Wang Xio stood at the edge of it unmoving. His gaze lowered briefly toward the lava river.
Fire reflection on him. He didn't move.Then
He repeated Hei long's question " What do you think I am?"
Wang Xio finally lifted his gaze. This time, he did not look at the fire rivers, the prison seals, or the burning stone that separated them.
He looked directly at him. "You were someone I could trust…" A pause followed.
" But now…" His eyes narrowed slightly, not in anger but in something far more complicated.
" I don't know anymore." Then he looked away.
Two children ran laughing through tall grass, their smaller forms unmistakable even then.
A young Wang Xio :- quiet-eyed, composed even in childhood, though softer around the edges. And Hei Long :- Wild laughter. Sharp energy. Bare feet pounding across uneven earth. "You can't hide forever!" young Hei Long shouted, grinning as he spun in circles, searching.From behind an old stone lantern, small hands covered a smile. "You're too loud," young Wang Xio called out, trying and failing to sound serious.Hei Long immediately turned. "Found you!"
"No, you didn't, You cheat!" little Wang Xio muttered from beneath him. "You hide badly." little Hei Long declared proudly."That's not the same thing." "It is if I win."And despite himself Wang Xio laughed.
Another memory. It was raining.Soft and gray beneath the shelter of an old tree. Both were still young. He sat beneath the roots, shoulders shaking, fists clenched tight enough to hurt. Tears mixed with rain, silent and furious.Little Wang Xio crouched beside him, soaked through but unmoving.For a while, he said nothing.Then, awkwardly because comfort had never come easily to him he reached out.Small fingers clenched into Hei Long's sleeve." Stop crying."Hei Long's voice broke instantly."I can't."A pause.Then quieter he said "They said…"
His words fractured.Wang Xio did not ask for explanation. Instead, he sat down beside him fully, shoulder pressing lightly against his.
"Then don't listen." Hei Long looked at him through wet lashes." What?"Little Wang Xio's answer came with startling certainty. "You have me."
The fire returned. Heat swallowed the memory, burning away rain, sunlight, and the fragile simplicity of that moment. The tree was gone. The laughter was gone. Only the prison remained sealed, blazing, and impossibly distant from what had once existed. Wang Xio's gaze shifted slightly, as if searching for something that had already vanished. For a brief second, his eyes moved across the molten rivers, the stone, the air itself confirming what he already knew.
It had only been memory nothing more.
Slowly, he looked back at Hei Long. And something in his expression softened.
There was pain there subtle, buried deep, but unmistakable to anyone who knew where to look. Gone as quickly as it appeared.
Then Hei Long laughed again. "Oh?"
The single word curled through the prison like smoke through old ruins, touched by something almost amused and almost bitter.
"You trusted me?" A beat passed. "Strange."
Hei Long slowly turned his gaze away from Wang Xio, not dismissively but like his attention had been pulled somewhere older than the present. His eyes settled on the prison wall beside him. On the towering black stone. On the burning seals etched into its structure. On the very thing that had outlived judgment, but not memory. "I don't remember earning that." His voice changed then.
"Where was that trust…"
The lava river surrounding the prison brightened, molten currents surging harder as if the valley itself remembered what came next. " when heaven questioned me?" Wang Xio did not move. Something tightened.
Hei Long continued, his gaze still fixed on the prison wall like it held records no one else had survived reading. "When they measured me." A pause followed "When they categorized me." The fire-lines hissed louder, ancient symbols flickering as if those words alone carried enough history to disturb law.
"When they stood above me…"His voice lowered then not weaker, but colder.
" and decided what I was…"For a moment, the prison no longer felt like a place.It felt like a verdict still echoing.Hei Long turned back.His red gaze locked directly onto Wang Xio again, sharp enough to cut through silence itself. "Where were you then?"
Wang Xio's expression shifted a subtle tightening in his jaw, slight enough that most would have missed it.Hei Long did not.
And when he spoke again, his voice was quieter. " Why don't you have an answer?"
Silence followed. Wang Xio's gaze lowered once more, back to the lava river the endless burning current separating them. For a long moment, he said nothing. "There are things…" he began at last. He paused, not because he lacked words, but because he chose them carefully. " that should remain unsaid."
Hei Long stared at him, then exhaled something that sounded almost like disappointment. It was not surprise that settled in Hei Long, nor anger only the quiet ache of hearing exactly what he should have expected. …What was I expecting? he thought bitterly, his red gaze lowering slightly, not in surrender, but in reluctant understanding. He had already known the answer long before the words were spoken.
He's not the same Wang Xio anymore. Not the boy Hei Long used to follow endlessly, trailing behind him all day with that shameless, cheerful "ge… ge… ge…" as though saying it often enough could make Wang Xio untouchable. Not the one who had once felt unshakable simply because he had been there. Hei Long forced himself to face the thought he had spent too long resisting. You have to accept it. But the realization felt less like acceptance and more like swallowing broken glass. He changed.
Then he said."You always do that." There was no laugh this time. No mockery. Just a statement sharpened by history. "You bury truth under silence." His tone deepened. " and call it necessity." Wang Xio's eyes hardened slightly, but Hei Long did not stop. "You care about silence more than truth."
Hei Long leaned slightly closer from within the prison, and the seals around him brightened in immediate response.
"Tell me "Even the fire seemed to lower, as though listening. "What is it like " A pause." when the one you trust…"His red gaze sharpened. " ignores you…" The next words came softer. " like you never existed at all?"
The valley went still.Even the lava seemed quieter. Wang Xio did not answer. But memory did.Heaven's scrutiny was cold and endless, not like the fire of the prison but something far worse. White stone stretched across impossible heights, carved into terraces of law and observation.
The sky above held no warmth only a light so sharp it felt invasive, as though everything beneath it was being dissected simply by existing. Nothing there burned; it only examined. Wang Xio stood unmoving beneath that gaze, teenage then, but already learning that stillness was survival. Beside him stood Hei Long.
A voice echoed through the halls neither loud nor uncertain, but absolute: "Potential instability." Then another followed, equally final. "Excessive deviation." No chains had been placed yet, but judgment had already begun. Wang Xio remembered glancing toward Hei Long just once, and in that brief moment seeing something shift in him a flicker that was not fear, but something heavier, the first quiet seed of abandonment. Because scrutiny was not the same as protection. And silence, in places like Heaven, did not feel neutral it felt like agreement.
Another memory surfaced the Judgment Halls. Vast black pillars rose into darkness, veined with crimson light that pulsed like a living warning. Countless demons lined the chamber like witnesses carved from shadow and flame, their voices rising one after another, not chaotic but controlled, deliberate, and absolute. "He crossed the boundary." one of demon said. "Reckless." Another demon agreed and said "Unfit." Then another one said "Unstable." "He endangers order."
At the center of it all stood Hei Long. His gaze was lowered not bowed, not broken, but lowered, as though looking up would only confirm what he already already knew was coming. That day, judgment had been placed entirely upon him. Wang Xio had been there too, close enough to speak, close enough to intervene, close enough to change the outcome. But he had said nothing. He stood among them, listening as every accusation struck like a measured blow. Not because he agreed, not because he did not care, but because in that hall surrounded by power, law, and consequence silence had seemed like strategy. And from where Hei Long had stood, Wang Xio's silence had looked exactly like indifference.
"What do you think about that?" Hei Long asked. Wang Xio exhaled slowly. "I'm not here for this." Hei Long's response came instantly. "I knew it."A sharper laugh followed.
"You never come without intention."
Wang Xio did not deny it. Because denying it would insult them both.Instead, he answered calmly. "Sometimes " His voice remained steady. " intention isn't something bad."
Hei Long tilted his head slightly, fire reflecting off dark scales hidden beneath layered shadow. "Oh?" Then, sharper he say "Then tell me."A pause. "What is your intention?"
Wang Xio hesitated. A single breath, drawn too slowly, stretched the moment longer than it should have. Hei Long's eyes narrowed immediately. "Why hesitate?" he asked, his voice quieter now softer in tone, but somehow more dangerous because of it. "Isn't it good intention?" Silence followed. And for the first time, even Wang Xio's thoughts seemed to fracture under their own weight, because intention had always been simple, but explanation was not.
Then, without warning, Wang Xio lifted his hand. The prison reacted instantly. Ancient symbols ignited across the black stone, seal-lines flaring like awakened veins, and the lava rivers surged violently upward as if the entire valley had forgotten how to remain stable. Hei Long's gaze sharpened not with fear, but recognition. " You've changed the rules…" he said quietly. The words were softer now, almost disbelieving, because for the first time something impossible had occurred. The seal gate was opening.
Wang Xio stepped through the fire boundary. The heat split around him, flames curving away as though instinct itself recognized his presence and chose not to touch him. One step. Then another. Until he stood within the prison close. Hei Long watched him approach without moving, but his awareness sharpened visibly. " This," Hei Long said quietly, "is already more reckless than trust." Wang Xio stopped directly in front of him. For a suspended moment, neither of them spoke. Then Wang Xio leaned slightly closer and whispered a few words too quiet for the roar of fire, too precise for coincidence. Hei Long's expression shifted. Not shock and anger. Something more unsettling interest. Then a low laugh escaped him. "Not bad…" he said slowly, as if weighing the meaning. His gaze drifted across the prison the burning walls, the seals, the lava, the structure that held him. " But this…" His tone lowered. " is bigger than what you think." Wang Xio did not step back or hesitate. His answer came immediately, cold and certain. " I'll handle it." For a long moment, Hei Long said nothing. He simply looked at him.
The wooden structure creaked softly whenever the wind passed outside, and the faint smell of food filled the small interior warm, grounding in a way that contrasted sharply with everything they had recently endured. Chen Yu stood near the simple stove, stirring absentmindedly, more out of habit than hunger. His movements were steady and controlled, as if trying to force normality into something that refused to settle.
Xu Yang sat by the window, though he wasn't truly looking outside. His gaze rested beyond the glass, unfocused, directed somewhere farther than the village, the trees, or even the sky somewhere only he could feel, something that kept pulling him back no matter how still he tried to remain. Chen Yu glanced over his shoulder. "Do you want to eat?" he asked casually, but the question didn't reach him.
Xu Yang didn't respond. Chen Yu paused, turned fully, and studied him not with suspicion, but quiet observation, like someone trying to understand a pattern that had stopped behaving predictably. He stepped closer. "Xu Yang." Still no answer. His voice rose slightly, not angry, just firmer. "Xu Yang." This time, Xu Yang blinked, as if something distant had finally been interrupted. "What?"
Chen Yu stopped beside the table, his expression still flat but his tone sharpening slightly. "What are you thinking so hard about?" Xu Yang looked at him for a second, then away again. "Nothing," he said. A pause followed and then a loud, completely unhelpful stomach growl broke the silence. Chen Yu stared at him, deadpan. "That sounded like 'nothing' is lying."
Xu Yang closed his eyes briefly, exhaling through his nose. " Shut up." Chen Yu turned back toward the stove. "I'm just analyzing evidence." "There is no evidence." "There was a noise." "That was betrayal from my body." Chen Yu gave a short, almost invisible pause. " Fair." A small silence followed, not uncomfortable this time just quiet. Then Chen Yu spoke again, softer. "Eat." Xu Yang finally moved away from the window and sat across from him.
The food was simple, warm, and real in a way that felt strangely unfamiliar. For a moment, neither of them touched it. Then Xu Yang picked up his chopsticks, and Chen Yu followed. They ate at an unhurried pace, as if both were relearning what normality even meant. After a while, Chen Yu broke the silence. "What does it feel like… being a demon?" Xu Yang paused briefly, then set his chopsticks down. "Normal," he said. Chen Yu looked up slightly. "Normal?" Xu Yang leaned back a little. "Until someone reminds you it isn't."
Chen Yu blinked once, then nodded faintly. " Helpful answer." Xu Yang gave a small shrug. "It's the only honest one." Another pause followed. Chen Yu didn't look away this time. "You're adjusting too calmly," he said. Xu Yang glanced at him. "I'm not adjusting." "Then what are you doing?" Chen Yu asked. Xu Yang hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Functioning," he said simply.
Chen Yu studied him for a long moment, then quietly replied, "I've stopped pretending this is normal." Xu Yang exhaled softly. "That's because you're still new to it." Chen Yu's gaze sharpened slightly. "New doesn't mean unqualified to understand." Xu Yang didn't respond immediately, then said, "No. It doesn't." And somehow, that was enough. The conversation faded into silence again, not tense this time just shared.
The food gradually disappeared between them while the wind outside moved in soft, searching waves across the village, brushing rooftops and trees as if it were looking for something but had not yet decided to arrive. At some point, Chen Yu stood up and silently cleared the dishes, his movements steady and habitual. Xu Yang remained seated, staring at nothing again, thinking too much again.
Chen Yu noticed but didn't comment.Later, as the house settled into deeper quiet, Chen Yu spoke without turning around. "You should sleep." Xu Yang didn't answer immediately, then said, "I'm not tired." Chen Yu glanced over his shoulder. "You've been staring at the same spot for ten minutes." Xu Yang replied calmly, "It's a good spot." Chen Yu stared at him for a second longer. "That's not how spots work." Xu Yang finally stood. "I'll sleep on the floor." Chen Yu frowned slightly. "There's a bed." "I know." "Then use it." "I like the floor." Chen Yu paused. "That's suspiciously specific." Xu Yang waved it off. "Stop analyzing everything."
Chen Yu eventually lay down on the bed without further argument. "Try not to die in your sleep," he said casually. Xu Yang pulled a thin blanket over himself on the floor. "I'll consider it." A silence followed, and the house dimmed into a quiet that felt shared both of them awake enough to feel everything, but too tired to act on it. Chen Yu's breathing slowed gradually, while Xu Yang remained still, eyes open, staring upward into darkness.
Then very faintly a flicker appeared in his hand. Not light exactly, but something like a memory trying to become real again. Xu Yang's fingers tightened slightly, his eyes narrowing as the glow vanished instantly. Silence returned. From the bed, Chen Yu's voice came softly, " What?" Xu Yang froze for a moment. "Nothing," he said quickly. A pause. Chen Yu shifted slightly. "You said that too fast." "I didn't." "You did."
Another brief silence settled between them. Then Chen Yu let out a tired breath. "I'm sleepy," he said flatly. "I have no energy to argue or talk with you." He turned over on the bed, adjusting the blanket. "If something happens, deal with it tomorrow."Xu Yang didn't respond.Chen Yu closed his eyes.
The room quieted again, softer now, like it had accepted the end of conversation.Xu Yang remained where he was on the floor, staring at Chen Yu for a moment longer.There was no further reaction, no explanation, no interruption.
Silence returned to the room. Xu Yang stared at his hand again, but the glow was gone no trace of light, no distortion, nothing unusual. Just skin. Just something ordinary. Yet his mind didn't settle with that explanation. The moment lingered too sharply, too real to dismiss. What was that? he thought slowly. Hallucination? Stress? Thread residue? None of the answers felt complete, and that uncertainty pressed quietly at the edge of his awareness. He shifted slightly on the floor, trying to release the tension, then closed his eyes. …I need sleep.