A reunion in the cracks of time

The embers of the great battle had yet to die. Turbulent energy tore at the clouds, staining heaven and earth a somber gray.

I was no longer the boy who had run down Shrek's tree-lined paths with his Golden Dragon Claw clenched. Golden draconic might slumbered in my blood; the Golden Dragon King and the Sea God's Power had long since become one, and the majestic aura of the Gold Dragon wreathed me. Life, death, and separation had carved their weathered marks into my face. I stood alone amid the ruins, my heart filled with a loneliness that ate into my bones.

I had lost too much.

Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger no longer streaked across the sky. Ye Xinglan's Stargod Sword lay sealed beneath the dust of passing years. Xu Xiaoyan's Star Staff never lit the night sky again. Yuanen Yehui's Titan Giant Ape and fallen angel martial soul had fallen silent. Yue Zhengyu's divine angel no longer spread its wings, and Xu Lizhi's food martial soul would never bloom again. My companions, Shrek's Six Monsters, had remained forever in that catastrophe, dissolving into the river of time.

And she, bound to me by blood, haunting my soul and dreams, had left only a wisp of her soul behind, leaving me to keep vigil over endless regret.

As my fingertips brushed the mottled bloodstains on the Golden Dragon Spear, a cool, pure aura suddenly struck my senses. It carried the warmth and lively grace unique to the Silver Dragon-a familiar presence etched into my very bones and blood.

I spun around.

In the faint glow of a rift in spacetime stood a girl with long silver-blue hair. Her star-silver eyes were clear and bright, her features still youthful-the very face I had called to mind countless times. She looked at me with unfamiliarity in her eyes, yet an instinctive closeness lingered there too. The tips of her ears were faintly red as her fingers gently clutched my sleeve, her voice as soft as starlight crumbled into dust:

"C-carry me on your back a little longer. I'm a bit unsteady on my feet."

Those words were a key, instantly unlocking every defense I had.

Countless times, I had carried her along Shrek's stone-paved paths, through the thorny undergrowth of the Star Dou Forest, through those bright, burning days before fate bore down upon us. Back then, we still had Xie Xie's boisterous shouts, Xu Xiaoyan's laughter, Yuanen Yehui's retreating silhouette. The laughter of the seven of us could drown out the wind across the entire continent.

Yet the girl before me had none of those later farewells in her eyes, none of the smoke of battle-only pure trust and shy dependence. She did not recognize this weather-beaten version of me, yet instinctively felt safe.

My Adam's apple bobbed. My voice was terribly hoarse, yet tender enough to drown in:

"All right."

I crouched down, holding my back straight like a mountain that would never topple. The girl carefully climbed onto my back, wrapped her arms around my neck, and rested her cheek against its warmth, murmuring:

"You... seem a lot taller than the Tang Wulin I know. A lot stronger, too."

I turned my head slightly, catching the faint fragrance of grass and trees in her hair-the scent of her most innocent years. Step by steady step, I walked forward, over shattered rubble and fragments of turbulent energy, as though I were treading through the cracks of time, walking back-

Back to the years when we could still act spoiled without restraint, when we could still stand side by side and see all of the Douluo Continent.

"I've always been here."

My voice was low and firm.

And deep in my heart, another voice thundered:

Not only would I hold on to the girl before me, but I would also find every one of the companions who had been stolen from me and bring them back from the river of time.

The Shrek Seven Monsters had to reunite.

!?

At "The Shrek Seven Monsters had to reunite."

I would have them stand beside me once more, shoulder to shoulder, taking in these boundless mountains and rivers, with no more partings.

"I've always been here."

My voice was low and firm.

The Shrek Seven Monsters had to reunite. I would have them stand beside me once more, shoulder to shoulder, taking in these boundless mountains and rivers, with no more partings.