Yuyan paced restlessly, her heart pounding against her ribs. "There must be a way," she whispered. "You're the Seer, Leng Yue. If anyone can reach her, it's you."
Leng Yue's eyes glowed faintly under the flickering lantern light. "It's not that I cannot see her," he said slowly. "I can, but she's in between worlds. Ji Woo has built a maze of illusions around her soul. Every time I try to enter, it shifts… mocking me."
Tian Yu, who stood near the window, clenched his fists. "Then we break the maze."
Leng Yue shook his head. "Not by force. The barrier is tied to emotion, her heart. The more fear she feels, the deeper she sinks. I must enter from within her dream, not through power… but through bond."
Yuyan's eyes widened. "Bond?"
He nodded faintly, turning toward Mei's fragile body. "A Seer's link, soul to soul. If I open that path, I'll share her curse. If she dies, I die with her."
"Leng Yue, no, " Yuyan stepped forward, but his calm look silenced her. He gave her a faint, sad smile.
"I've already lost her, what is remaining of her?," he murmured, brushing a strand of hair from Mei's cold cheek. "I won't let her slip away from me, not now, not ever."
Then, lowering himself beside the bed, Leng Yue took her hand gently. He closed his eyes, chanting in an ancient tongue only Seers knew. The air in the room began to shift, soft winds stirring the curtains though no window was open.
The glow from Mei's skin turned faintly silver, then violet. Yuyan's breath caught as the markings on Mei's arms began to move, like living ink, crawling toward Leng Yue's hand.
Tian Yu's voice dropped. "He's linking their souls…"
Yuyan's heart trembled. "If he fails…"
"He won't," Tian Yu said, though his tone was uncertain.
A final whisper left Leng Yue's lips, ancient, resonant, and heavy with power. A soft light surrounded him. His body went still, his breathing deep and shallow.
Then his spirit slipped away, into Mei's illusion world.
As Mei continued to talk with the man, she had long forgotten who she was, her name, or where she came from. The strange world around her had become her only reality.
Then, somewhere in the distance, she heard a voice. It was faint, soft, like a whisper carried by wind through mist. Someone was calling a name… could it be her name.
"Mei…"
She froze. The sound stirred something deep inside her chest, something that felt painfully familiar. She turned quickly, but the man who had been speaking with her was gone. The road behind her had vanished, swallowed by darkness.
A faint light shimmered ahead. Drawn by it, she took a hesitant step forward. Each step echoed softly, until the air itself began to shimmer like rippling water.
Then, through the mist, she saw someone.
Or at least… she thought it might be some one who knows her. The figure looked so much familiar, standing a few steps away, her face pale, her eyes filled with sorrow deeper than Mei had ever seen.
"Who are you?" Mei whispered, her voice trembling.
But before she could move closer, another presence appeared behind her, a warm touch, gentle but firm, wrapping around her shoulders.
She turned, and gasped.
The young man standing there smiled softly, his eyes glowing faintly with silver light. The world around them seemed to bend toward him; even the darkness retreated. His touch was familiar, his aura comforting in a way her heart recognized even before her mind could.
"Who are you,?" Mei asked, her voice barely more than a breath.
Leng Yue smiled sadly. "So even your heart has forgotten me, Leng Yu" he murmured. "But it's all right. I came to remind you who you are."
"Leng Yue…" she repeated the name slowly, as if tasting something long forgotten. Her gaze searched his face. "Why… why do I know that name?"
"Because you once spoke it with love," he said quietly."
For a moment, Mei just stared at him, her heart thudding in confusion and longing. The faint light around him grew brighter, scattering the shadows that clung to the edges of her vision.
But somewhere far beyond, Ji Woo's voice hissed through the air like a whispering wind:
"You cannot have her, Seer… she is mine now."
The ground trembled, and the illusion began to distort, the sky darkening, laughter echoing faintly from the world Mei had just left behind.
Leng Yue took Mei's hand firmly, his voice calm but urgent. "Stay with me, Mei. No matter what you hear, don't look back."
And as he said those words, the first crack appeared in Ji Woo's illusion, thin, glowing, spreading through the false world like light breaking through night.
"Close your eyes," Leng Yue murmured, stepping closer. "Listen to your heart. Not the illusion, your heart."
He placed his palm over her chest, and suddenly, flashes burst behind her eyes.
The palace, the moonlight, his laughter and her promise. The fear tearing them apart, her tears, his vow. The curse that tore them apart. Every thing became clear.
Mei gasped, stumbling forward as the memories returned in a rush of light and pain. "Leng Yue…" she breathed, her voice breaking. "I remember, I remember everything!" without waste time, she jumped into Leng Yue embrace. Tears screaming down her cheeks.
The world around them began to shatter like glass, the false sky cracking, the mist swirling into storms.
After what felt like for ever, Leng Yu pull back a little, grappling her hand. "Good. Now hold on to me, don't let go."
The illusion fought back, shadows pulling at their feet, whispering temptations and fears. Mei cried out as a dark force tried to separate them, dragging her into the mist again.
"I can't, !" she screamed.
"Yes, you can!" Leng Yue shouted back, his voice fierce and desperate. "You once told me love could break any curse, prove it now!"
With tears streaming down her face, Mei gripped his hand with all her strength. "Then take me home," she whispered.
Leng Yue smiled through the storm. "let's go"
Their bodies glowed with intertwined light, his silver, hers violet, merging into a burst of radiance that shattered the last remnants of the illusion.