"Mu Chen!"
"You and your sister, go upstairs. Clean up all the things up there."
Young Mu Chen let out a quiet sigh, placing his game tablet on the glass coffee table before turning his head. Mu Fei was already standing on the stairs, waiting for him.
"There are a lot of big things up there. Fei'er and I won't be able to move everything."
Mu Chen's mother, Li Xuan, turned and smiled. She walked over with gloves covering her hands, an apron still tied around her waist.
She crouched down in front of her twelve-year-old son. Still young, but already aware of his own limits.
Li Xuan raised her hand and gently brushed through Mu Chen's short black hair with a warm smile. "Leave the big things. Your father can handle those later."
"Alright."
Mu Chen turned and walked toward Mu Fei. When his mother spoke softly like that while patting his head, there was no way he could refuse.
The two of them went upstairs. It was filled with his uncle's room and his grandfather's old room, which had now been turned into a storage space.
Since his grandfather had passed away and his uncle lived out of town with his wife, no one stayed in this house anymore.
Mu Chen didn't know what would happen to his grandfather's house, but there were no signs that his parents planned to move in either.
They reached the second floor and started with the storage room. The door opened, revealing a cramped space packed with old, useless items.
There was a broken wardrobe, a wooden bed, a deflated mattress, and various worn-out furniture. Mu Chen looked at it all and sighed.
"Are we really cleaning all of this, Brother Mu Chen?" Mu Fei asked.
"You know how Mom gets when she's mad, right?"
"She said we only need to clean the small stuff," Mu Chen replied, hands on his hips. "You stay here. I'll bring things out. Just stack them outside."
"Okay, Brother."
Mu Chen stepped carefully, making sure not to bump into anything or get scratched by rusty nails.
He picked up whatever he could carry: old books, a chair, a bicycle tire, and other random items.
"Lazy old man… couldn't even clean his own storage once in a while?" Mu Chen muttered.
Every time Mu Chen brought something out, Mu Fei took it and placed it outside.
Then Mu Chen stopped in front of a large wooden wardrobe. The biggest one in the room.
He opened it.
Dust burst out toward him.
"COUGH!"
"Brother!"
"I'm okay."
Mu Chen waved his hand, clearing the dust, then looked inside. Stacks of old clothes were neatly arranged, covered in dust and cobwebs. Many of them belonged to his grandmother.
He began taking them out one by one until something fell.
THUD!
His attention shifted instantly.
He crouched down and looked at the wooden box lying in front of him. It was closed tightly, bound by several layers of rope.
What is this?
Mu Chen grew more curious. It looked like an ordinary box, yet it was tied up so carefully.
He untied the ropes one by one, then opened it.
A necklace.
A black cord, with a strange pendant unlike any jewelry his mother had ever worn.
"Hurry up, Brother Mu Chen!"
"Wait a second."
Mu Chen reached out and picked up the necklace.
The moment it touched his palm...
Heat.
A sharp, burning heat spread instantly.
His body jolted, and the world around him changed.
The wardrobe was gone. The old furniture was gone.
All that remained was a barren red land, black mountains, and dead trees without leaves.
"Where… is this?!"
"Mom! Dad! Fei'er!"
"WHERE AM I?!"
Mu Chen couldn't stop the fear rising in his chest. Panic surged as he found himself in an unknown place. A cold wind swept down from the mountains, brushing against his face.
"Mom… I want to go home…!"
In the middle of his panic, he turned his head.
A man was flying in the sky like a superhero.
Mu Chen froze, his crying stopping as he stared at the figure.
Then, the sky split apart.
From a star-filled sky, it turned into a dark, empty void of purple and black.
The wind grew violent, rushing out from the crack in the sky.
"What… is that…?!"
The scene changed again.
Not the storage room. Not the barren land.
But Shenzhen City.
He stood in the middle of the street. The sky had turned gray, and the buildings had collapsed into ruins.
He spun around, his body trembling, his face pale as he recognized the place near his home.
"Mu Chen."
He turned instantly, "Mom?!"
Li Xuan sat on the ground, her body covered in wounds. Her eyes were fixed ahead, meeting his with a sorrowful gaze.
"Where are we, Mom?!"
"Mu Chen… listen carefully!"
Her hand reached out, trying to touch his face, but her body began to break apart, turning into particles of dust.
"You must keep that necklace… and don't tell anyone."
"Only you can save all of us!"
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND!"
"What's happening to you, Mom?!"
"Mom!!"
Li Xuan's body completely faded into dust and disappeared.
The house collapsed into nothing. In the sky, two men fought, wielding powers beyond anything Mu Chen could understand.
"What is happening…?"
In an instant, everything returned to normal.
The storage room.
The dust.
Not because the vision ended, But because Mu Fei threw a pencil at him.
Mu Chen's eyes widened. His hand still clutched the necklace as he turned.
"Fei'er…?" His eyes were wet.
"Huh? Why are you crying, Brother Mu Chen?"
Mu Chen didn't know what had just happened, but he didn't want to see his mother like that again.
If the only way to stop that future… was to keep the necklace, then he would do it.
No matter what.
Mu Chen didn't know why, but he felt that the necklace would bring a great change to his life.
Without him realizing it… His fate had already been decided by the heavens.