The three of them stood at the cracked entrance of the Null-Realm throne hall, staring out at the pale horizon. The air beyond shimmered with strange distortions—like memories half-forgotten and half-reborn—yet Jason Wu barely noticed any of it.
His mind was locked onto a single, fragile thread:
Lotus incense.
Xueyin Pavilion.
Her.
Even if he couldn't speak her name, couldn't picture her face, couldn't hold the memory of her laugh—the weight of her absence pulled at his chest like gravity.
Wei Qing broke the silence first.
"Jason… the scent clue is good. Really good. But Xueyin Pavilion is huge. Thousands of disciples, dozens of divisions, and several branches across the continent."
Lan Yuren nodded.
"It could take weeks just to get a full list of disciples who fit the profile."
Jason shook his head.
"No. It won't take weeks."
He touched the golden shard embedded near his heart.
"It'll take *this.*"
Longwu vibrated skeptically.
**["Kid, you're assuming that shiny little ancient problem-child knows how to lead you like a compass."]**
Jason shrugged.
"It worked in the erased realm. Also, I'm desperate enough to hope."
**["Desperation is not a plan."]**
"It's MY plan!"
Wei Qing lifted a hand.
"Jason… I agree with Longwu."
Jason stared at her, betrayed.
She coughed.
"I'm saying—don't rely on the shard alone. Use it, but also use your brain."
Jason blinked dramatically.
"My WHAT?"
Lan Yuren sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"This is going to be a long journey."
---
### **BACK TO THE REAL WORLD**
They stepped through the collapsing boundary of the Null-Realm, back into real space. The colors of the world snapped into place—azure sky, crisp wind, the distant sound of leaves.
Wei Qing gasped.
"We're… in the Silverwood outskirts."
Lan Yuren exhaled with relief.
"So the realm didn't throw us into cosmic nowhere. That's a good start."
Jason nodded, but he wasn't looking at the scenery.
He was watching the shard.
The moment he crossed into reality, the shard had pulsed faintly—
like a heartbeat.
Jason whispered,
"You feel it too, don't you? She was **here** once."
He followed the soft glow.
One step.
Two steps.
Five.
Longwu clicked irritably.
**["Stop walking in random directions. You look like a lost chicken."]**
"It's not random," Jason argued.
"The shard keeps pointing left."
Wei Qing squinted.
"No it doesn't. It's embedded in your chest, Jason. It can't point anywhere."
Jason moved left again.
"It is pointing. Emotionally. Spiritually. Uh… shard-ly."
Lan Yuren muttered,
"'Shard-ly' is not a word."
Jason ignored them and climbed a small hill.
Then he froze.
Because there—
lying half-buried under a flattened patch of grass—
was a small silver hairpin.
Shaped like a lotus.
Wei Qing inhaled sharply.
"That's… Xueyin Pavilion's inner-disciple emblem."
Lan Yuren added quietly,
"And only a high-ranking daughter of the Pavilion's master would wear something this expensive."
Jason lowered himself slowly, fingers trembling as he touched the hairpin.
It wasn't just cold metal.
It sparked when he touched it.
Like a memory kicking at a locked door.
A whisper curled into Jason's ears—
*"You idiot. Stop training until you faint. I'm not carrying you back again."*
Jason sucked in a breath as his heart lurched.
"I… I heard her," he whispered.
Wei Qing's voice softened.
"Jason… that's good. That means you're close."
Jason clenched the hairpin.
"I'm getting her back."
---
### **ONWARD TO XUEYIN PAVILION**
The journey back to the Pavilion took two days—a blur of forest trails, river crossings, and awkward silence broken only by Longwu complaining about the lack of entertainment.
**["At least let me stab a bandit or two. I'm bored."]**
"No stabbing," Jason deadpanned.
**["I can slice politely."]**
"No."
Wei Qing giggled quietly.
Lan Yuren pretended not to—but he definitely smiled.
By the time the Pavilion's towering structures appeared on the horizon, Jason's pulse quickened.
The massive pagoda-like buildings shimmered with spiritual seals.
The white banners embroidered with lotus petals swayed gently.
Disciples in flowing white robes carried scrolls and artifacts across the courtyard.
And Jason felt something.
A phantom warmth brushing against his skin.
She had walked here.
Laughed here.
Fought here.
Loved him here.
Even if he couldn't remember her face, the ghost of her presence clung to every corner of the Pavilion.
Wei Qing placed a gentle hand on his arm.
"You okay?"
Jason swallowed.
"I… don't know."
Longwu whispered:
**["…Brace. This place remembers her.
You might feel echoes.
Or pain."]**
Jason nodded, jaw set.
"Let's go."
---
### **THE PAVILION REMEMBERS**
The moment Jason stepped through the main gate, a soft wind stirred—unnatural, deliberate.
Lan Yuren's eyes widened.
"The Pavilion's memory wards are reacting."
A young disciple jogged up to them, bowing politely.
"Ah! Guests—welcome to Xueyin Pavilion. Please state your business."
Jason stepped forward.
"I'm looking for someone."
The disciple nodded.
"A name, sir?"
Jason frozen.
Silence.
Wei Qing whispered,
"He can't say it."
The disciple blinked.
"Ah… a forbidden-name case. Understood."
Jason frowned.
"You understood that?"
The disciple stood straighter, nose high.
"This is Xueyin Pavilion, sir.
We handle forbidden-name cases three times a month."
Jason blinked.
"…How many forbidden-name cases do you people have?!"
"Too many."
Wei Qing coughed.
"It's… part of their trade. They deal with artifacts that sometimes—"
"Erase people?" Jason finished.
Wei Qing winced.
"…Yes."
Longwu muttered:
**["Lovely place for a romantic backstory, kid."]**
The disciple continued,
"Sir, we cannot search for a forbidden name directly.
But we *can* check the Pavilion's emotional resonance archive to see who you're connected to."
Jason tilted his head.
"The what?"
Lan Yuren explained,
"It's a Xueyin technique. A formation that records emotional bonds instead of memories."
Jason's heart thumped.
"So even if I forgot her—
the bond might still be there?"
Wei Qing nodded.
"Yes."
Jason inhaled deeply.
"Take me to it."
---
### **THE HALL OF RECORDED HEARTS**
The disciple led them through a curved hallway into a large, dimly lit hall. Hundreds of paper lanterns hung from the ceiling, each glowing faintly with a warm, pulsing light.
Jason stared up in awe.
"What… are these?"
The disciple bowed.
"Emotional imprints, Sir.
Every disciple who ever bonded deeply with someone—family, friend, lover—
their emotional threads get recorded automatically."
Jason whispered,
"Automatically…?"
Wei Qing murmured,
"This hall remembers even when people don't."
Lan Yuren placed a hand on Jason's back.
"Go on."
Jason stepped forward.
His shard flickered.
His heartbeat thundered.
Lanterns flickered around him—
dim ones, bright ones, ones that pulsed like heartbeats.
Then one lantern—
hanging near the center—
glowed brightly.
As Jason approached, it glowed even brighter.
Longwu whispered:
**["Kid… that one's yours."]**
Jason reached up.
The lantern pulsed, then opened like a blooming flower—
releasing a faint trail of light that formed into a shimmering silhouette.
A girl.
Her outline glowing silver.
Her form blurred—
face hidden, name erased—
but Jason felt it.
Warmth.
A laugh.
A scolding tone.
A soft hand tugging his sleeve.
His heart broke.
He whispered:
"…Is this her…?"
Wei Qing swallowed hard.
"Yes."
Lan Yuren bowed his head.
"It's her emotional imprint."
Jason extended a trembling hand toward the silhouette.
The echo girl reached toward him too—
but stopped just inches away.
As if blocked by something.
A barrier.
Wei Qing's breath caught.
"There's… something attached to it."
Jason looked closer.
A silver-black chain wrapped around the silhouette's arm—
not a physical chain, but a **law-binding lock**.
Lan Yuren hissed,
"That's—no… that's a Lawkeeper's seal."
Longwu spoke with venom.
**["Kid… that chain is what's keeping her from you."]**
Jason clenched his fist.
"Then I'll break it."
Wei Qing gasped.
"Jason—wait—!"
But Jason had already grabbed the chain.
Pain blasted through his arm.
His spiritual veins screamed.
His vision blurred.
His bones felt like molten fire.
Wei Qing screamed,
"JASON, LET GO!"
Lan Yuren rushed to pull him back.
But Jason only gritted his teeth harder.
"NO—
I'm not letting her stay erased—
NOT AGAIN!"
The chain cracked.
Just once.
Just a little.
But enough to make the entire hall tremble.
Lanterns flickered wildly.
The silhouette shivered.
The shard on Jason's chest burned with golden fire.
Longwu hissed:
**["FOOL!
You just alerted SOMEONE."]**
Jason gasped,
"Who—?!"
A cold voice answered from behind him—
so close it felt like fingers brushing his neck.
"Me."
Jason froze.
Wei Qing screamed.
Lan Yuren spun, drawing his spear.
But too late.
A tall figure stood in the doorway—
dressed in obsidian cloth that absorbed light—
wearing a mask etched with shifting symbols.
Not Administrator.
Not Riftbound.
Something new.
Something worse.
The figure spoke calmly:
"You broke the seal on the forbidden bond, Jason Wu."
Then it lifted a hand—
and all the lanterns went dark.
----------------