Chapter 12: Flames Return ✦
The next morning, the village awoke to smoke.
Fires danced across the eastern woods—unnatural, blue flames that did not burn trees but twisted reality itself. Animals fled. The sky dimmed.
Hei Mo had arrived.
Standing atop a hill, he raised his arm—and from beneath his sleeve, a blade forged from void itself emerged.
— "Xie Changye!" his voice boomed across the valley. "How long will you hide her? Come face me… or I'll burn this entire land!"
Bai Jiu stepped forward from the trees, eyes calm but burning with fury.
— "So it begins again."
He turned to Fu Sheng, who had come running.
— "You must stay hidden."
She shook her head.
— "Not anymore. I know who I am now. I may not have all my power, but I remember why I died... and what I sealed."
Her eyes glowed faintly with silver-blue light. The power was returning.
— "I will not lose you again," she told him.
— "You won't," he said, drawing his sword. "This time, we fight together."
Hand in hand, goddess and protector stood as the sky darkened and the ancient war reawakened.