*Chapter 35: Fractures and Faith*
The lead they'd followed all night finally brought Nightwatch to an abandoned foundry at the city's edge. Steel doors groaned, casting haunted echoes as the team crept inside—masks in place, hearts pounding. The air stank of rust, old magic, and fear.
It was Mei Fen who found the chains first: heavy, rune-carved links streaked with fresh blood. Yan moved to the middle of the room, finding broken glass, scorch marks, and the remnant pulse of a dark spell. Bao Yu's gloved hand trembled as he lifted a single black feather from the ground. All evidence pointed to a grisly truth—Li Wei had been there, and not long ago.
Xiulan fell to her knees, wailing so hard her mask nearly cracked. Jin Ming slumped against the wall, face buried in his hands, while Rui let his squirrel companion cling to his shoulder for comfort. Hopelessness pressed against every chest, thick and smothering. "We're too late," Mei Fen whispered. "He's gone."
Xiulan, shaking uncontrollably, squeezed Li Wei's token in her hand. Through the tears and the darkness eating at her mind, a tiny memory flickered—Li Wei's voice, warm and sure, whispering in the dark: *You'll find me if you believe you can.* The words cut through her spiral of despair.
Clutching the memory like a lifeline, Xiulan pressed her forehead to the bloody chain and whispered, "I believe." At first, nothing happened. But deep inside, where fear tangled with love and longing, a spark took root. The faintest echo—Li Wei's voice, distantly calling her name—stirred her heart and the magic humming in her veins.
Even as the rest of the team started losing hope, a glimmer awakened in Xiulan's eyes. She rose slowly. "He's still out there. I can feel it." And this time, no one doubted.