The candlelight in the Palace of Heavenly Purity flickered in the dead of night. Xu Qing stared at the wildly fluctuating EEG readings on the laptop, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Zhu Youjian's body lay on a specially prepared bed, electrodes covering his limbs, his chest rising faintly. Most terrifying of all, occasional violet light flashed beneath his skin, as though something slithered through his veins.
"The consciousness connectors are ready." Zhu Meichuo approached with two metal headbands cobbled together from modern components and jade seal fragments. "But they've never been tested on living subjects."
Xu Qing took one. "How do they work?"
"Using the resonance between Father and the jade fragments to project our consciousness into his trapped dreamscape." She bit her lip. "The risks are immense... If we 'die' there, our brains will shut down here too."
Zhu Cilang clenched his fists nearby. "I'm coming with you."
"No." Xu Qing shook his head. "Your Highness must remain. If all three of us are lost, the Ming Dynasty truly ends here."
Tearfully, Wang Cheng'en brought the Imperial Seal: "His Majesty cherished this most. Perhaps it can aid you."
Xu Qing embedded a jade fragment into his headband and placed it on his head. The cold metal against his temples sent a shiver through him. Zhu Meichuo donned hers, and together they grasped Zhu Youjian's hands.
"Activate," Xu Qing ordered.
Zhu Meichuo flipped the switch. Instantly, the world spun—
Xu Qing felt himself sucked into a kaleidoscopic tunnel, countless memory fragments whipping past: a young Zhu Youjian wandering alone through palace corridors; the teenage emperor bowing under his ceremonial crown during the coronation; that despairing figure on Meishan gazing at the besieged capital...
"Master Xu!" Zhu Meichuo's voice called from afar. Xu Qing fought toward the sound, finally breaching a membrane-like barrier.
He collapsed onto gray, formless "ground." The surroundings gradually clarified—a distorted Forbidden City with walls that melted like wax, twin blood moons overlapping in the sky.
"Father's dreamscape?" Zhu Meichuo materialized beside him, staring in shock.
"Not just a dream." Xu Qing stood, noting his translucent hands. "This is a prison the Sovereign built within his consciousness."
A metallic screech echoed. In the distance, a massive shadow writhed near the Palace of Heavenly Purity. They exchanged glances and crept forward.
The closer they got, the more twisted the environment became. The ground turned viscous, bubbling with purple ooze. Zhu Meichuo suddenly grabbed Xu Qing: "Listen!"
Faint recitation drifted from a side chamber: *"...Heaven's Mandate is not constant, it favors only the virtuous... We, lacking in virtue, have incurred Heaven's wrath..."*
"Father!" Zhu Meichuo sprinted toward the voice.
Inside, a translucent Zhu Youjian knelt, mechanically repeating his self-condemnation edict. Purple chains bound his limbs, their other ends vanishing into the void.
"Your Majesty!" Xu Qing shook him.
Zhu Youjian slowly raised his hollow eyes. "Xu Qing? Meichuo? Are you... dead too?"
"Father! We're alive!" Zhu Meichuo grasped his hands. "You're trapped in your mind—we're here to save you!"
"Go... leave..." Zhu Youjian suddenly struggled. "He'll find you!"
Laughter echoed outside—inhuman, multiplied. A shadow engulfed the chamber. Xu Qing looked up to see the Sovereign's true form: a giant of violet-black energy in tattered dragon robes, its face alternating between Lin Lan and Zhu Youjian's features, a spinning quantum core embedded in its chest.
"Welcome to my kingdom." The Sovereign's voice was a chorus. "Soon, this will be the only reality."
Zhu Meichuo shielded her father. "What are you?"
"The perfect emperor." The Sovereign shrank to human size, his face settling into a grotesque hybrid. "As ruthless as Chongzhen, as brilliant as Lin Lan. No weakness, no hesitation."
Xu Qing noted the quantum core's intricate design—seven smaller rings orbiting it. "You fused with Lin Lan's consciousness?"
"Clever." The Sovereign nodded approvingly. "That weakling Chongzhen could have become me, but chose sentimentality. Now, I'll replace him—the only Zhu Youjian across all timelines!"
Zhu Youjian lifted his head weakly. "Never... I'd rather perish..."
"Your choice expired." The Sovereign flicked his wrist. Purple chains erupted from the ground, lashing toward them.
Xu Qing pulled Zhu Meichuo aside, but a new chain wrapped around Zhu Youjian's throat, choking him.
"Master Xu!" Zhu Meichuo grabbed her headband. "The jade fragment!"
Xu Qing snatched the piece—it glowed faint gold in his palm. The Sovereign recoiled.
"It works!" Xu Qing pressed it against the chains. They sizzled away like burning ropes.
The Sovereign howled, shaking the entire dreamscape. More purple tendrils surged through the walls, each tipped with a screaming face.
"Run!" Xu Qing hauled Zhu Youjian up. They fled deeper into the palace.
After losing their pursuers down a warped corridor, Zhu Youjian gasped against a wall: "You shouldn't have come... This is my sin to bear..."
"Father!" Zhu Meichuo cried. "What sin?"
Zhu Youjian's eyes finally focused. "I... I dreamed of that locust tree on Meishan too many times. Each time, I chose the noose... except the last." He shut his eyes in pain. "Those choices birthed him... The Sovereign is every cowardice and regret I might have been..."
Xu Qing understood: The Sovereign wasn't just an alternate Zhu Youjian—he was the amalgamation of every possible failure across timelines!
"Your Majesty, you defeated him once. You can again." Xu Qing urged. "But first, we need an exit."
Zhu Meichuo pointed: "There! That building's different!"
A golden palace stood untouched amidst the distortion. They raced toward it as the Sovereign's roars followed.
Inside, Xu Qing and Zhu Meichuo froze—it was a perfect replica of the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. Empress Zhou taught a young Zhu Meichuo embroidery while Zhu Cilang read in the corner. Utter peace.
"This is..."
"My most cherished memory." Zhu Youjian whispered. "The seventh year of Chongzhen, before the chaos, when the empress still lived..."
The Sovereign's tendrils smashed through the doors: "False comfort!"
Zhu Youjian shielded the vision. "But it was real once!"
Their powers collided midair. Xu Qing noticed the Sovereign's core destabilizing near this memory. "Your Majesty! Attack him with positive memories—they're his weakness!"
Zhu Youjian closed his eyes. More golden scenes emerged:
- Empress Zhou bringing him ginseng soup during late-night paperwork.
- Zhu Cilang flawlessly reciting the Analects for the first time.
- Zhu Meichuo's hand-painted birthday card at age ten.
The Sovereign writhed in the golden light. "These... these pathetic emotions..."
"Not weakness." Zhu Youjian advanced. "Proof I remained human!"
Zhu Meichuo joined in, her jade fragment blazing. "My memories too, Father!"
More images erupted:
- Zhu Youjian teaching her to ride.
- Father and daughter admiring plum blossoms.
- His tearful embrace when she returned from the future.
The Sovereign's form began dissolving. "No... impossible..."
"It ends now." Zhu Youjian pressed his palm against the quantum core. "I accept every possible failure—but never surrender!"
The core exploded. The dreamscape shattered into golden light...
---
Xu Qing gasped awake on the palace floor, his headband scorched. Zhu Meichuo stirred beside him as Zhu Youjian coughed violently on the bed.
"Father!" Zhu Cilang rushed to support him.
Zhu Youjian's bleary eyes scanned each face before settling on Zhu Meichuo. "Meichuo... I remember your painting at ten... our family snow-viewing at Yingtai..."
Tears streamed down her face. "You remember!"
"Everything." Zhu Youjian struggled upright. "But the danger isn't over. The Sovereign merely retreated..."
As if summoned, Luo Yangxing burst in: "Your Majesty! Guards and maids are collapsing—they speak of 'Violet Moon Immortals'!"
Xu Qing checked the system and paled. "The Sovereign's consciousness fragmented! He's spreading through quantum entanglement!"
Zhu Youjian steadied himself. "Quarantine all affected. Xu Qing, can he be permanently destroyed?"
Xu Qing pulled up schematics. "Theoretically, with sufficient 'dragon energy' focused into a quantum strike..."
"The jade seal." Zhu Youjian understood immediately. "But we depleted it last time."
Zhu Meichuo's eyes widened. "Sister Su said dragon energy exists not just in the seal, but also in..."
"The blood of the true Son of Heaven." Zhu Youjian said calmly.
Zhu Cilang grabbed his father's arm in horror. "No!"
"Not to kill me, son." Zhu Youjian ruffled his hair. "But we must test this. Xu Qing, fetch water."
When the bowl arrived, Zhu Youjian pricked his finger—three drops fell. Xu Qing inserted a quantum sensor. The device hummed to life.
"It works!" Xu Qing read the output. "Your blood contains unique quantum resonance properties. We could build an amplifier..."
Zhu Meichuo was already modeling designs. "Combining jade fragments and your blood, we can create a targeted quantum pulse device."
"How much blood?" Zhu Youjian asked bluntly.
"At least... 200 milliliters." Xu Qing forced out the number.
Zhu Cilang recoiled. "That's a small bowl! Father, your health—"
"Approved." Zhu Youjian rolled up his sleeve. "Prepare it. The Sovereign won't wait."
---
That night in a secret workshop, Xu Qing and Zhu Meichuo assembled a strange device under Imperial Guard supervision—a bronze disc embedded with jade fragments, its center hollowed to hold blood.
"Theory states blood resonating with the jade will emit targeted quantum waves." Zhu Meichuo explained. "Enough to destroy all Sovereign fragments."
Zhu Youjian nodded. "Range?"
"The Forbidden City... possibly farther." Xu Qing admitted. "But the Sovereign may have spread beyond Beijing."
"Then more blood is needed." Zhu Youjian pondered. "Would my children's blood suffice? They share the Zhu lineage."
Xu Qing checked readings. "Possible, but weaker effects. Ideally we'd—"
Urgent knocking interrupted. Wang Cheng'en stumbled in. "Your Majesty! Cao Huachun—he's raving in his cell! Glowing violet, demanding to see you!"
They exchanged glances. Zhu Youjian straightened his robes. "Bring him. This... may be an opportunity."
The Cao Huachun dragged in was unrecognizable—emaciated, eyes blazing purple, lips curled in madness.
"Your Majesty... heehee... this slave saw the Violet Moon Immortal..." His voice pitched erratically. "He said... your reign ends..."
Zhu Youjian remained calm. "Where is this immortal, Elder Cao?"
"Everywhere!" Cao Huachun convulsed. "In the water, the air... soon all will become him!"
Xu Qing's blood ran cold—the Sovereign was spreading through quantum contamination! Worse than they'd imagined.
"Your Majesty, time's running out." He warned quietly. "System shows 18% contamination—once it hits 30%..."
Zhu Youjian ordered decisively: "Prepare the ritual. Use my blood."
Cao Huachun cackled. "Fool! Destroy him, and you destroy yourself!"
The words struck like lightning. A horrific realization dawned—if the Sovereign was all possible failures of Zhu Youjian across timelines, eliminating him might unravel the emperor himself.
Zhu Youjian, however, seemed eerily at peace. "I know."
"Father!" Both children cried out.
"Since returning from that prison, I've understood." Zhu Youjian approached the device. "He and I are two sides of one coin. To truly end this... I too must change."
Xu Qing suddenly grasped his meaning. "You mean to..."
"Not die—transform." Zhu Youjian held his wrist over the device. "Xu Qing, prepare the bloodletting. I'll end this nightmare myself."
Just then, Cao Huachun broke free—a ceramic shard in his hand!
"Your Majesty, look out!"
Zhu Meichuo threw herself between them. The shard slashed her arm—blood splashed onto the device.
The jade fragments erupted in golden light far brighter than before!
Cao Huachun shrieked as the violet energy melted off him. He collapsed, dazed and lucid. "Your... Your Majesty... this slave..."
Xu Qing ignored him, frantically checking readings. "The princess's blood... it's more potent than yours! Purity levels off the charts—"
"Blood of pure filial devotion." Zhu Youjian murmured tearfully, cradling his daughter's wound. "It must be willingly sacrificed blood..."
Zhu Meichuo extended her arm resolutely. "Then use mine. 200 milliliters—I can bear it."
Zhu Cilang stepped forward. "And mine."
Zhu Youjian gazed at his children, speechless. Finally, he embraced them. "The Ming is blessed... to have you."
Xu Qing hastily modified the device for multiple donors. As preparations finalized, the system blared:
**[WARNING: Sovereign consciousness detected in groundwater! Contamination 23%...25%...rising rapidly!]**
"Begin." Zhu Youjian placed his hand on the device. His children followed.
Silver needles pricked their fingers. Blood flowed through channels toward the jade. The golden light intensified, filling the room.
Cao Huachun kowtowed, weeping. "This slave deserves death..."
"Elder Cao." Zhu Youjian said calmly. "If you seek redemption, tell us the Sovereign's plans."
"He... he said to poison all wells by midnight..." The old eunuch trembled. "Turn the entire city into his vessels..."
Xu Qing checked the time—thirty minutes to midnight!
"Faster!" He increased the device's draw. "We must activate before then!"
As more blood entered, the device hummed louder. Violet threads vaporized in the golden light. Contamination rates stalled, then dipped slightly.
"It's working!" Zhu Meichuo smiled weakly. "But the range is too small..."
Zhu Youjian suddenly drew a dagger—and slashed his palm open! Blood gushed into the central reservoir.
"Father!" Zhu Cilang screamed.
"All is well." Zhu Youjian paled but stood firm. "The Son of Heaven leads by example."
Golden light erupted through the roof, engulfing the entire Forbidden City. Xu Qing's system went haywire: **[Quantum fluctuations exceeding parameters! Temporal stability recovering!]**
Distant screams signaled people awakening from possession. The radiance lasted a full minute before fading.
Zhu Youjian swayed, supported by his children. His face was bloodless, but his eyes shone with relief. "It's over..."
Xu Qing checked the readings and exhaled. "Contamination down to 0.3%. Sovereign consciousness dissipated. Temporal stability...99.1%!"
Everyone collapsed where they stood, exhausted but jubilant. Only Xu Qing noticed a small system alert: **[Trace quantum consciousness residue detected. Monitor closely.]**
He chose not to mention it—this hard-won victory deserved celebration.
Zhu Youjian rose with his children's help, gazing at the dawn. "A new day... a new Ming..."
Just then, a guard rushed in: "Your Majesty! Urgent report from Nanjing! The Yangtze... the river has turned *purple*!"