"Even roses with thorns can bleed when plucked by the wrong hand."
—Unknown Dreamer
Darkness embraced her like an old friend.
Moria floated.
No pain, no weight. Just the press of something ancient—cold silk brushing her skin, a hum in her skull like distant thunder. Her system flickered in and out.
[Status: Semi-conscious.
Foreign energy signature: Active.
Memory seal: Threatened.]
She stirred, slowly opening her eyes.
The ceiling was glass, and through it, she saw stars—closer than they should've been, like she'd been hung between the sky and the void.
She sat up.
Her wrists were free. No chains, no bindings. The room was lavish, perfumed with lotus and incense, filled with rare scrolls, velvet cushions, and softly glowing talismans on every wall.
It was not a prison.
It was a shrine.
And she was the god on display.
From the shadows, a voice coiled around her spine.
"I had hoped you'd awaken on your own, Goddess."
Xie Wusheng stepped forward, holding a porcelain tea set.
He poured her a cup as if this were tea time in a noble courtyard and not a hostage negotiation.
"You've gone through great lengths to conceal who you truly are," he said, smiling like a cat with a caged bird. "But your soul leaks traces… and your eyes? Very few carry the mark of dual creation."
Moria took the tea. Sipped it.
He blinked.
"You… aren't surprised?"
"I've been kidnapped by worse," she said, sighing. "A moon cultist once tried to marry me to a serpent."
"…Did you?"
"I killed the serpent. The cultist ran off crying."
Wusheng grinned despite himself. "You're… fascinating."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm also armed."
"I checked. No hidden blades, no talismans, no system interface."
She smiled slyly. "Are you sure?"
Just as he opened his mouth, the teacup in her hand exploded into smoke. Before he could blink, a dagger made of moonfire pressed against his throat.
From nothing.
From her.
Xie Wusheng froze. "That wasn't recorded in your aura."
She leaned in. "There's a reason I don't like people looking into my eyes, Priest. They reflect more than you can see."
His throat bobbed.
Then, laughter. Soft, delighted, maybe even slightly mad.
"You're even more dangerous than I imagined."
Behind her, the doors burst open—guards in skeletal armor poured in, blades drawn.
Moria flicked her wrist. The dagger vanished. She stood.
"I'm leaving," she said.
Wusheng raised a hand. "Let her go."
The guards paused, confused, then obeyed.
She blinked. "Just like that?"
He nodded. "You'll come back."
"I won't."
"But you'll want to," he murmured, his eyes gleaming. "Because something's changing in the world, and you feel it too."
She turned to leave.
"Wait," he called. "Do you know of the Prophecy of the Twin Eclipse?"
She paused.
Wusheng smiled. "They say two stars will rise—one from the lowest caste, blood of beasts and demons. The other from the depths of godhood. When they meet, this world will burn… or be reborn."
Moria said nothing.
"I think you already met your star," he added softly.
---
Meanwhile…
Li Yuan punched a tree.
Hard.
The bark cracked. His hand bled. Jiang Yan winced behind him.
"Punching it won't bring her back," the boy muttered.
"She's not gone," Li Yuan snapped. "She wouldn't fall so easily."
"But it's been two days…"
Just then, a soft flutter of petals descended from the air.
Moria appeared in a swirl of silver and crimson, standing at the edge of the firelight.
Jiang Yan gawked. "How—?!"
She tossed her hair back.
"Don't ask. He was annoying. His tea was mid."
Li Yuan strode toward her. Stopped.
He didn't touch her. Didn't speak.
Just stared.
And then, "Are you alright?"
Her lips curved faintly. "I'm still me."
He exhaled.
Behind them, the wind shifted. Something ancient stirred in the earth.
The sky pulsed. Deep within, something watched.
The world was beginning to move.
And far away, in the North, a blood-soaked mask was lifted from a corpse's face… revealing a boy with glowing eyes.
The beast-child had awakened.
---
End of Chapter 21