The dusk draped itself over the silent mountains, and in that fleeting moment between day and night, the world seemed to hold its breath. Lin Xian stood at the peak of the cliff, his robes rustling with the wind, eyes gazing into the horizon where the sun bled into the earth. Behind him, the first stars blinked awake.
"You've come far," a voice murmured from behind.
Lin Xian didn't turn. "Too far, perhaps. Yet not far enough."
A woman stepped beside him—tall, regal, her silver hair shimmering like the starlit sky. Her presence was quiet but undeniable. "You can still turn back. You're not bound to this fate."
He glanced at her, eyes darker than night. "Fate? My second life was never mine to begin with. I was chosen, not born into this path."
She studied him, then smiled faintly. "And yet, you walk it with more conviction than any emperor I've known."
Below the cliff, the ancient city of Daoxuan pulsed with energy. War banners flapped. The drums of preparation echoed in the distance. The Immortal Clans had begun to move.
"The prophecy said you'd bring balance," she said. "But the council fears you'll bring ruin."
"They fear what they can't control," Lin Xian replied coldly. "They didn't see what I saw in the void. What lies beyond this world."
She looked away. "The others are preparing. The Celestial Blade Sect has sent emissaries. Even the Tomb Whisperers have stirred. They think a war is coming."
"A war is coming," Lin Xian said. "But not the kind they expect."
He turned, walking away from the edge. "Summon the generals. At dawn, we march to the Celestial Basin."
She stared after him. "And what lies there?"
He paused. A flicker of memory danced in his eyes—the moment he died in his first life, betrayed by those closest to him.
"Redemption," he whispered. "Or annihilation."
As night descended completely, thunder rumbled in the distance. The winds carried with them the scent of fate unraveling.
The Second Life of the Immortal Emperor was about to rewrite the world.
End of chapter 28