The battlefield was chaos. Xiao Lian's blade cut through the undead warriors, their hollow eyes glowing as they fell and reassembled, cursed to fight forever. The weight of battle pressed against her bones, but she refused to stop. They had to end this. They had to break free.
Ji Ren fought beside her, his strikes sharp despite his injuries. Qin Ziyan lagged slightly behind, his movements uncertain, but right now, Xiao Lian had no time to think about him.
Because something was wrong. A strange sensation crawled down her spine, making her chest tighten.
It wasn't fear. It wasn't exhaustion. It was recognition. She felt it before she saw it. A presence. A memory. A shadow of something long buried.
Then, through the sea of puppet-like warriors, she saw a face. Xiao Lian's heart stopped. Time itself seemed to slow as she locked eyes with the figure standing just beyond the battlefield.
A man.Dressed in familiar crimson robes, a broken blade in his hands. His hair was silver-white, streaked with crimson as if blood had permanently stained it. His face...sharp, commanding—was twisted with sorrow.
And his eyes…They were looking right at her. Not past her. Not through her. At her. It was impossible. She knew him. She knew him.
Her mind reeled, flashes of forgotten memories trying to surface, like whispers slipping through her fingers.
His name—she almost remembered his name. But the moment she reached for it, pain stabbed through her skull. Xiao Lian gasped, stumbling back.
SIS's voice rang in her head.
"Warning: You are experiencing a memory echo. Do not attempt full recall."
But Xiao Lian barely heard it.
Because the silver-haired man moved. He stepped forward, his tattered robes shifting with the wind. And then, he spoke. His voice was hoarse, as if it had been dragged through centuries of suffering.
"You are alive."
It wasn't a question. It was a statement. A realization.
Xiao Lian's breath hitched. How could he see her? How could he recognize her?
This battlefield was filled with the remnants of the past, warriors trapped in a never-ending cycle. None of them had shown awareness. None of them had spoken.
But this man…He knew her And she knew, deep in her soul, that she had once fought beside him.
Ji Ren called her name, but she barely heard him. Her feet moved on their own, stepping toward the ghost of her past.
The man's expression twisted into something unreadable—pain, hope, desperation. Then, he lifted his broken blade and pointed it at her.
"Prove it." A cold shiver ran through her.
Xiao Lian's fingers tightened around her sword. "Prove what?"
His grip on his weapon tightened. "That you are still you."
Then, without warning, he attacked.
Xiao Lian barely dodged. The force of his strike sent a sharp gust of wind slicing through the battlefield, knocking back the undead warriors caught in its path.
This wasn't an ordinary opponent. This was a warrior of the Crimson Feather Sect. One of her warriors. She gritted her teeth and met his next strike, their blades clashing with a sound that rang through the battlefield.
The force of it nearly knocked her back. He was strong. Stronger than any of the mindless puppets they had fought before.
Because he wasn't just a memory.
He still had his will.
Ji Ren cursed, stepping forward, but Xiao Lian raised a hand to stop him.
"No!" she shouted.
Ji Ren froze, confused. "Are you insane?! He's attacking you!"
Xiao Lian kept her gaze locked on the silver-haired man.
"This is different," she murmured. "I need to do this."
Ji Ren hesitated, but reluctantly took a step back.
The man, her former ally watched her carefully, his expression unreadable. Then, he attacked again. Their blades danced, sparks flying as steel met steel. And with every strike, more memories stirred.
Flashes of battle. The sound of laughter beneath the cherry blossoms. A promise whispered under the blood moon.
His voice, younger, softer. "No matter what happens, I will stand by your side."
Xiao Lian gasped as another memory slammed into her, nearly knocking her off balance.
The man's blade came for her throat. At the last second, she twisted, dodging just in time. She landed in a crouch, panting. He stopped, watching her with something close to relief. Then, he spoke again.
"You remember."
Xiao Lian's fingers trembled. "Not everything."
The man's expression darkened. "Then leave before it's too late."
Before she could question him, SIS's voice rang in her head again.
"Urgent Warning: Full memory restoration will come at a cost. Do not proceed."
A chill ran down her spine.
"What cost?" she whispered.
SIS hesitated. Then:
"Your past life was erased, not ended naturally. If you force a full recall, the seal will break, and everything that was buried will return."
Xiao Lian's stomach twisted.
What did that mean? She turned to the silver-haired man, desperate for answers. But his expression was grim.
"You are not ready," he said.
Before she could respond, the battlefield trembled. The undead warriors around them stopped fighting, their hollow eyes flickering.
A deep, rumbling voice filled the sky.
"This battle must not end."
The ground cracked beneath them. A dark energy surged, spreading like ink through the battlefield.
The man, the ghost of her past, looked at Xiao Lian one last time. Then, he whispered something. Something she couldn't hear. And just like that...The battlefield shattered.
Xiao Lian woke up on cold stone. Her breath came in ragged gasps as she sat up, her body trembling.
Ji Ren was beside her, shaking her shoulder. "Hey! What the hell just happened? One second we were fighting, the next—"
She barely heard him. Her gaze snapped to her hands.They were shaking.
The memories were slipping away again, fading like mist. But one thing remained. One thing she knew.
Her past wasn't just lost. It was taken..And whoever had buried it didn't want her to remember. Her jaw tightened. Too bad. Because she was going to uncover the truth.No matter the cost.