In the grand celestial domain beyond time and space—the Ethereal Spire of Judgement—a war council unlike any in millennia had begun.
The stars no longer blinked gently in the skies of the mortal realm.
They watched.
Fearful.
Burning.
Above them stood gods. Real gods. Not just projections of faith or avatars of belief—but ancient forces of balance who once shaped the laws of cultivation, fate, and life itself.
And now… they were angry.
Inside the Celestial Tribunal Chamber, storm clouds brewed beneath crystal floors, and divine laws curled like serpents in the air.
The Celestial King, radiant and wrathful, slammed the Scepter of Order into the foundation of the heavens.
"Enough silence. Enough tolerance. The Hidden One has mocked our law, corrupted our champion, and now—he wields power even we cannot unravel!"
Behind him, the Goddess of Harmony wept softly. "She was our flame… Yue Ling. She was supposed to purify the world…"
"She still burns," the God of War said grimly, "just not for us."
The God of Prophecy stood, eyes closed. "I peer into time… but his thread is missing. There is no past. No future. He does not belong to this world. Or any."
The hall fell silent.
And then—the oldest god among them—Chronon, the Timeless Watcher, finally spoke.
"The Threadless One is more than a threat. He is a flaw. A paradox. He does not exist… yet now he rules."
"What do you suggest?" the Celestial King asked.
Chronon raised his hourglass.
"We wage war."
Back in the mortal realm, within the now fully subjugated Snow Palace, Priyanshu Yadav sat calmly in the middle of an ethereal formation, sipping tea as the wind outside howled unnaturally. He was no longer just a man playing in the shadows.
He had become the shadow that bent light.
Yue Ling entered, her expression hard to read. She still bore faint wounds from the duel with Tian Zhen, but her aura was even stronger now—her cultivation now deep within the Sage Realm, bordering an unknown tier.
She knelt beside him. "I felt something. A pulse. The stars—they're watching."
He nodded slowly. "They've decided."
"To descend?"
"To war."
DING! Hidden Villain Quest Chain Updated:New Global Event Triggered: [The Divine War Begins]
Heaven has declared the mortal world unstable.
Pantheon Protocols activated.
Multiple Celestial Avatars will descend to purge the anomaly.
Time remaining until descent: 29 days.
Personal Target: Defend your domain. Corrupt the Heavens. Break the Chain of Divine Law.
In the shadowed corridors of the Mind Shadow Hall, Elira burst into laughter after reading the divine ripple reports.
"They're sending their army. For us?" she grinned. "How deliciously desperate."
Han Xie tightened the grip on his blade. "We'll need more than assassins and corrupt saints to fight divine legions."
"We already have more." said a new voice from the corner.
A ripple in space—and a hooded figure stepped out, cloaked in void silk.
It was Ashen Crow, the first Immortal Betrayer, long thought erased by the Celestials for blasphemy. His eyes glowed with knowledge only madmen understood.
"I heard the villain finally woke up," he said with a grin. "I've come to repay my debt."
Elira narrowed her eyes. "You follow no one."
Ashen Crow turned to Priyanshu's projection on the wall. "I don't follow. I serve. There's a difference."
Priyanshu rose from his seat, looking at the map of the world. Glowing dots marked kingdoms he had infiltrated, leaders who were puppets, sects he had toppled, and saints he had corrupted.
And now…
He turned his gaze upward.
"I've ruled the mortals," he murmured. "Now, it's time to teach the heavens… how to kneel."
DING! New System Feature Unlocked: [Divine Suppression Matrix]Track, counter, and eventually absorb divine power through corrupted faith and heretic worship.
Villain Path Progression: 41%Cosmic Threat Ranking: S-Heaven's Response: Full Pantheon Activation – [6 Celestial Avatars] inbound.
And far above, in the halls of the gods, six beams of divine light broke through the barrier between realms.
Each one carried a weapon forged from concepts.
Each one bore a name.
And every one of them… was coming for him.