Huolian kicked open the doors of the guest chamber with her usual flourish, flames rippling off her robes as she carried the unconscious mortal in her arms. The moment she entered, the air itself bowed beneath the weight of the divine energies flowing through the room.
This was the home she shared with Bai Lianxing.
The peak richest in power drawn from every heaven.
Fused, refined, and woven into the foundations of their home.
Her husband had done the heavy lifting, yes
but she had supervised the entire time, which obviously made her contribution essential.
Huolian laid A'shae gently on the silk bed, then placed her hands on her wide hips, glaring down at him with the scrutiny of a general assessing a suspicious weapon.
He bothered her.
Not as a man.
Not as a mortal.
But as a paradox.
Nothingness.
Complete absence.
A hollow where even insects possessed more life force.
"Ridiculous." she muttered. "Even dust has a wisp of energy. You have none. Are you trying to annoy me?"
She poked his cheek.
He did not react.
Her eye twitched.
Bai Lianxing's words echoed in her memory.
A prophecy he found during one of his idiotic misadventures.
The prophecy she never believed in until today.
Her father's voice whispered through her mind.
Just like the twin moons, the Golden Moon shall soar above all with a domineering presence. But the Bronze Moon will shatter first. It will break, shed its metal, molt, and be reborn. It will break again and forge a new Heaven. The Sixteenth Heaven. The Heaven of Flame. A realm outsiders will call Hell. And through it, the Yun Clan will rise.
Huolian frowned.
She did not care for her clan's ambition.
She cared for her husband.
For the sect they built.
For the family they protected.
But Li Fong...
the golden power that woman had unfurled earlier...
No elder in the Fifteenth Heaven wielded such law defying force.
World binding.
Heaven crushing.
Reality bending.
A power beyond fate itself.
Huolian could not ignore that.
She pressed two fingers to A'shae's forehead and dismissed all servants with a wave of her hand. When the room was empty, she inhaled, cracked her knuckles, and plunged her consciousness into his mind.
The transition was violent.
A whoosh.
A ripping sensation she despised.
And then.
Darkness.
A vast, endless void.
Floating shards of memory drifted through the air like broken glass, each shard glowing faintly with colored light.
Huolian hummed as she stalked forward.
"So interesting..."
Some memories were clear.
Some were blurred.
Some were cracked, leaking an ominous black aura.
Her eyes narrowed.
Those were all memories involving Li Fong.
She collected herself and peered into the first shard.
Two mortals meeting in a strange world.
Texas.
Odd buildings made of steel and glass.
Many people with A'shae's hair texture and skin tone.
"A clan? A sub tribe?" she mused. "They all have the same thick curls. Perhaps a bloodline inheritance?"
She tilted her head in amusement as she walked.
Then another shard flickered alive.
A'shae sitting in a strange metal carriage
a "car," he called it.
holding Li Fong's hand after an argument.
Both refusing to let go.
Cute.
She smiled despite herself.
Then the next shard lit up.
And Huolian froze.
A'shae and Li Fong.
Together.
Intimately.
Very intimately.
"Oh. Oh heavens... heavens above... what- what is he- what is she!-"
Huolian slapped a hand over her mouth as her face burst into flames of embarrassment.
"They are doing that? Mortals do that? With their mouths? By the Sacred Flame... that position- is that even physically safe? She is bent like a divine willow branch-"
The memory shifted.
Another position.
Then another.
Then-
Huolian nearly fainted.
"Why... why is she kneeling like that? And he is standing like- oh no- oh spirits, no- this is- this is indecent! Obscene! Absolutely shameless!"
She tried to look away.
She failed.
For research, she told herself.
Pure research.
Li Fong's flexibility impressed her.
Her stamina impressed her.
Her boldness absolutely shocked her.
Huolian fanned herself aggressively.
A small flame burst from her lips.
"That woman is a demon. A flexible demon. I must ask her how she- no... no I cannot... but maybe Lianxing- no! Absolutely not!"
Another shard flickered alive.
Steam.
A glass wall.
A shower.
A'shae lifting Li Fong's hand, making her watch as-
Huolian's knees actually buckled.
She turned away violently.
"How immodest..."
But she quietly saved the scenes into her memory anyway.
For academic study.
Yes. Academic.
She walked briskly, trying to burn away her fluster with fire.
At last, deeper in the void, she found what she was looking for.
The Kraelscar Devourer.
The brutal fight.
A'shae's desperate sacrifice.
Li Fong's devastated face as he fell.
Huolian frowned with unexpected softness.
"This mortal... has courage. Foolish courage, but courage."
She approached him, finding his faint mental projection curled like a wounded animal, watching his own suffering replay.
She touched his shoulder.
He startled, looking up at her with exhausted eyes.
"So... am I going to hell?"
Huolian froze.
Her eyes widened.
A slow, toothy grin spread across her face.
"Yes."
She cackled.
Hell did not exist in their universe.
Only her father's prophecy named such a place.
Only the Sixteenth Heaven.
The Heaven of Flame.
The Heaven the Bronze Moon would forge.
And this man-
this mortal-
had spoken the word without knowing its meaning.
Her belief surged like a wildfire.
A'shae frowned softly.
"Is Li Fong in heaven...?"
He did not expect an answer.
Huolian blinked.
"She is alive and well."
The thought of that fierce, golden woman submitting so boldly to this mortal-
Huolian coughed hard, forcing the image away.
A'shae, misunderstanding, gave a peaceful smile.
"Then... I can go peacefully. Knowing She won't suffer."
Huolian tilted her head, then grabbed his hand with enthusiasm.
"Well then. Wake up!"
Flames erupted around them and she was hurled back into her body with a whoosh, her heart racing with fire, prophecy, and newly learned... research topics.
A'shae woke with a long, aching groan.
His bones felt heavy, his muscles sore, and for a moment he was certain he had died-
until cold morning air brushed against his cheek.
His eyes snapped open.
He stared up at a carved ceiling of white jade threaded with rivers of glowing golden script, each symbol pulsing with life. He blinked hard. Once. Twice. Thrice.
He was alive.
His breath hitched.
Then his vision blurred strangely... half the world darkened.
"What...?"
He reached up instinctively, touched the left side of his face, and froze when his fingers met scars and a hollow depth where sight should have been.
No eye.
He swallowed.
He lifted his hand-
and noticed the missing fingers.
He stared at the stumps.
Then sighed.
"Oh damn."
A delicate cough snapped his attention sideways.
There stood the red haired woman who had hauled him supposedly to Hell.
She was deliberately looking away, cheeks flushed, coughing into her fist as little embers jumped around her head. Her fiery hair was even redder than before.
"Uh... hello, Ms. Devil?" A'shae rasped.
Huolian spun, eyes wide in offense.
"Who are you calling a devil!? You're the devil!" She jabbed a finger at him with indignation. "You- you- indecent, vile man!"
She flicked his forehead.
Hard.
A'shae folded in half with a strangled sound, clutched his head, and saw his life flash again.
He groaned.
Huolian huffed, crossing her arms.
"I was supposed to summon the elders and important figures, but a certain shameless mortal's mind distracted me."
Her cheeks tinted again.
She violently shook her head, trying to burn the "research" away.
With a sharp inhale, she flared her energy three times a signal that rippled across the entire sect like a gong made of flame.
"Good. They'll gather at the Dragon Hall." She wrinkled her nose. "Or as it should truly be known... the Hall of Boredom."
Before A'shae could respond, she grabbed him by the back of the shirt like a misbehaving kitten.
"Come. That husband of mine has much explaining to do."
"WAIT-!"
Too late.
She leaped.
A pillar of flame roared beneath them, launching them into the sky.
A'shae dangled helplessly from her grip, legs flailing in the wind as the world blurred.
The Sect of the White Dragon (Or the Bai sect according to bai lianxing.)
From above, the sect was breathtaking.
Endless peaks.
Floating islands.
Waterfalls running upward into the clouds.
Ancient trees larger than skyscrapers, leaves glowing with internal light.
He saw cultivators soaring past
some riding flying swords,
others wrapped in swirling wind,
some standing atop crystalline beasts made of energy.
And others... didn't fit the wuxia theme at all.
One man wore a leather jacket and held a mechanical gauntlet that hummed with fractured celestial energy.
A woman meditated with golden headphones.
A child summoned ice crystals in the shape of cartoon animals.
"This place is insane..." A'shae whispered.
Huolian snorted proudly.
"The Sect of the White Dragon is home to all who survive the Heavens. My husband collects strays from every Heaven and every walk of life. Annoying hobby, but it does make things pretty."
Ahead of them loomed a palace.
Grand didn't begin to cover it.
It was carved into the side of the main peak, its walls made of living dragon bone veined with molten gold. The structure breathed literally.
The chest cavity rose and fell like a sleeping titan.
That was where they were headed.
The Dragon Hall (also known as "The Hall of Boredom")
The massive doors opened as Huolian landed in a burst of flame.
Inside, a long jade table stretched beneath suspended lanterns shaped like drifting stars. Elders and officials already waited, radiating pressure so intense A'shae felt his bones tremble.
Bai Lianxing perked up when he saw them, his white hair glowing faintly.
Li Fong was at his side...until she wasn't.
She sprinted.
"A'shae!"
He barely had time to turn before she collided with him, cupping his face and kissing him fiercely. Her hands shook. Her breath trembled.
"You're alive," she whispered against his lips. "Thank god..you're alive."
He held her back, forehead pressed to hers.
His voice broke.
"I'm here."
Several elders coughed awkwardly.
One old woman muttered. "Young people..."
Another whispered. "Passionate. Admirable."
A third snorted. "Disruptive."
Bai Lianxing let them have their moment, smiling warmly.
Then he clapped his hands.
"Alright, lovebirds. Meeting time."
Li Fong reluctantly let go, but kept a protective arm around A'shae's waist. Anyone who looked closely could see the energy twisting around her fingertips unstable, immense, and golden.
Bai Lianxing stepped forward.
"Let us begin. Elders, officials,allow me to introduce our guests."
Huolian leaned back with a smirk.
"A show is coming," she whispered to A'shae. "Be honored. Or terrified."
Elder Stonepeak Master of Body Cultivation
A mountain of a man with a beard thicker than tree roots.
He grunted, unimpressed.
"Good bones on the woman. The man? Fragile."
Elder Yueqin Mistress of Spiritual Arts
A serene, silver-haired beauty whose eyes saw through souls.
She eyed Li Fong with interest.
"A child kissed by fate. Dangerous."
When she looked at A'shae, she blinked.
"...Ah. A void. Hm."
Elder Haru Jin Elemental Master
A short, excitable elder with wild orange hair.
She zipped up to Li Fong's face.
"Your energy tastes spicy. I like it."
Then glanced at A'shae.
"Oh. Bland."
Grand Archivist Sùren Keeper of History
Thin, scholarly, wearing nine layered robes.
He peered at them like rare artifacts.
"Fascinating. The girl is an anomaly of the highest order. The man is... statistically improbable."
Advisor Qianye Bai Lianxing's Best Friend
A weary man with dark circles, sharp eyes, and a perpetual slouch.
The weakest in raw strength but unmatched in mental arts.
He waved lazily.
"Sup. Try not to die."
Li Fong raised an eyebrow.
A'shae liked him immediately.
As introductions ended, reactions rang clear across the room.
Li Fong drew awe, curiosity, even fear.
Whispers spoke of destiny, laws, fate.
A'shae received...
A tsk.
A scoff.
A sigh.
A dismissive nod.
A bored yawn.
Only Bai Lianxing and Huolian treated him as worth more than a passing breath.
Huolian slapped his back.
"Don't mind them. They're idiots."
Bai Lianxing grinned.
"Alright! Now that the important people are here let us discuss why the heavens themselves cracked open to bring these two mortals into our midst."
He swept his hand, forming a floating screen of light.
"We have a prophecy to reconsider."
The hall fell silent.
A'shae and Li Fong held each other's hands.
The heavens held their breath.