A World Bleeding from Its Edges
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Deep within the Valley of Forgotten Souls, where time flows like black liquid suspended between past and future, the earth began to bleed a violet mist that smelled like old wounds. The trees were not trees at all, but skeletal remains of "forest demons," mythical beings imprisoned in petrified trunks after the war of the gods. The sky was heavy with black clouds, from which crimson eyes breathed—watching, as if the cosmos itself awaited the battle that would alter the fate of the parallel realms.
Lang Xian stood at the center of the valley, the golden statue of his grandmother in one hand, and a sharpened bone dagger in the other. The golden wolves—Hei, Qin, and Yun—circled him like a halo of light, though their blue eyes shimmered with an unprecedented anxiety. Before them, a hybrid army led by his dark counterpart advanced like a wave of pus... Each soldier a grotesque fusion of black wolf and deformed man, their eyes capable of seeing only blood.
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Dialogue with the Dark Self: The Unanswerable Question
The black version of Lang Xian stepped forward, his every footfall leaving behind trails of blue fire. His face was a shattered mirror, reflecting every decision the true Lang Xian had once rejected.
The Black Shadow: (in a voice composed of a thousand demonic whispers)
"Do you know why you always lose? Because you insist on being human… Weakness bleeds from your veins like poison."
Lang Xian: (clutching the statue until it gleamed with light)
"That weakness… is what keeps me from becoming you."
The black shadow laughed, and his body split into dozens of dark versions—each representing a different path Lang Xian had taken in parallel realities:
One had become the Empress of Darkness.
Another, a memoryless ghost.
A third dissolved into light and vanished.
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The First Battle: An Endless Dance of Opposites
The clash erupted like a storm of blades and blinding flashes. The golden wolves pounced on the hybrid army, their fangs crackling like lightning, while Lang Xian faced his dark self in a duel of daggers. Each strike opened a gateway to another reality:
In one, he embraced his mother moments before her death.
In another, he saw the empire crumble by his own hands.
But the most terrifying thing was the golden statue… it began to pulse with increasing light, as though drawing power from Lang Xian's psychological wounds.
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The Horrific Revelation: The Statue Is a Cage
Suddenly, the base of the statue cracked open, revealing a small skeleton encased in golden armor. Etched in blood-red script across the armor was a message:
"This is the last of the Lian bloodline... your unborn child."
Lang Xian trembled. Foreign memories flooded his mind: a young woman with the features of Ming Yue (the priestess) cradling a baby, then vanishing into darkness. Had he fathered a child in a parallel world? Was this statue a grave for a sacrificed version of himself?
The black shadow exploited his shock, stabbing him with a dagger forged of liquid shadow. Golden blood spilled from the wound, and the statue's light began to fade.
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The Unexpected Sacrifice: The She-Wolf Who Chose Humanity
Before Lang Xian could fall, the golden she-wolf Yun leapt between him and the shadow. But instead of attacking, her golden fur began to melt, forming a human aura around her. In seconds, she transformed into a young woman cloaked in shimmering fur, with midnight-blue eyes.
Yun/The Woman: (with a voice blending the howl of wolves and the purity of mankind)
"I won't let you steal his light... I chose to be weak, for him."
She lunged at the dark shadow, her human fangs piercing his black heart. But the price was steep: her body began to disintegrate into golden dust.
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Awakening in the Inverted World: The Hidden Door
When Lang Xian awoke, he found himself in a circular room without doors, its walls lined with black mirrors reflecting countless versions of himself. In the center, a little girl played with a human eye like a ball. She was the same one-eyed child, but her missing eye had returned—now glowing with the light of the golden statue.
The Girl: (with terrifying innocence)
"The statue was a cage for the part of your soul that fled… Now, you must bury it to be reborn."
She pointed to one of the mirrors, where he saw himself as an infant in the arms of a woman resembling Ming Yue—but with golden eyes.
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The Final Decision: Choosing Between Birth and Death
Outside the mirror, he heard the golden wolves' dying cries as they battled the hybrid army. The statue in his hand pulsed like a real heart. He knew that if he destroyed it, the Lian bloodline would vanish… but it might free the imprisoned souls.
The girl placed her tiny hand on his wound:
"Golden blood… is your debt. Pay it now."
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At the moment he crushed the statue, the room exploded, and a time portal devoured everything—the army, the dark shadow, the wolves, even the girl.
When he came to, he was in an unfamiliar village, dressed in simple clothes, with no trace of blood or wolves.
A woman carrying a baby approached and smiled:
"Hello, stranger… Are you looking for shelter?"
But when he looked into the baby's eyes, he saw a golden gleam... his own.