Pain was a whisper.
Then a roar.
Then nothing.
Jian Long floated—not in space, but in the silence between thoughts. The remnants of the anchor seal pulsed in the hollow of his shattered arm, leaking not frost now, but visions.
His mind cracked.
And through those cracks—memories fell in like snow through broken glass.
He saw himself… but not himself.
A war-god in silver armor, standing on a dead moon. A lover's corpse in his arms—her throat slit by his own blade.
Then again.
A beast-tamer in a jungle of sentient trees, whispering to his brother just before slitting his spine open with a poisoned vine.
Again.
A prince. A traitor. A messiah. Each life bleeding into the next. Each ending the same.
Love.
Then death.
By his hand.
His breathing accelerated. His skin felt foreign. His heartbeat echoed with voices.
"You always kill them."
"She loved you. Why didn't you stop?"
"They never mattered. Not to you."
He grabbed his head.
The sky bled into the dirt. His vision fragmented—Mei's face, then Su Ling's, then hundreds more—all blurred, all screaming the same thing:
"You are not who you think you are."
The seal on his body glowed again—this time gold.
Celestial script burned across his sternum, curling like serpents. Each word was a brand, a name, a life he'd taken.
He fell to his knees.
Not because he remembered.
But because he didn't know which life was real.
Su Ling knelt beside Jian Long, her hands trembling as she reached out to touch his face. His skin was cold, the frost from the anchor seal spreading across his body.
"Jian Long," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Come back to me."
But he didn't respond. His eyes were open, staring blankly into the void.
Desperation clawed at her chest. She turned to Mei, whose body was convulsing, the hive's influence threatening to consume her entirely.
"I can't lose you both," Su Ling murmured.
She stood, determination hardening her features. "Mei," she called out, her voice steady. "We need to merge."
Mei's eyes widened, the hive's presence flickering within them. "It's dangerous," she rasped. "You could lose yourself."
"I don't care," Su Ling replied. "If it means saving Jian Long, I'll do it."
Mei hesitated, then nodded. "Together, then."
They clasped hands, and a surge of energy enveloped them. Su Ling felt her consciousness intertwine with Mei's, their thoughts and memories blending. Pain lanced through her, but she held on.
As the merger completed, Su Ling looked down at Jian Long. "If I forget you," she whispered, "remind me."
Jian Long's mind was a storm of memories and emotions. He stood in a void, the celestial script on his body glowing brighter.
A presence emerged from the darkness—a colossal celestial wasp, its wings shimmering with iridescent light.
"Jian Long," it intoned, its voice echoing in his mind. "You are my creation, my blade."
He stared at the creature, recognition dawning. "The system," he whispered.
"Yes," it confirmed. "I offer you a choice. Erase your humanity, become the weapon you were meant to be, and I will spare Su Ling."
"And if I refuse?" he asked.
"She will be consumed by the hive, lost forever."
Jian Long's thoughts raced. He couldn't lose Su Ling. But to erase his humanity...
He looked down at his hands, the celestial script pulsing.
"No," he said firmly. "I won't be your puppet."
The wasp's eyes narrowed. "Then she dies."
Jian Long drew the Oblivion sword from his mindscape, its blade gleaming.
"Then I'll cut you down," he declared.
Su Ling and Mei's merged form stood over Jian Long, their body a blend of both women. One arm was chitinous, the other soft. Their eyes glowed with dual colors.
Jian Long stirred, his body aching. He looked up at the merged figure.
"Su Ling?" he asked.
They tilted their head. "Do I... know you?"
His heart sank. The merger had erased her memories.
"You asked me to remind you," he said softly. "I will."
He stood, sheathing his sword, and walked away, determination in his stride.