Bureau of Strange Affairs – Central Medical Wing
Kaelin lay motionless in a recovery pod.
Her breathing was faint.Her spiritual frequency was collapsing.Her soul waves flickered like dying embers.
The Gray Domain, though rewritten, had left behind a final protocol—an automated process:
Memory Purification.
It was meant to cleanse corrupted data.But to a soul like Kaelin, who had fully interfaced with the Core, it meant something else—
Erasure.
"She's being formatted," Chen Xi said in a trembling voice."It's not attacking her. It's just… following leftover logic."
"She's no longer classified as a combatant," Zhao Ting muttered."She's become a 'vessel-class host.' The Domain is trying to recycle her."
Lu Feng sat beside her, clutching her hand.
"No."
"I won't let her be deleted like… a corrupted file."
Inside the Synchronization Room
Lu Feng stepped into the core of the fate diagram again.
This time, he didn't activate a mirror.He didn't request access.
He forced his soul into hers.
This was a violation of every rule of spiritual law—a direct resonance bridge.
But he didn't care.
Within Kaelin's Mindspace – Fading Echo Realm
She sat quietly in a classroom.Alone.Reading a book.
Lu Feng recognized the cover.It was Principles of Spirit Constructs—the book he had once lent her.
She looked up and smiled softly."You came."
Lu Feng tried to run to her—but his hands passed right through her body.
"You're not really her," he said.
"No. I'm just the part she left behind… in case you came."
"The real her is almost gone."
"She only left one thought behind: 'Wait for him.'"
Lu Feng's throat tightened.
He picked up the book from her desk.Inside the cover, in familiar handwriting, were the words:
"If I forget you someday, remind me—that I was the kind of fool who once stood in front of a blade for you."
He laughed through his tears.
"Then let me be the fool this time."
Reality – Medical Wing
Lu Feng's vitals crashed.
He activated the last level of the fate diagram.
"Ultimate Pattern – Soul Sacrifice: Return to Heart."
A white light erupted from his chest and flowed into Kaelin's body.
Piece by piece, her memories returned.
Her smile.Her fury.Her decision to walk away to protect him.Her hands shaking as she wrote the dissolution request.
Her fingers twitched.Her breath returned.
She opened her eyes.
"I… who am I?"
Lu Feng held her hand.
"You're Kaelin."
"You're the one who once told me,'Even if I'm afraid, I'll still walk behind you.'"
"You once said you loved me—long ago."
"And I always knew."
Outside the chamber, monitors updated:
"Soul Reconstruct Complete.""Kaelin: Self Identity Restored.""Class: Free-Bonded Entity.""Connection Type: No Chain Required."