Within the dream.
Bi Yao found herself standing in an endless darkness.
There was no light here, no sound, no time—only solitude.
She tried to struggle free, only to find herself unable to move.
Her body seemed to be bound in place by an invisible force.
Just as she was about to be swallowed by the darkness, a gentle voice suddenly rang out in her sea of consciousness.
"Child."
"My child."
"Do not be afraid."
"I am here."
Along with the voice, a warm, gentle radiance emerged from the darkness.
The light enveloped her cold body.
A warm and peaceful aura radiated from it.
That aura dispelled the fear in her heart and soothed her shattered soul.
"Who are you?"
Bi Yao looked at the warm light and asked timidly.
That gentle voice rang out in her sea of consciousness once more.
"My name is the Nether Holy Mother."
As the voice spoke, the warm light condensed before her into the phantom of a woman clad in a magnificent palace dress, her face filled with compassion.
A gentle smile rested on the woman's face, her eyes brimming with affection and pity.
"Holy Mother?"
Bi Yao stared at the woman's phantom and murmured to herself, her eyes full of confusion.
"Child."
The woman's phantom looked at her and spoke softly.
"I know you are in great pain and confusion right now."
"But do not be afraid."
"I will help you reclaim everything you have lost."
"And I will grant you the strength to protect yourself and those you love."
As she spoke, she extended her right hand, formed from light and shadow, and pressed it against Bi Yao's brow.
The next moment, before Bi Yao's horrified gaze, a vast and pure energy surged from the woman's fingertip into her sea of