Chen Wuya had just withdrawn his palm from the stone stele, and the warmth of blue light still lingered at his fingertips. Those memories receded like a tide, yet the young face in those visions remained impossible to dispel from before his eyes—a younger self clad in black, palms pressed against a gray-robed man's, bloodlight winding around their arms as they forged the Twinborn Curse.
He looked up at the guardian kneeling on the ground, his throat tightening.
"You said you're my past self?" His voice was soft, yet it weighed the very air down.
The guardian did not move. He merely slowly raised his head. His face remained hidden in the shadows of his gray-white robes, but his gaze was no longer gentle. Instead, it revealed an indescribable weariness.
"I am not you," he said. "I am merely someone who shares the same curse mark as you."
Bai Zhi had risen to her feet by then. Her steps were somewhat unsteady, but she still made her way to Chen Wuya's side. One hand rested on her sword hilt while the other gently brushed over her lower abdomen, her breathing slightly hurried.
"Don't go near him." She fixed her eyes on the guardian, her tone cold as ice.
The South Sea Dragon Maiden hovered in midair, cold qi around her condensing into tiny ice crystals as she prepared to strike at any moment. Her gaze swept across the guardian's neck, where that dark-red pattern remained clearly visible.
The guardian seemed unconcerned by their wariness. He slowly lifted a hand, pressed his fingertips to his cheek, then tore downward with force.
There was no blood, nor any sound of flesh tearing. Only a faint veil of light peeled away like mist, revealing a pale, gaunt face.
High brow bones, deeply sunken