Someone awoke in the void.
The woman in the crimson-black Robe of Law slowly rose. Her features were gentle and lovely, her eyes bewildered. She looked ahead, but there was only endless darkness, without a glimmer of light. At some point, a Mysterious Branch had appeared in her arms. A faint Greater Yin radiance shone from it, illuminating the way ahead and revealing a long bridge suspended in the void. [Linked Branches]
The bridge was made of wood, a lifeless blue-green in color, and stretched deep into the void.
Desolation stirred in her heart. She felt she had forgotten something.
"Who am I?"
Thunder rumbled behind her, filling her heart with fear. She covered her ears.
Just then, a blue-green Divine Crow descended from above and walked ahead, seemingly urging her onward. Its cries were frantic and mournful, making her increasingly uneasy.
At the end of the long bridge, a figure manifested.
It was a man who had been beheaded. He wore a crimson-black immortal robe, and blood dripped ceaselessly beside him. In his arms, he too held a verdant branch shimmering with Greater Yin light.
[Yearning]
"Lianyi."
His voice was gentle, yet tears spilled from her eyes against her will.
"Who are you?"
"Ye Jie."
As his name reached her ears, memories of the past surfaced. Though blurred, they struck deep, making her heart ache as though sliced by a knife. Trembling, she stepped forward and took his hand, looking at his scarred body and the neck that bled without cease.
"Does it hurt?"
"To shelter all living beings, this pain is nothing."
The man took her hand and walked step by step off the bridge. Light welled up ahead, revealing green mountains and a jade-green lake.
They reached the mountaintop and looked down. A voice sounded from the