Suddenly, the background vanished, and they were no longer in Chen Yi's room. The space around them shifted into an eerie black void, and Chen Yuxuan had disappeared without a trace. "Guys...?" Li Xue called out, her voice echoing through the emptiness.
"I'm here," a deep voice replied, familiar yet distant. Li Xue's heart skipped as she recognized it instantly.
"Chen Yi! Where are you? I can't see you!" she shouted.
Without warning, Li Xue's jade, held securely in her palm, began to glow. A bright red light bathed the air around her, and the jade floated upwards, guiding her forward. The light seemed to pulse, beckoning her to follow. She hesitated but then decided to trust it, trailing the flickering glow as a blurry pinkish hue entered her vision.
"Hua Rong!" Li Xue called out urgently.
"I'm here, Li Xue!" Hua Rong's voice came, albeit tinged with confusion. "Why is the jade glowing like that?"
"I don't kno—" Li Xue began, but before she could finish, Hua Rong interrupted with her usual ranting.
"Seriously? Why is it pink?! What kind of color is that?"
Li Xue's mouth twitched, clearly exasperated, before she smacked Hua Rong on the head. "Idiot, you're worried about the color? Let's just find Chen Yi!"
As they continued their search, Li Xue finally spotted him—Chen Yi, standing calmly at the center of the shifting void. His jade gleamed a cool, tranquil blue.
"Chen Yi!" Li Xue rushed toward him, relief flooding her chest.
Hua Rong's eyes darted to the blue jade in confusion. "Wait a second... Why is yours blue? This is getting weird."
Li Xue shook her head, grinning at Hua Rong's eternal need for clarification. "I bet it's because your a hopeless romantic," she teased, glancing at her own glowing red jade. "Red's about independence and strength. Not like you—just looking for any excuse to complain."
Chen Yi, ever the composed one, raised an eyebrow at Li Xue's explanation. "That's not it, red shows anger or loyalty." he said calmly, his tone dismissive but amused. "However, the colors have a deeper meaning than that. It's not about your personality."
Before Li Xue could respond with a retort, a new voice echoed through the void.
Chen Yuxuan appeared suddenly, stepping out of the shadows with a knowing smile. "He's right," he said, his presence calm yet undeniably authoritative. "Each jade represents your true potential, your power. The colors show what you're most connected to."
He turned his attention to Hua Rong, his expression warming with approval. "Hua Rong, yours is pink because you have the ability to control nature and plants. You're deeply connected to the earth."
Li Xue's eyes widened, impressed. "Wait, so you can... talk to plants?" she asked, half-joking.
Hua Rong huffed, clearly flustered. "I'm not a plant whisperer, okay?"
Chen Yuxuan continued, his gaze shifting to Chen Yi. "And Chen Yi, your blue jade reflects your command over the oceans and winds. Your calm nature helps you control the flow of water and air with ease."
Li Xue's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "That's actually really cool."
"And you," Chen Yuxuan said, turning to Li Xue with a slight smile. Li Xue eyes shimmered with excitement. "You seem to have a system of your own, though it's... less than useful right now."
Li Xue stared at him, completely lost. "A system? What do you mean by that?"
Chen Yi let out a quiet chuckle, his jade still glowing faintly in the background. "It looks like you've been assigned something... but it's not as straightforward as our powers. You'll figure it out. Probably."
Li Xue's eyes narrowed, confusion and frustration mixing within her. "Well, that's just great," she muttered. "I get stuck with a dumb system, while you two get to control cool things like wind and plants!"
Chen Yuxuan chuckled darkly, a mischievous glint in his eyes. With a smooth flick of his wrist, a fan materialized in his hand, unfolding with a snap. The intricate design on the fan shimmered as he playfully waved it, the sound of a soft breeze accompanying his movements. "Hope you like portals," he sang, his voice light and teasing, but there was an edge to it.
"Wait—" Hua Rong started, her voice full of confusion, trying to make sense of what was happening. Her eyes widened as she looked at the swirling darkness forming before them.
In an instant, a black hole ripped open the air in front of them, a vortex of twisting shadows and light, its pull undeniable and immense. The air around them began to distort as the force of the portal grew stronger. Before any of them could react, the edges of the portal expanded rapidly, and the world around them seemed to collapse in on itself.
"NO!" Li Xue shouted, but the words barely left her mouth before the force of the portal's pull yanked them in. The black hole swallowed them whole, their bodies tumbling into the swirling abyss. A chaotic mixture of colors, lights, and darkness enveloped them as they screamed, their voices lost in the roar of the portal's relentless pull. They spun uncontrollably, unable to hold on to anything as the world around them fractured into pieces.
Chen Yuxuan, standing at the edge of the portal, looked at the chaos for a moment. His lips curled into a smirk, his fan snapping shut with a sharp sound. "Ah, young ones... Always in such a hurry to get somewhere," he murmured, shaking his head with playful amusement. With a dramatic flourish, he snapped his fan open again and stepped forward, following them into the swirling void.
The portal pulsed with an eerie light as Chen Yuxuan vanished into it, the vortex closing behind him with a quiet, ominous snap. For a brief moment, all was silent, the world holding its breath. Then, the chaos of the swirling energy intensified as the portal expanded and contracted, opening wide to consume anything and everything in its path.