Lin Xue fell.
Mo Yuan caught him before his body touched the ground.
“Lin Xue!”
His voice sounded distant.
Lin Xue couldn’t answer.
Everything around him had disappeared.
No Qingyun Sect.
No mountain.
No Mo Yuan.
Only darkness.
Then—
A bell rang.
Once.
A second time.
A third.
Lin Xue opened his eyes.
He was standing barefoot on an endless white lake.
There was no sky.
No horizon.
No wind.
Only silence.
He looked down.
His reflection stared back at him.
But it wasn’t his reflection.
The figure in the water was wearing ancient white robes.
His hair was longer.
His eyes were crimson.
And behind him…
Ten enormous lotus petals floated like a halo.
Lin Xue stepped backward.
“Who are you?”
The reflection smiled.
“You already know.”
The voice was the same one that had whispered to him from the sky.
The same voice that had followed him through his dreams.
Lin Xue’s expression hardened.
“Show yourself.”
The water rippled.
A figure emerged behind him.
Tall.
Dressed in black.
His face remained hidden beneath a dark hood.
Lin Xue turned.
“Are you the Creator?”
The figure didn’t answer.
Instead, he raised one hand.
The entire white lake transformed.
Suddenly Lin Xue was standing in the Imperial Palace.
Snow covered the courtyard.
The Cold Palace stood ahead.
He knew this place.
He had seen it countless times.
Then he saw himself.
His former self.
Kneeling in the cell.
The poisoned cup resting in his hand.
Lin Xue’s chest tightened.
“No.”
The vision continued.
The prison doors burst open.
Mo Yuan appeared.
He rushed toward Lin Xue.
He held him.
He cried.
Then came the words Lin Xue remembered most clearly.
“I loved you.”
Lin Xue closed his eyes.
“I know.”
The figure behind him spoke.
“Do you?”
Lin Xue turned.
“What does that mean?”
“You remember the ending.”
“But you don’t remember the beginning.”
The scene changed.
The Imperial Palace disappeared.
A mountain appeared.
Ancient.
Massive.
Covered in snow.
At its summit stood two young men.
One was Lin Xue.
The other was Mo Yuan.
But neither looked like their current selves.
They were wearing ancient ceremonial robes.
Their hands were joined.
Between them floated a glowing Soul Lotus.
Lin Xue stared.
“What is this?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You said we’ve lived nine lives.”
“This…”
The figure pointed toward the mountain.
“…was before the nine.”
Lin Xue’s eyes widened.
“Then how many lives have we lived?”
The figure didn’t answer.
The mountain suddenly split apart.
Darkness poured from within.
Lin Xue saw countless versions of himself.
Some were warriors.
Some were cultivators.
Some were princes.
Some were ordinary people.
And in every life…
Mo Yuan was there.
Sometimes beside him.
Sometimes searching for him.
Sometimes arriving too late.
Lin Xue’s eyes filled with tears.
“Why?”
The figure answered quietly.
“Because Heaven made a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“It believed love could be controlled.”
Lin Xue looked at him.
“And you?”
“I corrected it.”
“By forcing us to repeat our lives?”
“I gave you another chance.”
Lin Xue’s expression hardened.
“You call that a chance?”
The figure remained silent.
“You erased our memories.”
“You separated us.”
“You made us suffer.”
“That isn’t giving us a chance.”
The figure slowly lowered his head.
“No.”
His voice was almost regretful.
“It was a prison.”
Lin Xue stared.
“Then why?”
The figure finally looked at him.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“Losing you.”
Lin Xue froze.
The figure removed his hood.
Lin Xue’s breath stopped.
The face beneath it was…
His own.
Not Lin Yue.
Not the ancient version from the mirror.
His own face.
But older.
Much older.
The Creator was him.
Or something that had once been him.
Lin Xue whispered,
“Who are you?”
The figure smiled sadly.
“I am what remains of you after Heaven failed to kill the Soul Lotus.”
The lake began shaking.
“Thousands of years ago, you created the Soul Lotus.”
“You created the seals.”
“You created the Oracle.”
“And when Heaven tried to destroy you…”
“You divided your soul.”
Lin Xue stared.
“One part became me.”
The figure nodded.
“One became Lin Yue.”
“One became the Soul Lotus.”
“And the rest…”
His gaze turned toward the darkness.
“…became the lives you have lived.”
Lin Xue couldn’t speak.
He had thought the Creator was an ancient god.
A monster.
A celestial being.
But perhaps the truth was worse.
The enemy he had been running from…
Was himself.
“Because it belongs to me.”
“No.”
Lin Xue’s voice became firm.
“It belongs to me.”
The Creator’s expression changed.
For the first time…
He looked angry.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
Lin Xue stepped forward.
“You created the Soul Lotus.”
“But I am the one living this life.”
“I choose what happens to it.”
The Creator stared at him.
Then slowly smiled.
“Good.”
Lin Xue frowned.
“Good?”
“You finally chose.”
The world around them began to crack.
The white lake shattered beneath their feet.
The Creator extended his hand.
“Then choose again.”
Lin Xue felt something warm wrap around his fingers.
A hand.
Mo Yuan’s.
He looked beside him.
Mo Yuan stood there.
His eyes were closed.
But his hand was holding Lin Xue’s.
“Come back.”
His voice was faint.
Lin Xue stared at him.
“Mo Yuan?”
“Come back to me.”
The Creator’s expression darkened.
“No.”
The lake exploded.
Lin Xue’s eyes flew open.
He inhaled sharply.
The sky returned.
The mountain returned.
The noise of Qingyun Sect returned.
And Mo Yuan was kneeling beside him.
His hand was wrapped tightly around Lin Xue’s.
“You’re awake.”
Lin Xue stared at him.
For a moment, he couldn’t speak.
Then—
He suddenly leaned forward and held Mo Yuan tightly.
Mo Yuan froze.
Lin Xue’s fingers clenched around his robes.
“I saw him.”
“Who?”
“The Creator.”
Mo Yuan’s expression became serious.
“What did he say?”
Lin Xue pulled back.
His eyes were still filled with disbelief.
“The Creator…”
He swallowed.
“…is me.”
Mo Yuan stared at him.
Before he could respond—
The sky cracked.
A gigantic black fissure appeared above Qingyun Mountain.
Bai Yue’s voice echoed from the peak.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves!”
The entire sect raised their weapons.
The fissure widened.
Something was coming through.
Lin Xue stood.
The Soul Lotus appeared above his wrist again.
All ten petals were glowing.
Mo Yuan stood beside him.
Their hands found each other naturally.
This time, neither let go.
Above them, the heavens opened.
And a figure stepped through the darkness.
The same face as Lin Xue.
The same eyes.
The same Soul Lotus.
But this time…
There was no sorrow in his expression.
Only a smile.
“Let’s finish what you started.”