Cold. Empty. A void that stretched into infinity.

  Xu Wang drifted through the darkness, his body weightless, his senses dulled. He could hear faint whispers echoing around him, disjointed voices that faded before he could understand them. His heart throbbed painfully, a hollow ache spreading through his chest.

  “Li...” The name escaped his lips, fragile and broken, disappearing into the void.

  Images flickered before him—Li’s smile, her ughter, the warmth in her eyes. But they twisted, her expression turning cold, her eyes glowing with crimson malice. Shadows coiled around her, distorting her form, warping her face into something monstrous.

  “You belong to me... You always have...” Her voice echoed, yered with a sinister resonance.

  Xu’s eyes snapped open, his body jerking as he gasped for breath. Cold air filled his lungs, harsh and bitter. He was lying on a hard stone floor, his limbs heavy, his Qi barely flickering within him.

  Pain throbbed through his body as he pushed himself up, his vision spinning. The chamber was dim, the crimson light from the altar now faint, flickering like dying embers. The ancient pilrs loomed around him, their shadows twisting across the floor.

  “Li!” Xu’s voice was hoarse, raw with panic. His eyes darted around, searching for her. The st thing he remembered was her face—cold, unrecognizable, her eyes burning with the abyss.

  His heart sank as he saw her standing before the altar, her back to him. Shadows coiled around her body, seeping into her skin, her hair floating around her as if underwater. Her shoulders were tense, her form unnaturally still.

  Xu’s body trembled as he approached her, his instincts screaming at him to run. But he couldn’t leave her—not like this. “Li... can you hear me?” His voice wavered, desperate.

  She didn’t move. For a moment, the chamber was silent, the air cold and heavy. Then her head tilted slightly, her voice echoing, hollow and distant. “Xu... why did you leave me?”

  His heart lurched. “I... I didn’t... I was right here... I never left you.”

  She turned slowly, her face pale, her eyes void of emotion. Her gaze bore into him, cold and unfeeling, like looking into an endless abyss. “You promised... you’d stay with me... forever...” Her voice was yered, distorted by a darker, sinister tone.

  Xu took a step back, his chest tightening. “I... I’m here, Li. I’ll always be here... but this... this isn’t you. Fight it! You’re stronger than this!”

  A twisted smile spread across her lips, cold and mocking. “Stronger? I was weak... always waiting, always watching... afraid you’d leave me behind.” Her eyes fshed with crimson light. “But not anymore... I won’t be left alone again.”

  The shadows surged, swirling around her feet, spreading across the floor. They coiled like serpents, their whispers rising, echoing through the chamber. Xu’s Qi fred instinctively, but his energy was faint, barely enough to keep the darkness at bay.

  “Li... please... fight it. I know you’re still in there. I know you’re stronger than this!”

  Her face twisted, pain fshing through her eyes before the coldness returned. “You’re wrong... Li is gone. She was weak... too afraid to keep what was hers.” Her voice lowered, a growl echoing beneath her words. “But I am not weak. I am the Shadow Queen... and you are mine.”

  The shadows lunged at him, tendrils shing out, wrapping around his limbs. Xu struggled, his Qi fring as he tried to break free, but the darkness absorbed his energy, feeding on his power.

  He gritted his teeth, his body straining against the shadows. “Li! I won’t let you do this! I won’t lose you to this darkness!”

  She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing. “Lose me? You never lost me... I was always there... watching... protecting you... loving you...” Her voice softened, her gaze shifting, a trace of sorrow flickering through her eyes. “But you never saw me... never needed me...”

  Xu’s heart ached, guilt tightening his chest. “That’s not true... Li, you’ve always been important to me. You were always by my side... even when I was too blind to see it.”

  Her expression wavered, the shadows around her flickering. For a moment, her face softened, her eyes returning to their familiar warmth. “Xu... I... I’m scared...” Her voice trembled, fragile and broken.

  His chest tightened with hope. “Li! Fight it! I’m here! I won’t leave you!”

  Her body trembled, the shadows receding, her form flickering like a dying fme. But then her face twisted in pain, her eyes widening as darkness poured from her mouth, her body convulsing. “No... they won’t let me go... they won’t let me... leave...”

  The shadows surged, engulfing her, her screams echoing through the chamber. Xu’s eyes widened as her body contorted, the darkness twisting around her, reshaping her form. Her hair turned bck as night, her skin pale as death, her eyes burning with crimson light.

  When she looked at him again, her face was cold, emotionless. “Li is gone. She belongs to the Abyss... as will you.”

  Xu’s blood ran cold as the shadows lunged at him, their forms shifting into twisted creatures with hollow eyes and razor-sharp cws. He activated the Anahata Qi, golden light bursting from his body, but the shadows swarmed him, their darkness suffocating, draining his energy.

  He staggered back, his vision blurring, his limbs growing heavy. The creatures circled him, their whispers growing louder, cruel and mocking. He could feel his spirit weakening, the light within him flickering.

  Li’s voice echoed through the darkness, cold and detached. “You can’t save me... You can’t save yourself...” Her eyes gleamed, her smile cruel. “You will join me... in the Abyss... forever.”

  Xu’s chest tightened, despair flooding through him. He could feel his consciousness slipping, the darkness pulling him under. But even as his strength faded, he refused to give up.

  “I won’t abandon you... Li... no matter how deep the darkness... I’ll find you...” His voice was weak, but his resolve was unwavering.

  The shadows closed in, their whispers deafening. Xu’s vision dimmed, the world fading into bck. The st thing he saw was Li’s face, her eyes empty, her body engulfed in darkness.

  The Abyss swallowed him whole.

  To be continued...