The return to consciousness felt like rising from the depths of a black, viscous ocean.
Chen Yue slowly emerged from unconsciousness, her eyelashes fluttering before her eyes finally opened.
She felt weak.
Hollow.
As though a part of her soul had been torn away.
But somehow… she was still alive.
I’m alive.
I’m still breathing.
Her hand was no longer bleeding.
The wound had sealed itself completely, leaving behind only a thin silver scar that shimmered faintly in the darkness.
The energy that had been drained from her body slowly returned, flowing through her veins like a river awakening after a long drought.
It was strange.
Almost pleasant.
As if something new now lived inside her.
She was lying on cold stone, and the first thing her blurred vision caught was a tall figure standing against the crimson glow of cooling lava.
Someone stood near her, perfectly still, hands clasped behind his back in a posture both regal and terrifying.
Chen Yue blinked several times, convinced this had to be a dream — a hallucination born from exhaustion and fear.
She rubbed her eyes harshly with her fists, hoping the vision would disappear like a mirage.
This isn’t real.
It can’t be real.
But when she opened her eyes again, he was still there.
More real than ever.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
The young man she had freed from his glowing chains was walking toward her with supernatural grace, his feet barely touching the ground without making the slightest sound.
Every movement was flawless, as though he danced alongside gravity itself.
He stopped right in front of her — close enough for her to feel the overwhelming aura radiating from his body, an energy so powerful it made the air tremble around him.
The proximity made her heartbeat spiral out of control.
Too close.
Far too close.
Instinctively, she backed away, her cheeks burning bright red despite her fear.
His features were sculpted with unreal perfection, beautiful enough to shame the greatest artists.
His pale skin seemed to absorb and reflect the dim light around them, while his long black hair flowed over his shoulders like liquid silk woven by the gods themselves.
He was breathtakingly beautiful.
Painfully unreal.
But what unsettled her most was the way he was dressed.
He wore a long black hanfu embroidered with golden dragons that seemed almost alive within the folds of the luxurious fabric.
The robe fit his tall, elegant frame perfectly, giving him the appearance of an imperial prince torn straight from ancient legends.
The embroidery was so intricate she could make out every dragon scale, every cloud, every wave.
The sight instantly reminded her of the historical Chinese dramas she used to watch alone on YouTube… or at Madame Chang’s house, when the old woman would share stories of their ancestors over bowls of steaming rice.
A man this beautiful can’t possibly exist in real life.
And yet he was standing right there before her.
Still, it was his eyes that fascinated and terrified her most.
Deep and hypnotic, they stared at her with an intensity that made her feel as though he could see every hidden corner of her soul.
Those golden irises carried the weight of centuries of loneliness and suffering — a sorrow so profound it echoed her own pain.
Eyes that had seen too much.
Lived too long.
Around them, the atmosphere had completely changed.
The underground sanctuary where she had freed him was transforming before her eyes.
The stone walls were now covered in glowing golden patterns, while mystical flames danced across the surfaces without consuming anything.
Even the air itself felt saturated with powerful magic that made the hairs on her arms stand on end.
What have I done?
Who did I just free?
Then he spoke.
His deep, melodic voice echoed through the cavern, commanding silence itself.
“Who are you?” he demanded, his golden gaze piercing straight through her.
Chen Yue swallowed hard, her throat painfully dry.
The words escaped her lips in a trembling whisper.
“I… I have no idea.
I truly don’t know what’s happening to me.
I’m not from this world.” The young man’s perfectly shaped brows furrowed slightly.
He narrowed his eyes, studying every micro-expression on her face with the precision of a predator examining its prey.
His gaze cut through her as though searching for the smallest trace of deception.
A heavy silence settled between them.
Sweat formed along her forehead.
Every second felt endless.
Why is he looking at me like that?
Then, in a cold, absolute tone that sent chills down her spine, he declared: “You’re lying.” “No!” she burst out, shocked by the force in her own voice.
She drew upon the anger that had kept her alive through years of humiliation and cruelty — that cold rage which had become her only weapon against the world.
Her eyes filled with tears of frustration and despair.
“I’m not lying!
I swear on my parents’ memory that I’m not!
I don’t know where I am, I don’t know who you are, and I don’t understand any of this!
A few hours ago I was in an abandoned warehouse in Manchester, and now I’m trapped in this… this nightmare!” Her voice broke on the last word as tears streamed freely down her cheeks.
All the terror, confusion, and loneliness of this impossible night crashed over her at once, shattering the last of her defenses.
She cried.
Truly cried.
For the first time in years.
But the young man remained unmoved.
His expression stayed as cold and unreadable as marble, those golden eyes fixed on her with the same terrifying intensity.
Clearly, he did not believe a single word she said.
Of course.
No one ever believes me.
He remained silent for a long moment, studying her as though she were some rare and mysterious object whose secrets he intended to uncover.
She could feel his gaze piercing through every hidden corner of her soul.
Unable to endure that silent interrogation any longer, she looked away.
Around them, the underground sanctuary continued to change.
The symbols carved into the stone pulsed more and more faintly now that the release ritual had ended, and the air slowly lost the electric tension that had once filled it.
The magic was fading away like a retreating tide.
“You claim to come from a place called Manchester,” he finally said in a thoughtful voice.
“That name means nothing to me.
But it does not matter.
You will come with me, whether you wish to or not.” “What?
No, wait—” Before she could protest or ask another question, he made a sweeping motion with his hand.
The ground trembled violently beneath their feet, and Chen Yue realized with horror that he was destroying the entire sanctuary.
“What are you doing?!” The explosion of power that followed surpassed anything she could have imagined.
The ancient walls shattered with a deafening roar, the massive ceiling collapsed, and the entire underground sanctuary disintegrated beneath the devastating force of his unleashed magic.
Boulders weighing tons flew through the air like dead leaves caught in a storm.
At the same time, he lifted her effortlessly with one arm as though she weighed nothing and soared into the sky, carrying her far away from the chaos.
She screamed, instinctively clinging to him as they literally flew through the air.
We’re flying!
We’re actually flying!
They passed through layers of reality she could not comprehend, hurtling at terrifying speed through the abyss.
The world became nothing more than a blur of light and color.
Her stomach twisted violently.
Terrified, she shut her eyes.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, they landed atop a majestic mountain peak.
Chen Yue’s eyes widened at the breathtaking landscape spread beneath her feet.
Moonlight bathed the snowy peaks in silver radiance, creating a scene so beautiful it stole the breath from her lungs.
Far away, she could see a village glowing with floating lanterns drifting through the night.
Beneath them stretched an endless sea of pale clouds illuminated faintly by the moon.
The air was pure, freezing cold, and filled with an energy unlike anything she had ever felt before.
This is impossible.
All of this is impossible.
And yet… “Where are we?” she whispered, both awestruck and terrified by this world beyond imagination.
Her voice trembled.
So did her legs.
Shivers ran through her entire body.
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