The battlefield was silent now.
What remained of the heavens still shimmered with faint trails of divine energy, scattered like forgotten stars across the dimming sky. Where once celestial qi had cracked the very clouds open, there now hung only silence. The ground, torn and scorched, bore the ghostly imprint of a battle that should have never been forgotten—its scars too raw for time to heal just yet.
The valley itself seemed to hold its breath. Not even the wind dared stir.
Where moments ago blades had clashed like thunder, and ancient cultivators had called on forbidden arts, all that remained was stillness. The kind of stillness that followed only after the world had seen something it couldn't quite bear. No remnants of the titanic clash remained—no bodies, no shattered blades, no splattered blood.
Only one spot remained marked: a small, circular patch of earth where three great cultivators had fallen.
No ruins.
No screams.
Just… absence.
And in that absence stood Nolan Ranan.
She arrived too late.
Her robes, once pristine, were tattered by the wind. Her boots crunched quietly over broken gravel and scorched soil as she made her way to the center of the devastation. Her spiritual sense swept the terrain, desperate for a sign—any trace of life, any flicker of Neug Mu's unmistakable essence.
But there was nothing.
Only a soft pulse, so subtle it nearly escaped her: a faint warmth, hovering near a stone. As she drew closer, she saw it. A small, glowing seal. Its delicate form carved into smooth jade, humming gently with residual life force.
And beside it… a letter.
Her breath caught. She knelt, slowly, reverently. Her fingers trembled as she reached for the parchment, its texture fine and laced with traces of qi. The warmth of Neug Mu's life still clung to it—his essence woven into every character, as if his soul had kissed the words before letting go.
She didn't want to open it.
Because reading it would make it real.
Would confirm the truth her heart already feared.
Still, she unfolded the parchment.
And began to read.
---
To Nolan Ranan,
If you are reading this… then I am no longer in this world.
Do not mourn for me, not with despair. Mourn me with pride, for I stood until the end. I chose my fate with clarity, and I faced it with peace. If I had fled, perhaps I could have lived a little longer. But I would have left behind regret—a burden far heavier than death.
You gave me joy. You gave me comfort. And though we never said the words aloud, in quiet moments I think you knew—you mattered to me deeply. You always did.
But there is a truth I never shared, one I must confess now that the path has ended.
---
Nolan's breath stuttered.
She gripped the letter tighter, the edges of the parchment trembling in her hands.
---
I have a wife. Her name is Buen Día.
And I have a son.
His name is Li Mu. He is only a child. His hands still shake when he tries to hold a brush, his dreams still filled with mountains he has yet to climb. And yet I have left him fatherless.
He is my greatest pride. Buen Día my truest companion. I fought today not just for honor or pride, but because I wanted them to live in a world free from the shadow that has chased us for years.
My love for them outweighs every bond I've ever known. Even the one I shared with you.
I know this may wound you, and for that, I am sorry. But truth should not die with me. Buen Día stood beside me when the world turned its back on me. She held me when I broke, believed in me when I doubted myself. And Li Mu… he gave me purpose.
I love you, Nolan. But I belong to them.
---
Her vision blurred.
Tears fell freely now, splashing onto the parchment. But still, she read on, her soul aching with every line.
---
I ask only one thing.
Protect them.
Help Buen Día raise Li Mu. Not because I deserve that kindness. But because they do.
Tell my son that his father stood in the face of death and did not flinch. Tell him I gave everything so he could have a life free of fear. And if he ever doubts who he is, tell him to look at the sky—because a part of me still lingers in its light.
Thank you, Nolan.
Thank you for the laughter.
For the silence.
For the memory of what we were, and what we could never be.
I leave nothing behind but this seal, and my final wish.
Live well.
Love fiercely.
And remember me not as a hero… but as a man who chose to burn for the ones he loved.
—Neug Mu
The parchment slipped from her fingers, fluttering gently in the breeze like a final breath. Nolan dropped to her knees, her body wracked with sobs. She wept—not out of rage, not from betrayal—but from grief.
Grief so profound it silenced the world around her.
She had loved him. Not as a fantasy, but truly. As the man he was—the warmth he hid behind his cold exterior, the fire in his spirit, the quiet kindness in his words. She had seen him. And he had seen her.
But he had never been hers to keep.
"I'll find them," she whispered, her voice rough, thick with emotion. "Buen Día… Li Mu… I'll protect them. I swear it."
The life seal pulsed in her hand, as if it heard her vow.
---
That night, she returned to her quiet home on the edge of the forest—a place where stars blanketed the sky in quiet radiance. She lit no candles. There was no need. The moonlight poured through the open windows, illuminating the letter now resting on a small altar she'd prepared.
Nolan sat in stillness for a long time.
Not meditating. Not cultivating.
Just… remembering.
And then, she moved.
She gathered her belongings with a practiced hand—swift, efficient, but with a reverence to every item. Her clothes, once used for teaching, she exchanged for robes meant for travel. Hardened boots. A utility belt lined with hidden pouches. A leather-bound map, marked with known havens and forbidden zones.
She opened a small wooden box.
Inside, a single drop of Dragon Qi glowed faintly—golden-red, pulsing like a heart. A gift from Neug Mu, long ago, given with a grin and a casual, "Use it when the moment is right."
She had never dared.
Until now.
She placed the seal beside her heart, then uncorked the vial.
The qi surged into her body the instant it touched her skin, racing through her meridians with a fury that bordered on divine. Her bones vibrated. Her core cracked. Her consciousness blurred.
And then—clarity.
Her bottleneck, which had resisted her for years, shattered. Her core reformed, not like before, but like molten glass forged in celestial flame. She could feel her strength rising, her soul expanding, her very breath drawing in the world.
She had broken through.
Late Mortal Realm.
Not with triumph, not with a scream, but with quiet tears rolling down her cheeks.
She felt his presence once more—fleeting, but real. A whisper in her spirit. A warmth in her blood. And in that moment, her grief alchemized into resolve.
---
By dawn, Nolan Ranan stepped out of her home, the sun casting a golden path before her. Her robes fluttered in the breeze. Her eyes, once heavy with sorrow, now held fire.
She was no longer the woman who waited for a man to return.
She was the woman who would honor him. Who would find his family. Who would protect them as fiercely as he once protected the world.
With every step she took, the sky brightened.
As if Neug Mu himself walked beside her, just one more time.