Xu Yang slowly lowered his eyes before looking back at the sky. His voice was calm, but every word carried weight. "There isn't a perfect answer. Because people will always fear what they don't understand. But fear should never become hatred." The threads shifted slightly as if listening. Chen Yu stepped forward, resting both hands on his staff before looking up. "Every race has people capable of kindness," he said quietly. "And every race has people capable of cruelty. Good and evil were never decided by whether someone was born a human or a demon."
Zhao Ming slowly nodded in agreement. "I've fought demons who protected innocent lives," he said, tightening the talismans between his fingers. "And I've also seen humans become monsters through their own choices." Yan Luo folded his arms across his chest, his expression unusually serious. "The world loves giving people labels," he said. "Human, demon, immortal and monster. The moment someone hears one of those names, they stop seeing the person standing in front of them." Lin Chen clenched his fists tightly, his eyes turning slightly red. "That's unfair," he murmured. "Nobody chooses how they're born." He slowly lifted his head toward the sky. "If I had been born a demon… would people hate me too?" No one answered him.
Chen Yu let out a quiet sigh, his fingers tightening around the wooden staff in his hands as he looked toward the countless black threads drifting above the shrine. "Maybe…" he said slowly, choosing each word with care, "…not everyone would." Zhao Ming nodded after a moment, his gaze never leaving the sky. "Times have changed," he said quietly. "People aren't the same as they were hundreds of years ago." Yan Luo folded his arms across his chest and let out a slow breath. "There are still people blinded by prejudice," he admitted, "but there are also people willing to stand beside those the world rejects."
Xu Yang lifted his head and looked directly at the swirling darkness above them. "Not everyone is like the Heavenly Court," he said. "There are people who would accept you now. People who wouldn't care whether you were a demon or a human." Lin Chen forced a small smile despite the sadness in his eyes. "See?" he said gently. "Things are different now. The past is over. Maybe… it's finally time to let everything go."
For several long seconds, nothing happened. The threads simply floated silently above the shrine, swaying gently in the wind as though they were listening to every word. Then a quiet laugh echoed through the mountain. It wasn't joyful. It was tired. "So…"Shou Heng's voice drifted from within the threads, "…you all think it's that simple?" The countless threads slowly twisted together, forming slow spirals in the air. "Let it go…" He repeated the words as though tasting something unbearably bitter. "Such easy words." His voice gradually became colder. "Tell me…" The threads drifted lower toward the ground. "…If the person you loved was taken from you…" A long pause followed. "would you let them go?" No one answered.
The threads continued moving restlessly around the shrine. "If your family was destroyed…" "…If your future was stolen…" "…If everyone called you monster…" His voice trembled,"Would you simply smile…" Another painful pause. "and move on?"Xu Yang slowly lowered his gaze. He couldn't answer because he didn't know. Shou Heng laughed again. "You see?" His voice echoed across the ancient shrine. "You don't know either."
The threads slowly circled around everyone like ghosts wandering through forgotten memories. "You tell me to let go…" His voice became quieter. "…because you've never carried what I carry." The countless threads suddenly began trembling. Black mist seeped from every strand, spreading through the shrine like ink dissolving into water. "And yet…" His voice rose. "You speak as though you understand me."
Waves of black mist exploded outward, swallowing the sunlight until the shrine was cast into unnatural darkness. And stone of courtyard shook beneath everyone's feet. Cracks spread across the ground with thunderous sounds.The towering trees surrounding the shrine bent beneath an invisible force, their branches whipped wildly through the air, and countless leaves were torn free, spinning like frightened birds caught inside a hurricane.The old shrine bells began ringing on their own, their desperate chimes echoing across the mountains.Then the voice thundered from every direction at once,"You all behave like role models…" The entire shrine shook beneath the weight of those words. "but you're all superficial!"
The furious voice echoed again and again through the mountains, each word striking the shrine harder than the last. "You all behave like role models… but you're all superficial!" The threads surged lashing through the air."You speak of justice…" Shou heng's said,"yet your justicebchanges depending on who stands before you!" The threads crashed against the cracked ground, carving deep scars across the ancient stone. "You speak of compassion…" Another violent tremor shook the shrine, making the old bells ring wildly. "yet where was that compassion when she cried?!" he continued,"You speak of equality…" His bitter laughter echoed once more, hollow enough to make everyone's heart tighten. "…yet the moment someone is born a demon, you already decide what they deserve!"
Chen Yu unconsciously took half a step backward, gripping his staff until his knuckles turned white. Zhao Ming's talismans trembled between his fingers as his expression slowly hardened. Yan Luo stared silently at the raging threads, his jaw clenched so tightly that the muscles along his face twitched. Even Lin Chen, who had hidden behind Xu Yang only moments earlier, no longer said a single word. His face had gone pale as he stared at the furious storm above them.
The countless threads continued writhing overhead. "You say…" Shou Heng's voice became quieter, yet somehow even more terrifying than before. "that the world has changed." He paused for second and then continued, "…Then answer me." The threads slowly descended until they hovered only a few feet above everyone's heads, swaying gently like executioner's blades. "If another demon loved a human today…" His voice cracked beneath unbearable grief. "would every single person bless them?" "…Or would someone…" He paused, his voice becoming soft. "still call them a monster?"
Xu Yang looked directly at the countless threads drifting before him without the slightest intention of looking away. "No..." he answered honestly. Everyone instinctively turned toward him. Xu yang remained calm as he continued, "I can't lie to you." He slowly stepped forward, "There are still people who would hate them." Threads stopped moving and xu yang continued quietly, "There are still people blinded by fear. There are still people who judge others because of what they are instead of who they are." A sad smile appeared on his face as he looked toward the darkness above. "But…" He lifted his eyes to meet the storm. "there are also people who would stand beside them." His voice grew firmer. "People who would fight for them." Chen Yu slowly nodded. "He's right." Zhao Ming said, "The world still isn't fair." Yan Luo looked toward the sky and quietly added, "But it isn't the same world you left behind either."
Then a single black thread slowly drifted downward.It stopped directly in front of Xu Yang.And he said,"Would you?"Xu Yang frowned slightly but never stepped back."If you were forced to choose…" the voice continued, "between the world...and the person you loved…" He paused for second then he looked around and then back to Xu yang and continued, "Which one would you abandon?"Xu Yang met the thread's gaze without retreating. For a long moment, neither of them spoke then he let out a slow breath. "I don't know."
"If you asked me to choose between the whole world and the person I love... I don't know what I would do." He lowered his eyes briefly before looking back up. "Maybe I'd hesitate. Maybe I'd make the wrong choice. Maybe I'd regret it for the rest of my life." His voice softened. "That's why I won't pretend I understand your pain."The countless threads drifted silently around him.
Chen Yu stepped forward, gripping his staff tightly. "No one here is trying to erase what happened to you," he said earnestly. "We know we can't."Zhao Ming nodded slowly. "Your suffering was real. No one can deny that."Yan Luo folded his arms, his sharp eyes fixed on the sea of black threads. "But drowning in hatred won't bring Yue Ning back." The threads twitched.
Then...a low, trembling laugh echoed across the mountain, "Heh..." another followed, "Heh... hahaha..." the laughter grew louder but there was no trace of joy within it as the threads slowly coiled together like a living storm, "So that's your answer..." "You speak so beautifully, gently and so reasonably." his voice turned cold enough to freeze the air, "But... none of you know anything."
The entire shrine trembled as the threads surged, "You tell me to move forward... you tell me not to drown in hatred... you tell me memories shouldn't become chains..." his voice cracked under unbearable grief, "What do you know about watching the person you love die in your arms?!" the threads lashed through the air, "What do you know about hearing her cry while everyone stood there and watched?!" another explosion of black mist swallowed the courtyard, "What do you know about reaching for someone... only to watch them disappear forever?!"his voice finally broke completely, "You don't know anything!"
Then the threads stopped,and slowly turning toward the shrine as the voice changed, "Do you know what this place is?" No one answered him. he continued,"This... is where Yue Ning and I first met." the shrine floor trembled softly, "This... is where we dreamed about growing old together." "And all of you... are simply telling me to move on."He laughed softly and bitterly, "Easy... so easy to say... when you aren't the one left behind."Xu Yang clenched his fists and said"We're not asking you to forget her, we're asking you not to destroy yourself because of her." "Destroy myself?", the thread laughed coldly, "No... I've already been destroyed."
The shrine fell into complete silence, then *BOOM!!* The entire shrine shook that the stone floor split apart beneath everyone's feet as thousands upon thousands of threads erupted from every crack in the walls, pillars, and earth, twisting upward like furious serpents reaching for the sky.
Xu Yang stepped forward,both hands forming seals as a shimmering spiritual barrier burst outward around the group, "Stay behind me!" he shouted as the threads slammed against the barrier with force, sending ripples of light across it.Yan Luo clenched his jaw and raised his hand as massive flames erupted from his palm, surging forward like a burning river, "Burn everything that comes close!" he growled as several threads were instantly incinerated mid-air, turning into ash and black smoke; Chen Yu slammed his staff into the ground with a heavy impact that echoed across the broken shrine, Light green light exploding outward in a circular wave, "I won't let this spread further!" he said firmly as the light pushed back the encroaching darkness.
Zhao Ming spun his talismans mid-air, his voice sharp and controlled, "Seal them explode!" as dozens of glowing papers detonated in bursts of spiritual energy, tearing through clusters of threads before they could regroup. Lin Chen crouched behind the others, covering his head as he panicked, "Why am I always the shield-less one in these situations?!" he yelled, trying to hide further behind Xu Yang.
The threads screeched in unison as they collided with the combined attacks, splitting and reforming endlessly,and from within the chaos Shou Heng's voice echoed again, colder now, "You resist… but you still don't understand what you're fighting against!" as more threads surged forward like a living tide, forcing all of them to brace themselves as the shrine itself continued to collapse around them.
Xu yang's barrier cracked sharply as a focused thread struck the same point repeatedly, forcing him to stagger back, "They're targeting the structure of my barrier!" he shouted, quickly reinforcing it with another layer of spiritual energy beside him yan luo clicked his tongue as the fire around him shifted into sharper, compressed flames, "Then I'll cut their path before they form one!" he snapped, sweeping his arm as a wave of fire sliced through incoming threads,but several slipped past and scraped his shoulder, drawing blood.
Chen Yu thrust his staff forward, golden light erupting into a rotating formation, "Don't let them isolate anyone!" he called out as the ground beneath them reshaped into glowing seals trying to trap the threads mid-air.Zhao Ming's talismans suddenly formed a circular barrier around Lin Chen and Xu Yang, his voice tight, "These things are learning our formation patterns move unpredictably!" as one talisman exploded early to intercept a sudden ambush from below! Lin Chen yelped as a thread shot up from the cracked floor, "Why is it always UNDER the feet?!" he shouted while stumbling backward; above them.
The threads thickened into a rotating spiral, and Shou Heng's voice cut through the chaos again, colder and sharper, "You block… you burn… you seal… but I already know all your movements!" as the spiral tightened, diving toward them like a collapsing sky, forcing everyone to react instantly. Xu yang gritted his teeth and reinforced his barrier with both hands trembling, "Then change your moves!" he shouted as he pushed the attack back slightly.
Yan Luo stepped forward beside him, flames roaring higher, "If you know us so well, then why are you still losing control?!" he snapped while burning through a cluster of incoming threads, Chen Yu slammed his staff into the ground again, golden seals flashing outward, "Your rage is making you predictable!" he called out as the light briefly disrupted the spiral's formation.Zhao Ming flicked his talismans into intersecting patterns, "Everyone spread out don't let it lock onto one point!" he warned as explosions scattered through the air.
The threads twisted and adjusting mid-air, and shou heng's voice echoed again through the storm,"I don't need to adapt… I only need to erase everything in my way!"Xu Yang suddenly stepped forward through the pressure, his barrier shaking but still holding as he yelled, "You can't gain anything by staying in the past!" the moment his words landed, the entire spiral abruptly stopped mid-motion then threads slowly turned toward him.
Shou Heng's voice softened into something disturbingly calm, "You said you understood me earlier…" the threads tilted slightly as if studying him, "and now you're saying this?" a broken smile appeared in its tone, "See? You're all the same." then suddenly the stillness shattered as the threads exploded forward again with even greater force. Xu Yang barely managed to raise his barrier in time as cracks spread across it.
Yan Luo roared and unleashed a massive wave of fire to intercept the surge, Chen Yu's golden formation flared brighter but began to fracture under pressure, Zhao Ming shouted while throwing talismans in rapid succession, "It's escalating again hold them back!" The entire battlefield shook, and then abruptly the thread's body flickered, glitching like a broken reflection, its form breaking apart into unstable fragments as its voice cracked into static, "I… will… destroy… everything…" The shrine trembled one last time as the black threads dissolved into drifting fragments of darkness, and then, all at once, everything vanished.
Xu Yang staggered slightly, lowering his barrier as his breathing turned uneven, "Is it over?" he whispered in disbelief, Yan Luo slowly extinguished his flames, his expression still tense as he scanned the empty space,"That didn't feel like an ending." he muttered, Chen Yu tightened his grip on his staff while looking around carefully, "Something about this is wrong… too clean." he said cautiously.
Zhao Ming lowered his talismans but didn't fully relax, "It disappeared too easily… threads like that don't just vanish," he added with a grim tone, Lin Chen finally peeked out from behind them, slowly standing upright, "So… do I stop hiding now or is this the part where it comes back stronger?" he asked nervously.No one answered him.
Xu Yang exhaled and turned toward the shrine's exit, "We need to leave this place… now!" he said firmly.Chen Yu tightened his grip on his staff and immediately stepped beside him, still scanning the unstable remnants of the courtyard, "Then what's the next plan?" he asked, his tone serious but strained, "How do we destroy those threads before they destroy everything first?"
Yan Luo frowned deeply, his burned surroundings still flickering with fading embers as he added, "There has to be something… nothing like that just exists without a weakness," he said, clenching his fist, "There must be something that can erase them completely." Lin Chen, who had been unusually quiet, suddenly straightened as if remembering something, his eyes widening slightly, "Wait… I think I know someone who might have the answer to this." he said quickly, drawing everyone's attention at once.
Yan Luo immediately turned toward him, suspicion and urgency mixing in his voice, "Who are you talking about?" Lin Chen hesitated for a brief second before speaking, "I met him when I couldn't find Xiao Ye… he lives in the mountains." he explained, glancing between them, "I think he knows about those threads… we should meet him." Chen Yu's expression darkened slightly as he stepped closer, his tone sharper now, "If you knew someone like that, why didn't you say anything earlier?" Lin Chen flinched slightly but raised his hands defensively, "Because I didn't think we'd end up fighting reality-eating threads at a shrine!" he snapped back, panic slipping through his calm act.
Xu Yang cut through the tension with a decisive step forward, his voice steady, "Enough. We don't have time to argue," he said firmly, "If there's even a chance this person knows something, we go now." Yan Luo nodded once, flames flickering faintly around his palm before he extinguished them completely, "Fine. But if this turns into another trap, I'm burning the entire mountain down!" he muttered.
One by one they began to move cautiously out of the broken courtyard, stepping over cracked stone and shattered seals, their footsteps echoing unnaturally in the stillness; but the moment they crossed beyond the shrine gates, everyone froze.