As the heavy door clanged shut, Liu and I were plunged into a suffocating darkness, a descent not into sleep, but into the torturous landscapes of our minds.
It wasn't a shared dream, but twin nightmares unfolding in the oppressive silence. I was dragged back to the crimson-soaked streets of Kyoto, reliving the day my world shattered, while I sensed Liu beside me, his tormented breaths hinting at his own personal hell.
Outside, unbeknownst to us, a woman sat perched on the edge of the facility's rooftop, a cruel smirk playing on her lips, amused at how easily our deepest wounds could be exploited.
I fought my way through the clinging darkness, desperate to break free. In the distorted reality of my nightmare, my sister materialized before me, her spectral form radiating a chilling anger. Her voice, once filled with warmth, now dripped with accusation.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?" she shrieked, her words like shards of glass piercing my heart.
I was a child again, small and helpless, tears welling in my eyes as I reached for a mother who was no longer there. No sound escaped my lips, only the slow, agonizing drip of unseen water, each drop amplifying the suffocating silence.
Then, my sister's screams returned, tearing through the stillness like a physical assault.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?"
"I'm... sorry..."
The words were a pathetic whisper, lost in the echoing void.
But my apology only fueled her spectral rage. Her blows rained down on me, phantom strikes that somehow felt agonizingly real. Then, the nightmare twisted further.
My father appeared, his face contorted into a demonic mask, his eyes burning with malevolent fire. My mother followed, her gentle features warped into a monstrous caricature of rage.
I was trapped, a child facing the monstrous manifestations of my guilt and loss.
Meanwhile, in the suffocating confines of Liu's nightmare, he knelt before his imposing father, Qiwu Gao, a man whose iron will ruled their lives.
His father's voice boomed, each word a decree: no one breaks the code—or they die. Suddenly, the fragile peace of the dream was shattered as Liu's older brother, Yinxu Gao, burst into the scene, his face contorted with grief and accusation.
"She should have lived! It should have been you instead!" Yinxu's anguished cry echoed through the dreamscape.
Qiwu slammed his fist onto the armrest of his chair, rising with a terrifying fury. He grabbed Yinxu by the collar, his grip like iron.
"She died because you abandoned her! You let the Langyi Clan kill her!" His voice was a venomous snarl.
"It wasn't my fault!" Yinxu yelled back, his own anger flaring.
"YES, IT WAS!" Qiwu roared, his face inches from his son's.
The nightmare shifted, pulling Liu into a vivid flashback from eleven years prior.
A younger Yinxu walked beside their serene mother, Laixao, by a tranquil pond. Curiosity etched on his young face, he asked her why she never seemed to succumb to anger.
She smiled, her voice gentle.
"Anger is a powerless emotion, Yinxu. It drags you down, consumes you, unless you learn to control it."
Yinxu listened, captivated by her wisdom. Then, his innocent curiosity turned to their parents' history.
"How have you met my father?.."
He wondered how she had met his stern father.
Laixao's gaze softened as she reminisced about her twenty-first year, when Qiwu was twenty-three. She had been a respected young woman, admired by many, even those who walked on the wrong side of the law.
But Qiwu was different—a formidable martial artist, driven by a fierce pride and a simmering anger.
One terrifying night, she was kidnapped by a ruthless mafia gang. As they brazenly taunted the police with a recorded message, Qiwu, a whirlwind of furious motion, burst into their hideout, smashing through tables and scattering thugs like bowling pins.
He fought with a brutal efficiency, his martial arts a deadly dance. Then, in a daring move, he leaped from a window onto a moving car, shattering the windshield with a single, powerful punch, yanking the driver out, and rescuing Laixao from their clutches.
In that chaotic moment, their fates became irrevocably intertwined. They fell deeply in love, married, and brought Liu and Yinxu into the world.
The flashback twisted again, morphing into a scene of unimaginable horror. A brutal gang known as the Yulian Clan stormed their home, their faces masked with malice. Liu, just a child, watched in frozen terror as they mercilessly beat his mother, their blows sickeningly precise.
Their leader, Wang Qidian, a man whose eyes glinted with cruelty, gripped Laixao by her hair, sneering, "This is what Qiwu gets for killing his wife."
An hour later, young Liu remained rooted to the spot, his small body trembling uncontrollably. Laixao, her breath coming in ragged gasps, her lifeblood staining the floor, whispered weakly,
"I'm glad I had you as my second son," before succumbing to her horrific injuries.
Qiwu emerged from the ravaged house, his eyes scanning the scene with a terrifying intensity. Seeing Laixao's lifeless body, his gaze snapped to his youngest son.
"What happened?" he demanded, his voice devoid of emotion, yet carrying an undercurrent of terrifying rage.
Liu stammered, the words catching in his throat, choked with fear. "A gang... they... they beat mommy to death."
Qiwu's hand shot out, pinning young Liu against the wall, his grip bruising. "Why didn't you stop them?!"
"I... I was scared..." The confession was a pathetic whimper.
Qiwu dropped Liu as if he were a contaminated object, turning away in disgust.
"Why did I raise such a weakling?"
His words were a venomous sting that would fester for years.
At Laixao's funeral, the entire city seemed to gather, a silent testament to her respected life. Qiwu stood at the front, a stoic figure radiating grief, while young Liu lingered in the back, tears silently streaming down his face as he clutched the fabric of his small pants, overwhelmed by a guilt he didn't fully understand.
Back in the oppressive present, Liu's eyes snapped open. He found himself bound by thick, constricting strings, suspended in the air, held captive by a woman whose alluring figure belied a dangerous cunning.
Using a subtle spiritual technique, he sensed her presence nearby, moving with practiced stealth towards her unseen location. Summoning three venomous snakes from within his own body, a testament to his unique abilities, he silently commanded them to slither along the taut strings towards his captor.
At the last possible moment, the woman's keen senses detected the approaching threat, and she evaded the attack with surprising agility, leaping onto the ledge of a nearby building. With a mental command, Liu ordered the snakes to bite through his bindings, their venomous fangs dissolving the restraints, freeing him. He launched himself at the woman, the three summoned serpents flanking him, their forms rapidly growing in size, becoming monstrous constrictors.
They attacked in unison, but she skillfully fended them off, her movements fluid and precise. One snake struck from above, another from below. She dodged both, ensnaring the upper serpent in a complex web of shimmering strings. The massive snake instantly lost all movement, its powerful coils rendered useless—except for its tongue. With a final, desperate act, the serpentine tongue extended, wrapping tightly around her lithe form.
The second colossal snake coiled around her, attempting to crush her, its jaws widening to swallow her whole.
Before it could complete its gruesome task, an accomplice intervened. A masked figure materialized seemingly from nowhere, summoning an even larger, monstrous white snake, its fangs dripping with a deadly venom.
The colossal serpent struck with blinding speed, biting through Liu's summoned serpents, killing them instantly, their massive forms dissolving into wisps of smoke.
Enraged by the loss of his summoned creatures, Liu lunged at the masked figure, landing a swift punch and a powerful kick that shattered the porcelain mask, revealing the face beneath. The man, unfazed, merely smirked.
"My name is Klod Rencin," he announced, his voice smooth and chilling.
The alluring woman, her eyes glinting with amusement, introduced herself as well.
"People below my rank call me Lady Lin."
Without warning, Klod grabbed Lady Lin by the arm, and in a flash of light, they teleported away, leaving Liu alone and bewildered. Confused and deeply unsettled by this unexpected encounter, Liu knew instinctively that this was not the end, but merely the beginning of a far greater nightmare.
He rushed back to Mikimo's side, finding me still trapped in the clutches of my own personal hell. In the distorted reality of my dream, giant, constricting snakes coiled around me, their fangs sinking into my flesh over and over, each venomous bite sending waves of unbearable agony through my spectral form.
With a final, agonized scream that tore through the silence of the medical bay, I finally woke up, my body drenched in a cold sweat, my heart pounding in my chest like a trapped bird.
My eyes fluttered open, focusing on the concerned face of Liu, who sat vigilantly by my bedside, watching over me as I battled my inner demons.