"In this world, some names are carved in gold.
Others are burned into bone."
---
Li Yuan didn't speak right away. His fox ears twitched slightly, trying to hide the tension in his body as he held Moria close.
"Xuanyu?" he finally repeated, voice low. "You remember him?"
Moria's fingers loosened on his robe. She blinked, eyes slowly clearing. "Not all. Just… pieces. A sword of fire and black water. He stood beneath a bleeding sky and called me his anchor."
Jiang, who had just finished throwing up from his turn with the mirror (which apparently showed him dancing in a chicken suit), looked between them. "Who the hell is Xuanyu?"
Moria didn't answer. Instead, she rose to her feet and stared at the now-quiet gate.
"I saw a war. Seven gods falling from the sky. And that name—he screamed it when he fell into the dark."
Li Yuan frowned deeply. "Xuanyu was executed centuries ago for challenging the divine order. They say he betrayed the god Arios and tried to open Moria's domain to mortals."
"He didn't betray," Moria murmured. "He was betrayed."
And for the first time in a long while, her voice trembled.
---
Elsewhere, in a temple draped in crimson silk…
A high priest kneeled before a stone carved with Arios' flame. A pale man with eyes like dead moons approached behind him.
"The Mirror of Qiao has been activated," the pale man whispered.
The priest bowed his head. "Then the cursed goddess has begun her return."
"You doubt the prophecy?"
"I doubt everything. Even Arios. Even fate."
The pale man grinned, revealing fangs. "Then you'll like the next part. The Gatekeeper's seal was broken. And the Mirror showed her Xuanyu."
The priest gasped.
"She remembers?"
"She will."
---
Back with the trio…
The group made camp far from the gate, settling near a ruined tower overrun with moon-blossoms.
Jiang snored peacefully in his bedroll, probably dreaming of not being chased by his reflection.
Li Yuan, however, stayed awake.
Moria sat by the edge of a dying fire, hands clasped, gaze distant. The moonlight painted her face in silver, her expression unreadable.
"You were in love with him, weren't you?" Li Yuan asked softly, not looking at her.
Moria didn't answer right away.
Then: "I don't remember. But my heart ached when I saw him. That kind of pain doesn't come from nothing."
Li Yuan nodded slowly. He hated the feeling in his chest—tight, bitter, uncertain. But he didn't speak it.
Instead, he offered her a cup of warmed fruit wine.
She smiled faintly and took it.
Moments passed. Quiet. Almost peaceful.
Until the tower behind them groaned.
Then screamed.
From its cracked stone doorway, a woman with skin made of stitched masks crawled out, each mask laughing or crying or moaning. Her fingers were twisted into claws, her voice like broken flutes.
"I see you," she crooned.
Li Yuan was on his feet, blade drawn.
Jiang snorted and rolled over.
Moria rose slowly, placing her cup aside.
"You're from the Pale Sect," she said. "The Witch of Borrowed Faces."
The creature giggled. "Goddess of Life and Death, so beautiful you'd make even my masks cry. And fox prince… still so proud, still so lonely."
She bowed mockingly.
"I bring a message from Madam Xunyi. She says: 'Run, little gods. The hounds are already sniffing.'"
Then she lunged.
But before she could even reach them, Moria lifted one hand.
A single word.
"Collapse."
The witch froze.
Then her masks peeled off one by one, turning to ash in the wind.
She collapsed with a shudder, and her real face—plain, frightened, and young—was revealed for just a moment before it, too, disintegrated.
Silence fell.
Jiang finally woke up.
"Eh? Who screamed? Did someone touch my peaches again?"
---
Later that night…
Li Yuan sat alone by the fire, sharpening his sword.
Moria approached, holding a small red blossom from the tower vines.
She handed it to him.
"A moonblossom?" he said, raising an eyebrow.
"It only blooms when someone lies near the truth," she said softly. "I think we're close. To the flower, to the truth… and to each other."
He met her gaze.
Something electric passed between them.
But before either could speak, her system buzzed—
[New Quest Unlocked:
"Find the Remains of the War Prince.
Optional: Restore His Name.
Warning: Emotional Instability Imminent."]
Moria sighed and whispered, "Of course. Nothing's ever simple."
---
End of Chapter 23