The morning sun poured over Planet Xiulan like molten gold, igniting the mist that clung to the mountains and treetops. In the heart of the ancient temple, Xiao Lin stood barefoot on warm stone, clutching the journal of his mother to his chest. The air buzzed faintly with energy—thick with history, pain, and purpose.
His red eyes, now sharper with growing power, traced the inscriptions around the altar. Foxes, flames, and flowers weaved into one another, and at the center—a sun tangled in a dragon's coil.
A symbol he had seen before.
Sheng Long's pendant.
His fingers trembled as he touched the sun-dragon emblem carved beneath a stone basin. Something inside clicked. The floor shivered, and a hidden chamber cracked open beneath the altar with a sigh of dust and time.
Inside, Xiao Lin found a small lacquered box, wrapped in silken cloth aged but intact. The scent was faintly sweet—like dried peaches and firewood. He opened it with care.
Inside lay a pendant, older than the Empire itself: a white jade sun encased in golden foxfire, etched with the same sun mark on his fox form. A whisper skimmed across his mind:
**"When the world falls to shadow, the sun-born shall awaken the flame."**
He clasped the pendant tightly, sensing it call to his nucleus. A power older than mental energy stirred in his chest, humming with ancestral strength.
***
Back at An Li's estate, Sheng Long stood alone in the royal gardens, his arms crossed, eyes locked on the horizon. His encounter the night before with An Li had confirmed what he feared—there were threads tying her to the Zerg. But it wasn't a clear web. She was clever, speaking in riddles and sweet half-truths.
"You've always been such a noble man, Marshal," she had said, tracing her finger along the rim of her teacup. "But tell me, can nobility survive when the Empire burns?"
Now, watching her glide past him in a silk gown of moonlight and shadow, he knew she was hiding more than a plot—she was hiding knowledge of Xiao Lin's bloodline. Of his mother. Of powers the Empire had long buried.
He didn't trust her—but he needed to know more.
***
That night, Xiao Lin returned from the temple, quiet and thoughtful, the pendant around his neck warm against his skin. When he stepped off the ship that carried him back to the capital, he was greeted by Yan Shuo.
"You look… different," Yan Shuo said, blinking. "Not in a bad way."
"I feel different," Xiao Lin replied with a small smile. "There's something I need to tell Sheng Long."
But the moment they stepped through the estate gates, a wave of unease crashed over them. Sheng Long was waiting in the courtyard, arms behind his back, his expression unreadable.
"I'm glad you're safe," he said quietly, stepping forward.
"I found answers," Xiao Lin replied, stepping close. "About my mother. About… me."
They looked at each other, a space of silence blooming between them. The distance that had grown with war, suspicion, and fear trembled like a drawn thread.
Sheng Long reached out—then stopped. "You're changing."
"So are you," Xiao Lin whispered, placing the sun-fox pendant into Sheng Long's hand. "We'll change together."
Their hands touched, lingering longer than necessary.
Neither said what their hearts were screaming.
But the promise was there.
Together.
For as long as they could.