The place I remembered… was nowhere to be found.
The laughter- gone.
The warmth- gone.
The children--
Where?
My steps slowed, unsteady, as if the ground itself had changed beneath me.
No… no. This wasn't it.
This couldn't be Qianhe Yuan.
This wasn't my home.
The air burned my lungs with every breath. Smoke clung to my throat, thick and suffocating, as though it refused to let me speak, refused to let me deny what stood before me. The buildings I once knew were twisted into blackened skeletons, collapsing into ash. The pathways where children once ran freely were now buried under debris and flame.
This… isn't real…"
But the heat was real.
The silence was real.
And then-
I saw them.
At first, I tried not to. My mind resisted, clinging to denial with everything it had left.
But I couldn't hide behind the flames anymore.
Bodies.
Small.
Still.
Children… lying where they had fallen.
My breath broke.
My chest tightened painfully.
My vision blurred- but I forced myself to see.
Piao… she should still be here, right?
I ran.
"Piao…! Piao…!"
My voice didn't echo.
It just… disappeared.
Then I saw them.
Jun.
And in his arms-
"No… no…"
My legs moved before I could think. I stumbled toward them, the world spinning, my heart pounding so loud it drowned everything else.
"Piao- "
Blood.
Too much blood.
"Piao… what- what happened…?"
My hands shook as I held hers. They were cold. Too cold.
"Lue…"
Her voice was barely there. Like it didn't belong to this world anymore.
Jun didn't move.
He didn't blink.
He just looked at her… like if he moved even a little, she would disappear completely.
Piao tightened her grip on my hand, weak… but desperate.
"My son…"
Tears slipped from her eyes, tracing through the ash on her face.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't be there… to watch you grow up…"
"No… no, don't say that-"
My vision blurred. I couldn't tell if it was the smoke or the tears.
"I'm sorry, dear…"
Her breath trembled.
"I have a wish… can you… do that for me…?"
"Don't talk like that- Piao, I can save you- Jun, do something!"
Jun didn't respond.
He just stood there, silent… broken.
"Can you… call me mom…?"
"…please?"
Everything inside me stopped.
That word.
I couldn't say it.
Not like this.
Not now.
"Mo- Mom… please… don't…"
A smile appeared on her lips.
Soft.
Warm.
Too beautiful for a place like this.
"Yeah…?"
Her hand slowly reached Jun's face, brushing his cheek like she had done a thousand times before.
"I'm sorry, Ju-"
Her voice faded.
Just like that.
Gone.
"Piao…!!", the voice he been holding back came all out at once...
Jun's scream tore through the burning air.
He held her tightly, like he could force life back into her.
"Piao… Piao…!"
His voice broke into sobs.
Then-
Silence.
His face changed.
The grief didn't disappear.
It froze.
Hardened.
Like something inside him had died with her… and what remained was something else entirely.
I couldn't move.
This isn't real.
This has to be a dream.
A nightmare.
I just need to wake up.
I lifted my hand, ready to hit myself-
Jun grabbed my wrist.
"Your sword," he said quietly. "It's inside."
His eyes met mine.
"Go."
A chill ran through my spine.
"Destroy everything."
I walked.
I don't remember deciding to.
My body just moved.
Inside, the flames had eaten through everything. Walls, memories, voices- gone.
"Xiao…?"
My steps stopped.
"No… no…"
Her body lay there.
Half burned.
Her small face… still.
She was always smiling.
Always.
Why…
Why her?
I dropped to my knees, pulling her into my arms.
"I'm sorry…"
Her body didn't respond, like it always do, she always moves away when ever I tried to hold her... but now..
It never would.
"Xiao… push me away… please… just once…"
My voice broke.
Tears fell onto her burnt skin.
And then-
I noticed it.
Her hands.
Clutched tightly against her chest.
My sword.
"Wait…"
A sharp pain pierced through my head.
A vision.
Her voice.
"…why is he coming closer…?"
"…is he going to hit me…?"
"…no… he's not…"
"…did he find me disgusting… like everyone else…?"
"…but he looked different…"
My breath stopped.
"…if he gets too close… he'll see… I shouldn't…"
"…Master said it's his sword… it's beautiful…"
"…no… no, don't touch- ah- "
"…I hope the sword is alright…"
"No…"
My hands trembled.
Then another voice cut through-
cold.
Detached.
"She held it so tightly… even as it cut into her flesh."
A pause.
"For what? Pathetic."
"No."
My voice cracked.
"No… she's not pathetic…"
Her arms were covered in blood.
Even now, her fingers refused to let go.
It took everything in me to gently pry the sword from her grip.
I held her one last time.
Carefully.
Like she could still feel it.
Then I stood up.
The flames roared around me.
But I couldn't feel them anymore.
Not the heat.
Not the pain.
Nothing.
I walked out of Qianhe Yuan-
with a sword in my hand.
And nothing left inside me.