Ch 28 – The Memory That Broke the Sky
The chamber was silent, lit only by the dim flicker of the ever-burning lanterns. Rui Xuan lay motionless on the bed, his breaths shallow, skin pallid, as if the life tethered within him had been stretched thin.
Then—
A twitch.
A spasm.
A surge beneath the surface.
His fingers jerked.
A sharp jolt cracked through his chest like lightning striking dry stone, and his entire body convulsed with a stifled cry. The silk sheets rustled violently as his back arched, breath catching mid-sleep.
A dream clawed through him.
No—not a dream.
A memory.
It slammed into him like a wave that had been waiting centuries to return.
---
Fragmented Visions
Dark skies tore open with screams of divine wrath.
The smell of scorched blood, ash, and thunder filled the air. The battlefield was chaos—celestial arrows shrieking through the heavens, bodies falling, the divine realm collapsing like a burning scroll.
And in the eye of that storm—
He saw himself.
Silver-robed. Barefoot. Kneeling over a blood-soaked altar.
His hands trembled, drenched in red. Words of power tumbled from his mouth even as blood spilled from his lips.
Across from him—
Mo Jue.
On his knees. A divine blade lodged deep in his chest. Silent. Motionless. Crimson eyes wide with pain—not from the wound, but from betrayal.
Yet this was not the end.
The dream spiraled deeper.
Downward.
Backward.
To a place the light of war had long buried.
---
Years Before the War – Flashback
A boy. Scrawny. Barefoot. Silver hair tangled, skin bruised, ribs showing beneath torn fabric. Shackles weighed down his ankles, too tight for a child's legs.
He huddled in the shadows of stone pillars, a creature surviving rather than living.
His breath was quiet—too quiet. Trained to be that way.
"You are not worthy of divine blood," came the voice. Harsh. Cruel. Ringing through the hall like thunder. "You are filth left after the devils fell."
The whip cracked again.
The boy didn't cry. He hadn't cried in years. Not when his food was stolen. Not when the chains burned. Not when he was locked away for nights alone.
But that day—
Someone stood between him and the whip.
A blinding figure stepped forward, robe unwrinkled, golden sash still gleaming.
Rui Xuan.
"I said, enough."
His voice was steel wrapped in frost.
The priest—the boy's foster father—sneered. "Will you protect a demon, Celestial Guardian? Will you claim this filth as kin?"
Rui Xuan did not flinch. "I'll do more. I'll give him my name, if that is what it takes to keep him alive."
Silence fell like snow.
Later, when the hall emptied and no one was there to watch—
The demon boy sat trembling, confused.
A hand reached toward him.
Steady. Warm. Human.
Mo Jue had stared at it for so long—
He never took it.
But from that moment, he never left.
Like a shadow cleaving to light,
He followed Rui Xuan.
Unseen. Unnoticed.
But always near.
And even though he never said the words—
He had been saved.
---
End of the War – Flashback
The heavens bled.
The last battle had left the world cracked, the stars darkened.
Rui Xuan stood atop the broken temple, robes torn and stained. His hands shook as he carved divine sigils in the air, mouth reciting the Celestial Seal with every ounce of his soul.
Mo Jue—his true form unleashed—was barely conscious. His body was a vessel of rage and sorrow, corrupted by the pain of the world, his own power slipping out of control.
Chains of starlight pierced through him, pinning him mid-air, holding back the chaos.
He tried to break free. "Rui Xuan, stop—You'll die!"
Rui Xuan smiled, even as blood trickled from his mouth.
"I know."
"Then why—?!"
"Because…"
His voice cracked.
"You're worth more than vengeance."
His hand reached forward.
And for one fleeting moment—he pressed his palm to Mo Jue's chest.
"Come back to me," he whispered. "Even if it takes lifetimes…"
The sigil completed.
The world ignited in celestial light.
And Rui Xuan's body disintegrated into thousands of shimmering particles—
Sacrificed to seal the one he loved.
Mo Jue's scream tore the sky apart.
---
Present – Chamber
Rui Xuan's eyes shot open.
A strangled gasp escaped his throat as his body jerked upward, drenched in cold sweat. He clutched the sheets, heart hammering like a war drum, breaths ragged.
His entire chest burned—not with pain, but with truth.
The dream—wasn't a dream.
It was real.
It was all real.
His lips quivered. Tears streamed down his face, hot and endless.
He had died.
To save Mo Jue.
He had died loving him.
And now—centuries later—
He had come back.
Returned to a world where Mo Jue had waited.
Waited without certainty, without a promise, without hope.
Rui Xuan's throat closed with grief, wonder, and something deeper.
"Jue…" he whispered hoarsely.
"I came back."
His voice cracked through the quiet room, filled with a thousand unsaid things.
"…Jue."
---
End of Chapter 28