"How is this possible?" gasped the warrior in black armor, astonished by the overwhelming pressure emanating from his opponent.
"Old and new debts? I'm afraid you won't be able to settle any in this life, nor the next," the Emperor declared with an icy voice.
With a fluid movement, he swung the Golden Sword. The impact was so brutal that the Black Halberd was sent flying from its owner's hands, lost in the chaos of the battlefield. Without pausing, the Emperor advanced and, with surgical precision, plunged the golden blade directly into his adversary's heart.
The man spat out a mouthful of crimson blood. The Emperor, maintaining that indifferent gaze that cut deeper than the steel itself, looked down upon him from his height.
"Do you have any last words?"
The warrior, his soul burdened with a thousand grievances, looked up with difficulty.
"Why did you do all this? You were my most beloved elder brother... Is power so important to you that you were willing to burn the heavens beneath your steps?"
"It is not something you can demand of this Emperor," Wu replied with absolute coldness. "This world belongs to the strong; the weak exist only to be harvested."
The man gritted his teeth, feeling his essence boil one last time.
"I may not be able to kill you... but at the very least, I will not allow your filthy hands to continue profaning our master's legacy."
Immediately, he released an ancestral force that seemed capable of disintegrating the firmament. The Emperor frowned as he noticed his grip on the sword faltering; the weapon vibrated violently, attempting to escape his control. Gathering every last drop of his life energy, the warrior struck the Emperor's chest, throwing him hundreds of meters until he crashed against the ruined walls of the palace.
"Master, I regret that I cannot avenge you in this life," the man whispered, as his body turned into a sun of destructive energy. "But at least, your legacy can rest."
A colossal explosion, born from the sacrifice of his own soul, enveloped the place, consuming the palace and erasing any trace of his presence in a blast that shook the very foundations of the world.
"A fitting end for a being of your kind," the Emperor said, emerging from the smoke as he walked toward the center of the crater. "That sword was good; it is a pity it can no longer be used," he added without a trace of emotion, glancing to the side. The black halberd lay on the ground, its owner dead—a free weapon for whoever would claim it.
He walked toward the Black Halberd and claimed it. A boundless malice, contained within the dark blade, roared at the contact with his hand.
"Even though you are a 'Child of Destiny,' I did not expect you to wield a weapon as unusual as this. I shall consider it my parting gift."
Immediately, a large group of high-level cultivators landed among the ruins. They prostrated themselves with respect, surrounding the solitary figure of the sovereign.
"Emperor Wu, we have eliminated all the invaders," they reported with humility, not daring to lift their gaze.
The Emperor, showing neither surprise nor satisfaction, remained silent for a moment before giving a blunt order:
"Clean this place and rebuild the main hall," he commanded as he withdrew, his figure fading into the mist and dust.
The cultivators, without wasting a single second, deployed their arts. In a matter of a few hours, the beautiful palace had been completely restored, returning to its original splendor as if the laws of time and destruction did not apply to that place.
It was a terrifying sight. The gleam of marble and gold hid the tragedy; it was as if the last trace of that warrior had been systematically erased, leaving absolutely nothing behind. His sacrifice, his pain, and his name had been buried under the perfection of a new building.
"That was our first encounter, Master..." A deep, ethereal voice echoed in every corner of the void, vibrating within the very essence of Wu Huang.
Wu Huang, who until now had remained a spectator, looked up, his eyes complicated and filled with disbelief. "Is this the future?" he asked, his voice cracking with incredulity. "Is this... my future?"
The black halberd materialized before him with a vibrant hum. "Yes, Master," the spirit of the weapon informed him with a frigid voice.
Wu Huang could not help but sigh as he placed a hand to his forehead, trying to process the magnitude of the situation. "Then... how did you end up here? Why do you, a being that belongs to the future, find yourself in this past time?"
"I possess no knowledge of that, Master," the halberd replied. "Most of my memories have been sealed; the last thing I hold in my memory is your image."
Wu Huang nodded slowly. The power of time and space was something far too defiant of the natural order; anyone who managed to master such laws would be virtually invincible, though the price to pay was usually devastating. Glimpsing the future did not reveal an absolute destiny; the moment mortal eyes observed the flow of time, the true future fragmented, becoming merely one possibility among infinite branches.
Returning to the past was an even more heretical feat. Not only did it require one to be an absolute sovereign of spatio-temporal laws, but it also required an incalculable sacrifice to retreat even a brief sigh in the river of time. However, a legendary exception existed: a Treasure of the Heavenly Dao capable of circumventing such laws.
"It is likely that my future 'self' found the Heavenly Mirror," Wu Huang murmured to himself.
That object, a Weapon of the Heavenly Dao, was counted among the most fearsome treasures in creation. Its nature was an enigma, but its ability to manipulate the fabric of reality was absolute. Traveling to the past, peering into the future, and even jumping between alternative realities without suffering the karmic backlash... it was a power that was simply absurd. Nevertheless, according to the chronicles, said treasure was destroyed in the Ancient Era along with the other heavenly relics. It should not be possible to find it, let alone restore it.
"Another option is that this version of myself isn't exactly me," he reflected, trying to make sense of the temporal chaos. "Perhaps it's a variant that ceased to exist the moment I recovered my memories of the past."
The thought caused a pang of irritation.
"That is why I hate time travel; it only causes trouble and complicates even the simplest existence," he cursed bitterly, quickly composing himself and stabilizing his emotions. "This halberd's attitude probably stems from that other version. Even if we are not the same individual, to her, I am still her master."