The snowstorm outside the cavern was relentless, carving white scars across the dark sky.
Qingxue led the way through the narrow mountain pass, her footsteps quick and deliberate.
Lianyin followed, his gaze fixed ahead, his mind disturbingly quiet.
Too quiet.
---
They stopped at a sheltered ledge to rest.
Qingxue tossed him a waterskin. "Drink. You look pale."
He caught it, unscrewed the cap, and drank without a word.
Her frown deepened. "You haven't spoken since we left. Not even a complaint about the cold. That's not you."
"I'm fine." His voice was flat, mechanical.
---
Qingxue sat beside him. "Back there… in the cavern… I felt something break. Not the ice. You."
He met her eyes. "It was necessary."
"For what? Strength? We could have found another way!"
"No. We couldn't."
She bit her lip, frustration flickering in her gaze. "Then tell me—what did you lose?"
---
Lianyin opened his mouth… but no answer came. He searched his thoughts, found emptiness where once there had been a thousand memories.
A faint echo stirred—someone's laughter, high and warm—but it slipped away like smoke before he could catch it.
"I don't remember," he said at last.
---
That made Qingxue go still. "You don't remember? Or you won't tell me?"
He looked away. "Both."
She slammed her palm into the snow between them. "Damn it, Lianyin! Power isn't worth it if it strips away what makes you—"
Her words cut off when he stood, the silver veins in his arms glowing faintly beneath his sleeve.
"Then let me ask you this," he said, his voice a cold edge. "Would you rather have me weak… and dead?"
---
The question lingered like frostbite.
Qingxue lowered her gaze. "No."
"Then stop asking," he said, turning to continue their climb.
---
They reached a ridge overlooking the valley below. The village lights glimmered faintly through the snow. But something was wrong. Smoke curled upward, too dark, too thick.
Qingxue's breath caught. "That's… not from hearth fires."
Without hesitation, Lianyin leapt from the ridge, descending the snowy slope like a shadow on the wind. His movements were faster, sharper than ever before.
---
By the time Qingxue caught up, the village was chaos. Houses burned, screams pierced the storm.
A band of masked raiders tore through the streets, their leader wielding a curved blade that dripped black fire.
Lianyin didn't hesitate. He stepped into the street, silver veins blazing, and the snow beneath his feet hissed into steam.
The raiders paused, some faltering under his gaze.
---
The leader sneered. "And who might you be?"
Lianyin didn't answer.
He moved.
One heartbeat, the raiders were alive. The next, they lay crumpled in the snow, throats opened in clean, precise strikes.
The leader swung his blade at Lianyin's chest, but the silver light in his veins surged, and he caught the burning weapon with his bare hand. The black fire guttered and died.
The man's eyes widened. "Impossible—"
Lianyin crushed the blade in his grip.
---
The fight ended in moments. Silence fell, broken only by the crackle of flames.
The villagers emerged from hiding, but instead of gratitude, fear shadowed their eyes.
Lianyin looked at them without expression. Their faces meant nothing to him. Their thanks—or hatred—meant even less.
---
Qingxue approached slowly. "You saved them… but you didn't even look at them."
"They're alive. That's enough."
"That's not enough for you, Lianyin. Not before."
He didn't answer. He turned and walked away from the firelight, leaving her standing in the snow.
---
As the night deepened, Qingxue followed in silence, her thoughts heavy.
She had fought beside Lianyin long enough to know his heart, to know that he once carried people's burdens like they were his own.
Now, his heart was sealed away, as if behind a wall she could no longer breach.
---
Far above, on the cliff's edge, the silver-haired figure from the cavern watched them go.
"Veins of the Abyss," she murmured. "You've gained their strength… but soon, you will see their curse."
Her gaze lingered on Lianyin's retreating form, and in her eyes, sorrow burned brighter than the snow.