The night was too quiet.
Not peaceful.
Quiet.
There was a difference.
Xu Lin stood beside the window of the small room, staring into the darkness outside.
He had barely slept since the vision.
The garden.
The flowers.
The voices.
And that feeling
That terrible feeling that he had stood there before.
His fingers slowly tightened around the edge of the window.
"Why does it feel like I know that place?"
He whispered the question to himself.
No answer came.
Only the faint sound of wind moving through the trees.
Xu Lin closed his eyes.
And immediately
The garden returned.
White flowers.
Golden light.
Someone standing several steps away from him.
A white robe.
Long black hair.
A face he couldn't completely see.
Xu Lin tried to move closer.
But the figure turned away.
"Wait!"
Xu Lin reached for him.
The moment his fingers touched the person's sleeve.
Everything shattered.
Xu Lin opened his eyes violently.
His breathing was uneven.
And there was something else.
A voice.
Soft.
Broken.
"You promised you'd come back."
Xu Lin froze.
That wasn't his voice.
And it wasn't Mo Xuan's.
"Who are you?"
Silence.
Then,
A knock came from the door.
Three slow knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Xu Lin's body immediately went tense.
He didn't move.
Another knock.
This time softer.
"Xu Lin."
His eyes widened.
That voice.
He knew it.
But he couldn't remember from where.
He stepped toward the door.
Then stopped.
Mo Xuan's warning immediately came back to him.
Not everyone looking for you wants you alive.
Xu Lin swallowed.
"Who is it?"
No answer.
He moved closer.
His hand slowly reached for the door.
Before he could touch it
A hand caught his wrist.
Xu Lin spun around.
Mo Xuan stood behind him.
His expression was unusually serious.
"Don't."
Xu Lin stared at him.
"You came back."
"I never really left."
"You said you would give me space."
"I did."
Mo Xuan's eyes shifted toward the door.
"For about three hours."
Despite everything, Xu Lin almost laughed.
"That's your idea of space?"
"No."
Mo Xuan stepped closer.
"My idea of space was three days."
Xu Lin raised an eyebrow.
"And?"
"I changed my mind."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then,
Knock.
The sound came again.
Mo Xuan's expression changed instantly.
His hand moved toward his weapon.
"Stay behind me."
Xu Lin frowned.
"You always say that."
"Because you never listen."
"And you always hide things."
Mo Xuan looked at him.
That sentence hit harder than Xu Lin expected.
For several seconds, Mo Xuan said nothing.
Then he quietly answered
"I know."
Xu Lin blinked.
He hadn't expected that.
Mo Xuan looked toward the door again.
"But tonight…"
His voice lowered.
"I don't think hiding the truth will protect you anymore."
Xu Lin's heart skipped.
"What does that mean?"
Mo Xuan didn't answer.
Instead, he opened the door.
There was no one outside.
Only darkness.
And one white flower lying on the ground.
Xu Lin stared at it.
His breath stopped.
The flower was identical to the ones from his vision.
He slowly stepped forward.
"Mo Xuan…"
"I see it."
Xu Lin crouched.
His fingers hovered above the flower.
The moment he touched it,
A memory exploded through his mind.
He was standing in Heaven.
Not as Xu Lin.
As someone else.
Someone wearing white robes.
Someone with wings.
Someone surrounded by countless heavenly soldiers.
And in front of him,
Mo Xuan.
Younger.
Angrier.
Terrified.
"Don't do this!"
Mo Xuan shouted.
The memory-Lin Mo shook his head.
"If I don't…"
His voice trembled.
"They'll destroy you."
Mo Xuan grabbed his hand.
"Then let them."
Lin Mo's eyes filled with tears.
"I can't."
"You promised me."
"I know."
"You promised you wouldn't leave me."
Lin Mo looked at him.
And whispered
"I lied."
The memory shattered.
Xu Lin screamed.
He fell backward.
Mo Xuan caught him before he hit the floor.
"Xu Lin!"
Xu Lin clutched his chest.
Tears were already running down his face.
"I…"
His breathing shook.
"I saw you."
Mo Xuan froze.
"You saw what?"
"You."
Xu Lin looked directly into his eyes.
"Not now."
His voice cracked.
"Before."
Mo Xuan's face went pale.
Xu Lin grabbed his robe.
"You knew."
Mo Xuan didn't deny it.
Xu Lin's tears fell harder.
"You knew all this time."
"I did."
"You knew who I was."
"Yes."
"And you watched me forget you?"
Mo Xuan closed his eyes.
"I watched you survive."
Xu Lin stared at him.
For the first time
Mo Xuan looked like the one who was afraid.
Not of Heaven.
Not of the erased faction.
Of Xu Lin.
Of losing him again.
Xu Lin slowly released his robe.
"Tell me."
Mo Xuan opened his eyes.
"Everything."
Before Mo Xuan could answer
The white flower on the floor turned black.
A voice echoed through the room.
"Not yet."
The walls trembled.
Mo Xuan immediately pulled Xu Lin behind him.
The flower dissolved into smoke.
And within that smoke
A figure appeared.
Silver hair.
Golden eyes.
The same stranger from before.
He smiled.
"You remembered faster than Heaven expected."
Mo Xuan's expression hardened.
"Show yourself."
"I already have."
The stranger's gaze moved past him.
Straight to Xu Lin.
"You still don't remember the most important part."
Xu Lin's heart pounded.
"What part?"
The stranger smiled.
"Why Heaven erased you."
Silence.
Then the figure disappeared.
The room returned to normal.
Xu Lin stood completely still.
Mo Xuan slowly turned toward him.
But Xu Lin was no longer looking at him.
His eyes were fixed on the empty space where the stranger had been.
And somewhere deep inside his mind
A locked door had appeared.
A door he had never seen before.
And behind it…
Someone was crying.
Someone was calling his name.
Not Xu Lin.
Not anymore.
"Lin Mo…"
His knees weakened.
Mo Xuan caught him again.
But this time
Xu Lin whispered the name himself.
"Lin Mo…"
Mo Xuan's arms tightened around him.
Because he knew.
The memories were no longer coming as visions.
They were coming back as pieces of a life.
And somewhere in Heaven
something ancient had just awakened.
The first seal had broken.