**Chapter 4: The Weight of Crowns
---
### **1. The Garden of Regret**
Shanggu Julong stood in a realm of swirling mist, the air thick with the scent of ozone and burnt feathers. Before him floated three souls: Chen Zhen, trembling but resolute; Shanggu Feng, his dragon-form flickering with suppressed lightning; and Lou Tian, a phoenix-shaped wisp of dying embers. Behind them, the fractured Nexus amulet pulsed faintly, its cracks oozing violet energy.
Julong's gaze lingered on Shanggu Feng. *Pride*, he thought. *A crown too heavy for a child's brow.*
Memories surfaced—Feng as a youth, defiantly refusing to bow during his clan's monsoon rites. *"The storms obey *me*, Grandfather!"* he'd shouted, only to be struck by backlash lightning that scarred his chest. Julong had watched from the shadows, amused. Now, those scars glowed in Feng's soul, a map of arrogance.
"Pride," Julong said aloud, "is a blade that cuts the hand before the foe."
---
### **2. The Phoenix's Calculus**
Lou Tian's voice crackled like kindling. *"Spare us your proverbs, Julong. State your terms."*
Julong smirked. The phoenix heir had always been pragmatic. In life, Lou Tian had sacrificed his own kin during his fourth涅槃 (nirvana), burning their souls to fuel his rebirth. Now, trapped and weakened, he sought advantage.
"You've died six times," Julong said. "This merger offers a seventh rebirth—*without* ash."
Lou Tian's flames dimmed, considering.
---
### **3. The Dragon's Defiance**
Shanggu Feng's roar shook the mist. *"You expect me to kneel to this *mortal*? I am blood of the storm! I—"*
Julong flicked his wrist. Feng's soul crumpled, chains of golden lightning binding him.
"You are *nothing*," Julong hissed. "Your wars crippled our clan. Your pride blinded you to the Nexus's rot. Now, you'll serve the one thing you've scorned—a weaker vessel."
Chen Zhen flinched. *Vessel*. The word echoed his worst fears.
---
### **4. The Crucible's Toll**
Julong gestured. The mist parted, revealing Earth—Li Na reading bedtime stories, Xiao Peng's dragon drawing half-finished. Violet tendrils from the Nexus's crack brushed their window.
*"Your family's fate hinges on this,"* Julong said. *"Refuse, and the void claims them first."*
Chen's fists clenched. *"I'll do it. But they don't get a choice?"*
*"Choices are luxuries,"* Julong said. *"They'll adapt. Or die."*
---
### **5. The Pact**
- **Shanggu Feng's Reluctance**: Flashbacks show Feng's past—a duel where he slaughtered allies to prove his strength, his clan's elders begging Julong to intervene.
- **Lou Tian's Acceptance**: A glimpse of his third涅槃, where he burned a rival phoenix's soul to survive, justifying it as "necessary sacrifice."
- **Chen's Resolve**: A silent vow to his family's image: *I'll carry these monsters if I must.*
Julong's merger ritual began. Chains of light bound the souls to Chen's dantian.
*"Your powers are sealed,"* Julong declared. *"Chen Zhen's breakthroughs will unshackle them—slowly. Fail him, and you fade."*
Shanggu Feng snarled but nodded. Lou Tian's flames bowed.
---
### **6. The First Crack**
As the merger finalized, Chen's mindscape fractured into three realms:
- **Shanggu Feng's Peak**: A storm-lashed mountain, his soul chained at the summit.
- **Lou Tian's Ashes**: A smoldering nest, his phoenix form regrowing feather by feather.
- **Chen's Home**: A fragile replica of his living room, family photos shaking as violet energy seeped through cracks.
Julong vanished, leaving a final warning: *"The Nexus stirs. Your unity decides which realm survives."*
---
### **7: The Whispering Blade**
Days later, during Chen's training, Shanggu Feng's voice hissed during a spar:
*"Kill the golem's core! Crush it!"*
Chen obeyed—too harshly. The golem exploded, shards cutting his cheek.
Lou Tian chuckled. *"Dragons lack subtlety. Let me teach you… *fire*."*
Chen's palm glowed crimson. The next golem melted.
In the shadows, Julong smiled. *The crucible works.*
---
🐉🔥