When the Eternal God created the world, He gifted it with two precious cores. One was the source of power, and the other the source of destruction—one of good, the other of evil.
From these two came the Golden Sword, which held within itself all the energy of kindness, virtue, honesty, and friendship;
and the Demonic Lotus, which contained the energy of evil, rage, hatred, and betrayal.
When these two manifested in the world, each chose a specific territory.
They created powerful barriers around their realms so that no other force could overpower them—except each other, for only these two possessed the power to break one another's shield.
From their energies, peoples were born to carry on their purpose in this world.
From the Golden Sword came the Immortals, and from the Demonic Lotus came the Demons.
Since the moment they came into existence, these two forces had been locked in constant war.
The Demon Realm sought the Golden Sword, for by combining the two, one could become an invincible being across all realms.
In contrast, the Immortals sought to destroy the Demonic Lotus, for with its destruction, evil would vanish, the demons would weaken, and lose the power to save themselves from extinction.
But this wish had been impossible for thousands of years, for neither side had ever been able to infiltrate the other's realm.
Besides, only chosen individuals had the ability to destroy the Demonic Lotus, or to combine it with the Golden Sword.
Thus, one day, two individuals would appear in this world—one demon and one immortal.
No one could predict what fate awaited the world once these two appeared,
nor what decisions they would make.
Mo Zhan and Han, once they arrived at their residence, devoured peaches to their hearts' content—laughing and gossiping about the troubles they had caused.
Yu Lin had brought them to a small wooden house with a spacious environment and a beautiful view.
Around the house, trees full of fruit and colorful flowers decorated the landscape.
It had a small yard, surrounded by a magical barrier.
This barrier was placed only to monitor their movements.
Because Mo Zhan and Han no longer had any inner power, they felt hungry.
Seeing the peach trees, they immediately began eating.
Mo Zhan, who was eating his seventh peach, crouched by the window facing the garden, grinning broadly.
He kept teasing Han, and Han annoyed him back in return.
Mo Zhan burst out laughing with his mouth full.
"Sir, the moment you see someone, your heart flips upside down… Ah, that sentence 'love at first sight' really suits you."
Han threw a peach at him.
"Sure, sure. Better than you at least. In your case it's 'hostility at first sight.'"
He wiggled his eyebrows mockingly.
Mo Zhan, unbothered, took another bite of his peach.
"My worth is more than that. That girl simply got upset because she failed to catch my attention."
Han looked at him with a "go fool yourself" expression and shook his head mockingly.
As Mo Zhan crushed the soft peach flesh under his teeth, his thoughts drifted toward his fate for a moment—but suddenly he remembered the talking book.
It was already night, half a day had passed since completing the second mission—entering the Immortal Realm—yet there was still no sign of it.
He shifted a little and glanced at Han.
Han's mind was also troubled. He had a terrible feeling about the future.
Even though he often lived in worry and anxiety, he never showed it in front of his friend.
Because despite Mo Zhan's boldness and audacity, he was fragile inside.
Han didn't want to ruin his spirit. He had always protected him like a brother since childhood.
Han felt Mo Zhan's gaze and turned his head, meeting his eyes.
Yet Mo Zhan did not look away.
Han finally broke.
"Hey, what's wrong? Is something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?"
Mo Zhan snapped out of it and shook his head.
"Nothing, man. I was just thinking."
Han narrowed his eyes.
"And what kind of thought puts you into such a daze?"
Mo Zhan looked toward the window.
"I'm just wondering where that talking book disappeared to. We've been here half a day already."
Han replied casually, "Maybe it wanted to give us some breathing space."
Mo Zhan smirked.
"So that we won't run out of breath in the next mission."
He stood up and headed toward the exit.
Han called after him, "Hey, where are you going?"
Mo Zhan answered irritably, "I'm tired of sitting in one place. I'm going to get some air."
Han objected, "Wait—didn't Elder Yu Lin say not to leave the house?"
But Mo Zhan ignored him and stepped outside into the yard.
He looked around and took a deep breath.
The scent of the flowers filled his lungs.
He stepped onto the grass, smiling faintly as he looked at the dark sky.
At the same time, memories of his own world returned.
Moments of reading eastern fantasy novels on his soft fluffy bed.
His mother nagging about him spending all his time reading.
Mo Zhan's mother: "Hey you foolish boy! Didn't I tell you to eat first and then read these things?"
Mo Zhan: "Come on, Mom, let me finish just a few more pages."
She first glared, then softened.
She sat beside him, placed his head on her chest while he read, peeled a banana, and fed him.
Mo Zhan ate happily.
"Mom, these books are amazing. I wish we lived in worlds like these. Mom! If you read just two pages from any of these, I'm sure you'd fall in love."
His mother kissed his forehead.
"My love is you. I don't need anything else to fall in love with."
Mo Zhan smiled as he watched her fading image in the air.
Tears streamed from his eyes.
He lifted his head to the sky and whispered shakily,
"Mom… where are you? I'm scared. Please wake me up and tell me this is just a nightmare."
His crying grew stronger.
"Mom… I don't want to be here. I miss you so much. Please come hold me and take me home."
His body trembled; his face was wet with tears.
He desperately longed to return home.
The ache of longing crushed him so strongly that he couldn't bear the stillness around him anymore.
Suddenly—without direction, without thinking—
He began to run.
Run from the pain.
Run from the fear.
Run from everything.
He sprinted through trees, grass, shadows—toward nowhere, toward anywhere that wasn't here.
He had no idea where he was going.
He just ran…