Chapter 26 — Heavenreach's Eyes
The moment the Cradle of Thorns stirred, the world itself seemed to recoil.
A violet-black glow pulsed from Luo Qingshen's hand, the weapon coiled like a sleeping serpent yet emanating the hunger of something divine and long-forgotten. Shimmering chains of Heaven's Seal tried to restrain it—but they cracked one by one with each breath he took.
The courtyard was in chaos.
Some disciples collapsed from the pressure alone. Others stared in awe at the grotesque beauty of the artifact, mistaking it for a summoned beast or illusion. Only a few—those who had read of Forbidden-Class weapons in dusty vault scrolls—understood the weight of what they were witnessing.
But no one understood it better than Luo Qingshen.
"Still bound… but not for long," he murmured.
With a flick of his wrist, the Cradle receded. Not disappeared—just hidden again, veiled behind a fold of spatial compression layered within his Voidspace Inventory.
The tremors stopped instantly.
But the memory of that power lingered.
❖
High above, behind layers of protective formation screens, Heavenreach Academy's elders stood frozen.
The Headmaster, Elder Jinma, stroked his beard with trembling fingers.
"That artifact… it shouldn't exist. Not after the Last Sealing War."
Beside him, a woman with silver eyes narrowed her gaze. She wore the mantle of the Eyes of Heavenreach, an ancient order responsible for divining threats to the balance of cultivation.
"We need to run a pattern match," she said. "Now."
Jinma nodded, activating the formation crystal before them.
A glowing diagram flickered to life—a celestial map of known weapon patterns, sigils, and bindings. The system scrolled endlessly through mythic weapons: Divine Blades, Heavenly Spears, even the long-lost Crown of Nirvana.
Then it halted.
A single forbidden entry appeared, marked with a blood-red warning seal:
[Codename: CRADLE OF THORNS – Class: Forbidden – Status: Erased from Records]
Jinma paled.
The Eyes operative spoke quietly:
"He's not just a genius. He's a calamity in disguise."
❖
Back at the training grounds, Luo Qingshen had already returned to calm.
Elira approached him warily, her voice low.
"What was that weapon…?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he turned toward the horizon where clouds coiled unnaturally, as if reacting to the spiritual pulse he had just released.
"Something that was never meant to awaken," he said at last.
"And now that it has… everything will come for me."
Elira took a breath.
"Then let them come. You're not alone anymore."
He looked at her for a long time—long enough for even the system to chime in:
[Emotional Anchor recognized: Elira Velhorn. Status: Stable.]
He gave her the faintest smile. Not of relief. But of preparation.
❖
Far away, in a ruined temple where gods once walked…
A shadowy figure opened its eyes.
"So… the Cradle breathes again," the figure rasped. "Then the Voidborn child still walks this realm."
Claws tapped ancient stone.
An eye opened in the sky.
"Begin the convergence. The traitor god is not dead—he is reborn."