Dawn.
Golden light spilled over the Sect's eastern mountains. Birds chirped. Disciples meditated. Spiritual beasts frolicked peacefully.
Then—
BOOM!
A tear in the sky split open like paper set on fire.
A flaming chariot descended from the heavens, pulled by spirit horses with flaming hooves and wings made of lightning.
One of them sneezed.
Half the bamboo forest caught fire.
> "IS THIS NORMAL?!" a disciple screamed, diving behind a spirit rock.
> "No," said Elder Yuehua, sipping tea calmly. "This is… divine-tier nonsense."
---
The Arrival
Arin, groggy from being woken up by a sonic boom, stumbled outside in crumpled robes and mismatched shoes.
Fluffy Doom rode on his head like a crown of chaos, chewing on his ribbon.
From the divine chariot stepped a tall, masked woman dressed in flowing robes of silver and gold. Her voice echoed like thunder in a temple.
> "I am the Herald of the Celestial Court! I bring prophecy, warning, and—wait, where's the welcome parade?"
Silence.
Yura coughed. "We don't do that here."
The herald glared. "Rude mortals."
She stepped forward, holding a scroll sealed with four divine glyphs.
> "I seek… Disciple Arin."
Arin blinked. "I didn't do it. Whatever it was."
> "You were marked by the stars. You stand on the edge of fate and ruin. You—wait, is that a chaos beast licking your leg?"
Everyone turned.
Fluffy Doom was now floating upside down, licking Arin's foot while wagging a tail that glowed like a galaxy.
> "Yes," Arin said. "His name is Fluffy Doom. He does that."
> "...This complicates things."
---
The Prophecy
The Herald opened her scroll.
> "Hear now the Words of Heaven: When the sky splits and a child of ruin is born to walk among mortals,
When fate binds a soul twisted by forgotten code,
When trash is made treasure,
And the marked one rises beneath the broken seal—
The world shall burn, or be reborn."
Everyone stared at Arin.
He scratched his neck. "Uhhh… that's probably not about me."
The scroll on his back unrolled and said, "It's absolutely about you, you walking contradiction."
> "Shhh!"
---
Yuehua Intervenes
Elder Yuehua stepped forward.
> "What do you mean, broken code? What does Heaven suspect?"
The Herald bowed. "There is a glitch in the fabric of reincarnation. A system granted to a soul it was never meant for."
Arin turned pale.
> "I knew that system was shady!"
> [Ding! System: Please disregard all celestial rumors. Have a blessed day.]
Yura leaned in and whispered, "Even your system lies like a politician during election week."
---
Side Quests from Heaven?!
The Herald handed Arin a silver slip.
> [New Divine Quest Unlocked!]
Objective: Seek the Hidden Seal beneath Dragonbone Mountain.
Reward: Access to Fate's Archive.
Warning: High probability of death, betrayal, or accidental explosion.
> "What kind of quest description is that?!"
> "The honest kind," the Herald replied.
---
Back in Arin's Room
Later, Arin paced in his room, the silver slip glowing faintly.
> "So I might be the child of fate, bound to a corrupted system, and possibly one sneeze away from triggering an apocalypse."
> "Yep," said the scroll.
Fluffy Doom chewed on the edge of his spirit bed.
> "You two are my only allies," Arin sighed.
> "Wrong," said Yue Lan, stepping in.
> "You have us."
Yura followed behind her. "You're chaotic and slightly pathetic, but you're ours."
Arin blinked. Then smiled. Just a little.
> "...Okay. Let's save the world. Or break it with flair."