The theatre locked at midnight by accident.
No one noticed at first. The rehearsal crews had been dismissed early by storm warnings, and the remaining staff assumed the VIP dressing wing had already been cleared.
But Lian Xuan and Yu Zhen were still inside.
Trapped.
Yu Zhen was organizing wardrobe notes for the upcoming ceremony when he realized the hallway lights had dimmed. Lian Xuan emerged from a side studio, script still in hand.
"I think we just lost the luxury of leaving," he said dryly.
They tested the emergency doors — all sealed.
The main lobby windows revealed rain sheeting down the glass like a second curtain had fallen on the city.
Yu Zhen laughed softly.
"Inconvenient."
Lian Xuan studied him.
"You have a strange way of responding to locked doors."
"Past lives teach patience."
He caught himself and paused.
So did Lian Xuan.
The Quiet Unveiling
They retreated to the empty main stage.
Rows of seats waited in darkness, the single work-light above bathing the platform in subdued glow.
Here — without cameras, handlers, assistants, or fans —
They were alone.
The script sat forgotten on the stage floor between them.
"You never panic," Lian Xuan said.
Yu Zhen shrugged lightly.
"When you've lived through war, rebellion, extinction, and heaven's fall… miscommunication with a security company feels mild."
Lian Xuan exhaled slowly.
"And you say this so calmly."
Yu Zhen finally met his gaze.
"Would you believe me if I told you every world strips pieces away until all that remains is what can't be lost?"
"What can't be lost?"
Yu Zhen hesitated — then answered simply:
"You."
The word landed without heat, without theatrical flair.
Just truth.
Memory Pressure
The theatre lights trembled.
The soul-thread surged again.
[SOUL THREAD INTENSITY: PEAKING] [MEMORY FRAGMENT 5 — UNSTABLE] [SHARED DREAM-STATE ENTERING TO WAKING OVERLAP]
Lian Xuan grabbed the stage railing to steady himself.
He saw visions:
• A shattered throne among stars• Yu Zhen kneeling in divine light, eyes burning silver• Himself screaming the same name across eternity
He gasped sharply.
"Zhen…"
Yu Zhen crossed the stage and took his wrist.
"What do you see?"
"Too much," Lian Xuan rasped.
"That's how it always starts," Yu Zhen murmured.
"There's never a gentle remembering."
Their joined hands glowed faintly gold and silver.
The air rippled.
Even the theatre curtains fluttered in a wind with no source.
[MEMORY FRAGMENT THRESHOLD — 88%] Plain Sight
Footsteps echoed above them — security patrol passing the outer halls.
Yu Zhen quickly tugged Lian Xuan behind the stage curtain.
They stood pressed close in the narrow darkness — breathing quiet, heartbeats audibly close.
From the outside, anyone glancing in would only see an empty stage.
Inside the curtain booth, something ancient stirred between them.
Lian Xuan whispered:
"If they come through that curtain…"
"They won't see the truth," Yu Zhen answered."Only two men hiding from the world."
"But that's not what we are."
"No," Yu Zhen agreed softly."We never were."
The footsteps faded away.
But neither stepped back.
The tension between them was thick — closeness without necessity, silence heavy with emotion.
Lian Xuan reached up slowly, brushing Yu Zhen's hair back from his temple with reverent carefulness.
"I don't remember the beginning…"
"But I recognize the feeling."
Yu Zhen's throat tightened.
"That recognition is the soul starting to wake."
Lian Xuan's thumb hovered against Yu Zhen's cheek — never crossing into more.
Yet even restraint trembled with meaning.
"I don't know what we are allowed to become in this world," Lian Xuan said quietly.
Yu Zhen's voice softened.
"We've never been what we were allowed to be."
The Night Ends
Toward dawn, security finally unlocked the theatre wing.
No one asked questions — stars were eccentric.
By the time handlers rushed in, they found Lian Xuan calmly rehearsing lines… and Yu Zhen reading stage directions nearby.
Nothing inappropriate.
Nothing extraordinary.
Except for the way they stood closer now.
Instinctively.
As if gravity finally made sense.
[MEMORY FRAGMENT 5 — STABLE AT 88%] [AFFINITY LEVEL: 95%] [EMOTIONAL BOND: DEEPENED]