Li Jun's voice grew quieter, heavier—like each word carried the weight of the past.
"The people standing in front of them… they weren't ordinary," he said slowly. "They belonged to a high-ranking clan. And among them… was an old man. He didn't speak much—but it was clear he was their leader."
Li Yanshu stayed silent, listening.
"Your grandfather… Lin Xuankong… his eyes suddenly turned violet," Li Jun continued. "He tried to teleport himself and Anran away. But they had already prepared for that. A barrier was placed… even space itself was sealed. No matter how much he tried… he couldn't escape."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"One of them stepped forward—a middle-aged man. He said, 'Hand over the child. She belongs to our clan.'"
Li Jun's hands clenched slightly.
"But your grandfather… he refused."
His voice hardened as he repeated the words.
"'I would rather die than let you turn Ran'er into your puppet… like you did to her mother.'"
A brief silence followed.
" He got down from the horse.Then he turned to Anran," Li Jun said softly. "And told her to run."
"'Ran'er… run as fast as you can. Don't look back.'"
"'But… Papa—'"
"'Go. I'll follow you.'"
Li Jun exhaled slowly.
"That… was a lie."
Li Yanshu's eyes trembled slightly.
"She didn't know," he continued. "She grabbed the horse's reins.… looked at him one last time… wiped her tears… and ran."
His voice grew tense.
"Behind her, everything turned into chaos. Your grandfather held them back alone. He gave everything he had… just to buy her time."
"But someone still followed her. One of them broke through."
"She kept running until she reached a cliff," he said. "A very high one. Below it… nothing could be seen. Just darkness. An abyss."
"The man caught up to her."
Li Jun's tone turned cold.
"He tried to deceive her. 'Come with me, child. I won't harm you.'"
He shook his head slightly.
"But she knew."
"In front of her… was the enemy."
"Behind her… was death."
"She didn't know what to do."
"And then…" Li Jun looked at her, "she remembered what your grandfather had told her."
"She had awakened her powers just a day before."
"Void… and Light."
Li Yanshu's fingers tightened.
"A dual elemental awakener," Li Jun said.
"Something that should not exist. Life and death cannot coexist. Nobody can withstand both.
"But she did."
"Barely."
"Her Light affinity was high. Her Void was intermediate. That's the only reason she survived. Light was balancing the Void."
"But even then…"
He looked down.
"It was unstable."
He spoke slowly, repeating the warning as if it still echoed in his mind:
"The light and void can't coexist. If a Balancer uses her power to the fullest… she becomes a bridge between creation and destruction."
"And that bridge…" his voice dropped, "…can collapse at any moment."
"So your grandfather warned her," Li Jun said.
"No matter what happens… never use those powers."
Li Yanshu whispered, "But… she still used them, didn't she?"
Li Jun closed his eyes briefly.
"She had no choice."
"She stood at the edge of that cliff… and closed her eyes."
"For the first time… she felt the mana inside her."
Li Jun's voice turned distant… as if he was no longer in the room, but standing inside that moment.
"And then…" he said slowly, "…her eyes became violet with a golden ring surrounding them."
Li Yanshu's breath hitched.
"A surge of power burst out from her," he continued. "It devoured everything in its path. The ground shattered… the air itself screamed. It felt like a meteor had fallen from the sky."
He paused, his eyes darkening.
"Destruction…"
Silence lingered for a second before he spoke again.
"And in that chaos… something awakened inside her. Something deeper than either Light or Void."
"Yes. It was instinct, to protect herself from the danger."
"She didn't understand what she was doing… she couldn't control it…"
"But she still reached into the void."
His voice dropped to almost a whisper.
"And she tore it open."
Li Yanshu's fingers tightened.
"A portal appeared," Li Jun said. "But it wasn't normal. It wasn't just a path from one place to another…"
He looked straight at her.
"It was a very narrow bridge … between worlds."
The room felt heavier.
"And then…" he continued, "in the very next moment…"
"She disappeared."
Li Yanshu swallowed.
"And after that…?" she asked softly.
"Silence," Li Jun replied.
"The portal collapsed… like it was never meant to exist."
"And with it… every trace of that moment vanished."
He exhaled slowly.
"Far away… in a quiet forest… behind an orphanage…"
" she appeared."
"She didn't know where she was."
"She didn't know what she had done."
He looked at Li Yanshu, his voice heavy with meaning.
"She didn't even know…"
"…that she had just crossed the boundary between two worlds."
The room fell into a heavy silence, the weight of Li Jun's words settling deep within her.
Li Yanshu swallowed her thoughts in turmoil, before finally asking,
"If a Balancer cannot use mana freely… then how did Mom use her power?"
Li Yanshu's voice trembled slightly, the question hanging heavy in the air.
Li Jun didn't answer immediately.
For a moment, he simply looked down—his expression shadowed, conflicted.
"I… don't know," he finally said, his voice low.
"The last time your mother used her power… in that alley…" he continued slowly, "she told me something strange."
Li Yanshu leaned forward.
"She said her Void mana… was beginning to show affinity equal to her Light."
A chill passed through the room.
"That shouldn't be possible," Li Jun murmured.
"Void and Light are never meant to reach
equilibrium like that. If they do…"
He stopped.
Li Yanshu's fingers tightened. "If they do… what?"
Li Jun's eyes darkened.
"Then the balance breaks."
Silence.
"And if she uses her power again…" he continued, his voice growing heavier with each word, "…we don't know what will happen. We don't know if her body can endure it… or if it will simply collapse under the strain."
"But… in that building…" Li Yanshu's voice cracked, "…she used it to save me."
Li Jun shut his eyes briefly.
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of."
He exhaled slowly, as if forcing the words out.
"Last time, she survived. She fell into a coma, yes—but she woke up after a day. Even after the cliff incident weakened her… she could still hold the balance."
His voice faltered.
"But this time…"
He looked at Li Yanshu.
"I don't know if she'll wake up again."
The words struck like a blade.
Li Yanshu's lips parted, but no sound came out.
"Her face…" Li Jun whispered, "…it's gone completely pale. Like all life has been drained out of her."
"What did the doctors say?" she asked, almost desperately.
"They don't know," he replied bitterly. "Every test… normal."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
"Perfectly healthy… yet trapped in a coma."
Silence swallowed the room.
"So… what do we do now?" Li Yanshu asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Li Jun lifted his head slowly.
"There is… only one person," he said.
"Someone who knows what happened to her… someone who understands this power… someone who might be able to bring her back."
Li Yanshu's heart began to race.
"Dad… don't tell me—"
"Yes."
His voice was firm now.
"Your grandfather."
A pause.
"Lin Xuankong."
"But…" Li Yanshu shook her head, disbelief flooding her expression, "he's in that other world. We don't even know if he's alive!"
"Your grandfather is alive," he said.
"I don't know where… I don't know in what condition… but he's alive."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Ran'er told me."
Li Jun stepped closer.
"You remember the mark she left in your consciousness?"
Li Yanshu nodded slowly.
"Your grandfather left the same kind of mark… in hers."
"A mark… that works both ways."
Li Yanshu's eyes widened.
"That means…?"
"She can feel him."
"And if she can feel him…"
Li Jun's voice lowered.
"Then he can feel her too."
"Even… across worlds?" she whispered.
"Yes."
Li Jun nodded.
"Even across a world barrier."
"That's the power of a true Void awakener."
Silence fell again.
"But…" Li Yanshu said, struggling to process everything, "how are we supposed to go there? Only Mom could open a portal!"
Her voice broke.
"And now she's—"
"She's not the only one," Li Jun interrupted quietly.
Li Yanshu froze.