The Underworld was not a cave. It was a dimension of gray water and weeping willows made of
bone.
The River of Forgetfulness flowed silently, carrying billions of glowing lights—souls—toward the
Wheel of Reincarnation.
Su Mei stood on the banks of the river. Behind her lay the wreckage of the Ten Yama Courts.
She had frozen the gates of hell. She had shattered the judges' podiums. The Kings of Hell
were currently encased in glaciers, their terrified expressions preserved for eternity.
She was the first living being to conquer the Underworld in a million years.
She scanned the river.
"Li Wei," she whispered. "Where are you?"
She used her Divine Sense. She filtered through the billions of souls. She looked for a specific
frequency—the frequency of the Golden Blood.
Most souls were white or blue. Li Wei's soul should be gold.
She searched for days. She searched for weeks. She walked upstream, against the flow of the
dead, ignoring the cries of the ghosts who tried to drag her in.
Finally, she saw it.
A faint, dim speck of gold, bobbing in the gray water. It was small. Fragile. It was drifting toward
the Bridge of Helplessness, where the soup of forgetfulness was served.
"Found you," Su Mei gasped.
She didn't use magic. She didn't use a construct. She waded into the river herself.
The water hissed against her legs. This water dissolved memories. It eroded the ego. Even an
Immortal would lose their mind if they stayed in it too long.
Su Mei didn't care. She pushed through the current.
She reached the golden speck. She cupped it in her hands.
It was warm.
"Li Wei," she smiled, bringing the soul to her face. "I caught you. You tried to leave without
permission."
The soul pulsed. A faint image formed in the light—a tiny, translucent Li Wei. He looked
peaceful. He looked asleep.
"Wake up," Su Mei commanded gently. "I will put you in a Spirit Lotus. I will rebuild your body.
You will hate it, but you will live."
The soul didn't wake up. Instead, it began to vibrate.
Crack.
A hairline fracture appeared on the golden surface of the soul.
Su Mei froze. "What?"
[System Alert: Soul Integrity Critical.] [Analysis: The Soul 'Li Wei' has fulfilled its
purpose. It is a 'Spent Catalyst'.]
"Spent?" Su Mei demanded.
[The Soul dedicated its entire existence to fueling the System for the Beneficiary. It has
no remaining will to live. It is held together only by the structure of the Reincarnation
Cycle. If you remove it from the river... gravity will return.]
"I don't understand," Su Mei said, clutching the soul tighter. "I am an Emperor. I can sustain
him!"
[You can sustain his body. But his soul is hollowed out. He gave everything to you. There is nothing left to put back in the jar.]
The crack widened. The golden light began to leak out, dissolving into the gray water.
"No!" Su Mei tried to freeze the soul to hold it together.
But the ice didn't work. You cannot freeze a concept. You cannot freeze the fact that a candle
has burned all its wax.
The tiny projection of Li Wei opened its eyes for a final time. He looked at Su Mei. He didn't
recognize her. He looked through her, toward the bright light of the Reincarnation Wheel.
"Tired..." the soul whispered. "So tired..."
"I know," Su Mei cried—the first tear she had shed in centuries falling into the river. "I know
you're tired. But stay! Stay for me!"
"Mei'er is safe..." the soul murmured, fading. "Job done. Rest now."
Job done.
He didn't see himself as a person anymore. He saw himself as a completed task.
The soul shattered.
It didn't explode. It simply dissolved. The gold dust scattered into the gray river, instantly mixing
with the waters of forgetfulness.
Su Mei grabbed at the water. She scooped up mud and water and light, trying to put him back
together.
"Come back!" she screamed. Her voice shook the foundations of the Underworld. The bone
trees shattered. The river flowed backwards for a moment.
But the gold was gone.
He hadn't gone to reincarnation. He hadn't gone to a new life. He had simply ceased to exist. He
had poured every drop of his being into her, and now, the cup was empty.
Su Mei stood knee-deep in the River of Forgetfulness, holding a handful of gray mud.
The System chirped one last time.
[Target Lost.] [Quest Failed: Resurrection.] [System Purpose Fulfilled. Entering
Dormancy Mode.] [Goodbye, User.]
The blue screen flickered and vanished.
Su Mei was truly alone.
She looked at the mud in her hands. The coldness of the Heartless Sword Sutra rushed in to fill
the void. It tried to tell her this was for the best. No more weakness. No more stain.
But Su Mei knew the truth.
She hadn't just lost her husband. She had consumed him. She was the graveyard where he was
buried.
She slowly walked out of the river. Her robes were wet and heavy. She climbed the bank.
The ghosts parted for her in terror.
She looked up at the dark sky of the Underworld.
"I will build a kingdom," she said, her voice devoid of any inflection. "I will build a kingdom so
high that it pierces the throat of Heaven. I will rule for ten million years."
She clenched her fist, crushing the gray mud.
"And I will hate every second of it."