Darkness faded. A voice—ancient, thunderous—echoed in Fei Yue's mind, its words slipping like sand through her grasp.
What was that voice?
Her consciousness snapped back, torn from the strange realm.
Cold winds sharp as blades lushed against her skin.
Cold, she layed in icy floor, the ground soft and scushin forming a humanoid crater around her as she shifted.
Pain flared in her neck—raw, searing, the same agony that had stolen her life. Yet her heart pounded, fierce and alive.
Fei Yue's eyes fluttered open. Above, a crimson star pulsed in a gray sky, its light stirring something deep within her.
unyielding, as if bound by invisible chains. She was a prisoner in her own flesh.
'What is happening?'
The question went unanswered, echoing off in her mind too alive to be hers.
No one stood in the frozen dark to reply. Only the wind howled, clawing at her skin.
She should be dead. She had died.
The memory seared—steel flashing, her throat splitting open, blood warm and final. It played behind her eyes, raw and unrelenting, as if carved into her soul. Yet here she lay, heart thudding, alive.
Fei Yue's mind drowned in the past. She saw it—her hand clawing at her throat, blood gushing, staining the snow scarlet.
Her warmth bled out, seeping into the cold earth as darkness closed in threatening to swallow her whole.
Then… that place. Those crimson eyes.
Now, sprawled on icy ground, she gasped.
Her neck throbbed, the phantom wound pulsing under her fingers. No blood. No scar
She remembered the evildooers, the pair of dark eyes, that had invaded her little village, not a single soul was left alive, her family.
Her husband, and little girl along side the entire village were killed.
Gradually, the cold began to decrease, rather her body began to adjust to the cold, it now more welcoming.
The gashly wound in her throat healed, she stood took her first breath.
Badump!
Badump!
She heard it, the sound of her own heart beat, it sounded slow and irregular, chaotic even. Not the usual rhythm of a beating heart. She felt her vain swell, as life gradually return to her, she felt various sticky substance form a membrane around her skin.
...
It was night time when the cocoon had broken, the glow of the moon had enveloped the world.
Fei Yue emerged brand new, with her body bare gleamed in the night.
Her once gray hair had turn deep shade of crimson, catching the moonlight like spilled blood.
Thesame could be said for her eyes, her entire body was now covered with darkish red marking.
They stretched from her thighs, curling over her stomach, winding around her bosom, halting just below her neck.
Despite being naked out in the cold, witha temperature of a few degrees over zero, she felt nothing, as though the harsh temperature had no affect on her. Even so search around pulling tattered robes from a corpse's stiff frame. The cloth was rough, bloodstained, but it cloaked her
She the cought site of two people laying side by side on the cold snow, she reconised them as her family, she hurried over, her knees quickly gave out, borrowing themselves onto the thick snow, with the bodies of her husband and child now ice sculptre in front of her.
She would have asked herself how is it that she was still alive, but that would be an relevant question, for she already knew the answer to the question even before she had the thought, but the question "why her?" however was different, of the thousands countless lives being lost across the realm of nine heavens, why did she have to stumbled upon that space and meet that unknown being.
'Am I even worthy of this legacy' Fei Yue have heared of the atrocities committed by the great adepts across the realm, the length they go for power, she wanted no part in it, at this moment she remembers her own sister who sought this path of no return, traveling outside the border of the little village promising to come back to her but never came.
She had given up, deciding to leave a normal life, she had met 'Jun' a man who had loved an care for her, and eventually she birthed her daughter whom she had named after her elder sister that had abandoned her, 'Ning', she was happy truly happy, it was all shortlived, she had lost it all to the greed and hunger of adepts, and now even she herself was one of them.
Fei Yue knelt before the remains of her family, her long crimson hair fluttering with the gentle breeze, painting an etherial scenes.
Without knowing how long has passed, she stood knelt unmoving, even when the sun gradually rose taking its place on the daytime sky.
The only moment on her part was the ocasional rise and fall of her shoulder as she cried her heart out.
At that moment she felt a hand in her shoulders, a worm cloak covered settled on her back, however even still she acted as though she didn't notice.
Silence permiated the air. It was the intruder that had broken the quietness,
"Can you tell me what happened here?" the man had a deep and grudy voice, it reminded her of 'Jun', but the strangers cleary commanded more gradiour.
Fei Yue who at this moment had avarted her gaze from her family's remains, now observing the man with her pair of red eyes.
For some reason the men was shocked, he took few steps back before he steadied his pace, her brows knitted together.
Fei Yue's pair of crimson iris where an oddity, although it wasn't anything strange for a person to have red eyes, hers were slightly more bigger than normal, making anyone who saw them tremble in dredd.
Fei Yue didn't say anything, he only glance at the man for a brief moment before averting her gaze, settling her eyes back at the corps of her family.
Moments passed, and other men behind had caught on, and seeing their leader being had clearly enraged them, but they didn't do anything only making angry expressions.
Fei Yue was a weak old mortal, with not a single trace of energy motes, their leader however was a legendary stage three adapt that too in the middle stage, cases like this would not usually draw his attention, he was here because of the stage for currption reported two days ago, yet he was being ignored by a weakling.
"What is your name?" the man asked, with his gaze fixated on Fei Yue's back, the cold win fluttering the loose edges of his robe, and his breath visible in the air.
"Fei Yue" she answered, without even turning to look at the man, her voice sounded haggard, a mixture of gentle sobs and plain sadnwss, she gently ran her fingers through the frozen skin of her daughter, as drops tear fell down her cheeks, falling on the child as though her tear would melt the ice and bring her daither back, but it wasn't enough.
"My name is Di Tian, and we are from the Regional tower of the Golden Order" The man paused a bit before he continued, "I would not ask you what happened here, but I think it's time you lest the dead rest" the man uttered, though his words sounded to be one of sympathy, but his express was terrfingly calm, giving no room for refuit, he turned to his men.
"Gather up the bodies and burry them properly" He command with firm voice, his tone leaving no room for argument, and the men wouldn't dare to argue either.
"Yes, your excellency"
They quickly, got to work, with their strength, it took them few minutes to properly burry the dead bodies.