"You found me. But you're already too late." Meng Yao stood at the edge of a cliff, her back to the void, her face to the light. Tears streamed down her cheeks, catching the glow of the fractures like liquid starlight. She didn't turn around. She didn't need to. She knew he was there. Chen Mo stood twenty feet away, his body broken, his scales falling like autumn leaves. He had walked through darkness for months. He had fought creatures that had no names. He had died a hundred times and kept walking. And now, here she was. Close enough to touch. Close enough to lose. "Too late for what?" he asked. "To save me." --- He took a step forward. She held up her hand. Not to stop him. To warn him. "Don't." "Why?" "Because if you get any closer, I won't be able to do what I have to do." "What do you have to do?" She finally turned. Her gray eyes were red. Her lips were cracked. Her face was thinner than he remembered. "I have to jump." --- He froze. "You can't be serious." "

"The garden was not what she expected. It was beautiful. And that was the most terrifying thing of all."Meng Yao opened her eyes. She was not in the void. Not in darkness. Not in cold. She was in a garden.Flowers bloomed around her. Not ordinary flowers. Crystal flowers. Light flowers. Flowers that pulsed with the heartbeat of creation itself. Trees rose above her. Not trees of wood. Trees of starlight. Trees of memory. Trees of everything that had ever been and everything that ever would be."What is this place?" she whispered."Home," a voice said. "This is home."---She turned.The Devourer stood before her. Not a monster. Not a void. A figure. A presence. A being of pure light and shadow, of creation and destruction, of everything and nothing."You're not what I expected," she said."I know.""You're not a monster.""I never was."---The Devourer ste

"The garden was not empty. Someone else was there."Meng Yao stood in the center of the crystal flowers, her gray eyes fixed on a figure she had never seen before. He was tall. Ancient. His body was covered in golden scales. His eyes burned with amber fire."The First Sovereign," she breathed."Yes.""You're... you're him.""I am what remains of him."---He stepped closer.His presence was overwhelming. Suffocating. Absolute. But it was also gentle. Almost tender."I've been waiting for you," he said."For how long?""For a thousand years."---Meng Yao's heart pounded.She had heard the stories. The founder of the Primordial Bloodline. The one who started everything. The one who cursed her love."Why?" she asked. "Why did you curse us?""I didn't curse you. I tried to save you.""Save us?""The Devourer. It was

"Forever was a long time. And Chen Mo had never been good at staying still."He stood in the garden, his scales black, his eyes empty, his heart cold. Meng Yao was beside him, her hand in his, her smile warm. The Devourer was everywhere, watching, waiting, hoping.And Chen Mo was trapped."You're quiet," Meng Yao said."I'm thinking.""About what?""About everything."---She squeezed his hand.Her grip was warm. Steady. Strong. But it wasn't the same. Nothing was the same."You're not happy," she said."I'm happy.""You're lying.""I'm not.""You're lying. I can feel it."---He pulled away.He walked to the edge of the garden. The void stretched beyond, endless and cold and empty."What do you want from me?" he asked."I want you to stay.""Why?""Because I love you.""That's