The Anthem faded into the dawn.
All across the Dominion, silence reigned—not out of fear, but reverence. The Echo Sanctum had activated in full, and millions of souls now bore the fragment of Tianming's Will. But resonance came with risk.
The first cracks appeared not in the wild Realms, but deep within Tianming's core empire—Celestalis Prime.
---
The Imperial Conservatory—a spired cathedral where Dao Chants were composed and refined—was unusually quiet. Grandmaster Elarion, the most senior Sound Architect beneath Aria herself, sat hunched over an unfinished composition. Notes bled from his eyes like ink.
"My Lord... the melody won't stay in tune," he whispered to no one.
The paper on his desk shimmered—and rearranged itself. The notes formed a face. A laughing face.
Chaos Virtuoso had arrived.
---
Su Tianming stood before the Crystal Throne, eyes narrowed. The signs were unmistakable. Vibrational disturbances in 48 provinces. Cultivators spontaneously converting to twisted sound techniques. And whispers—always whispers—of a new prophet.
"A Discord Cult," Nihila said, examining a blackened scroll. "Worse. A school. They've formed a rival musical sect."
Aria clenched her fists. "They call themselves the Sonata of Severance."
Tianming paced. "Their founder?"
A projection flickered to life. The Chaos Virtuoso's grin stretched across the palace hall.
"You conduct, Supreme Overlord," the projection said. "But I remix."
He bowed mockingly. "Let's collaborate."
The room erupted in defensive formations, but the projection vanished.
---
Meanwhile, in the outer realm of Shatterglass Lake, a different kind of rebellion brewed.
Serica, Sovereign of Time, knelt in meditation. Beside her, thousands of Temporal Artisans aligned their chronosouls in preparation for an empire-wide synchronization.
"We must lock time," she whispered. "To trap their chaos in a fixed loop."
But her vision fractured. Future timelines—once clear—became dissonant. All roads led to war. And worse, to Tianming's death.
"I must act outside causality," she said.
And she vanished into the Chrono Abyss, a forbidden layer of time itself.
---
Back in Harmonia Ultima, the Divine Council convened.
Lyricel floated into the hall, her dress spun from dissonant threads.
"If you want to stop chaos, you must understand it," she said. "I propose an experiment."
Tianming frowned. "Go on."
"Let me duel him. The Virtuoso. One composition. One battle. Music versus music."
Aria stood. "You would bring him here?!"
Lyricel raised an eyebrow. "We can't beat him with purity. Let me craft a Resonant Anomaly Field. His discord will be neutralized."
Tianming nodded slowly. "Make it happen. You have three days."
---
The field was erected atop the floating island of Cadenzara, a realm suspended between silence and sound.
As Lyricel waited, her fingers danced across her instrument—a hybrid zither-lute tuned to the void. Every note she plucked vibrated the air with anticipation.
Then, he arrived.
The Chaos Virtuoso appeared in a cloak of noise and fractured rhythm.
"Shall we duet?" he asked.
Their duel began—not with fists, but with scores.
She struck with Verse of Vortex Harmony, twisting harmonics into blades. He countered with Dissonant Shift, breaking her tempo and turning her attacks into chaotic energy.
They danced across realities. Notes became weapons. Chords became shields. And in the climax, they both struck the final chord at once.
A rupture formed in the center of the arena—a Resonance Singularity.
It threatened to devour both.
---
Tianming intervened.
Descending like thunder, he struck the air with his Dominion Baton, reshaping the singularity into a new realm core. A Stabilized Conduction Node.
"Enough."
The Virtuoso paused, panting, smiling. "Beautiful, Overlord. I concede—for now."
He vanished, leaving behind a single black note, pulsing like a heart.
Lyricel collapsed.
"He wasn't playing to win," she whispered. "He was testing our instrument."
Tianming took the black note and sealed it within a prism.
"Then next time," he said, "we'll play to shatter."