Echoes from the Ice Abyss

At the heart of the Far North lay an absolute silence that could freeze even time.

There was no wind, no light—only an eternal, deep blue expanse. Massive glaciers, like the toppled pillars of a temple, stood in disarray, supporting this forgotten abyss. And at the deepest point of the ice lay a breathtaking streak of gold and silver.

His black hair had been frozen in ice crystals, yet he still maintained an unyielding posture, his arms tightly wrapped around her. Her silver hair flowed like moonlight, and on her stunning face was frozen an expression woven from relief and endless sorrow.

They were prisoners of ten thousand years, monuments to love—Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena.

Suddenly, an almost imperceptible crack rang out in the absolute silence, like the first note sounded at the birth of the world.

A vein-like crack split open from within the layer of mysterious ice sealing them. Then came a second, a third... The fractures spread like a spiderweb, not from any external force, but because the Dragon God bloodline within them—born of the same source, existing together, calling to one another—had finally stirred again after its long slumber.

Buzz—

A faint yet incomparably pure breath of life spilled from Tang Wulin's body. Like the first tender shoot of early spring, it stubbornly pushed through the solid ice. Almost at the same time, a trace of cool silver radiance rippled across Gu Yuena's body, gently intertwining with that golden aura.

The ice began to melt.

Not in a violent collapse, but in a gentle dissolution. The hard mysterious ice transformed into curling white mist, wrapping around them like a massive cocoon.

No one knew how much time passed before the arm Tang Wulin had wrapped around Gu Yuena trembled slightly.

The frost on his eyelashes melted into droplets and slid down like tears. Those eyes, shut for ten thousand years, opened with difficulty, slowly.

There was no light in his dark pupils, only boundless confusion and emptiness. He had awakened, but ten thousand years of ice and the wounds in his soul had made him forget everything.

Who am I?

Where is this?

The person in my arms... who is she?

He instinctively lowered his head and looked at the woman imprisoned in his embrace, whom he had guarded with his life. At that moment, his heart began to pound uncontrollably. An indescribable flutter and piercing pain from the depths of his soul swept over him at once. He did not remember her, but his soul did.

Gently, with the utmost care, he tried to loosen his arms. Having been fixed in place for so long, his limbs were stiff, and this simple movement destabilized the surrounding ice.

Crack...

A chunk of shattered ice fell from above. Almost instinctively, Tang Wulin pulled the woman in his arms close once more, shielding her with his broad back against that insignificant danger.

Bang. The ice struck his back and shattered into powder.

He froze. Why... why had he done that? Protecting her seemed to be an instinct carved into his bones, deeper than memory and more important than life itself.

Just then, Gu Yuena's brow furrowed slightly, and an extremely soft, pained moan escaped her lips. She was about to awaken as well.

Tang Wulin held his breath, seized by an inexplicable tension. He watched her as though waiting for an entire world to descend. The person before him was the most indispensable part of his life, and someone he would never forget in this lifetime. Yet as he gazed at her delicate face, a splitting headache suddenly struck him. A flash of silver, and two tear tracks beneath the faint smile of the woman before him, suddenly appeared in his mind. He desperately tried to remember something, but he could not remember anything.