A small slab of black marble perched out of the grass, Luna’s name engraved on the surface. The wind whispered mournfully against my cheeks, carrying with it the weight of loss as I kneeled to pay my respect.

Around me, the burial ground had other individuals who perished in the war, including He Wei. I saw Yan Ling kneeled next to his grave and thought about offering my condolences, but held my mouth shut. The outcome would’ve been the same regardless of the part they played. It’s not their fault the North used them to meet the end of their goals. They suffered an equal amount of losses. Even if their moral compass wasn’t right, death was not something I wished upon anyone.

The hardest pill to swallow was Ming Yi’s disappearance. I was worried something happened to him, but even among the dead, he was gone without a trace.

From my side, Sagittarius watched my motionless state with a forlorn expression. He turned to Luna’s grave, lowering his head. “May the gods shine brightly upon you,” he said. “And that you finally know peace and prosperity. Let them bless you in the afterlife.”

When he finished speaking, my chest felt incredibly heavy at his words, nearly breaking down the wall of emotions I tried to hold together. Next to Luna’s grave was the resting place for Shu Lian, Shu Wang, and Hua Lei. Xu Yang slaughtered them in the aftermath. When I found their decaying bodies, a piece of myself further chipped away, swallowed by a void.

I think I’m losing myself more that time passes without them. It would be so much easier to flip a switch and not feel anything. The guilt writhing in my gut for not saving them, and the inability to change the past, haunt me daily, driving me to the brink of madness. My hands shook uncontrollably, preventing me from rising.

Upon gathering the strength to stand, I faced Sagittarius to bid him farewell. I swallowed back my emotions, extending my arm to shake his hand. “Thank you.”

At the sight, his gaze softened. He grabbed my arm, pulling me into a hug that dwarfed my person. “It’s going to be okay, kid,” he said, resting his chin on top of my head. “We’ll see each other again.”

As he moved back, I watched him waving goodbye and vanishing into the distance, staff in hand.

Li Wei was sitting on a bench nearby with his legs crossed. His blue eyes softened as they met mine. His earrings dangled, shining sapphire jewels as he tilted his head of glittering gold hair to assess my gaze.

“Li Wei, tell me,” I said upon reaching his side. “Did you see him? You know who I’m speaking about, right?”

“I’ll have you know...” Li Wei began, leaning closer and whispering in a lower voice. “That I can only hear what you want me to hear. So, to answer your question, yes, I know,” he replied confidently, his voice filled with assurance. “The one who took you outside the church wore a fox mask but carried a distinct feature. Other than Zenith, Caelestis is the only other individual with silver hair. He’s not a spirit though, my dear.”

“That’s correct,” another voice responded. The silver-haired man revealed himself, a lazy look in his eyes. His slender fingers adorned golden rings, and he wore white clothes, with black inked tattoos crawling up his neck. He put a hand to his chest, bowing slightly. “The Sky god at your service. I’d like to know more about this mysterious assailant who keeps stealing my identity. Perhaps we can work together, hmm?”

I moved so fast that I only glimpsed at Li Wei’s eyes widening as I retrieved the fan from within his sleeve and whipped it open. Soon, the sharp edge pointed towards Caelestis’ throat within a fluid movement.

The wind danced through our hair and clothes, gradually fading away as we locked eyes, both of us hesitant to make the first move. A faint smile settled on his lips as he took a step forward, walking into the blade.

Startled at the sight, I stood frozen, watching the fan pierce through the skin of his neck, but the wound refused to bleed, almost as if he was intentionally displaying our differences. From the corner of my vision, I saw vines emerge from the ground, wrapping around Li Wei’s wrists, securing him to where he stood. The grass and nature seemed to quiver as Caelestis looked upon them without remorse.

“Zhen Xue, I have a task for you,” Caelestis said, taking yet another step forward into the blade. “Bring me the Childbearing Ghost and I’ll grant you one wish. Anything that you could ever want, even a leash for Li Wei.”

Despite my desire to check on Li Wei, I said with a coy smile, “There are certainly better ways I can think of using that leash right now. Your neck being one of them.”

Caelestis laughed, appearing genuinely amused. He casually grabbed my wrist, twisting my arm back until the fan fell from my hold despite my best effort. “Maybe the stakes aren’t high enough. Do as I say and I’ll let Li Wei go. Then, if I’m in a good mood, we can discuss your wish.”

With a swift kick, my shoe collided with the fan. I effortlessly caught it in my free hand, skillfully snapping it open between us. “Or maybe,” I said with deadly calm. “I can see what happens if I take your head off. I’m rather curious how long it would take to grow back again.”

Caelestis tilted his head with an otherworldly calmness. “I’m just as curious about who killed your family, Zhen Xue. Why did they let you live? Why take on my appearance? It’s like… we’re meant to cross paths and find the truth together.”

Although how I want to deny his claim, we indeed seem to gravitate towards the center of whatever chaos surrounds this world. It’s puzzling how, whenever I approach the truth or reflect on this enigmatic presence, I’m overcome by a strange feeling of pursuing myself. I pulled my arm free, having already decided my answer.

Caelestis raised his eyebrows, sensing my refusal. “Oh, I see. You think you’re sacrificing your pet. Don’t blame yourself for Li Wei’s confinement. He knew the risks involved when he meddled in human affairs. This was going to happen, regardless of whether you got involved.”

“It’s true, my dear,” Li Wei said, suddenly appearing by my side.

The sounds of birds chirping and wind rustling through the trees faded to the lapping of waves against the shore of a beach. Orange hues reflected from the sunset across the deep blue ocean, my feet planted into warm sand.

“I’ve been expecting this for a while.” He took my hand, bringing my knuckles to his lips as though that’s all he dared to allow himself. His skin was soft.

There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, but I settled with what I wanted to know the most. “Will you be safe?”

He smiled against my hand, speaking sincerely, “Always for you, my dearest.”

I pulled my hand away, aggravated by his teasing tone. “Not that I was worried.”

He revealed a knowing smile, his eyelashes brushing against his cheeks as he inched closer. “But I’ll be worried about you every day.”

My breath hitched in my throat, holding his affectionate gaze. I took a single step backward to prevent his nose from touching mine. Although I knew he would never cross that boundary, I slightly wished that he would in this moment. “Li Wei,” I said under my breath.

“Hmm?” he asked.

I debated kicking a bunch of water at him.

He laughed, stepping away.

A smile spread across my face, my heart dancing with delight. He returned me to my original body before I could actually splash him with water. I was lying on the familiar slab of hard stone. “Cheater,” I said under my breath.

“You say such scandalous things, my dear,” he replied within my mind. Li Wei’s playful demeanor dropped, replaced with solemnity. “Be brave, my darling. Someone will arrive for you soon. I’ll stay with you until then.”

I waited, wondering what was going to happen.

A guard came to collect the empty food bowl from earlier but left immediately after. All I saw was a flash of light before it quickly went out again, but true to Li Wei’s word, the door opened again. Light beamed down where I was crouched in the darkness, my eyes widening at the sight of a familiar figure.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Quiet footsteps echoed down the long empty hallways of a place that was once considered as heaven. The only sound that was heard was the light jingle of a bell on their pair of this inconspicuous person’s rugged, shiny boots. He wore an eye patch sitting over his right eye beneath his dark hair. Whether a god or man, he was not sure anymore, but he knew walking the hallways of heaven didn’t come often in someone’s lifetime.

He was certain he’d been here before, but couldn’t place the memory. All he could think about since becoming a god was finding one person. He’d awoken with two names and no knowledge of his past.

Zhen Xue and Ming Yi were the names that stuck to his mind. One of which had likely been his own name, but he didn’t identify with something he couldn’t remember, so he kept his new name that his master gave him upon his ascension into godhood.

Often he would wonder what kind of person he was before, but the more he dug into his past, he discovered there were brief answers to be found.

It was then he decided he’d been a quiet person and probably didn’t have many friends. He was both relieved and disheartened by the outcome that no one was looking for him and that they wouldn’t hurt if they never saw him again, but he was hoping for something more. As time went on, he kept circling back to that other name.

No matter where he sailed across the sea, that name was always with him, waiting to be found. So, after traveling the world, he returned to Cassanova and searched thoroughly for that other name.

He curiously stumbled upon the revelation that five years ago, someone locked the prince deep beneath the palace.

This prison where he was located was not normal. Without extensive research, it was difficult to understand the mechanics behind its random disappearances. One would have to be familiar with curse techniques and the dark arts before even attempting to break through such a complicated mechanism.

Before breaking such a spell, precisely three things had to be done.

The first step was to get a sword from the depths of the ocean. Easy enough, he had a ship.

The next was to get a god’s broken heart. He took his master’s heart, who claimed he didn’t need one anymore.

And finally, you had to have over fifty million followers.

Whoever created such a last step must have a truly wild sense of humor. There were only three gods with that type of following count, one of which conveniently included himself, the other being his master, and the god of the underworld. He wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or worried he fit the criteria, regardless he now had all the preparations to retrieve the prince.

A part of him wondered what kind of person this man had been. They labeled him a traitor, and some thought he had even died, but only those with a keen pair of eyes gave these inconsistencies any thought.

The eye-patched man didn’t know why, but he smiled at the thought of seeing this person. What was this longing? What was this pain he felt? As if stopping to admire the painting of a young woman, he paused before the framed artwork and whispered, “I guess we are both outcasts.”

With a flick of his wrist, he split the painting in two with the sword he got from the ocean. The hallway was dark as he traveled down the spiraling staircase, the god’s broken heart lying in the satchel around his waist, which allowed him entrance.

Another flick of his wrist and small bubbles filled with glowing liquid emitted from his palm. They danced around him, lighting the path ahead until he came to a door at the bottom.

The lock easily snapped with the use of his sword. There was a man chained to the floor. His clothes, tattered and worn, hung on his body as he reached to cover his eyes from the sudden onset of light.

The eye-patched man lowered the brightness emitting into the room and stepped over the threshold. It seemed impossible for anyone to live here, but yet this person had survived all this time.

The man chained to the floor opened his mouth as if to speak, but his voice was wordless from months of slumber. His gaze seemed terribly sad, almost empty.

The eye-patched man kneeled before him, an amused, crooked smile spread across his face. So, this was the person who ruined his life. He took Zhen Xue’s chin, turning his head over to look at him. It would be so easy to snap his neck. “Does the name Ming Yi mean anything to you?”