The fog thickened as if it were breathing.
Li Fenghuo tried to steady his stance, but that whisper still crawled along his spine like cold fingers.
"You have returned…"
He shot a glare at Shen Qianye. "Do you know this voice?"
Qianye's jaw was tight. "No."
It was an answer given too quickly.
Too smooth.
Fenghuo didn't have time to question it—because the fog parted, and a figure began to form.
Not a beast.
Not a human.
A shape made of fragmented shadows, drifting like torn paper in the wind. Its outline flickered, stretching and collapsing in ways that made Fenghuo's skin crawl.
When it spoke again, its voice sounded like someone whispering through cracked mirrors.
"One who burns… and one who shines…"
Fenghuo's heart dropped.
Those words—
Shen Qianye stepped slightly forward, positioning himself between Fenghuo and the creature without even thinking.
Fenghuo almost grabbed him by the collar. "What are you doing? Don't—!"
Qianye didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the shadow.
"State your identity," he said, voice steady.
The creature laughed—a brittle, broken sound.
"Identity…? You knew it once… a long… long time ago…"
Fenghuo clenched his teeth. "We haven't been here before!"
"Have you?" the creature replied, head tilting in an unnatural angle. "Or do your souls lie to you?"
Fenghuo swallowed hard. His fire qi flared at his fingertips, reacting to the pressure in the air. The valley felt tighter now, as if walls were closing in.
Shen Qianye quietly unsheathed his sword.
"If it attacks—"
"It won't," the creature hissed, its form rippling like disturbed water. "Not yet. I've waited too long to simply kill you."
That should've been comforting. It wasn't.
Fenghuo forced himself to breathe. "What do you want?"
The creature's fragmented head turned toward him.
Even without eyes, Fenghuo felt like it was staring straight through him.
"I want what was stolen."
Shen Qianye's grip on his sword tightened. "We've taken nothing from you."
The shadow twisted, becoming taller, darker.
"Not you."
It pointed—straight at Fenghuo.
"…But him."
Fenghuo stiffened. "Me?! I've never seen you in my life!"
"You did," the creature murmured. "Before the world changed. Before reincarnation scattered your memories."
Fenghuo froze.
Reincarnation.
He felt Shen Qianye's gaze flick toward him—quick, sharp, almost as if the word struck a nerve.
Fenghuo forced out a shaky laugh. "Okay, listen, creepy fog monster. I'm nineteen. The only reincarnation I've done is being reborn into embarrassment every time someone compares me to Mr. Moonblade over there."
Qianye gave him a sidelong look, but didn't comment.
The shadow's form pulsed.
"You carried a flame not meant for mortals. A flame you promised to return."
Fenghuo blinked. "I promised—? When?!"
"Silence!" Qianye snapped, stepping forward.
His sudden spike of emotion startled even Fenghuo.
Qianye rarely raised his voice.
"If you intend to harm him, you face me first."
Fenghuo stared.
For a second, the world narrowed.
Qianye… was protecting him?
Not out of duty.
Not out of sect responsibility.
Something else.
The creature hissed softly, its form wavering.
"How touching… You still cling to him… even now."
Qianye's eyes flashed—a warning, a threat.
But the creature wasn't done.
"Tell me, Moonblade… do you still remember the night he burned for you?"
Fenghuo's breath caught.
Qianye went still.
Completely still.
Like the words had pierced through something buried deep.
Before Fenghuo could ask, the creature shrieked—a piercing, shattering sound—and the fog surged like a wave.
Shen Qianye shoved Fenghuo back just as black tendrils shot toward them.
"Behind me!" Qianye ordered.
Fenghuo opened his mouth to argue—and then the tendrils slammed into Qianye's blade, sending sparks flying.
The attack shook the valley floor, dust raining down from the cliffs.
Fenghuo gritted his teeth. "Fine, but if you get hurt, I'm shoving a fireball through your face!"
"Don't waste your energy," Qianye said, pushing the tendrils back with a burst of moonlight qi. "Save it for when I need support."
"You always need support!"
Qianye glanced at him—just once.
A flash of irritation, mixed with something else.
Something almost… soft.
The creature's form began to crack, pieces of shadow breaking apart.
"You can hide behind new names… new faces… but the bond between you cannot be severed…"
Fenghuo's heart hammered.
His chest felt tight—too tight.
What bond?
What fire?
What past?
He didn't get to ask.
Because the creature suddenly collapsed inward, exploding into a ring of black smoke that rushed toward them like a tidal wave.
Qianye moved first.
He grabbed Fenghuo's wrist—cool hand against warm skin—and pulled him close, pressing him against his chest as he raised his sword.
"Hold on," Qianye murmured.
Fenghuo's breath stopped.
And then the wave hit.