The air changed.
It was not gradual.
One moment, Ye Tian and Yue Qing walked through twisting tunnels lit only by the faint glow of abyssal moss and flickers from Ye Tian's qi-infused blade. The next… the atmosphere itself seemed to shift.
The oppressive darkness gave way to something heavier. Older.
"Do you feel that?" Ye Tian asked.
Yue Qing had gone completely still, her breathing shallow.
"…Yes," she said after a long pause. "Something is calling."
They emerged into a vast underground chamber. No natural walls—only perfectly carved black stone, engraved with patterns that pulsed faintly in violet.
A ruin.
But not of this world.
[Warning: Domain of Forgotten Spirits detected.][System Interface Lagging – Unknown interference.]Caution: Companion "Yue Qing" entering unstable resonance.]
Ye Tian turned to her—her skin had paled, and her eyes were glowing again, brighter than before.
"Qing," he said, reaching for her.
She didn't hear him.
Her body shook. Symbols along the walls began to pulse in sync with her heartbeat. The air turned frigid.
Then she whispered a word he had never heard before—raw, broken, and not in any known tongue.
"Shai'ra… Veerakal."
The ruins responded.
The walls trembled. A shockwave burst from Yue Qing's body, throwing Ye Tian back across the chamber.
He groaned, coughing blood.
But then he saw her—floating, eyes rolled back, her hair flowing upward like drowning silk.
Chains of violet light coiled from the walls, linking to her limbs. Not restraining her.
Feeding her.
Her voice layered now—hers, and something far more ancient.
"I was never meant to live," she said."I was meant to return."
[Emergency System Protocol: Threat Detected – Soul Overload Imminent in Companion Yue Qing.]Triggering Intervention Option: Host May Interrupt with Emotional Anchor.]
Ye Tian struggled to rise, ignoring the blood in his mouth.
He shouted through the swirling energy: "Yue Qing! That's not you! Come back!"
She didn't respond.
The ground beneath her cracked. Energy bled upward in thick, twisting coils.
"Dammit…"
He forced himself forward.
He didn't know what ancient force had taken root in her veins. Didn't care.
He wasn't losing her.
Not to fate.
Not to some forgotten curse.
He grabbed her hand—and poured his own qi into her body.
[Warning: System Link Attempt Detected.][Override in progress… Stabilizing...]
Yue Qing's eyes flickered.
The power surged—then faltered.
And she collapsed into his arms.
Silence returned to the ruin.
Ye Tian knelt there, holding her.
Her breathing was shallow… but steady.
Her eyes fluttered open, dazed. "…Ye Tian?"
"You're back," he muttered. "You were… gone."
She blinked at him. "I felt everything. Like I was someone else. And… like that someone was waiting inside me."
He didn't let go.
She didn't pull away.
[Companion Crisis Resolved.]Affinity +10 | System Interference Reduced. Hidden Trait Discovered: "Bloodline of the Sealed Star"]
System Note: She is a key. To what… is yet to be known.
As they stood, the ruin behind them shimmered.
A door appeared where there was none—massive, circular, engraved with celestial and abyssal symbols, now dimly lit.
A keyhole glowed in the shape of Yue Qing's iris.
Ye Tian turned to her. "This place… it's part of you."
She nodded slowly. "And I think… it's not the last."