The storm broke before dawn.
A split of lightning across the sky cast jagged shadows over the mountains of Qingyang. Shen Liuxue sat alone in her small room, her clothes drenched with sweat, even though the night air was cold. Her heart was still racing from what had happened in the forest.
The masked stranger's words echoed forever in her mind.
"I reminded the heavens that you exist."
Those seven words had changed everything.
[Mission Updated: Accessing Memory Fragment "The Emperor's Sin."]
[Warning: Viewing sealed memories can cause instability in the host's soul-thread.]
Liuxue closed her eyes. "Do it," she whispered.
[Acknowledged. Starting fragment sequence.]
The world tilted. Her vision bled white then gold and then she was standing in a place she had thought was forever destroyed (the Celestial Palace).
The air smelled of sandalwood and moonlight. The marble floor beneath her feet shone as if angels had polished it. Gold pillars reached up to a ceiling carved with constellations that appeared to move when she looked away.
It was the palace of her youth.
But this time, she was only a shadow, a memory caught between seconds.
She saw herself sitting upon the Dragon Throne, robed in imperial crimson, the jade crown resting lightly in her hair. Her eyes in that memory were calm, confident, proud.
At her side, Yun Zhao stood with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, his gaze soft, filled with something dangerously close to devotion.
Liuxue—the real one, the observer—felt a sudden ache in her chest. She remembered that day: it was the festival of the Twin Moons, the last day before the rebellion started.
But as she watched, the scene changed.
She stood, her past self dismissing the courtiers, and the throne room emptied, leaving only her and Yun Zhao.
"Why do you always look at me like that?" her past self asked.
Yun Zhao smiled faintly. "Because you are the only light in this world worth protecting."
Liuxue felt her throat tighten as she watched from outside of time. Those were his words....his vows....exactly, and he had broken it.
But that memory didn't stop there.
The scene flickered, almost as if the world itself resisted showing her what came next.
A figure appeared near the pillars: a robed man whose face was obscured by a hood embroidered with celestial symbols. He moved like mist, silent and graceful.
Neither the empress nor Yun Zhao seemed to have taken notice of his presence, but Liuxue felt it-the cold ripple of divine energy.
Then, the stranger spoke.
"Emperor Yun Zhao. The heavens have chosen."
Yun Zhao suddenly turned round, his eyes wide. "Who—?"
The man in the robe raised a hand. A golden sigil pulsed like a living star in the air.
"One life must be sacrificed to preserve the empire," he said. "The empress shows the seal of the heavens' rebellion; her death is to maintain order.
Liuxue's past self froze. Yun Zhao's expression changed into disbelief.
"You're saying the heavens demand her death?" he asked, his voice low.
The man's hooded garment shifted, revealing a faint glow where his eyes should have been. "It is her destiny. The Celestial System has spoken."
Yun Zhao's voice shook. "There must be another way."
"There is none," the man in robes replied. "If you refuse, the heavens will erase your bloodline from existence."
Liuxue felt her breath catch. So that was it.
Her death had not been born of politics or jealousy. It had been ordained-by the heavens themselves.
Kneeling down in his memory, Yun Zhao shouted, "No…"
The figure extended his hand. "Choose, Emperor. The empire or the woman."
Yun Zhao's hand shook as he reached for his sword.
Liuxue wanted to scream, to stop him, to change the ending that had already come. She could only watch as past herself turned towards him with confusion and heartbreak in her eyes.
"Yun Zhao?"
He whispered something she couldn't hear, then the sword struck.
And the scene shattered.
Liuxue gasped back into her body, and the room spun violently around her. Her chest ached as if the blade had pierced her all over again.
Her nails dug into the floor. "So that's the truth," she whispered. "You killed me. because heaven demanded it."
[Integration of memory fragment complete.]
[Hidden Mission Unlocked: Break the Law of the Celestial System.]
Her body shook, her veins flooded with rage-not the frenzied fury of betrayal, but a deep cold hatred, one that smoldered steady and bright.
"I was sacrificed to preserve a lie," she whispered. "Then I will tear that lie apart, piece by piece."
[Warning: Karmic balance of Host destabilizing.]
"I do not care."
[Note: The being identified as 'Masked Stranger' intervened to interfere with the memory lock.]
[Possibility: The entity is the 'Emperor' fragment.]
Her breath caught. "The emperor… fragment?"
[Clarification: When the heavens executed the Celestial Seal, the emperor's soul was divided. One half was absorbed by the System. The other remained tethered to the host's fate.]
Her mind was racing. "So that's why his aura felt familiar."
If the masked stranger carried part of Yun Zhao's soul… then he was both her executioner and her protector.
The paradox twisted something inside of her, She hated him, She pitied him,And beneath all of that, some buried part of her still longed for him.
She put a trembling hand over her chest, feeling the faint rhythm of the golden lotus within. "If the heavens created the System," she said softly, "then I will destroy both."
[Mission Updated: Find the Divine Forge.]
[Objective: Acquire the Blade of Reversal.]
She whispered the words back"Blade of Reversal". The very weapon said to cut through even fate,'a myth' she once thought it was.
But now she knew the truth: myths were only memories the heavens wanted mortals to forget.
Outside, the storm began to subside.
Liuxue rose and walked to the doorway, staring out into the mist that hung over the mountains. The world seemed heavier now, darker, as if her awakening had tilted the balance of heaven and earth.
Far away, another roll of thunder boomed. But in that, she thought she heard a whisper-a whispered voice all caught up in sorrow and longing.
"I will find you… even if it takes eternity."
Her heart clenched. She knew that voice.
"Then come," she whispered back, cold as the wind, "and when you do, I will decide whether you deserve forgiveness or oblivion."
High above the mortal realm, where the stars burned like living fire, the Celestial System flickered. Fragments of code, ancient and divine, started to fracture. A voice, calm and endless, full of unease, echoed across the void.
[Anomaly expansion. The Fallen Empress remembers.]
[Start containment procedures.]
And somewhere between heaven and earth, the masked stranger looked toward the storm and whispered a single vow. "I will not let them take her again."