The Third Timeline queued up.
A vision of Ji'an as a demonic cultivator, betrayed by her own sect, burned at the stake while Wangchen tried to freeze the flames.
She kept walking.
The Fourth Timeline...
Ji'an as a wandering physician, poisoned by a rival alchemist, dying in Wangchen's arms in a desert.
She kept walking.
Timeline Five. Timeline Six. Timeline Seven...
A horrifying carousel of betrayal, murder, political maneuvering, and tragedy.
Every single time, she was used.
Every single time, she died. And every single time, Xie Wangchen arrived just late enough to catch her body, his soul fracturing further and further into madness.
"I SEE YOU, UNIVERSE!" Ji'an screamed at the scrolling visions, tears of rage and grief streaming down her face, but her boots never stopping, never slowing down. "I SEE THE PATTERN! YOU THINK YOU CAN BREAK ME WITH TRAGEDY BACKSTORIES?!"
She raised her heavy cast-iron spatula high above her head like a standard-bearer marching into war.
