"The stars burn slow when fate begins to stir. Beware the gate that bleeds, for behind it lies truth—too wild for gods, too cruel for men."
The forest that greeted them after Moria's return was not the same as before.
The trees were thicker. The air trembled with tension. Every rustling leaf felt like a whisper from something watching, waiting, judging.
Jiang Yan trotted behind her, still throwing glances at her like she might vanish again. Li Yuan, however, said nothing. He walked beside her, quiet but aware, his fox ears flicking whenever danger stirred in the wind.
"Where are we headed now?" Jiang finally asked.
Moria tapped her temple. "Where fate itches."
Jiang stared blankly.
Li Yuan smirked. "She means west."
They had heard rumors of an ancient gate that appeared only once every fifty years—the Ash-Blooded Gate, said to be the resting place of an artifact called Mirror of Qiao, capable of showing one's truest form... or rewriting it.
"We don't need another artifact," Jiang protested.
Moria glanced at him. "You're wrong. This one's special. If we find it before the others… we control who sees the truth."
She didn't mention the other reason.
The Mirror could break memory seals.
Including hers.
---
Elsewhere…
In the palace of black jade and white fire, a woman dressed in phoenix feathers watched her shadow move against her will.
"She's awake," the shadow hissed. "Your rival walks the surface again."
The woman—Madam Xunyi, Empress of the Demon High Court—turned slowly. Her lips were crimson. Her smile was thin.
"Then it's time to speed up the blooming," she whispered. "Tell Lord Hanxu to release the pale hounds. Let them test her patience."
She poured wine into a porcelain cup etched with the sigil of Arios, the fire god.
"And fetch me the oracle boy," she added. "His tongue lies beautifully. Let's see if it burns."
---
Back with the group...
They reached the gate by dusk.
It stood in the heart of a burned-out glade. A black archway made of twisted obsidian vines, its center rippling like a pool of oil. Symbols of life and death shimmered on its frame—old, even by Moria's standard.
She stepped forward and placed a hand on the gate.
It pulsed under her palm.
"Only one may pass at a time," she said. "The Mirror won't allow more."
"I'll go first," Jiang offered, puffing his chest.
Li Yuan smirked. "You'd faint if the mirror showed your underwear preference."
"Wha—?!"
Moria ignored them both and entered.
The moment she passed through the veil, the world changed.
She stood in a mirrored chamber where her reflection split into a hundred versions of herself. One was bloodied, wearing a crown of thorns. Another was smiling, dressed as a mortal. One looked like her system avatar—cold, glowing, artificial.
Then the true mirror rose.
A flat panel of black glass, taller than a mountain. It pulsed like a heartbeat.
Moria stepped closer.
The mirror whispered, "Who are you?"
She answered softly, "You tell me."
It showed her—not as a goddess, but a woman with silver hair and sad eyes, holding a blade of light and shadow. Behind her stood two men—one with red eyes (Li Yuan), the other with golden pupils… a stranger.
Her system buzzed violently.
[Seal Fracture Detected.
Memory Fragment Unlocked: The Seventh War.]
Her breath caught.
Suddenly, a scream echoed behind her. A flash. A roar.
The chamber shattered like glass—
And she was thrown out of the gate.
Li Yuan caught her.
Her eyes were wide. Glowing. A trickle of blood ran from her nose.
"Moria?" he whispered.
She grabbed his collar and whispered one name—
"Xuanyu."
He froze.
That name… it hadn't been spoken in over two hundred years. It belonged to a prince. A rebel. A monster.
And a lover long forgotten by history.
---
End of Chapter 22