When she reaches Fang Yuan, she drops to her knees beside him, pulling him into her arms. Her tears flow freely now, streaming down her cheeks like rivers, yet her embrace is fierce and protective. She clings to him, refusing to let go, her voice breaking as she whispers, "Brother, please wake up… Please…" But Fang Yuan remains unresponsive, lost in the depths of his own collapse. No matter how tightly she holds him, no matter how much love and desperation she pours into her cries, he does not stir.
And then, something even stranger occurs. The light of hope that had gathered around Gu Xianer begins to darken, fading rapidly as if it, too, is losing hope. The glowing flowers wilt in her hands, the fish grow dull and lifeless, and the bugs cease their fluttering altogether. It's as if the hope she attracted is being drained away by Fang Yuan's condition, unable to sustain itself in the face of such profound despair. The scene is heartbreaking—a stark contrast between her unwavering devotion and the futility of her efforts.
Hearing her desperate voice only plunges Fang Yuan deeper into his collapse. Her cries echo in his mind, intertwining with the memory of her final moments—the way she looked at him with unconditional love even as he choked the life out of her. Her acceptance, her forgiveness, her refusal to hate him despite his monstrosity—it consumes him utterly. He recalls the smile she gave him, filled with trust and affection, even as her body went limp in his grasp. That memory, combined with the sound of her current sobs, shatters what little remains of his sanity.
Now, even despair feels despair. The darkness around him grows heavier, denser, swallowing everything whole. The clan elders look on in stunned silence, unsure of what to make of this unprecedented spectacle. Some glance nervously at Gu Xianer, whose presence seems to defy logic—how can someone exude so much hope while holding onto someone so devoid of it? Others whisper among themselves, speculating about the meaning of this event.
But none of their words matter to Gu Xianer. She holds her brother close, her tears falling onto his chest, her voice trembling with every call of his name. Despite the growing darkness, despite the fading hope, she refuses to give up. Even when all seems lost, she continues to cling to him, her love unwavering. For her, Fang Yuan will always be her brother—and no amount of despair, no depth of collapse, will ever change that.
Her heart pounds wildly in her chest, each beat aching with desperation. Her breath comes in ragged gasps as she fights back the overwhelming tide of grief threatening to consume her. She presses her forehead against his, her voice cracking as she pleads, "Please... please... please..." She can't articulate any more words seeing Fang Yuan's condition. Her words are raw, gut-wrenching, filled with a pain so deep it feels like it might rip her apart. Yet, even as her strength wavers, her resolve doesn't falter. She won't let go. She can't let go.
For Fang Yuan, however, the weight of her love only adds to the torment. Each tear she sheds feels like another dagger piercing his already-shattered soul. He hears her voice, sees her face, remembers her unconditional trust—and it breaks him further. How can he possibly deserve her love after what he's done? How can she still see him as her brother when he's become a monster? The guilt, the shame, the self-loathing—it all crashes over him like a tidal wave, dragging him deeper into the abyss.
Even despair itself seems to recoil from the intensity of his collapse. The darkness around him grows colder, heavier, until it feels like it's pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe. The faint glimmers of hope that Gu Xianer brought with her flicker and die, consumed by the sheer magnitude of his anguish. And yet, amidst it all, one thing remains constant: her arms around him, holding him tight, refusing to let go.
In that moment, Gu Xianer becomes both his anchor and his curse. Her love is the only thing keeping him tethered to reality, but it's also the source of his greatest torment. For as long as she holds him, he cannot escape the truth of who he is—and what he has done.
Then, suddenly, Demonic Fang Yuan seizes control of the body for a fleeting millisecond. It's so brief, so subtle, that no one else notices—but this time Naive Fang Yuan feels it. He feels the shift, the cold, calculating presence taking over, like a shadow slipping into his soul. For that split second, his body is no longer his own. His hands twitch involuntarily, his breathing falters, and an icy chill runs down his spine as if a predator has awakened within him, its claws brushing against his consciousness before retreating.
The moment passes almost instantly, and Naive Fang Yuan regains control, but the damage is done. A dark, insidious thought creeps into his mind—a desire to kill Gu Xianer . The thought slams into him with the force of a battering ram, violent and unrelenting. It spreads through his mind like poison, consuming every rational thought, every ounce of love and devotion he holds for her. It's not his own; he knows it's not his own. But it feels so real, so visceral, that it shakes him to his very core. His hands tremble violently, his breath quickens into shallow gasps, and his heart pounds in his chest with a sickening mix of horror and self-loathing. How could I! How could I even think such a thing?! he screams internally, the weight of the thought crushing him further.
He wants to scream out loud, to tear himself apart just to rid his mind of the monstrous impulse. But before he can process the emotion, before he can even react, the world around him shifts violently. The River of Flowers blurs and dissolves, pulling him into another memory—a place far darker, far more suffocating than anything he's experienced yet.