The mist cleared, but the weight in the air lingered, like the world itself was holding its breath.
This blurred vision replayed in flashes, golden cities where people once used Willforce to bring balance, to protect, to grow. Then the hunger, the war, the corruption. Beasts enslaved. Souls weaponized. Aura twisted into chains. Humanity pushed past its limits until the spirit world overflowed.
The gods gave a final warning. No one listened.
So they erased the majority of the living.
A Divine Reset.
I saw myself alone in the wreckage, clutching SoulWake. I saw the system respond to me, not because I was powerful, but because I wasn't corrupted. Because my Willforce hadn't been touched by greed. Because I could still choose.
The vision faded, but the truth stayed.
I stood on the broken field, completely alone. Not a sound in the air except the wind.
Then the sky split open.
A gust of warm wind slammed into the field. The ground trembled. The scoreboard behind me sparked violently. I turned, expecting another threat.
Instead, something crashed from above like a meteor.
Dust exploded upward. I shielded my face and stepped back as a figure rose from the crater, tall, grinning, draped in loose robes that danced with gold and ash. A long staff spun once in the air and slammed into the ground beside him.
His tail flicked once. His eyes glowed like sunlight through smoke.
"Whew," he said, stretching his arms. "Just in time. Kid, you almost got soul-crushed out here."
I took a step back, still catching my breath. "Who... are you?"
He tilted his head, as if surprised I didn't know.
"Name's Wukong," he said, casually spinning his staff. "Monkey King. Chaos incarnate. Soulbreaker. God-slapper."
He gave me a crooked grin and tapped his temple.
"And you, my friend, are about to learn what's really going on."