The storm had finally passed.
What remained was the soft hiss of rain sliding off the temple eaves, the scent of lightning still clinging to the air.
Ren sat beside Li Wei on the cold floor, both of them breathing in the quiet. The glow of Li Wei's scales had faded, leaving only faint shimmer-lines along his arms where light had once danced. But now, his hands trembled.
"Hey," Ren said softly, reaching for him. "You're shaking."
Li Wei didn't answer right away. His eyes were half-lidded, gold dimming to bronze, chest rising unevenly. When he finally looked at Ren, the edges of his vision seemed blurred—like even holding shape cost him effort.
"You should rest," Ren urged.
A faint smile curved Li Wei's lips. "I should, yes. But not because I'm tired."
Ren frowned. "Then why?"
Li Wei turned his hand over. The veins beneath his skin pulsed faintly with light—slowly fading. "Every time I use what's left of my true power… the boundary weakens."
Ren's breath caught. "Boundary?"
"The line that lets me stay here," Li Wei murmured. "The mortal vessel strains. Each display of divinity shortens my stay in this world."
Ren's hand tightened around his. "You mean… when you fight—"
"I burn faster," Li Wei finished simply.
The words hit like a blade. Ren's throat closed, a thousand thoughts crashing into each other, none making sense. He wanted to yell at him, to tell him to stop fighting, to stop risking himself—but the exhaustion in Li Wei's eyes stopped him cold.
"You knew this would happen," Ren whispered.
"I knew," Li Wei said, voice low. "But watching you fall again was never an option."
Ren's vision blurred. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from crying. "Then don't fight anymore. Please."
Li Wei's gaze softened. He reached out, brushing the hair from Ren's face. "Then keep me human," he said gently. "That's the only way I'll survive."
Ren blinked up at him, confused, heart pounding. "Keep you… human?"
Li Wei leaned closer, their foreheads almost touching. "As long as I remember warmth, heartbeat, love—the serpent sleeps. You make me remember those things."
The simplicity of it broke something inside Ren. He rested his forehead against Li Wei's shoulder, the steady rhythm of their shared bond humming between them.
"Then I'll remind you every day," he whispered. "Until the heavens can't take you back."
Li Wei smiled faintly, the curve of his lips more human than divine. "Then I'll stay."
For a long while, they sat together in silence, watching dawn stretch pale fingers across the floor. The world outside was still trembling from the night's fury, but in that fragile stillness, Ren finally let himself believe that maybe—just maybe—they could make it through the next sunrise together.