Silence.
The room had never felt so heavy, not even during the sect wars, not even when ancient beasts once roamed the Fire Spirit Sect grounds. It was the kind of silence that pressed into the bones, freezing breath, slowing pulse, making the air feel almost stiff.
Little Fire stood there, heart still burning weakly from the injuries of awakening the Primordial Embers. The flames within him flickered—sometimes bright, sometimes dim—mirroring the chaotic tangle of emotions twisting inside him.
Across from him, Shuye and Spirit Fairy both sat frozen in shock as his final sentence echoed in the chamber.
"Yes… little wind is alive as little water. And if I die, I will also merge with another. We were one. We became many… and in death, we become one again."
The truth was out.
Now the room was still.
Until—
---
"Does it mean… my daughter has to share her husband with others?"
Fire Hornet's voice shook the silence like thunder.
Everyone snapped their heads toward him, eyes wide. Even Spirit Fairy blinked in disbelief at her father's words.
Shuye froze mid-breath.
Little Fire's flame almost extinguished.
There was a single heartbeat of dead quiet—
SLAP!!
Fire Hornet staggered. His father, Shuye's grandfather, stood behind him with his palm still raised.
"You idiot!" the old wind master roared and caught Fire Hornet by the ear, dragging him toward the door. "What nonsense are you saying at a time like this?!"
"F-Father—! Let go! My ear—! Aaaaai!—"
"No! I will pull your whole brain out through this ear if you continue speaking stupidity!"
They vanished outside.
The door thudded shut, leaving another heavy silence behind.
---
Shuye's Emotions… and Spirit Fairy's Doubt
Shuye lowered her head.
She didn't cry.
She didn't speak.
She just… stared at the floor.
Her heart felt torn in two directions—relief that her husband still existed somewhere in this world, and devastation that he wasn't truly here… wasn't truly whole… wasn't truly hers alone anymore.
Spirit Fairy, on the other hand, was gripping her sleeve so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Her eyes were fixed on Little Fire, searching his soul, searching for meaning, for truth, for something to hold onto.
It was awkward for Little Fire.
Painfully awkward.
He wished someone would punch him, or a beast would attack, or the roof would collapse—anything was easier than facing two women torn apart emotionally because of him and his brothers.
Finally, Spirit Fairy managed to speak.
Her voice trembled.
"Little Fire… is this truly the only way?"
Her breath hitched.
"Is there… no future where each of you lives separately? No future where every woman can have… her own?"
Her eyes lowered.
"Do your other clones… also have women who love them? In the end… must we all share?"
Little Fire inhaled sharply.
He couldn't answer that.
He didn't know.
The fate of clones had never been something they themselves controlled.
---
Shuye Suddenly Stood
Her teeth clenched.
Her voice shook—but it was loud, strong, determined.
"Then—who will become the main body?"
Her eyes pierced him like blades.
"You or Little Wind?"
Little Fire opened his mouth…
But no answer came.
"…I don't know."
Shuye's breath trembled.
Little Fire continued,
"We were originally one. Then divided into two. Then eight.
In the end, the one who becomes the main body will carry the memories of all of us. He will carry our will, our emotions, our stories. That person… will be all of us combined."
Shuye closed her eyes.
A small bitter smile curved on her lips.
She exhaled a long, tired sigh.
"Then… I am willing to accept this."
She clenched her fists.
"But I want proof. Proof that my Wind… my husband… is truly alive."
Little Fire swallowed hard.
Proof…
He himself didn't know how that proof would come.
But her heart needed it.
Her soul needed it.
Until then—
"Until then… I will treat you only as a friend, Little Fire. Nothing more."
Even though he already knew this was coming…
Hearing it still hurt.
Little Fire bowed his head.
"…I understand."
---
The Women Have Their Own Conversation
Little Fire stepped outside to give them privacy.
As soon as the door closed, Shuye turned toward Spirit Fairy.
"Spirit Fairy… you love him, don't you?"
Spirit Fairy jolted, cheeks turning pink.
Shuye continued softly,
"You know now that he's not an ordinary orphan. He is not even a single person. He is a part of someone… just like my husband was."
Spirit Fairy looked down.
Her heart was shaking.
"I… I don't know how to accept all this."
Shuye moved closer and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let me tell you something."
Spirit Fairy slowly raised her head.
Shuye's eyes held both sorrow and strength.
"When you lose someone precious… you realize their worth. When you need someone desperately… you will go to any extent to protect them."
Her voice cracked slightly.
"I loved Little Wind… not for his body, but because his soul was pure. Innocent. Loving. That is what I loved."
Spirit Fairy bit her lip.
"And you…" Shuye smiled gently, teasing yet soft,
"Can you love someone like that? Not for their face, not for their form, but for the soul that lives within?"
Spirit Fairy's breath caught.
Shuye giggled faintly.
"Don't worry."
She looked away with a tiny smirk.
"When Little Wind died, his clone came to take him. I know, with certainty, that the main person will come to us one day. And he will ask—'Will you accept me?'
It will be up to us to say yes or no. He will never force us."
Spirit Fairy's heart began to beat faster.
Somewhere deep inside… she feared that day.
Somewhere deeper… she longed for it.
Shuye then walked toward the door.
"But remember, Spirit Fairy—
If another clone dies, Little Fire might receive his memory… or another clone may appear before you in a new face… claiming to be him."
Spirit Fairy almost trembled at the thought.
"When that day comes…" Shuye whispered,
"Will you accept him? Not just the body… but the soul?"
Spirit Fairy didn't answer.
She couldn't.
Shuye left the room quietly.
---
Three Days Later — Preparations Begin
During the next three days, the entire sect felt different.
The elders whispered.
The winds carried unfamiliar pressure.
Strange fluctuations in qi drifted through the grounds.
Some said fate itself was moving.
Little Fire isolated himself, trying to stabilize the flickering ember inside his heart. But his thoughts constantly drifted toward Shuye… and Spirit Fairy… and what he had revealed.
Spirit Fairy spent long hours sitting on the roof, staring at clouds drifting across the sky. Her mind kept replaying Little Fire's words, Little Wind's existence within Little Water, and the future none of them fully understood.
Shuye, meanwhile, stood atop the tallest pavilion of the sect every night, letting the cold night wind strike her face. Her voice would whisper softly to the wind—
"Wind… come back to me.
If you are still there… show me someday."
No one heard her.
Except the wind… and perhaps, far away, the soul she waited for.
---
Spirit Fairy Makes a Request
Three days passed.
On the dawn of the fourth—
Spirit Fairy walked toward the training hall where her father, Fire Hornet, reviewed sect documents.
Shuye was beside her.
Little Fire followed behind them silently.
Fire Hornet glanced up, still slightly traumatized from his father dragging him by the ear.
"Oh—my daughter… Shuye… Little Fire. What brings you all here?"
Spirit Fairy stepped forward.
She took a deep breath.
Her voice was steady, clear, filled with newfound determination.
"Father… I want to refine a treasure."
Fire Hornet blinked.
"Oh? A treasure? For battle or cultivation?"
Spirit Fairy shook her head.
"With myself… Little Fire… and Shuye-sister."
Fire Hornet froze.
He stared.
He blinked twice.
Then—
"…Shu—Shuye… s-sister?"
Spirit Fairy nodded calmly.
Shuye smiled softly.
Little Fire looked shocked.
Fire Hornet's jaw dropped to the floor.
He nearly fainted.
----Waiting---