Su Nian dreamed.
She stood in darkness that felt older than fear.
Before her stretched countless doors—stone, metal, bone—each sealed with symbols that pulsed faintly, waiting.
The golden key burned warm in her palm.
You have returned, a voice echoed.
"I never left," she replied.
You were hidden.
She lifted the key. "I was waiting."
A door trembled.
Black qi seeped from its seams, writhing, resisting.
"You are not welcome," she said calmly.
The key turned.
Not gently.
The door shattered.
Light surged—
Su Nian woke with a sharp gasp.
The ceiling above her writhed with black qi, thin tendrils crawling like ink across glass.
She sat up instantly.
Yichen was already there.
He stood beside her bed, fully upright, balanced, awake. He didn't look surprised.
"You felt it," he said.
She nodded, heart pounding. "Something's changing."
Outside, alarms began to hum softly across the estate.
"The Li family," Yichen said. "They're moving."
Su Nian swung her legs over the side of the bed. "Then they won't wait for me to understand."
He watched her carefully. "You're not afraid."
"I am," she said honestly. "But whatever that key is… it doesn't want me to hide anymore."
Yichen stepped closer. "Then don't."
She looked up at him.
In his gaze, she didn't see pity or ownership—only resolve.
"I'll stand with you," he said. "Not because you need protection. Because whatever comes next will shake this world."
Su Nian swallowed. "You don't even know what I am."
Yichen's mouth curved faintly. "Neither do you."
Outside, the Duan estate lights flickered as black qi recoiled from unseen barriers.
Far away, the Li family prepared a ritual that would force her into the open.
And deep within Su Nian, the key pulsed—alive, answering, ready.
Not to unlock doors.
But to end them.