MTLNOVEL Chapter 3: *Chapter 3: Convergence of Shadows**
**—The Ritual Unraveled—**
The air in the Ninth Heaven thrummed with anticipation, the celestial winds hushed as the **Ritual of Convergence** began. Above the Eternal Throne, the sky fractured into a kaleidoscope of light, each prismatic shard reflecting a millennium of the Sovereign's reign. Celestial Energy pooled beneath his feet, swirling in patterns older than time itself. The courtiers knelt in unison, their chants weaving a tapestry of power that bound the heavens together—and for a fleeting moment, even the conspirators faltered, awed by the majesty they sought to destroy.
The Eternal Sovereign raised the Heavenly Sword, its blade igniting with the collective will of the Nine Heavens. "By blood and balance," he intoned, his voice resonating through the fabric of existence, "the realms endure."
But as the ritual's energy surged, a serpentine thread of corruption slithered into the light.
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**—The Strike—**
Lady Li Ming stood at the edge of the ritual circle, her jade staff planted firmly in the shimmering floor. To the untrained eye, she was the model of devotion, her lips moving in sync with the sacred invocations. But her true work unfolded beneath the surface. With a whispered command, she channeled a sliver of her power into the Abyssal shard hidden within her sleeve. The crystal pulsed, its venom seeping into the ritual's currents.
The Sovereign stiffened. The Heavenly Sword trembled in his grip as the first wave of Abyssal corruption struck—a searing cold that gnawed at his divine core. *Impossible.* The ritual's energy was *his* energy, an extension of his will. Yet now, it recoiled, turning jagged and alien.
"Majesty!" A voice shouted—Captain Lan Yi, commander of the throne guard. He lunged forward, but General Xuan Long's blade barred his path.
"Stand down, Captain," Xuan Long growled, his armor now etched with Abyssal runes. "The heavens have chosen new stewards."
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**—The Abyss Rises—**
Chaos erupted. Xuan Long's legionnaires, their loyalty bought with promises of power, stormed the hall, clashing with the throne guard. Celestial steel rang against Abyssal-forged weapons, the air reeking of ozone and rot. Above it all, Lord Feng Jun hovered, his void-cloak billowing as he slotted the corrupted shard into a lattice of celestial ore. The device flared, a black star sucking hungrily at the Sovereign's essence.
"You forget your place, Feng Jun," the Sovereign roared, even as his strength bled into the abyssal vortex. "The heavens do not bow to *vermin*."
With a surge of defiance, he slammed the Heavenly Sword into the ritual circle. Light exploded, tearing fissures through the throne hall. Loyalists and traitors alike were thrown back—all but Lady Li Ming.
"You cling to the past," she hissed, her staff now crackling with Abyssal energy. "To *mortals*. But the future belongs to those who seize it."
The Sovereign's gaze locked onto hers, and for the first time, he saw the depth of her resentment. *She envies my ascension. My freedom from the chains she still wears.*
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**—The Weight of Mortality—**
As the ritual crumbled, the Sovereign's mind fractured. Visions assailed him: Wu Kai's laughter as they sparred in the mud, the first time he'd flown on celestial wings, the tears of a mortal mother cradling her child in a war-torn village. Each memory was a shackle, grounding him in the humanity his enemies scorned.
"You think mortality a weakness," he gasped, blood—*actual blood*—trickling from his lips. "But it is the forge where true power is born."
With a final, thunderous effort, he wrenched the Heavenly Sword free and plunged it into the lattice device. The explosion shattered the throne hall's pillars, sending celestial marble crashing into the lower heavens. Feng Jun screamed as the backlash consumed his arm, while Xuan Long staggered, his Abyssal armor melting into his flesh.
But it was too late.
The Abyssal shard, now fully activated, fused with the ritual's core. A portal yawned open—a maw of teeth and shadows—and the Sovereign felt the Nine Heavens themselves recoil.
"No more games," Li Ming spat. She raised her staff, and the corrupted ritual surged, chains of Abyssal energy lashing around the Sovereign's limbs. "Fall, *Lin Jie*. Fall and remember what it means to be *small*."
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**—The Descent—**
The heavens wept. Golden rain slicked the crumbling halls as loyalists fought desperately to reach their ruler. Captain Lan Yi, half-blinded by Abyssal burns, crawled toward the throne, his hand outstretched. "Majesty…!"
The Sovereign met his gaze one last time. "Rebuild," he whispered. Then, with a roar that shook the foundations of reality, he channeled his remaining power into a single command:
**"Sever."**
The Heavenly Sword shattered—a supernova of light—and the resulting shockwave tore the portal asunder. But the cost was absolute. Stripped of divinity, the Eternal Sovereign plummeted through the fractured heavens, past the mortal realm, into the unknown.
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**—Ephemeral Victory—**
The conspirators stared at the ruins. Xuan Long's face was a mask of pain and triumph. Feng Jun cradled his mangled arm, laughing through gritted teeth. Only Li Ming stood silent, her gaze fixed on the void where the Sovereign had fallen.
In the distance, the Abyssal Realm stirred, its laughter echoing through the cracks in the world.
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