Chapter 98: The Core of Star-Eclipse Eye — 'Precognition' and 'Domination'

Reality World, Station 13.

The final episode of The Prequel of the Stars: Embers.

“First place!”

“Confetti! Confetti!”

“Open up, open up — check the water meter!”

Amid the ecstatic flood of messages from the Dimensional Audience, this phenomenon-level animation finally reached the climax of its first season.

And as expected, the production team didn’t just wrap up lingering plot threads — they also seeded countless tantalizing hooks for Season 2.

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[5 Minutes Before Yujin Base’s Self-Destruct]

Goen moved forward through the ravaged ruins of the Embers underground base, his expression unreadable.

He eventually stopped before a weapon storage chamber, its heavy gate warped and buckled.

As he pushed it open, the sight that met his eyes was grim:

William, his chest pierced through by a steel beam, his body buried beneath debris, left with only one arm protruding from the wreckage.

Goen stared at the crushed form.

A flicker of something unreadable flashed in his eyes — complex, fleeting.

Then, without hesitation, he stepped forward and carefully removed the pink children’s watch still strapped to William’s wrist.

“Such foolishness, William,” Goen murmured. “Dying for a bunch of enemies.”

“But I keep my promises. I said I’d bring back your ‘heart.’ And I will.”

With that, Goen turned and walked toward the exit, the pink toy watch clutched in his hand.

As he vanished into the darkness, the camera suddenly focused on the watch.

The cracked face. The stopped second hand. The strawberry sticker, its edges stained red with dried blood.

Just a simple child’s toy — yet it seemed to whisper something profound.

And then —

A single, clear tick.

A soft, rhythmic tick-tock.

The sound of a working second hand.

The chat exploded.

“Holy shit — this is definitely a setup!”

“William’s daughter has to be a key player!”

“Damn it, when’s Season 2 dropping?!”

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[Yujin Base Island, Outer Sea]

The storm had passed. The sea, once wild and churning, now lay still under the morning light.

Faint rays of dawn pierced through the clouds, illuminating two figures standing on the water’s surface.

Yun Meng stood atop the colossal head of the Great Earth Lizard, her long black hair dancing in the sea breeze, the twin crescent-shaped earrings at her ears swaying silently with the wind.

She stared at the distant Yujin Base, slowly sinking beneath the waves, her face expressionless.

“Doctor… are you sure Little Tian Dao is okay?”

Though Doctor had already reassured her multiple times, Yun Meng couldn’t shake the unease.

To her, Tian Dao wasn’t just another trainee.

He was the little brother she’d watched grow — the only family she had left in this world.

Doctor didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he raised his hand toward the towering wave now crashing toward them, the island’s collapse sending a monstrous surge of water barreling their way.

Boom!

A silent force rippled through the air.

The towering wave split apart instantly, the water scattering into shimmering droplets that fluttered around him and Yun Meng like gentle mist.

Afterward, Doctor turned to her, calm as ever.

“Relax, Yun Meng. Little Tian Dao is far stronger than you think.”

“But he’s only twelve,” she replied, her silver-white eyes fixed on him — those eyes that seemed to peer through masks, seeking the truth beneath.

She rarely questioned Doctor.

But today… she didn’t believe him.

Sensing the shift in her mood, the Great Earth Lizard — still thrashing in the water — hesitated for a moment… then suddenly snarled, its eyes blazing with fury, locking onto Doctor.

That’s right — you’re the one she trusts. That’s the one I fight for.

Fidelity.

Ignoring the lizard’s dramatic display, Doctor studied Yun Meng for a moment, then asked:

“Yun Meng… what do you think is the core of Star-Eclipse Eye?”

“…Precognition?”

Doctor shook his head.

“No. It’s Domination.”

Yun Meng frowned, clearly confused.

“Yun Meng,” Doctor said, voice flat, “if it were only Precognition, Tian Dao’s eyes would merely be Tian Mu — not Star-Eclipse.”

“Only when one can see the future… and dominate it… can the eyes truly be called ‘Star-Eclipse · Tian Mu.’”

“So rest easy. The Tian Dao who sees the future… and has already changed it… is far more powerful than you imagine.”

He snapped his fingers.

At once, the mechanical dragon beneath his feet began to disassemble — a cascade of nanomachines swirling like a galaxy in motion, coalescing into a radiant metallic sphere that hovered before him.

He reached out, pressed the sphere into his chest, embedding it into the newly acquired Perpetual Core.

Instantly, an invisible Quantum Magnetic Field surged outward, rippling across the sea, distorting the water’s surface with strange, luminous waves.

“With my pieces still in place, Tian Dao won’t be harmed.”

“After all… the one who can see the future isn’t the only one.”

He turned to Yun Meng.

“Now, Yun Meng — Tian Dao needs more rest. Come back when he wakes.”

“As for us… we have to go ahead. Those old fools who were double-crossed won’t let this go quietly.”

“They’ll only be truly at peace when they see my ‘body.’”

With that, Doctor floated upward, drifting slowly toward the distant horizon.

And beneath the sun’s glow, his reflection on the water… was not a man.

It was a mechanical dragon — golden-eyed, black-winged, vast and ancient.

Yun Meng watched him vanish into the distance.

She whispered softly:

“See… and dominate the future?”

Then, she gave a small, decisive tap of her foot.

“Little Gold, let’s go.”

Gurgle-gurgle.

The Great Earth Lizard, only its snout above water, exhaled a stream of bubbles.

Then, with powerful strokes of its thick limbs, it surged forward through the sea — flailing, clumsy, utterly ungraceful.

Though Yun Meng looked heroic, standing atop it like a queen of the waves, the lizard’s frantic dog-paddle was pure comedy.

Far behind them, the last traces of Yujin Base island were swallowed by the sea — vanishing without a trace.

And deep beneath the ocean floor, in the abyss, a peculiar metallic cube lay still.

As the camera drew near, passing through its surface, the Dimensional Audience saw it —

The familiar Black Computational Cabin.

And within, the sleeping form of Tian Dao.

The final scene of Season 1 froze —

A silent, haunting image.

The air was thick with implication.

The screen trembled with unspoken meaning.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end