Chapter 419: Sentinel Hunt, Harbinger of Calamity
"YAHAHA... what a wonderful creation!" Prime Architect Jiyx muttered, his voice echoing with manic delight.
At that moment, he felt as if his very spirit was ascending.
Controlling the Sentinel, brought with it a deeply unsettling sensation.
It was as though he had transcended the limits of individuality.
As if he could reach into another being and command its existence, guiding its actions like a puppeteer manipulating strings.
A human controlling another human.
Not through force.
But through an invisible web of cause and effect on such a scale that he himself feel like he is that thing.
Leaving the controlled in silent horror.
That was the closest comparison Jiyx could make.
The only limitation.
He could not control their consciousness.
Their awareness remained.
Their fear remained.
And that made it even more disturbing.
By absorbing and binding lesser abominations into the Sentinel’s structure, Jiyx began to access fragments of their abilities.
He could feel their techniques.
Their instincts.
Their unnatural ways of interacting with reality.
But the moment those patterns began forming clearly in his mind.
He erased them without hesitation.
Because he knew.
If he allowed himself to truly learn those techniques.
He would be changed.
Irreversibly.
Instead, he forced the abominations into a suppressed state, reducing them to instinct-driven components within the Sentinel.
Tools.
Nothing more.
Then.
The Sentinel roared.
A sound that did not belong to any single creature.
The battlefield trembled.
And chaos erupted.
The Sentinel lashed out.
Uncontrolled.
Unrestrained.
Its attacks tore through everything in range, ally and enemy alike.
Even Jiyx himself struggled to fully direct it.
"Shit—?!"
"Jiyx! What in the Heavens are you doing?!"
"Fuck!"
Curses erupted across the battlefield.
Supreme beings were forced to evade attacks that should never have been aimed at them.
The structure of the war collapsed further.
And on the opposing side.
The reaction was even more severe.
Because they realized something terrifying.
One moment.
They were fighting their enemies.
The next.
Their own kind were being controlled.
Turned against them.
This had never happened before.
Not in any of the previous wars.
And they did not like it.
Not at all.
What had once been a battlefield—
Now became something else entirely.
A hunt.
For the Sentinel, because if this could be mass produced the next time, then it would be catastrophic for them
***
At the same time...
Shemei moved silently across the battlefield.
Despite her current form being no larger than Yu Xuan’s hand, her presence remained anything but insignificant.
She drifted through the chaos with ease, her awareness extending far beyond what ordinary perception could grasp.
Even in a place where space itself had collapsed into disorder, she navigated effortlessly.
Because she was a being that did not rely on space to exist.
Her gaze shifted.
’Oh... what exactly triggered that old man this time?’ she thought, her attention settling on the distant clash.
There, the Jade Emperor stood, fully engaged with the distorted entity I-sielo-sa-nal.
But the moment the Mandate of Heaven was invoked.
Shemei stopped.
Completely.
A faint change flickered across her expression.
"Monkey King, are you planning to intervene?" she asked casually, speaking into seemingly empty space.
For a moment, there was no response.
Then.
A voice echoed back, carrying clear irritation.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Sun Wukong. I was given a proper name, so at least have the decency to use it."
The Sun Wukong finally revealed his presence – not physically, but through voice and intent.
"And no," he continued.
"I have no intention of interfering with that old man’s fight. He is more than capable of handling himself."
Shemei tilted her head slightly.
"I wasn’t referring to his safety," she said, her tone light yet layered with meaning.
"What if he uses the Mandate for something... beyond judgment?"
Sun Wukong snorted.
"You really do enjoy twisting things, don’t you? Are you trying to draw negative emotions out of me again?"
He was not fooled.
After all, Shemei was not merely the Harbinger of Calamity.
She was also the Queen of Negativity, Bringer of Fortune and Misfortune, Good Luck and Bad Luck.
A being who thrived on misfortune, imbalance, and extremes.
And beyond that.
She carried an identity known to very few.
Sun Wukong was one of them.
’...Yeah, I should probably keep my distance,’ he thought internally.
At that moment.
His Fiery Golden Eyes flared to life.
They locked onto something forming near Shemei.
A massive, invisible concentration of chaotic energy had begun to gather.
Just then, space ruptured.
A grotesque, mindless abomination tore its way into existence near them.
Sun Wukong’s expression shifted slightly.
"This one... belongs to that fellow," he muttered.
His eyes shone brighter.
Twin beams of golden light erupted forth.
Sharp, precise, and overwhelmingly destructive.
They bore an eerie resemblance to Yu Xuan’s [Immortal’s Gaze].
The beams struck.
And the creature was erased.
Completely.
Not destroyed.
Not dispersed.
Erased.
Sun Wukong lowered his gaze slightly, his thoughts turning inward.
’Still... how did that kid end up with something so similar to my [Golden Heaven Piercing Gaze?]’
His interest in Yu Xuan had already deepened.
Had someone replicated his technique?
Or had the boy arrived at something similar through entirely different means?
Because he still remembered the pain he had to go through, to get these eyes.
A faint grin appeared.
’Now that... is interesting.’
From the side, Shemei turned her gaze toward him.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, sensing the subtle shift in his intent.
"You seem to be entertaining some rather malicious thoughts," she said as multiple tones overlapped within it.
"I almost feel pity for the unfortunate individual who has caught your attention."
In her mind, the conclusion was simple.
Sun Wukong.
A being known for both brilliance and chaos.
Must be feeling restless.
Perhaps even looking for someone to kill.
A killing spree, maybe.
That would be the most natural explanation.
Not even for a moment did she consider that the source of that grin...
Was a mortal child.
Meanwhile.
Riding on the back of Hundun, Yu Xuan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
It was abrupt.
Sharp.
As if an unseen gaze had briefly brushed against him.
His expression immediately turned serious.
’...Someone is thinking about me.’
Not in a casual way.
Not in passing.
But with intent.
Yu Xuan’s instincts tightened.
In a battlefield filled with beings capable of rewriting reality.
Being noticed.
Was not always a good thing.
[Read Creator’s Thoughts]
