that shook the very foundations of reality. Each swing of Zhen Wu's sword carried the laws of the universe, summoning the power of stars, cosmic winds, and primordial energy to strike Morgoth. Meanwhile, every attack from Morgoth was a manifestation of darkness itself, a corrupting energy that sought to defile and obliterate everything it touched.
Below them, other gods and heavenly generals fought desperately against the countless legions of demons. The sky was filled with flashes of divine light and demonic energy colliding, creating explosions that convulsed the universe. However, despite the gods' valiant efforts, the sheer numbers of the demons were overwhelming, and little by little, their defensive lines began to crumble.
Suddenly, a searing pain from behind made Zhen Wu flinch. A jet-black spear pierced his heart, unleashing dark energy that instantly gnawed at his divine essence. He turned with great difficulty and saw a figure who should have been his ally, the War God Xing
Tian, grinning maliciously as he pulled back his spear, now stained with divine blood.
"You are too naive, Zhen Wu," Xing Tian hissed, his eyes glinting with malice. "True power can only be gained through darkness. Your era of glory is over."
The betrayal struck Zhen Wu harder than Morgoth's attacks. With the last remnants of his strength, he stared at Morgoth with burning resolve. "Though I fall here, hope will never die!"
In an instant, the golden energy around Zhen Wu began to surge violently. He gathered the last fragments of his soul essence, fused them with his profound understanding of the Dao, and activated an ancient, forbidden reincarnation technique—a final hope he had saved should everything go awry. A vortex of intense golden light erupted around him, drawing in most of the surrounding energy.
Morgoth roared in fury, realizing Zhen Wu's plan. He tried to stop him, but the vortex of light was too strong, shielding him from the Demon King's assault. In the blink of an eye, Zhen Wu's divine body disintegrated into thousands of golden light particles that vanished into the vortex, carrying his soul's core across space and time, towards a rebirth in a distant world, leaving behind a universe weeping in darkness and betrayal.
However, a small spark of hope accompanied him, the hope of the legend's resurgence in a new era.
The golden light that Zhen Wu had unleashed pierced through layers of reality, traversing the cold, silent emptiness of interstellar space. His soul's core, though stripped of most of its physical power and memories of its glorious past, remained an extraordinary entity, carrying with it a profound understanding of the universe's laws and indelible traces of divinity. His journey through the currents of time and space brought him to a planet vastly different from the cosmic battlefield he had just left.
This planet, known as Earth, was enveloped by a soft blue atmosphere and adorned with vast green lands and sparkling blue oceans beneath the sunlight. The civilization on this planet had achieved astonishing technological advancement, with magnificent cities soaring into the sky and communication networks connecting every corner of the world. Yet, behind this material progress, flowed a subtle current of spiritual energy—an ancient heritage still practiced by a select few in hidden academies.
Amidst the bustling sounds of a modern hospital, filled with the beeps of electronic monitors and the footsteps of nurses, a tiny baby boy had just been born. His skin was rosy, his eyes tightly shut, and his hands clenched into small fists. His first cry broke the room's silence, a sound of new life, innocent and pure. Yet, within that infant's soul resided a fragment of a god who had once shaken the cosmos.
The baby was named Lin Feng. From the moment of his birth, there was something different about him, though no one could explain it. His eyes, when they finally opened a few days later, held an extraordinary clarity and depth, as if seeing far beyond the mortal world. He rarely cried without a clear reason, and often seemed calm, observing his surroundings with a strange curiosity for an infant.
As time passed, Lin Feng's peculiarities became more evident. He learned to speak and walk far earlier than children his age. His brain was like a sponge, absorbing all kinds of information at an astonishing speed. He showed great interest in books, especially those related to ancient history and mythology, as if there was a faint resonance with his forgotten past.
Lin Feng's family, though delighted with their intelligent son, sometimes felt bewildered by his maturity and tranquility, which far surpassed his age. They didn't realize that within their child flowed the remnants of divine power and a vast understanding of the Dao, though encased in a deep slumber within his soul.
As Lin Feng grew into a young boy, he began to display innate talents in inexplicable ways. He had a photographic memory, could learn foreign languages in a matter of weeks, and possessed a sharp intuition that often made him aware of things he shouldn't have known. Occasionally, when he was deeply focused or in a strong emotional state, subtle ripples of energy would emanate from his body, though he himself was unaware of it.
At the playground, while other children ran and shouted, Lin Feng often sat alone under a shady tree, his eyes closed, sensing the flow of energy around him without being taught. It was a remnant of his divine instincts, an innate ability to interact with the cosmic energy that permeated the entire universe. He didn't understand what he was feeling, only a comforting and familiar sensation, like a forgotten melody from a distant dream.
Strange dreams also began to haunt him at night. Flashes of devastating battles in the sky, the majestic golden figure fighting against darkness, and a profound sense of loss. The dreams felt so real, yet they were always blurry and hard to recall clearly upon waking. However, the emotions left behind by these dreams were always strong: a heavy sense of responsibility and a longing for something he couldn't comprehend.
Unbeknownst to him, the foundation of his life as Lin Feng was being built—a new chapter in the journey of an eternal soul. The legend had returned, reborn in a foreign world, with dormant power and hidden memories, waiting for the right time to rise again.