Upon twirling my blade, I let the metal sink through bodies of flesh, cutting down opponents where they stood. The movement was seemless and precise with memories of my sword skills coming into focus.

I perceptively ducked near the ground, dodging a clean strike over my head. Using this opportunity to my advantage, my blade weaves through their legs, chopping their limbs in half. Countless adversaries fell to the ground at once, opening a path to forge ahead.

Caelestis stood surrounded by the chaos of the fight, waiting for my arrival. I walked towards him, not showing an ounce of urgency in my steps. He wouldn’t be leaving here today unscathed. One of us will fail, and I will make sure it’s him.

My sword forcibly collided with his own, igniting a surge of sparks. I pressed my weight into my attack, attempting to make him lose his balance. My fervor received a chuckle from him. A low smile hung on his lips, as though encouraging me to continue. Gritting my teeth irritably in response, I spun around, using my momentum to kick him in the side.

He took a casual step backwards, missing my attack with graceful ease. I grasped for the first thing I saw, his hair flowing before my vision. However, he ended up grabbing mine instead, yanking my head back to look at him inches from his face. “You’re still as beautiful as I remember,” he murmured. “The sweet chaos we created together still plays melodies in my mind, even after centuries apart. I understand your pain, more so than anyone else.”

My heart raced with an inexplicable force that drew me towards Caelestis. I pulled away, disoriented and confused by my reaction. Lunging towards him with my sword, his expression remained calm, unsurprised at how my movements became more desperate to reach him.

My breath was growing more labored with every swing that I missed. I stumbled forward, but recovered, throwing myself into another ferocious series of swings.

He took a step backwards, holding my stare. Our breath mingled for a moment, long enough for him to hold on to my shoulders to steady my posture. “What I’m trying to say is that we are the same entity. Call it morbid curiosity, but I wanted to live a human life for once.”

I shoved him away, using every ounce of strength I could muster. He stumbled backwards but did not fall, watching me the whole time with a patient expression.

“Do you know how many times we |REDACTED| ourselves to save Ming Yi?” he asked, making me finally stop in my tracks. “One-thousand four-hundred and forty-four times. Sometimes our actions even brought death to him.”

My breath stopped in my throat.

It suddenly dawned on me he must be talking about the story of the heartbroken god. While distracted, his fingers outstretched, inches away from gripping my face.

“When I claim your memories,” he said, his voice tinged with a hint of longing. “Maybe I can feel something within this cavernous void.”

A forceful grip on my waist yanked me away from Caelestis. I noticed the familiar black fabric tightly wrapped around this person’s hands, reminding me of all the times they had protected me.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “So, you’ve finally joined the fight?”

Kazuo’s green eyes filled with concern. “Are you okay?”

Before I could reply, Caelestis interrupted with a chuckle. “Ming Yi… is this any way to greet your master? Why don’t you come here a moment?”

Kazuo’s body tensed, but inevitably loosened his grip on me. He fell to his knees, head bowed towards Caelestis with restrained effort.

“That’s better,” Caelestis commented with approval.

What is he doing?! I reached out to help Kazuo stand, but a shiver ran down my spine as something else caught my attention. There was a cool sensation slowly spreading against my skin. I looked down to find the cursed sword had pierced through my body along with Ming Yi, who had jumped into the line of fire.

I stumbled forward to my knees, holding on to Ming Yi’s shoulders for support.

When I looked to my right, Caelestis retrieved the blade with graceful ease. The sword slid out of our chests, pain shooting through my person. The sight of blood falling from the sword brought back memories of the night I found him in my house, having killed my family. I tried to push away those thoughts for now, focusing on Kazuo.

Kazuo’s breath significantly weakened. He held me close, refusing to let me fall on my own. “Dianxia,” he whispered, carefully wiping my wet cheeks. “Don’t cry.”

Tears started falling down my face faster.

“I’ll fix this,” he murmured. “I won’t let you die here.”

“Ming Yi…?!” I sputtered out. “What are you saying? You…”

“Don’t worry, Dianxia,” Ming Yi murmured softly in my ear. “I’m your savior. I will save you, like always. You’ll have my everything, and when you can’t remember anymore, I will find you and save you again. We’ll meet on the carriage under the stars, go on adventures together, and our intertwining fate will begin anew. That is my vow to you.”

I broke into a sob, feeling our warm blood mingle together.

His hand tightened around mine, and with a smile, he said, “I’m happy to die by your side for once.”

The world around me was gone within a split second, vanishing into the mist. An empty, dark expanse filled the world I knew, clouding my gaze with sudden colors that swirled around me until I was drifting in the depths of the sea. The thought of breathing was an abstract notion, one I didn’t care to attempt. I curled my knees to my chest, hugging them close.

Am I… Supposed to… Restart… Again?

No… No, I can’t.

I can’t go back anymore. I don’t want to...

The darkness stirred around my drifting person, followed by the familiar voice, “You really have some interesting habits,” Apollo said with a long sigh.

“Well,” Boreas lamented. “We have been away for a long time.”

“Hmmm, but…” Apollo pondered. “Should we intervene? Hades was never fast on his feet.”

“Are we talking about the same man?!” Boreas scoffed. “He could outrun an army if he had to. Has he not done so before?”

“Oh, wait, Zhen Xue can still hear us.” Apollo cleared his throat apologetically. “Just hang in there a little longer. Our paths will cross again soon enough.”

“Isn’t that revealing too much?”

“Be quiet,” Apollo reprimanded. “He’s been through enough for one evening.”

As their voices grew faint, light slowly replaced the darkness.

I found I was kneeling on a glowing platform within a dark, empty landscape.

There was a closed door across the pathway, spilling light from the cracks and emitting a warm presence that nearly burned my skin upon contact.

Cold and warmth... I’d forgotten what such concepts could feel like. How much time did I spend in the water?

I reached out to touch the door, seeking relief from all the horrible things I encountered. Once I walk through the light, my life will restart, right? My hand almost touched the metal surface, but… I halted.

While the light flickered through my fingers, a voice spoke from within the darkness.

“Zhen Xue,” Hades said urgently. He reached out and offered me his hand. “Don’t go in there. Come with me.”

When I didn’t move, he reached out and grabbed my sleeve. He pulled me into the shrouded darkness before I could protest.

Our surroundings changed to the heavenly realm. Golden light spilled through the fluffy white clouds that molded this world together. We stood inside a clock tower overlooking the city spread out below us. In the near distance, a giant building twisted towards the sky, appearing even more majestic than all the other structures combined.

Instead of enjoying the scenery, however, I held onto the railing so tightly that I thought the bars would snap from the pressure.

“We’re going to break Li Wei out of custody,” Hades explained while looking over the city. “While you were gone, he stormed into the Heavenly Council and demanded they bring you back. I’ve never seen him so furious...” He paused upon noticing my frightful expression. “You...”

I honestly didn’t know what expression I was giving, but I probably resembled a ghost. I let my long sleeves fall over my shaking hands to hide their condition. If I was holding the railing any harder, I might’ve broken it in half.

“Are you even breathing?” Hades finally asked, eyebrows furrowing with concern. “It took a moment to find you... What happened during that time?”

I’m not even sure if I know the answer to his question. While floating in the vast expanse of the deep blue, my existence shattered. I was nothing but broken fragments, drifting without end.

Hades sighed, watching my dark expression. “Li Wei might have failed, but don’t worry, there’s another way we can bring you back.”

He teleport us to the front door of that majestic building that was in the distance, making a note to only grab hold of my sleeve because of my adverse reaction to being touched.

“We have little time. The longer you spend in this state, your soul will eventually fade.” Hades turned me around despite my protest and fixed my hair, straightening the wrinkles in my clothes. “For now, go to Li Wei. He needs you.”

When Hades finished grooming me to look somewhat presentable, I couldn’t help but feel thankful, not just in that moment, but for his help throughout the fight. “You’ve really changed. You’ve become… reliable.”

Hades looked deeply touched by my words. He turned away in embarrassment, “If I can’t even help my friend, what kind of god am I?” He shook his head, dismissing his thoughts. “This is nothing. I’ve never felt more certain about my decisions than at this moment. I’ll see you later and remember, don’t get caught.”

With one last look of encouragement. Hades then vanished, leaving me to stand in front of the entrance by myself.

I took a deep breath, feeling a heaviness settle in my chest as my smile slowly disappeared. I felt like half the person I used to be once. There were so many questions I didn’t understand, but honestly, more than wanting to find answers right now, I was tired.

“Sorry, Hades,” I said after his vanishing form. “But I’m afraid it’s too late.”

The last of my strength slipped away, taking my sense of self with it, but in the void, a comforting warmth guided me forward.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Li Wei looked perceptively at the soul that was trying to possess him. He tenderly poked at the ball of light, making the creature squirm. The sight made him release a short laugh. As though thinking Li Wei would leave, the creature immediately zoomed forward into his palm, nuzzling against him as though clinging for dear life. “My dearest,” Li Wei said. “You’re still so cute, even in this form.”

When the creature started quivering, Li Wei’s playful nature dropped. He cupped the creature in his palm, moving his precious Zhen Xue near his lips. “Don’t worry,” he whispered softly. “Nothing will happen to you. I swear upon my existence.”

Li Wei would collapse Heaven and Earth should that mean his beloved would no longer suffer. He tried for so long to avoid unnecessary things, but he has reached his final straw upon Zhen Xue’s death.

Hurried footsteps shuffled closer to Li Wei, but he did not withdraw. Almost too naturally, he tucked the spirit behind his back.

“Dionysus,” a guard said, followed shortly by his companion joining his side. “Enough running around.” Any moment now, they would apprehend Li Wei and drag him back into the bottomless pit. Such a place existed much like Tartarus for the Underworld, but was for heavenly officials. The difference? Well, there really wasn’t a difference, but for those that think Heaven was born inherently good, they deemed the bottomless pit tame in comparison, failing to understand the true nature of the punishment.

Once cast within the bottomless pit, one would keep their powers, but be bound by invisible chains that restricted their free will. Whenever Li Wei pursued his heart’s truest desire, two events would take place: the bottomless pit would drag him back into confinement and the chain around his heart would tighten significantly.

Li Wei couldn’t stand them. He didn’t care about the confinement, nor how his existence grew thinner by the day every time he used his powers. No, what he couldn’t tolerate was their manipulation. How they exploited Zhen Xue’s kindness, condemning him to hell for the sake of humanity in every lifetime.

And Zhen Xue… Zhen Xue would make the same choice. He ignored his own wants, believing his sacrifice was his only value. As time went by, Li Wei’s typically composed nature would increasingly give way to anger, just like this moment, but he did not act.

He stored his anger away into a bottle, where he sealed the lid on tight, allowing the guards to lock him away again. It would be inherently a shame to waste his powers on weak-minded fools, rather he would let them fall into ruin by themselves. Soon enough, the chess pieces would move into place, and Li Wei was fully intending to survive the conclusion.