The wind carried the taste of ash.
Jian Wu and Yue Shan walked through the cracked valley, following a narrow path that led deeper underground. The ruins of the Temple of Silence were gone, replaced by a massive chasm that breathed faint blue light.
Yue Shan stopped at the edge, squinting. "You sure about this? Because that looks like death."
Jian Wu stared down the dark pit. "The caretaker said the Void never destroys, it reveals. Maybe this is what he meant."
"Yeah, or maybe it's a bottomless hole waiting to eat us alive."
Jian Wu smirked faintly. "Then we'll find out together."
Without another word, he jumped.
"Jian, damn it!" Yue Shan cursed and leapt after him.
---
They fell for several seconds before a pulse of blue energy wrapped around them like air itself turning solid.
Their descent slowed, and they landed gently on a surface made of black stone that glowed from within, as if the floor itself was breathing.
Yue Shan exhaled hard. "Next time, warn me before you try dying."
Jian Wu ignored the comment. He looked ahead—
The cavern stretched far beyond what human eyes could see. Towering structures stood in the dark, shaped like ancient towers, connected by bridges made of light. The entire place shimmered faintly, alive yet silent.
"This isn't just a ruin," Jian Wu murmured. "It's… a city."
Yue Shan stepped forward, boots echoing softly. "You think people still live here?"
"Not people," Jian Wu said quietly. "Remnants."
---
They moved through the empty streets.
Strange markings glowed on the walls, symbols similar to the ones he saw in the temple. The deeper they went, the stronger the air felt, pressing against their chests like invisible hands.
Jian Wu stopped in front of a large stone gate. On its surface was carved a single word: VESSEL.
Yue Shan frowned. "That word again. What does it mean here?"
Before Jian Wu could answer, the gate opened on its own.
A low hum filled the air, and cold wind rushed past them.
Inside, dozens of pods lined the hall, transparent capsules filled with pale light.
Inside each one… was a body.
Some looked human. Others didn't.
Yue Shan froze. "What the hell…"
Jian Wu walked closer, his eyes narrowing. The bodies were still, preserved as if time had forgotten them.
Each had a mark on their chest, the same blue symbol as his, but dim and cracked.
"They were like me," Jian Wu whispered. "Failed vessels."
Yue Shan looked around, horrified. "Failed? As in… dead?"
Jian Wu nodded slightly. "The Void devoured them. Their bodies couldn't hold it."
He pressed his hand against the glass of one pod. The moment he did, it pulsed faintly, responding to his touch.
The blue mark on his chest flickered in sync.
Then, a voice echoed through the chamber. Not human, metallic, layered, like multiple voices speaking at once.
"Vessel recognized.
Sequence awakening."
Yue Shan drew his sword instantly. "I hate that sound."
The floor trembled. The pods began to glow one by one.
From the far end of the hall, light gathered, shaping into a figure, tall, human-shaped, but made entirely of shifting energy.
---
Jian Wu stepped back. "Who are you?"
The figure's voice was calm, but not kind.
"I am the Keeper of the Forgotten. Guardian of the failed."
"You're saying these people", Jian Wu gestured to the pods "were part of something?"
"They were the first experiments. When the world tried to create gods, it made mistakes. You are what remains of those mistakes."
Yue Shan spat. "Great. So my best friend's a walking accident."
Jian Wu ignored him. "Why bring me here?"
"Because the balance you restored above will not last. The Sky Sect is moving to control the core of the new world.
If they succeed, the cycle repeats.
The Vessels will rise again, without souls this time."
Jian Wu's fists clenched. "And you want me to stop them?"
"No," the Keeper said. "You must replace them."
"What?"
"Your existence is unstable. The Void within you hungers. Either you become the anchor that stabilizes this world… or it collapses."
Yue Shan looked at him sharply. "Anchor? That sounds like dying."
The Keeper's form shifted, light flickering like a heartbeat.
"Life and death are names. Purpose is the truth."
Jian Wu stared down, his breath uneven. "I'm tired of being everyone's solution."
"You were never chosen. You simply survived."
Jian Wu's expression hardened. "Then I'll choose this time."
---
The Keeper's gaze seemed to pierce through him.
"Choice comes with consequence. The moment you anchor the Void, your existence will merge with it. You will lose yourself."
Yue Shan stepped between them. "Then find another way! You hear me, tin ghost? We didn't crawl through half the continent for him to just—"
"Silence."
The word carried weight. The air rippled, forcing Yue Shan to his knees.
Jian Wu shouted, "Stop!"
The Keeper paused.
"You command the Void without knowing it. That alone proves what you are."
"Then listen," Jian Wu said, voice low. "If this world needs an anchor, I'll do it. But not as a puppet of heaven or machine. I'll do it my way."
The Keeper's light flickered, like it was… amused.
"Then prove it."
---
The chamber exploded with light.
Wind howled through the cavern as energy swirled around Jian Wu, pulling him upward. The pods shattered one by one, releasing streams of pure energy that rushed toward him.
Yue Shan yelled over the noise, "Jian! What are you doing!?"
Jian Wu clenched his jaw, struggling to stay conscious as the energy tore at him. "Finishing what they started!"
The Keeper raised a hand.
"You are rewriting the pattern. Hold fast, Vessel."
Pain shot through Jian Wu's body. He could feel every heartbeat burning, every breath turning to fire.
His vision blurred, images flashing too fast to make sense: the temple, Mei Xue's face, the burning sky, the river of light.
He screamed. "AARGHHH!"
The blue light on his chest expanded, spreading veins of energy across his arms and neck. The ground shook.
Yue Shan ran toward him. "Stop! You'll burn yourself out!"
Jian Wu opened his eyes, and for a second, they glowed white-blue, calm and empty.
Then everything went still.
---
When the light faded, Jian Wu was on his knees, smoke rising from his skin.
The Keeper stood motionless.
Yue Shan ran to him, kneeling beside him. "Hey! Say something!"
Jian Wu lifted his head slowly. His eyes were normal again, but the mark on his chest was gone.
"Where… is it?" Yue Shan asked.
Jian Wu looked at his hands. "It's not gone. It's everywhere."
The Keeper spoke, its voice softer now.
"The anchor is complete. The world will hold for now."
Jian Wu stood with effort. "And what happens next?"
"The world waits. And you… live, until it calls again."
Then, the light faded. The Keeper vanished. The pods were gone, leaving only silence and dust.
---
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Only their breathing filled the vast, hollow city.
Yue Shan sat down hard, wiping sweat from his face. "If this is what 'saving the world' feels like, I'd rather retire."
Jian Wu gave a faint laugh, short, tired, but real.
"For once, I agree with you."
He turned toward the exit. "Come on. Let's go see if the surface still exists."
As they walked, Yue Shan glanced back at the empty hall. "You think the others, the ones in those pods can finally rest?"
Jian Wu didn't answer right away. "Maybe. Maybe they were just waiting for someone to remember them."
The echo of their footsteps followed them up the long path toward the light above.
---
Outside, the sky was still gray, but the air felt… lighter.
Jian Wu took a deep breath. For the first time, the silence didn't feel heavy, it felt alive.
Yue Shan stretched, wincing. "So, what now?"
Jian Wu looked at the horizon. "We keep walking."
"To where?"
He smiled fa
intly. "Until the world forgets how to fall apart again."
They walked side by side, leaving the crater behind.
But far below, deep inside the city that no longer slept, a faint heartbeat echoed in the dark.
The failed vessels… were not completely gone.