The deeper Qing li followed wang xio beneath the demon clan palace, the heavier the atmosphere became. The upper corridors had long since disappeared behind them. Now only ancient stone tunnels remained, illuminated by rivers of molten lava flowing beneath iron walkways suspended over darkness. Heat rose constantly from below, turning the air thick and suffocating. Massive black chains hung from the cavern ceilings like the ribs of some dead beast while countless correction seals covered the surrounding walls. Some were cracked,some had partially burned away.
For a long time neither of them spoke.
Wang xio simply continued walking ahead with his usual calm expression while Qing li followed several steps behind, growing increasingly irritated with every passing moment. Then he finally spoke " Why are we going back there?" His voice echoed faintly through the tunnel. Wang Xio didn't stop walking. Qing li glanced toward the darkness ahead. "There is only a prison down here." The heat from the lava reflected across his face as frustration slowly surfaced again. "Who exactly are we meeting in a prison?" Wang xio remained silent.
A few moments later memory surfaced unexpectedly not a complete memory just a fragment when last time he had come here. He was lost inside the lower tunnels. He was separated from Wang xio. He remembered walking through endless corridors until he had somehow stumbled upon a prison cell hidden beneath layers of ancient seals. And inside... Someone locked there.Then another memory followed."Have you ever felt like you are missing something?" Qing Li abruptly stopped walking his expression shifted. "Wait." Wang xio slowed slightly. Qing Li stared at him. "Don't tell me..." His eyes narrowed. "We're meeting that person again?" Wang xio stopped.
"It really is him." Wang xio nodded once.Qing li stared at him in disbelief. "Who exactly is he?" Wang xio looked toward the darkness ahead before answering quietly. "Someone who remembers." That answer annoyed Qing Li. His expression darkened. "Again with that." His voice sharpened visibly. "Every answer you give sounds like half a conversation." He took several steps closer. "What do you mean, someone who remembers?" Wang Xio remained silent. Qing Li's frustration grew. "Why are we meeting him?" Another step. "Why does Xu Yang's awakening seem connected to him?" Another. "And why does every answer somehow lead back to that prisoner?" Wang Xio still said nothing. Qing Li clenched his jaw. "What exactly is his connection to all of this?" No answer came. "To Xu Yang." Silence. "To the Threads." Silence. "To us."
For a long moment neither moved then wang xio slowly closed his eyes.When he opened them again, something old and tired lingered behind his gaze. "Because every answer you're looking for begins with him." Qing Li frowned. "What does that mean?" Wang Xio looked away. "It means some truths should not come from me." That answer only deepened Qing Li's irritation. "Then why not tell me yourself?" His voice rose slightly. "You've been dodging every question since this started." No answer came. "Xu Yang is remembering things." Another step. "The Threads are appearing everywhere." Another. "And every time I ask about the past you look like you're carrying someone's funeral inside your head."
"Wang Xio! I'm talking to you!" For a moment neither spoke only the distant sounds of flowing lava echoed through the tunnels.Then Qing li asked again" Wang xio! Are you going to ignore again?" Wang Xio lowered his gaze. "Because some things are easier to hear from someone who suffered through them." The answerunsettled Qing Li. "What does that even mean?" Wang xio didn't answer for second then he spoke, his voice was quieter than before. "Some memories become distorted when they come from guilt." Qing Li frowned. "And yours are?" A faint bitter smile appeared briefly on Wang xio's face then gone. "...Yes."
Then Qing Li Stoped and asked, "Did you know them?" Wang Xio's footsteps slowed slightly. Qing Li continued. "The people we're forgetting." Wang xio replied, "Yes." The answer came without hesitation. Qing Li swallowed. "All of them?" Wang Xio looked forward without stopping. "Yes." He asked again,"Were they important?" For several seconds wang xio said nothing then replied, "They were everything." Qing Li froze his footsteps stopped completely.
His jaw tightened slightly. "Then why did we forget them?" Wang xio stopped walking. The lava light reflected across his face. For a long moment he didn't answer then quietly he said, "Because Heaven made sure we would." Qing Li stared at him. "And you let it happen?" The moment the words left his mouth he regretted them. Something flashed across his face and ur was pain and guilt.Wang Xio looked away. "No." His voice sounded rough. "I failed to stop it."
Qing Li suddenly didn't know what to say they continued walked.Neither spoke again. The tunnel ahead slowly widened. Heat surged toward them and distant sound of lava grew louder. Then the path finally ended. Qing Li stepped out of the tunnel and froze. Before them stretched a massive underground cavern illuminated entirely by rivers of molten lava. Iron bridges crossed over blazing currents. Ancient black chains stretched endlessly between towering stone pillars.At the very center stood an enormous prison suspended above the lava by hundreds of chains thick enough to restrain mountains. Flames danced across its surface and ancient seals glowed faintly beneath centuries of age. Qing Li stared silently toward it.
Qing Li's eyes finally found the prisoner. His breath caught. There was only one person inside.Hei Long sat motionless in the center of the prison, head slightly lowered, dark hair falling over his face. But beneath the harsh firelight, faint signs showed through his skin subtle dark scale-like patterns along his neck and collarbone, like broken dragon markings trying to surface but forcibly suppressed. Chains wrapped tightly around both wrists, more crossing his chest,shoulders, and waist before disappearing into the surrounding stone.The restraints looked excessive and cruel beside him rested several white flowers, impossibly fresh, untouched by the heat, untouched by time.
Then the prisoner slowly lifted his head,his eyes meeting theirs, and he smiled, not surprised, not confused, but as if he had been expecting them all along. "As expected." his calm voice echoed through the cavern, "you finally came."Something tightened inside Qing Li's chest at that voice, not recognition exactly, but something deeper, like a forgotten song his soul remembered even if his mind did not. Beside him Wang xio remained silent, his expression unreadable, while Hei long's gaze shifted toward him. For a moment neither spoke, and the silence between them felt old, like it carried the weight of lifetimes.Then Hei Long gave a faint smile and spoke again, "You look terrible."
Qing Li blinked in confusion at the unexpected words, while wang xio exhaled softly and replied, "You don't look much better." The smile on Hei Long's face widened slightly,"Fair enough." Only then did Qing Li truly notice it, the strange atmosphere between them, not of enemies or strangers or prisoner and jailer, but something painfully familiar, like two people standing on opposite sides of a grave they once shared. Qing Li frowned, frustration returning, "What exactly is going on here?" Hei Long's gaze shifted toward him, and the moment their eyes met, Qing Li felt his heartbeat stumble, because the man was looking at him not like a stranger, but like something precious that had been lost for too long. "What?" Qing Li snapped, uncomfortable under that gaze, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Hei Long's smile softened, "You've always hated being stared at." The words hit him like a shock,"What…?" Hei Long tilted his head slightly, his tone gentle, almost nostalgic, "When you were younger, if someone stared at you for too long, you would always ask if they had a problem." Qing Li stared,A fragment flickered in his mind, sunlight, distant laughter, someone teasing him, then it shattered before he could hold it. He staggered slightly and took a step back. "How do you know that?" he asked, voice lower now, uncertain.
Hei Long didn't answer, instead looking briefly toward Wang Xio before returning his gaze to Qing Li, the warmth in his eyes fading into something quieter, heavier. "Because once upon a time." he said softly, "you told me that almost every day." Silence swallowed the cavern and llava below roared faintly, but even that felt distant.Wang Xio finally stepped forward. "Hei Long." The prisoner turned his head slightly. "You promised."
Hei Long let out a quiet breath, almost a sigh of surrender. "I know." The smile disappeared completely this time and his eyes softened with a sadness that felt endless as they moved between Wang Xio and Qing Li, then briefly toward the darkness of the tunnel behind them, as if searching for someone who should have been there but wasn't. "Xu Yang hasn't awakened completely yet," he said quietly. Wang Xio nodded once. "Not yet."
Hei Long closed his eyes for a moment as the chains around him trembled faintly with his movement. "Then we're running out of time." Qing Li's patience broke. "What does Xu Yang have to do with any of this?" Neither answered.Qing Li's frustration flared again as he stepped forward, voice sharp, "Enough. I am tired of everyone speaking in riddles, half answers and tired of people acting like I should understand things I don't remember." He pointed directly at Hei Long, anger and confusion mixing together in his chest. "You know something. You know exactly what is happening."
Hei Long looked at him for a long moment, then smiled, but this time it was different, not warm, not amused, but filled with regret that felt unbearable. "You're right," he said quietly. Qing Li's jaw tightened immediately. "Then tell me." For a moment Hei Long simply studied him, as if searching for something behind his eyes, then spoke gently, "Qing Li… have you ever wondered why your heart hurts every time someone mentions the past?" Qing li didn't answer, because he already knew the answer was yes. Every time. Every single time. "Have you ever wondered," Hei Long continued softly, "why certain names feel familiar even when you've never heard them before?" Silence. "Why some places make you sad for no reason?" Still silence. His voice lowered further, becoming almost mournful. "Why every forgotten memory feels less like something lost…" His golden eyes darkened slightly as he looked directly at Qing Li. "and more like something stolen?"
Qing li clenched his fists without realizing it, nails digging into his palms as if pain could anchor him to something real. "Stop it!" Qing Li said sharply, though his voice shook slightly, betraying him. Hei Long didn't stop. He only looked at him with that same unbearable sadness. "Because you didn't just lose memories," he said quietly, "you lost people."
Qing Li's breath faltered. His mind tried to reject it, push it away, but something inside him twisted in recognition. "Who are you to say that?" Qing Li snapped, louder now, anger rising like a defense. "How would you even know what I lost?" "Because I was there." he said. The cavern seemed to shrink. Even the lava below felt distant, muffled, like the world itself was holding its breath. Qing Li's eyes narrowed, confusion and something colder mixing together. "That's impossible." His voice dropped, unstable now. "I would remember you."
Hei Long whispered, "No… you wouldn't." Qing li's chest tightened, as if something inside him had been pulled without warning. He stepped back slightly, shaking his head once, twice, as though refusing the very air around him. "No!" he muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "No, I don't know you." But even as he said it, doubt slipped in like a crack.He turned suddenly toward Wang Xio, voice sharper, desperate now. "Tell me he's lying." Wang Xio didn't move and didn't answer.
Qing Li's breath grew uneven, each inhale sharper than the last as if the air itself had turned heavy in his lungs. "Wang Xio!" his voice dropped,"Tell me." wang xio just stood there he didn't deny and didn't explanation just silence that pressed harder than any chain in the cavern. Behind him, Hei Long's voice came softer again,"He won't lie to you." he said. That sentence made Qing Li freeze completely. Slowly, he turned his head back toward Hei Long, His jaw tightened as he fought to steady his breathing, but it kept breaking anyway. "Then answer me one thing." Qing Li said again, voice lower now. "Just one." Hei Long didn't hesitate this time.He only nodded Qing li's fingers curled against his chest again, this time not in anger but in confusion, like he was trying to hold himself together. "Who were we to each other?"
The mountain air was clear, carrying the scent of wet stone and blooming wildflowers as birds called from somewhere high above the shrine courtyard. Children's laughter echoed lightly between the trees, mixing with the gentle sound of flowing water nearby, creating a peace so complete it felt almost unreal. Xu Yang sat beside a small river, the surface reflecting fragments of sky and drifting petals. One child was with him, close enough that their shoulders touched his.
Dandelions and small other flowers were scattered across their laps, some already being woven carefully into delicate flower crowns by the other child's hands. "Don't move." the other child said softly, their voice warm and teasing. "You always mess it up when you rush." Xu Yang let out a small laugh, leaning slightly closer anyway. "I'm not rushing." he replied, smiling despite himself. "You're just too slow." The child beside him huffed in mock offense but their laughter followed immediately after, light and unforced. "Liar." he said gently, carefully looping another flower into place. "You always say that and then ruin it." Xu Yang smiled wider at that, something easy and bright settling in his chest as he watched them work. "Then fix it for me." he said, bumping their shoulder lightly with his.The other child laughed again."I always do." he replied without hesitation.
For a while, there was only the river, the flowers, and the quiet rhythm of their breathing together. Xu Yang picked up a small flower, turning it between his fingers. "Do you think this will last?" he asked suddenly. The other child paused, then tilted their head slightly. "What?" "This!" Xu Yang said, gesturing faintly to the crowns, the river, the sunlight slipping through the trees. "All of it. It feels like… if I close my eyes, it might disappear." The child beside him went quiet for a moment, their hands slowing. Then he spoke gently, almost firmly. "Then don't close your eyes." Xu Yang looked at them, surprised by the seriousness in their tone. "That's not how it works." he said quietly. "Things disappear whether we want them to or not." The other child shook their head slightly, still smiling but softer now. "Then we'll remember for each other," he said said. Xu Yang blinked, something warm tightening in his chest again. "That sounds like a promise." "It is!" the child replied simply.
Xu Yang laughed under his breath, shaking his head a little. "You say that too easily." "Because I mean it!" he said.Xu Yang looked down at the flower crown being placed carefully into his hands. "Put it on me." he said quietly. The other child hesitated for a moment, then gently reached out, placing it over his head with careful hands. "There!" he said softly. "Now you look less like you're thinking too much." Xu Yang laughed again, softer this time. "What if I am thinking too much?" The child leaned closer slightly, their shoulder brushing his again. "Then I'll think with you." they said. Xu Yang's smile slowly faded into something quieter, more tender as he looked at them. "You're always here." he murmured. "Of course I am."he replied instantly. "Where else would I go?"
Xu Yang opened his mouth to respond but the moment he tried to look directly at their face again, everything shifted and edges blurred.Their voice remained, warm and close, but their features slipped away like water through fingers. Xu Yang's breath slowed slightly. "Wait…" he said softly, confusion creeping into his tone. "Why can't I see you properly?" The child tilted their head, still smiling, but now their face was indistinct, like a memory fighting to exist. "You don't need to see me," he said gently. Xu Yang frowned. "That doesn't make sense."
The laughter around them faded slightly, though the river still flowed. "It does." the voice replied softly. "Because you already know who I am." Xu Yang's chest tightened, a strange ache forming as he tried harder to focus, to remember, to hold onto something slipping away. "Then say your name." he whispered, like he was pleading now. The blurred figure paused. For a moment, there was only silence, only wind moving through leaves. Then, softly, like something breaking far away, the voice said, "You'll remember when it hurts enough." Xu Yang's eyes widened slightly. "What does that mean?" But before the answer could come, the world trembled faintly at the edges, like paper burning from the corners inward.
The river, the flowers, the laughter all of it began to thin, not disappearing, but becoming distant, as if someone was pulling it away from him piece by piece. Xu Yang reached forward instinctively. "Wait...don't go!" But his hand only caught air. And he heard was the blurred voice, soft and unbearably sad, whispering, "I never left you."Xu Yang's hand remained outstretched, fingers trembling as if trying to grasp something that was already dissolving.
The river beside him started to lose its clarity, turning into streaks of light instead of water, and the flowers on his lap faded like ink bleeding into white paper. "Wait!" Xu Yang whispered again, voice smaller now, breaking at the edges. "Don't do this… don't leave me like this." The blurred figure remained beside him, still close enough that their shoulder touched his, still warm, still real in the only way that mattered, yet their face refused to form no matter how desperately he tried to see it. "I'm not leaving." the voice said softly, almost laughing through sadness. "You just can't hold onto this place anymore." Xu Yang's breath grew uneven. "Then where are you?" he asked, turning his head slightly as if that might fix the blur. "If you're real… then where are you now?" The wind through the shrine courtyard shifted, carrying with it a distant echo of bells that no longer existed. "Closer than you think." the voice replied gently.