Darkness. But not the kind that meant nothingness. This was a deep, shifting void, a pce where light should —yet it did, flickering in the distance like dying embers. The weight of something unseen pressed against Lay's mind, slipping through the cracks of her sciousness.

  A whisper. Faint.

  The voice was her hers nor someone she knew, her near nor far. It circled her thoughts, dragging her deeper into the abyss before she even realized she was falling. She felt her own mind uhreads of memory pulled and rewoven into something else. Something wrong.

  The voice coiled around her ears, speaking in echoes that faded before she could grasp their meaning.

  Wake up, Lay.Wake up, Lay.Wake up, Lay.Wake up, Lay.Wake up, Lay.Wake up, Lay.Wake up, Lay.Wake up, Lay.Wake up, Lay.

  The void cracked open.

  —

  Lay awoke in silenot the kind of silehat existed in the early hours of the m, thick with the sound of distant wind and shifting branches. No, this was absolute stillhe kind that made the air feel too thin, the world feel too hollow.

  She sat up and immediately knew something was wrong.

  The walls were too pristihe floors too polished, the st of burning inse too familiar. A wave of nausea coiled iomach as she sed the chamber. It was not her room in the Silver Lotus Sect.

  It was the royal pace she had died in.

  Her breath quied as she stumbled to her feet, reag for a on she didn't have. She turned sharply, catg her refle in the gold-framed mirror standing at the room's ter.

  And froze.

  The woman in the mirror was not her.

  Lay stared at the figure—identical to her in every way except for the robes she wore. Heavy, imperial red embroidered with golden threads.

  Jinhai's robes.

  Lay lurched back from the mirror, but the refle didn't move with her. Instead, it smirked, a knowing, infuriating expression that did not belong to her.

  The walls of the room melted away, dissolving like ink in water. The polished floors vanished beh her feet, leavianding on the arble of her room.

  She wasn't alone. And at her feet, Shen Jinhai y dying.

  His breath was ragged, his once-mighty frame slumped against the stoeps. The golden embroidery on his robes was soaked through with red, his lifeblood poolih him. He looked pitiful. Defeated.

  But his gaze still burned.

  Lay k beside him, her own body broken, battered. The world around them was crumbling, but her hands, trembling as they were, reached for something soft.

  A pillow.

  She pced it beh his head. An emperor deserved dignity, even ih.

  A cruel, eg ughter filled the air.

  The Dark Entity stood at the top, watg with somethiween amusement and disgust. It stepped forward, the fmes behind it ing its form.

  "How poetic." it purred.

  "You, the queen who ruled by fear, the woman who demanded respect, the tyrant who crushed those who defied her— mercy to another emperor."

  Lay's throat tightened. "I wasn't—"

  "Wasn't what?" The Entity griilting its head. "Wasn't like him? Wasn't a ruler of steel and blood? Oh, Lay. You lie to them, but you 't lie to me."

  Jinhai's gaze flickered toward her. His lips moved, but no words came.

  The Entity leaned in, its voice soft, intimate.

  "Tell me, Lay, did he deserve dignity? And if he did, why not you?"

  Lay's breath hitched.

  "You wao be feared," it tinued.

  "You demanded unwavering loyalty, carved it into the bones of your people. A, here yiving him the very thing you would have denied anyone else."

  The fmes roared louder, a chorus to her silence.

  "Tell me, Lay—why? Why save the man who would have let you die?"

  Her lips parted, but the answer did not e.

  The Entity's smirk widened. "You don't know, do you?"

  Lay's hands curled into fists.

  "You were weak in the end," it whispered. "That's the truth, isn't it? You weren't noble. You weren't just. You were pathetic. A queen who let herself be reduced to this."

  The pillow under Jinhai's head burned away, turning to ash between her fingers.

  "I wonder," the Entity mused, cirg her, "if your new followers knew how you k at the feet of an enemy, if they saw you cradle the man who burned your past to the ground—would they still bow to you?"

  Lay's pulse pounded in her ears.

  "Or are you just a hypocrite wearing a dead girl's face?"

  The weight of the words struck deep, sinking into the marrow of her bones. She opened her mouth to deny it, to refute every accusation, but nothing came.

  The Entity stepped closer, its breath cold against her ear. Ay ss finger. Figures k before her—disciples, officials, warriors. The banners of the Silver Lotus Sect hung from the pilrs, draped in regal elegahis was not a rebellion's stronghold. It was a kingdom's court.

  A slow, deliberate cp echoed through the vast chamber. Lay turoward the sound, her heart pounding, her fists ched.

  The Dark Entity stood at the base of the steps, bathed in shadow, its form shifting like a specter. It had her face, but its presence was wrong—as if something a and rotted had ed itself in her skin.

  "What are you building, Lay?" The voice was smooth, ced with mockery.

  "This isn't real." she snapped, stepping back.

  "You're just a parasite."

  The Entity tilted its head, almost amused.

  "Am I? Then tell me—what's the differeween you and me?"

  Lay gritted her teeth.

  "Ah, but don't they kneel just the same?" The Entity gestured to the silent figures at her feet. "You demand loyalty. You call for structure. You make decisions for them. Dictate their futures. But tell me—have you ever asked them if they wahis?"

  Lay's nails bit into her palms.

  "How easily you slip into power frankly it suits you. More than you want to admit." the Entity mused.

  She shook her head.

  "I don't trol them. I—"

  "You don't?" The Entity chuckled. "Then why do they follow? Why do they g to your every word?"

  Lay's breath hitched.

  "You are not Meilin.''

  The Entity whispered, cirg her now. "You are not this girl they love. You are a ghost wearing another's skin. A thief in a life that isn't yours."

  Lay staggered. The words dug under her skin, peeling at something raw, something she refused to aowledge.

  "Tell me, Lay—do you deserve a parent's love?"

  Her eyes widened, her breath caught ihroat.

  "Your parents in this life hold you, cherish you. Your mother kisses your forehead. Your father teaches you lessons. But you? You were never a daughter. You were a noble. A ruler. A queen."

  The air around her felt tight, suffog. The weight of unseen hands pressed against her shoulders, her chest.

  "Isn't it funny? The girl who never had parents in her past life has stolen the love of another child's. Meilin's parents love you, not her. Would they still, if they knew who you really were?"

  Lay's hands trembled.

  "No?" The Entity ughed, dark and rich.

  "Then why do you still pretend?"

  Lay's vision blurred. Images of Yuxe Wuye warm smile, of her meouch, of Bao's ughter—all of it flickered like fmes in a storm.

  "Your humor, your joy, your friendships—all of it is a lie." the Entity murmured.

  "You are pying pretend. Tell me—when did you st feel like yourself?"

  Lay staggered as the room melted away, morphing into a battlefield drenched in blood.

  Shen Mu towered above her, eyes gleaming with sadistic glee. The battlefield was exactly as it had been that night—the shattered earth, the bodies strewn across the war-torn field, the acrid st of charred flesh hanging in the air.

  And she was on her knees.

  The Entity's voice slithered through the age, mogly soft. "Oh, this se. A true masterpiece of failure, don't you think?"

  Lay gritted her teeth, struggling to stand, but her body refused to move. Just like that night.

  "Your father saved you." the Entity sighed.

  "You. The brilliant, untouchable queen—reduced to a helpless little girl, waiting for a hero to pull her out of the abyss."

  Shen Mu's fist gleamed as it came down, and Lay braced for the strike—

  But the moment never came.

  Instead, the se froze, leavirapped in the moment of her greatest weakness. The Entity's firaced the air, almost pyful.

  "I wonder," it mused, "how did it feel? Knowing you were going to die? Knowing that all your pnning, your wit, your iron will—none of it mattered in the face of raw power?"

  Lay's breath came ragged, her pulse thundering in her ears.

  "You are pathetic." the Entity whispered, stepping beside her, its tone almost… pitying.

  "Tell me, Lay—what would have happened if your father hadn't arrived?"

  Lay tried to answer—but she couldn't.

  "Ah. Silence again." the Entity chuckled.

  "You're sistent, I'll give you that."

  The frozen battlefield shifted—the soldiers, the blood, the destru fading until it was only her and Shen Mu.

  "Let's ge the story, shall we?" The Entity's smirk widened.

  "This time, there is no father. No savior. Only you. Let's see what happens."

  Time lurched forward. Shen Mu's fist came crashing down.

  Lay screamed.

  Paied through her body, sudden and overwhelming, as if the very nerves beh her skin had caught fire. Her breath hitched, her limbs spasming. But this wasn't real—it couldn't be real.

  Yet it felt real.

  The battlefield repyed itself in agoniziail, but she wasn't inside her own body anymore. She watched herself from above, as if she were nothing more than a spectator in her own tragedy.

  "You never wondered, did you?" the Entity tinued, voice a breath against her ear. "What would have happened if this girl's father hadn't arrived? If you had beeo die here, alone?"

  Lay's heart pounded.

  "Stop."

  But the se did not stop. It shifted.

  In this twisted, reimagined battlefield, her father was nowhere in sight. The Silver Lotus Sect warriors were dead, their bodies reduced to mere shadows against the blood-soaked ground. And she—

  She was still kneeling before Shen Mu, except this time, he did not hesitate. His fist came down.

  A siing crack echoed.

  Lay choked on her owh as she felt it—pain that did not belong to her present self, yet coursed through her like a tidal wave.

  "Ah, do you feel that?" the Entity cooed, tilting its head. "That's the sensation of reality sinking in. Of truth."

  Her past self crumpled to the ground. Dead.

  "This is what should have happened."

  Lay shook her head frantically. "That's not—"

  "Oh, but it is." the Entity cut in smoothly. "You should have died here. This should have been the end of you."

  She gasped for air, her lungs burning, her body wracked with tremors.

  The Entity leaned in, whispering, "Tell me, Lay, what did you do to deserve this ce?"

  Lay couldn't answer.

  "Nothing." the Entity answered for her. "You did nothing."

  The battlefield twisted again, and now she saw her sect, her friends, her people—standing in the distance, watg her failure.

  Lin Wuye's eyes were cold. He was not proud of her.

  "Maybe they would have mourned you for a time, yes." the Entity mocked her.

  "But eventually? Someone else would have taken your pce. And the world would have kept moving. Your name? A whisper, a fading scar."

  Lay's breathing came in short, shallow bursts. Her chest ached, her stomach twisted. The guilt was suffog, overwhelming, a lead weight sinking into her bones.

  "But instead," the Entity tinued, drawing out the words with satisfa

  "you lived. And now, tell me—what have you doh this sed ce? Sorry third ce after all you died the first time to a mere poison and almost dying again within a day of taking over this pirl's body."

  Lay flinched.

  "Oh," the Entity's smirk deepened. "That's right. You waste it. You pretend to be something you're not. You act like you're just another warrior among them. But we both know the truth, don't we?"

  Lay's hands curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She tried to shut it out. Tried to will herself away. But the words sank into her like poison.

  "You're not like them. You never were. And deep down, they know it, too."

  Lay's vision blurred. The battlefield, her lifeless self, her disappointed father—all of it flickered like a nightmare she couldn't wake from.

  "Tell me, Lay." the Entity's voice was almost gentle now

  "If you were to disappear tomorrow, do you really think they would grieve you the way you want them to?"

  Lay gasped for air. Lips parted from her mouth but no words came out.

  "Do you really think they love you? Or are they just grateful you're still useful?"

  Lay's body colpsed onto the battlefield, her mind splittiweey and nightmare. The pain was unbearable, the weight of guilt crushing.

  The Entity leaned closer, its voi intimate whisper against her ear.

  "Say it, and I will leave you alone. Say you are different. Say you deserve to be here."

  Lay opened her mouth again but nothing came out.

  Her throat locked, her mind screaming for her to deny it, to fight back, to do anything—but she couldn't say the words.

  Because deep down, she wasn't sure anymore. She doesn't know if people loved her or Meilin. She doesn't know if she is even herself anymore. She doesn't know if she is doing the right thing.

  Maybe I am a hypocrite..

  The Entity smiled. And then it reached for her.

  --

  Meyu tightened her grip around Lay's body, the warmth of their shared b now overshadowed by the violent vulsions wrag through her body."Meilin?" Meyu whispered at first, her voice hesitant. Then she shook her.

  "Meilin!"Lay's body twitched untrolbly, her breathing shallow and rapid, beads of sweat f aloemples. Her nails dug into her own arms, leaving red crests behind.

  Meyu felt fear crawl up her spine. She had seen Ats restless before, but never seen anything like this—never so utterly trapped in something that couldn't be.

  Panic surged. "MEILIN!" Meyu cried out, the name slipping from her lips before she even realized it.

  "SOMEBODY HELP!"

  The doors burst open, Lin Wuye stepping in first, his sharp eyes immediately log onto Lay's vulsing form. Behind him, Meilin's mother stumbled inside, eyes wide with terror.

  "Meilin!" Lin Wuye rushed forward, kneeling by the bedside as he grabbed her wrist, cheg her pulse.

  ''What happened?"

  "I—I don't know! She just—she won't wake up!" Meyu's voice cracked, her grip tightening on Lay as though afraid she would slip away entirely.

  "Meilin, wake up! Please!" Yuxe Wuye's hands trembled as she hugged Lay's face, but the girl did not respond.

  She was trapped inside her mind and she was fighting a losing battle.

  —

  The Entity's fingers closed around Lay's throat, its nails digging in with cruel precision. Its form writhed and twisted, shiftiween something monstrous and something terrifyingly familiar.It grinned. "You don't deserve this life."

  Lay choked, g at its grip, but her fingers passed through it like smoke, uo touch the nightmare strangling her.

  The Entity leaned in, its voice suddenly soft, eerily familiar.

  It was her voiow.

  "You shouldn't be here." it whispered, but this time, it sounded just like Meilin.

  Lay's breath hitched.

  "You took everything from me!" the Entity growled, its voice rising into a wretched, agonized scream. "You stole MY life! MY family! MY name! YOU TOOK WHAT WAS NEVER YOURS!"

  Lay gasped, her vision blurring, the darkness pressing in from all sides. The Entity's grip tightened.

  "You were supposed to DIE!" the Entity shrieked, and the darkness colpsed in on her.

  —

  "Meilin! WAKE UP!"

  Her father's voice pierced the haze just as his hands grabbed her shoulders, shaking her violently. Lay gasped, her eyes flying open as she lurched forward, choking on nothing but air. Her entire body shook, the remnants of the Entity's grip still burning ohroat like phantom pain. She was awake, but the world still felt wrong.

  Her mother's arms ed around her, rog her gently, whispering words she couldn't hear over the pounding in her skull. Meyu was still holding onto her too, her forehead pressed against her shoulder, her body trembling just as much as Lay's.

  Lay tried to speak, but no words came.

  The Entity's st whisper still echoed in her head:

  You were supposed to die!

  Lay sat frozen in pce, her breath still uhe warmth of her mother's embrace should have been grounding, but instead, it felt like a weight she didn't deserve.

  Her mind raced, repying the nightmare, the suffog grip of the Entity still lingering arouhroat. It had spoken with Meilin's voice. Had screamed with her voice.

  Do I really deserve to be here? The thought burrowed deep, a question that had no answer.

  Slowly, as if in a trance, Lay's hand reached toward her neck, fingers brushing against the tender skin—

  And then she felt it.

  A searing stied beh her fiips. Her breath hitched, and as she looked down, horror cwed its her throat. Deep, reddened scars marred the delicate skin of her neck—identical to where the Entity had strangled her.

  Meyu, still clutg her, saw it first. Her breath shuddered, her fiightening on Lay's wrist.

  "Meilin… your neck—"

  Lin Wuye and Yuxe Wuye followed her gaze. Their expressions shifted from to something close to horrified disbelief.

  "That's not possible," Lin Wuye muttered under his breath, already reag forward to ihe wounds. His voice was calm, logical, but the look in his eyes betrayed his unease.

  "You were just sleeping… so how did—"

  Lay's throat felt dry. She wao tell them. Debated to whether or not to admit everything—that she was not Meilin, that she had stolen this life, that perhaps… the Entity was right.

  But the words wouldn't e.

  Instead, her mother cupped her face again, f Lay to meet her tear-filled eyes. "You're here," Yuxe Wuye whispered, almost as if ving herself.

  "You're here, my love."

  Lay's chest ached at those words.

  Lin Wuye sighed, pulling back. "The wounds aren't fresh, but they shouldn't be there at all. We o treat them before they worsen."

  Meyu nodded quickly, already moving to retrieve the medial salves. But as she moved away, she hesitated, gng back at Lay. The look in her eyes was uainty.

  She had seen something. Something that terrified her.

  Lay said nothing.

  She only reached up again, fingers lightly trag the scars ohroat.

  Because deep down, it still felt like the Entity's hands were there.

  ---

  The soft scratg of charcoal against wood filled the air, broken only by the occasional murmur of instru.

  Ihe newly built schoolhouse, a group of young disciples sat hunched over their makeshift desks, frowning at the strange symbols drawn before them. Zhao Lihua, her silver hair tied baeatly, squinted down at the numbers scrawled across her paper, tapping her fingers against the surface.

  "I don't uand," she muttered. "What does 'six times four' mean? Six what?"

  The instructor, a thin man with ink-stained fingers, let out a patient sigh. "Think of it this way—if you had six baskets, and eae held four peaches, hoeaches would you have in total?"

  Zhao Lihua brows kogether as she whispered under her breath, trag invisible patterns on her desk.

  Zhu Fen peeked over her shoulder and said to Elder Jian. "Twenty-four, Elder Jian. It's easy!"

  Jian Bo huffed, waving her hand dismissively. "Easy for a brat like you. My geion didn't waste time with numbers—we settled things with our fists!"

  The css chuckled, though some tinued scribbling, their expressiing from tration to frustration. The cold wind rattled the wooden shutters, but ihe warmth of the stove and the low hum of voices made it bearable.

  —

  Outside, in the open courtyard, two figures moved in a brutal csh.

  Snow g to their robes, their breath misting in the freezing air. The rhythmic csh of wooden staves echoed across the training grounds, punctuated by the dull thud of one body hitting the snow-cround.

  Bao groaned, rolling onto his back. "You—you're enjoying this, aren't you?"

  Jiang twirled his staff effortlessly, his breath steady despite the cold. "That's a strong accusation."

  Bao scowled as he pushed himself up, his arms shaking. "This isn't training. This is torture."

  Jiang didn't reply immediately. Instead, he lunged forward with merciless precision, his staff a blur of motion. Bao barely had time to react, raising his own on to block. The impact reverberated up his arms, sending a sharp jolt of pain through his shoulders.

  "pining wastes energy." Jiang said, pressing the attack. His strikes were relentless—sharp, trolled, unfiving.

  Bao gritted his teeth, f himself to ter. "If I freeze to death, I'm haunting you."

  Jiang sidestepped a desperate swing with effortless grace. "You'll have to catch me first."

  Bao shifted his stance, exhaling sharply before ung forward in a blur of movement. He initiated Step One: Whispering Breeze, his staff striking out in a fluid motion. Jia instantly, matg his speed with his own version of the teique.

  Bao smirked. "Trying to match me now? I outst you."

  Jiang's response was to press harder. His strength was superior, and his experience far greater. The snap of wood against wood cracked through the frozen air, each impact sending vibrations up Bao's arms.

  What began as a test of agility erupted into a brutal test of endurance. Jiang's blows carried raw force, each strike meant to break past defenses rather than simply test them. Bao tered with speed, dug low and using every ounce of flexibility to avoid being overwhelmed.

  But Jiang was relentless.

  Their staves cshed, sparks of frost flying as they locked into a deadlock. Bao gritted his teeth, his muscles straining. The cold bit into his exposed skin, his breath ing in short bursts of mist.

  "Still think you match me?"

  Jiang smirked, eyes sharp with focus. Then, without hesitatiowisted his grip, using his superior strength to wrench Bao's on wide. In the same fluid motion, he brought his staff down—hard—into Bao's ribs.

  The breath ripped from Bao's lungs as he stumbled, feet sliding over the slick, frozen ground. His vision blurred as he nded hard on his back, the snow beh him g sharply.

  For a moment, only the sound of his ragged breathing filled the air.

  Bao wheezed, curling slightly as he coughed. "I hate you."

  Jiaended a hand, utterly unfazed. "Then stand up and prove it."

  Before Bao could retaliate, a third voice cut through the icy air.

  "Enough." Lin Wuye's voice was firm but carried a weight behind it. Both Jiang and Bao turo see him standing at the edge of the courtyard, his expression unreadable.

  Jiang lowered his staff. "What is it?"

  Lin Wuye exhaled, his breath visible in the cold air. "It's Meilin. Something happened."

  Bao immediately sat up, ign the ache in his ribs. "What? What do you mean? Is she okay?"

  Jiang narrowed his eyes, stepping forward. "What happened?"

  Lin Wuye's jaw tightened. "I don't know how to expin it, but she won't talk about it. And… there are scars ohroat."

  Silence fell betweehe cold suddenly feeling far less important.

  Bao and Jiang exged a gheir spar fotten.

  Jiang ched his fists, but his voice remained calm. "How bad is it?"

  Lin Wuye hesitated, his usual posed expression showing a rare flicker of unease. "Bad enough. She's awake, but she won't speak. And the scars... they're real."

  Bao wiped the sweat from his brow, his breathing still uneven. "Real? As in—"

  "As in she woke up with them." Lin Wuye cut in.

  "I don't know how, but something happeo her in her sleep and she's not telling us what."

  Jiang exhaled sharply, grabbing his outer robe from the snow and throwing it over his shoulders. "Let's go."

  Bao grumbled under his breath, rubbing his sore ribs. "You know, I was really hoping for a warm meal after this beating."

  Jiang didn't respond. His pace was already brisk, his mind elsewhere.

  Lin Wuye turned, leading the way, his footsteps slow but deliberate.

  "She o see familiar faces. Maybe she'll talk to you two."

  The cold no longer mattered. Bao and Jiang followed without another word.

  As they stepped into the dimly lit room, the warmth from the brazier did little to chase away the heavy atmosphere. Bao's usual smirk faltered as he took in the sight before him.

  Meilin sat propped against the headboard, her shoulders tense, her gaze distant. The usual fire in her eyes had dulled, repced by something unreadable—something broken. Her mother k beside her, dabbing herbal salve onto her throat with steady but trembling hands. The dim light made the raw, red scars along her neck look even more pronounced, a brutal trast against her pale skin.

  Bao swallowed hard. He had seen Meilin injured before, seen her bloodied and bruised from battle. But this? This was different. This wasn't just a wound—this was something that had reached into her and taken something away.

  Jiang remaiill, his sharp gaze flickering from the scars to her vat expression. He didn't speak, but his jaw tightened.

  "Meilin." Bao finally said, f his voice to be light, casual.

  "You look like shit, leader."

  She didn't reaot even a twitch.

  Yuxe Wuye gnced up, her eyes tired a, but she managed a small smile.

  "She woke up not long ago. Her pulse is steady, but…"

  "She won't speak." Lin Wuye finished, arms crossed.

  "She hasn't said a word since she woke up."

  Bao let out a forced chuckle. ", you? Not talking? I must be dreaming."

  Still, nothing.

  Jiang stepped forward, his voice measured but firm.

  "Meilin. Look at me."

  For a moment, she didn't move. Then, slowly, her gaze lifted. Her eyes met Jiang's, and Bao felt an uneasy shiver crawl down his spine.

  She looked lost.

  Jiang's voice didn't waver. "What happened?"

  Her lips parted slightly, but no words came. Instead, her hand twitched, moving toward her throat as if to touch the scars.

  The moment her fingers brushed against them, her breath hitched—and she flinched.

  Yuxe Wuye grasped her wrist gently, guiding her hand back down.

  "Shh, sweetheart. It's okay. You're safe."

  Meilin swallowed hard, and for the first time sihey entered, she whispered—so faint, so hoarse, Bao barely caught it.

  "No… I'm not."