The city remained eerily silent.
Jiang Feng stood in the center of the empty square, his breath still uneven from the visions forced upon him. His fingers clenched around the hilt of his sword, his knuckles white. The masked man's words echoed in his mind.
She was never meant to return.
He turned to Li Xue.
She was staring at her hands, trembling. The golden lotus mark on her forehead flickered, its radiance unstable.
Jiang Feng reached out and gripped her shoulders. "Li Xue."
She blinked, her golden eyes dazed.
"Did you know?" he asked. "Did you always know what you really were?"
She shook her head, her voice barely above a whisper. "No… I don't remember anything from before I became the Celestial Maiden. I was raised in the temple… taught the old ways… but that vision…"
Jiang Feng's jaw tightened. "That wasn't just a vision. That was your past."
She looked up at him, eyes filled with uncertainty. "But if that was my past, then who am I now?"
The elder monk finally spoke, his expression heavy. "This changes everything."
Jiang Feng turned to him. "Then tell us. What does this mean?"
The monk sighed. "The celestial maiden was always believed to be a chosen vessel of the heavens, but if that vision was real… then she is not merely a vessel. She is something far older."
Jiang Feng exhaled sharply. "And what happens if she remembers everything?"
The elder's silence was answer enough.
Jiang Feng turned back to Li Xue. "Do you want to know?"
She hesitated. Then, slowly, she shook her head. "I'm afraid."
Jiang Feng pulled her close, resting his chin against her hair. "Then I won't let anyone force you."
She clutched his robes tightly. "Jiang Feng… I don't want to lose myself."
His grip on her tightened. Neither do I.
—
The Curse Awakens
The unnatural silence of the city began to crack.
A deep, rumbling sound echoed through the streets. The air turned thick, as if something massive was pressing down on reality itself.
The elder monk's eyes widened. "The seal is weakening."
Jiang Feng spun around, his instincts screaming danger. "Seal?"
The elder pointed at the glowing symbols carved into the streets and walls. They were fading.
"The masked one was not the true master of this domain," the monk said urgently. "He was merely a fragment. The true entity that cursed this city—it's awakening."
Jiang Feng swore under his breath. "Then we need to leave. Now."
But before they could move—
The ground split open.
A wave of black mist erupted from the cracks, swirling into the sky like a living storm. The frozen townspeople began to move—but not as humans. Their eyes were hollow, their bodies twisting unnaturally. The curse had turned them into puppets.
Li Xue gasped. "They're still alive!"
Jiang Feng's expression darkened. "Then we'll find a way to break the curse—after we survive this."
The puppets attacked.
Jiang Feng moved instantly, his sword flashing as he deflected the first strike. These weren't mindless creatures—they moved with unnatural precision, their bodies moving like marionettes on invisible strings.
Li Xue raised her hand, golden energy flaring. "I can purify them!"
Jiang Feng blocked another attack, his blade clashing against a twisted villager's claws. "Then do it!"
Li Xue closed her eyes, the golden lotus mark blazing on her forehead. A surge of divine power radiated outward, bathing the city in its light.
The puppets froze.
Then, one by one, they collapsed—the darkness seeping out of their bodies.
But the ground shook again.
Jiang Feng barely had time to react before the true monster emerged.
—
The Devourer
The black mist gathered at the center of the city, twisting into a towering shape.
A creature stepped forward, its body shifting constantly between human and beast, shadow and flesh. Its face was featureless—except for a single, unblinking eye in the center of its head.
Jiang Feng's heart pounded. This thing… wasn't just an enemy. It was something that didn't belong in this world.
The eye focused on Li Xue.
A voice without sound echoed through the air.
"Found you."
Li Xue's body went rigid. Her breath hitched.
Jiang Feng didn't hesitate. He moved.
His sword slashed forward, cutting through the mist-like body of the creature.
But it didn't react.
Instead, it absorbed the attack—its form shifting, reshaping around his blade.
Jiang Feng's instincts screamed at him. It wasn't a living thing. It was something worse.
The elder monk gritted his teeth. "This is not something that can be killed by ordinary means."
Jiang Feng scowled. "Then how the hell do we stop it?"
Li Xue's hand trembled. She took a step forward, her golden aura flickering. "I… I can feel it. It's part of the forgotten ones. Just like the masked man."
The creature's eye narrowed.
"You are incomplete. Yet you still defy us."
Jiang Feng stepped in front of Li Xue, his killing intent surging. "I don't care who you are. You're not taking her."
The creature laughed. A soundless, suffocating mockery.
Then it moved.
A massive tendril of darkness lashed toward them. Jiang Feng barely managed to push Li Xue out of the way as the force shattered the ground beneath them.
The elder monk began chanting, golden seals appearing in the air. But the creature simply absorbed them.
Jiang Feng cursed. They couldn't win this fight. Not here.
He grabbed Li Xue's wrist. "We're leaving. Now."
She hesitated, looking at the frozen city, the innocent people trapped in an endless nightmare.
Jiang Feng squeezed her hand. "We'll come back. But we're not ready yet."
She bit her lip—then nodded.
The elder slammed his hands together. "Transcendent Seal—Break!"
A golden light exploded outward, creating a temporary barrier.
Jiang Feng didn't hesitate. He pulled Li Xue and the elder with him, sprinting toward the outskirts of the city.
The creature roared behind them, its single eye burning as it reached out—
But as they crossed the city's boundary, the creature stopped.
Jiang Feng turned back, panting. The monster hovered at the edge of the city, its body flickering, unable to pass beyond its domain.
Li Xue exhaled shakily. "We escaped."
The elder monk's expression was grim. "For now."
Jiang Feng watched the city's eerie glow in the distance, his fists clenching.
This wasn't over.
The forgotten ones were after Li Xue.
And if they wanted her—
They would have to go through him first.
—