The Realm Between trembled as Xuan Mo broke in.
Lin Yue stumbled backward as space warped, fragmented, then pieced itself back together.
A silhouette stepped through the rift.
Shoulders shaking.Eyes blazing with dark, furious moonlight.Soul bleeding from the edges.
Xuan Mo.
He saw her.
His expression shattered — relief, rage, fear, devotion — all at once.
"You," he breathed. "Lin Yue."
He reached her in two strides and pulled her into his arms so tightly she forgot what air was.
"You disappeared," he whispered into her hair."I will not survive that again."
She melted against him before her brain could protest.
Her past incarnation watched with quiet sadness.
"You must choose now," the first self said.
Xuan Mo stiffened.
Lin Yue turned. "Choose what?"
"Your existence is breaking the sky," her past self explained. "As long as you resonate with the Night Emperor, fate will target him."
Xuan Mo growled, "Fate can burn."
"Or," the first self continued, "you can sever the resonance, save him, and lose him forever."
Lin Yue froze.
Xuan Mo's grip tightened like he feared she'd vanish.
"You will not choose that," he said immediately.
Her first incarnation sighed."Or you bind your souls permanently. Not resonance. Not fate. A true celestial bond."
Lin Yue swallowed. "What… what happens if we do that?"
"Your souls merge," her past self said."Your fates intertwine.""Your power doubles.""And the heavens lose all control over you both."
Xuan Mo's breath hitched.
Lin Yue stared. "And the downside?"
"There is no separation," the woman said gently. "Not in life. Not in death. Not in any realm. You become one destiny."
Lin Yue's knees nearly buckled.
Xuan Mo looked at her, voice raw:
"I will accept whatever you choose. But understand this—"He cupped her face."If we bond, I will never let you go."
Her heart throbbed painfully.
This was too big.Too final.Too everything.
But then—
The sky cracked again.
Reality wavered.
Her choice became unavoidable.