The Divine Gate shimmered like a mirror of stars behind her.
Yue Yan stood in front of it, her long sleeves brushing the grass, her nine-tailed fox silent at her
side. Divine Lord Xuan Li waited patiently, but the air around him had grown tense.
Time was running out.
"You don't have to decide now," he said gently. "But every delay will be seen as hesitation… or
worse, doubt."
Yue Yan didn't answer.
Her eyes drifted toward the cliffs. She could still feel him — Wen Shouye, somewhere in the
shadows of the mountain range. His presence pulled at her like a hidden river current.
She turned toward her brother.
"Do you believe I can do it?" she asked.
Yue Yun didn't hesitate. "I believe you already are."
That gave her strength — but it didn't erase the ache in her chest.
That night, Yue Yan didn't sleep.
She wandered beneath the stars, her heart torn in two. One half rose toward the heavens —
toward her destiny, her title, the promise of power and purpose. The other half reached
downward — toward that shadowed flame of a man who had seen every part of her and didn't
flinch.
Wen Shouye had never begged her to stay.
But he had looked at her like losing her would tear the world in half.
She stopped walking.
There, on the ridge, he stood — arms folded, golden eyes glowing softly under the moonlight.
"You knew I'd come," she said.
"I always know," he replied, stepping closer.
They stood inches apart.
"If I go back," she whispered, "they'll make me swear to watch you. Maybe even kill you, if you
step too far."
Wen Shouye smiled faintly. "Then don't let me step too far."
Her eyes stung.
"This isn't fair," she said.
"No," he murmured. "It's not."
Then he leaned down, his forehead resting against hers.
"I don't want to keep you," he whispered. "But if you stay… I won't let you go again."
Her hands trembled.
"I want to be a god," she said. "I want to protect people. I want to be more than just your
weakness."
He looked at her, serious now.
"You're not my weakness," he said. "You're the only thing that ever made me strong."
In the morning, the Divine Gate still stood.
And Yue Yan… had vanished.
Only the soft imprint of her fox's pawprints remained in the grass.
She had made her choice.
But which way she had gone
Only the sky knew.