Despair

Liu was in a state of shock. His mother lay before him, pierced through the chest by the enemy's blade, while the same hand that held the weapon now gripped his throat with a merciless strength. Everything seemed so clear, so simple, and yet his mind couldn't process the reality of the situation. It was as if his brain had shut down, unable to cope with the enormity of what was happening.

His head throbbed with pain, his eyes wide open in disbelief. He was frozen, paralyzed, trapped in a waking nightmare.

But then, a faint whisper cut through the chaos. "L-Liu..."

It was his mother's voice, and it brought him back to reality. He looked into her face, now pale and lifeless, and suddenly he could smell the metallic tang of blood in the air. The warm, tight grip around his neck was suffocating, but it was nothing compared to the horror of the scene before him.

And yet, despite the agony of her injuries, Mei's face was still as serene and beautiful as ever. Her angelic smile was a ray of light in the darkness that threatened to swallow him whole.

"Liu..." she murmured once more, and he saw the blood on her lips, the life slowly draining from her eyes. He knew, in that moment, that he was losing her forever.

"Liu..." Her voice trailed off, fading into nothingness. He knew it was the final time he would ever hear her speak.

The grip around Liu's throat tightened, making it difficult for him to speak. But his mother's face was a vision of serenity, even as she struggled to take her last breaths. Despite her wretched state, she still looked like the goddess he remembered, and Liu couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at her unwavering grace.

For the third time, she called out to him. "Liu," she whispered, her voice strained and coarse.

His response was shaky and hoarse, a consequence of the vice-like grip on his throat. But there was something deeper holding him back, something that prevented him from responding as he normally would. It was a sense of helplessness, of profound loss, that made it difficult for him to find the strength to answer.

Yet his mother's smile never faltered, and Liu found himself eagerly awaiting her next words. It was a familiar routine, one he had gone through many times before. She would tell him what to do, and he would obey without question.

But this time, her words were different. "Live," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. It was a simple command, but one that carried a weight of significance that Liu couldn't fully comprehend.

As she spoke, her final breath left her, and she closed her eyes for the last time. Liu watched as the last ember of life faded from her body, leaving her motionless and still.

He couldn't cry, couldn't scream, couldn't do anything. The reality of his mother's death hit him like a ton of bricks, and he felt himself slipping away into the darkness. The grip around his throat was already robbing him of consciousness, and he knew that his own life was in peril.

Liu's eyes blurred and his vision began to fade. Darkness crept in, but before he descended into its abyss, a radiant light pierced through the veil. It was purer and brighter than anything he had ever witnessed.

The light seemed to emanate from his mother, whose form slowly rose toward the heavens. Liu knew, deep within his being, that this luminosity was his mother's spirit, ascending to an even greater expanse of light.

As Liu watched his mother's ascent, he felt himself descending further into the darkness. Her last words echoed in his mind, urging him to live on.

"Liu... live."

The words reverberated within him, and before he realized it, he had whispered a response.

"Yes, Mum."

As Liu disappeared into the void, he made a promise to his mother, to live on and fulfill her wishes.