The moment the Progenitor crown fused to Li Chen's skull, the world erupted into noise. Not the usual noise of rebel bickering or desert winds—*thoughts*. Every mind within a mile radius screamed into his head like a badly tuned radio.
*"Why does he look like a glowstick that got run over by a spaceship?"* Xiao Lan wondered.
*"If he starts quoting poetry, I'm stabbing myself,"* a rebel grumbled.
*"I miss my bed,"* someone else whined.
Xuě Húlí's voice sliced through the mental cacophony, crisp and amused. *"Oh, this is priceless. The great 'Void Demon' is now a walking eavesdropper. How tragically mundane."*
Li Chen clutched his head, the crown digging into his temples. "Make it stop. *Make it stop!*"
The fox spirit materialized, inspecting him like a lab experiment. "Can't. The crown's a parasite. It feeds on your sanity. Enjoy!"
---
**The Roasting Begins**
The rebels' thoughts were relentless.
*"His face looks like someone tried to sculpt a potato during an earthquake."*
*"Is that crown glued on? Can we sell it for scrap?"*
*"I'd rather fight another sandworm than listen to his existential monologues."*
Li Chen glared at Xiao Lan, who was sharpening a wrench. "You think my face looks like a 'resting corpse'?"
She froze. "…Can you *hear* me?"
"I hear *everything*."
Xuě Húlí cackled. "Including how much she wants to duct-tape your mouth shut. Which, honestly, fair."
---
**The Mutant Menace**
The journey north resumed, with Li Chen trudging ahead like a disgruntled lighthouse. His glowing veins repelled the desert's mutants, but Clamps the crab seemed determined to test fate. The crustacean latched onto Li Chen's boot, pincers snapping.
"Clamps! Let go!" Li Chen shook his leg wildly.
Xiao Lan snorted. "He likes you. Maybe he thinks you're a fancy trash can."
"Or a piñata," Xuě Húlí added. "Hit him harder. Maybe candy falls out."
A rebel muttered, *"If we roast marshmallows on his head, do you think they'll taste like despair?"*
Li Chen groaned. "I heard that."
---
**The Vault's Secret**
By dusk, they reached the Progenitor vault—a massive dome half-buried in black sand. Symbols pulsed on its surface, reacting to the crown.
Xuě Húlí sniffed. "Smells like arrogance and poor life choices. Classic Progenitors."
Xiao Lan squinted at the carvings. "What's it say?"
Li Chen's crown hummed, translating. *"Only the worthy may enter. Blah, blah, martyr complex, blah."*
"So we just… walk in?" a rebel asked.
"No," Li Chen said. "We—"
The ground split. A colossal sandworm erupted, its maw lined with crystalline teeth. It roared, spraying acid.
Xuě Húlí yawned. "Took them long enough."
---
**The Battle of Bad Decisions**
Chaos erupted. Rebels scattered as the worm lunged. Li Chen's crown blazed, projecting a shield that deflected acid.
Xiao Lan lobbed a grenade. "Eat this, overgrown noodle!"
The worm swallowed it whole. A second later, its midsection bulged and *exploded*. Chunks of meat rained down.
Xuě Húlí flicked gore off her tail. "Gross. Remind me to bill you for dry cleaning."
Li Chen's shield flickered. The crown hissed, *"Weak. Pathetic. You'll die here."*
"Not helping," he muttered.
---
**The Crown's Curse**
Inside the vault, the air hummed with energy. Walls pulsed with bioluminescent veins, leading to a chamber housing a pedestal—and a single, pulsing orb.
Xuě Húlí sneered. "A glowing marble? Progenitors really peaked at 'dollar store decor.'"
Li Chen touched the orb. It *melted*, seeping into his skin. The crown shrieked in his mind, *"Fool! You've doomed us all!"*
New power surged through him—cold, ancient, *hungry*. His veins turned midnight blue, and the whispers grew louder.
Xiao Lan stepped back. "Uh… you're doing the creepy glow thing again."
"It's fine," Li Chen lied. "Probably."
---
**The Rebellion's Breaking Point**
That night, the rebels revolted.
"He's turning into a monster!" one shouted.
"A useful monster," Yun Teng countered, though her hand hovered near her pistol.
Li Chen sat apart, Clamps gnawing on his boot. The crown's voice taunted, *"They fear you. As they should."*
Xuě Húlí appeared, her form flickering. "You're losing them. And yourself. How delightfully tragic."
"What do you want me to do?" he snapped.
"What you've always done: survive. Even if it means burning everything else."
---
**The Vision of Mei**
Exhausted, Li Chen drifted into a fitful sleep. The crown dragged him into a memory—not a twisted nightmare, but a quiet moment. Mei sat beside him in their old village, weaving plum blossoms into a crown.
"You're still a terrible liar," she said softly. "But you're trying. That's enough."
He woke to tears drying on his face. The crown hissed, *"Sentiment is weakness."*
"Shut up," he whispered.
---
**The Empire Strikes (Again)**
At dawn, scouts spotted Imperial hover tanks on the horizon. The Celestial Arbiter's symbol—a serpent devouring a star—gleamed on their hulls.
Yun Teng cursed. "They've sent the *Scourge of Xin-7*. We're dead."
Li Chen's crown pulsed. *"Fight. Kill. *Consume*."*
He stood, his glow intensifying. "Then we'll give them a show."
Xuě Húlí grinned. "There's the monster I tolerate."
Xiao Lan hefted her wrench. "If we die, I'm haunting you first."
---
**The Spark of Rebellion**
As the tanks advanced, Li Chen unleashed the orb's power. Ice spread from his hands, freezing the desert into a jagged wasteland. The lead tank skidded, crashing into a dune.
Rebels cheered. Even Yun Teng smirked. "Not bad, Glowstick."
Xuě Húlí sighed. "And here I hoped for a quick death. How boring."
The crown whispered, *"More. Give me more."*
Li Chen ignored it, focusing on Mei's voice in his memory: *"Live… even if it burns."*
---
**Cliffhanger: The Arbiter's Arrival**
As the last tank fell, the sky split. A Celestial Arbiter descended, her armor forged from dying stars. The rebels froze.
"Li Chen of Earth," she intoned. "The Emperor demands your head. Surrender, and your followers die painlessly."
Xuě Húlí snorted. "Painlessly? How *dull*."
Li Chen's glow flared, the crown's voice merging with his own. "Tell your Emperor to come collect it himself."
The Arbiter smiled. "He already is."
Behind her, the horizon darkened with a thousand ships.