Meiling stumbled back, her heart hammering so hard it felt like it would tear out of her chest.
"Y-you…" Her voice cracked. "That's impossible."
The man before her was still kneeling, chains dangling broken and lifeless around him. Golden light washed over his figure, too bright at first. Meiling raised an arm to shield her eyes, squinting as the glow slowly softened.
"Stop… stop shining like that," she muttered. "What are you?"
The light dimmed, as if responding.
Her breath caught.
The face beneath it was familiar. Too familiar.
Black hair, longer than she remembered. His face was sharper, cheeks sunken, skin marked with old scars and exhaustion. His shoulders were broader, his body lean but worn, like someone who had survived endless battles without rest.
And it was the man she dreamed about every night. It was the man that took her virginity.
It was none other than Ren.
But not her Ren.
"No…" Meiling whispered. "This is a trick. A hallucination. I died, didn't I?"
