Chapter 26: Shards of the Divine
The silence after the masked figure vanished was oppressive. Ying Yue dropped to her knees beside Bai Jiu, lifting his injured arm gently. Blood streaked his sleeve, the mirror shards having cut deep.
"You shouldn't have done that," she whispered, voice trembling.
"I've taken worse," he muttered, though his face was pale.
Ying Yue placed her hands over the wound, eyes closing. A soft silver light glowed beneath her palms—flickering, then stabilizing. Her magic responded faster now, stronger than it had been in centuries. The healing wasn't just instinct.
It was memory.
"You're getting stronger," Bai Jiu said softly, watching her.
She nodded. "But I failed. The mirror… was the final key. Without it, I can't become whole."
"You are whole," he said, cupping her cheek. "You remember who you are. That's more than enough."
Her lips curved into a faint, tired smile. "You always know what to say. Even when you lie."
Before he could respond, a soft hum began to echo through the shattered chamber. From the remnants of the mirror, light spiraled upward—fragments forming glowing lotus petals in the air. Ying Yue rose slowly, eyes wide.
"What is it?" Bai Jiu asked, standing beside her.
"It's… a piece of me. Still here."
One shard hovered closer, pulsating with energy. As it touched Ying Yue's forehead, visions crashed into her mind—flashes of the past.
A battlefield. A burning sky. She, cloaked in moonlight, sealing a gate with her blood. Bai Jiu—no, Xie Changye—collapsing in her arms, fading into ash. And the masked figure… kneeling at her feet, swearing loyalty… then hatred.
When she opened her eyes again, her breath was shallow. "His name was Qiuhan," she said. "He was once my guardian. But he envied you. Envied our bond. When I died… he didn't mourn. He waited."
Bai Jiu's jaw clenched. "So he's been hiding all this time?"
"And feeding off what remained of my essence. The broken mirror—he used it to gain power."
The floating petals suddenly spiraled downward, forming a glowing sigil on the ground.
A path.
Ying Yue touched it, and a soft whisper echoed: "Find the Hollow of Time. Restore the seal. Or the past will rise again."
Bai Jiu met her gaze. "What does it mean?"
She looked toward the distant mountains. "That our journey isn't over. That Qiuhan isn't the end—just the beginning of what was left buried."
He took her hand. "Then we finish what we started. Together."
And so, under the fading light of the temple, the two walked toward the next challenge—toward the Hollow of Time, where the truth behind the gods' war, the broken seals, and their fate awaited.
The shadows stirred in the distance, watching.
And waiting.