The rusted tracks groaned as a ghost-like train materialized from the shadows of the cavern. It wasn't modern Shanghai metro; it was an old steam engine, but instead of coal, its furnace burned with a haunting violet flame.
"The Soul—Collector, " Zian whispered, his hand tightening on his sapphire blade. The Shadow General uses this to transport the essence of the fallen. If we can hijack it, we can reach Beijing I'm hours. But if we fail, our souls will become its fuel. "
Dua looked at the train. The windows were frosted over, but she could see the silhouettes of people inside—Shadow of those who had lost their battle against the 'Dust'. How do we get on? It's not stopping. "
"We don't wait for it to stop. We jump, " Zian said. and before Dua could protest, he grabbed her waist and leapt as the last carriage roared past..
They landed hard on the metal floor of the rear platform. The air inside was freezing, smelling of ancient metal and forgotten sorrows. Dua felt the Golden key in her pocket pulse with a warning rhythm. The train wasn't empty.
As they walked through the narrow corridor, the doors between carriage began to slam shut. One by one, the lights flickered and died. In the darkness, Dua heard the scratching of claw against the ceiling.
"Dua, stay behind me! " Zian shouted, but the floor beneath them suddenly turned into liquid Shadow. Dua screamed as she felt herself sinking, the cold 'Dust' wrapping around her ankles like heavy chains.
"I can't.... I can't move! " She gasped. The Shadows were pulling her down, trying to drag her into the furnace of the train.
She reached for the Golden key, but her hands were frozen. Then, she remembered Elder Mei's worlds: potential can either light the way or burn the world to aahes. She didn't try to pull her legs out. Instead, she pushed her energy into the shadows.
"You want my soul? " Dua hissed, her eyes snapping open, glowing with a fierce amber light. "Then take ye fire of the Qing!"
A blinding explosion of golden light erupted from her body. The liquid shadows shrieked and evaporated instantly. The train itself shuddered, the violet flames in the engine turning into a pure, protective gold.
Zian stared at her, his jaw dropping. "You just.... you just control of the Soul—Collector."
Dua stood up, her breathing heavy, her silver robes flickering back into view in the reflection of the windy. "It's not a Soul-Collector anymore, Zian. It's my train now. And we're going to the Forbidden City. "
But the victory was short-lived. From the front of the train, a massive silhouette appeared, blocking the way to the engine. It was twice the size of a man, wearing armor made of shattered mirrors.
"The Mirror-knight, " Zian breathed, his voice full of dread. "Whatever he see, he can copy. If he sees your light, Dua, he will turn it into a weapon against us. "
The mirror-knight steeped forward, its armor clicking with the sound of a thousand breaking glasses. Every movement Dua made was reflected on the knight's body, but the reflections weren't just images—they were solidifying.
"Don't use your light, Dua! " Zian yelled, his sapphire blade glowing dimly. "He will steal your essence and use it to burn the train! "
But Dua could feel the Golden Key pulsing with an uncontrollable heat. The Mirror–knight raised its sword, and to Dua's horror, the blade began to glow with the exact same amber light as her key. The monster was mocking her, stealing her lineage before her very eyes.
"You are a thief, " Dua whispered, her voice cold. She didn't attack. Instead, she sat down on the floor of the moving train. She closed her eyes and let the staff disappear
The Mirror-knight stopped, confused. It had nothing to copy. It tilted its head, its mirror-face reflecting the empty corridor. Zian took the chance and lunged, his blade slicing through the air, but the knight quickly reflected Zian's movement and parried the blow with a sapphire-colored shield.
"Dua, what are you doing? " Zian panted, dodging a counter-attak.
"He can only copy what he sees," Dua said, her eyes still closed. "He sees our fear. He sees our weapons. But he cannot see the history within us. "
She reached into the pocket of the silver robes and pulled out a small, broken porcelain shars—the only piece she had saved from her grandfather's shop. It was a fragment of a simple tea cup, worthless to any collector, but priceless to her. She focused all her love, all her grief, and all her memories into that shard
The Mirror-knight tried to copy it, but all it saw was a tiny, broken piece of trash. Its armor began to crack. The perfection of the mirror was failing because it couldn't understand why something broken could be so powerful.
"Now, Zian! " Dua shouted.
With a final roar, Zian drove his blade into the central mirror of the Knight's chest.
The creature shattered into a million pieces of glass that turned into black sand before they could hit the floor. The Soul-Collector train let out a long, mournful whistle, and the golden flames in the engine surged, pushing the train to impossible speeds.
The train didn't just slow down; it entered a pocket dimension where time and space seemed to stretch like pulled taffy. Dua looked out the window and saw not the track, but a sea of floating clocks, each one ticking at a different speed.
"The Shadow General has looked us in a Chronos —Trap! " Zian shouted, his sapphire blade flickering as if it were losing its power. "If we don't break this cycle, we will be stuck on this train for eternity, reliving the same ten minutes over and over again."
Dua felt a sudden sharp pain in her head. Suddenly, she was back in the shop, but it was the day her grandfather died. She saw herself handing him a cup of tea, unaware that the 'Dust' had already entered his lungs.
"No.... not this again, " She whispered, her eyes filling with tears.
The scene shifted. Now she was a child, hiding under the counter as the Shadow Scouts first knocked on their door. She felt the same paralyzing fear, the same helplessness. Every had memory she had ever suppressed was coming to life, manifesting as physical shadows that clawed at her silver robes.
"Dua! Focus on the key! The past is a Shadow, but the key is the sun! " Zian's voice sounded like it was coming from miles away.
Dua grabbed the Golden Key. It wasn't just glowing anymore; it was vibrating so hard her hand went numb. She realized that the key wasn't just a tool for light—it was an anchor.
She didn't try to run away from the memories. Instead, she walked right into them. She hugged the memory of her grandfather. She faced the Shadow Scouts of her childhood. As she touched each memory with the key, the shadows didn't disappear—they turned into golden butterflies that flew towards the ceiling of the train.
The Chronos – Trap shattered like a mirror.
The train let out a final, triumphant whistle and slammed back into reality. They weren't in the tunnel anymore. They were inside the main courtyard of the Forbidden City, the train having jumped through the very walls of space.
Thousands of Shadow Soldiers stood in perfect formation, their eyes glowing violet. In the center stood the Shadow General, holding a black sword that seemed to drink the light of the moon.
"You've grown, Dua, " the General said, his voice a low growl. "But you've brought the key exactly where I wanted it. The Forbidden City isn't a palace; it's a grant lock. And you just gave me the finger that turns it."
The Shadow General raised his hand, and the ground of the Forbidden City began to Crack, releasing geysers of black 'Dust' that rose like pillars towards the silver moon. Dua felt the weight of the city's history pressing down on her shoulders. Zian was already in the thick of it, his sapphire blade cutting through the first wave of Shadow–soldiers with a desperate speed.
"The key is not just a tool, Dua! It is a heartbeat! " Zian's voice was strained, his armor cracked from the force of the General's aura.
Dua closed her eyes, ignoring the screams of the shadow–soldiers and the freezing wind. She focused on the Golden key in her hand. She thought about the shop, the smell of old paper, and her grandfather's voice. She realized that the key was reacting to her emotions. When she was afraid, the light was flickery; when she was angry, it was sharp. But when she felt the love for her city, the light became steady and unstoppable.
"I am not afraid of you, " Dua whispered, her voice carrying across the courtyard despite the chaos. "You are just a shadow of a past that already failed. I am the future. "
She slammed the key into the ground. A shockwave of pure amber energy rippled outwards, shattering the black 'Dust' pillars instantly. The shadow·soldiers dissolved into harmless mist as light touched them. But the General didn't move. He simply watched as the amber light hit the ancient stone seal in the center of the courtyard.
"Finally, " the General hissed, his silver mask cracking to reveal eyes of pure void. "The Seal is open. Not by my hand, but by yours. "
Underneath Dua's feet, the earth began to groan. A massive staircase of white jade rose from the depths, leading down into a chamber that glowed with a light older than the sun itself. This was the Heart of the Qing, the place where all the relics of the world were born.
"Dua, we have to go down! If he reaches the Core, he can rewrite the reality of Shanghai! " Zian grabbed her hand, and together they ran down the jade stairs, the shadows closing in behind them like a closing mouth.
Inside the Core room, thousands of floating scrolls were curling a single, giant hourglass made of Starlight. The sand inside wasn't sand—it was the souls of the living city. The Shadows General was already there, his hand reaching out to flip the glass and reset the world to an era of eternal darkness.
"Stop! "Dua yelled, throwing her staff like a spear.
The staff struck the General's shield creating a sound like a cathedral bell. The impact sent Dua flying backwards, but Zian caught her. The air in the room was so thick with power that every breath felt like drinking liquid fire.
"You cannot stop the inevitable, Guardian, " the General laughed. "The world is tired. It wants to sleep I the dark. I am just giving it what it asks for. "
Dua stood up, her silver robes now glowing so bright that Zian had to shield his eyes. She didn't pick up her staff. She walked towards the General with her bare hands. "The world istam tired. It's just waiting for someone to wake it up."
As she touched the Starlight hourglass, the Golden Key's energy merged with the souls of Shanghai. For a moment, everyone in the city—the shopkeepers, the students, the taxi drivers—felt a sudden warmth in their chests. That collective hope flowed through Dua, turning her into a pillar of pure, blinding light.
The Shadow General shrieked as the light of ten million souls hit him. His armor melted, his sword shattered, and his very essence was pushed back into the void form which he came. The 'Dust' over Shanghai began to evaporate, replaced by a soft, golden rain that healed the sick and cleared the smog.
The Forbidden City fell silent. The jade stairs remained, a permanent bridge between the old world and the new. Dua fell to her knees, the Golden key now a simple, quiet object in her palm again.
Zian khelt beside her, his sapphire blade finally resting. "You did it, Dua. You didn't just save the city. You shaved the light itself."
Dua looked up at the moon, which was no longer silver but a beautiful, natural white. "I think.... I think I'm ready to open the shop tomorrow."