Then light—searing, golden, eternal.
Blue's body was weightless, suspended in a cosmic void. Stars streaked past like fireflies, too fast to follow, their trails painting the darkness in flashes of white, violet, and electric blue. He didn't fall so much as ripple through space...faster than light, faster than thought, faster than memory.
His breath slowed. His heartbeat nearly stilled.
Then, images. Flickering like cracks of light beneath a door.
"Breathe deeper than the fear, son. Let the world move through you."
A voice. Calm. Aged. Familiar. Warm with wisdom.
Grandfather.
Blue saw him—beneath the plum blossom tree, wind stirring his gray beard, his eyes stern but gentle. He remembered those gnarled hands correcting his form, guiding him through the Tang Clan's martial discipline. Quiet mornings. Bare feet on stone. The scent of incense. The rhythm of breath and movement. The only time he'd ever felt grounded.
"Power without breath is chaos. Breath without purpose is waste. Remember that."
He remembered. He always remembered. But the vision fractured. The warmth faded.
Fire. Screams. Claws.
Murim. Torn open by rifts. Monks and martial masters cut down by monsters beyond comprehension. Temples shattered like toys. Rivers turned to blood. Skies split by lightning and shadow. The monsters had no names—no mercy. He watched it all, powerless. A ghost of the boy who had once stood tall.
"You never saw it fall, Grandfather... Maybe that was a mercy."
Then...another flash. The last one.
A figure in obsidian armor. Tall. Inhuman. A twisted, horned helm hiding its face. A sword not forged by mortal hands—jagged, humming with cursed energy. The memory of that blade cleaving through his neck surged forward.
Pain. Cold. Silence.
That black figure. The one who ended his life. The one who looked down at him like he was nothing. That thing is still alive. Still out there. And this time... I'm not going to die like a dog. The thought rose like a roar.
BOOM.
Blue hit the ground like a meteor. The earth cracked beneath him. A plume of dirt and debris exploded upward. Shockwaves rippled through the ruined land, scattering ash and dead leaves like ghosts fleeing a corpse. Everything went still.
The land was unrecognizable. Ash-covered. Broken. Dying. Trees reduced to stumps. Smoke and rot tainted the air. The sky above was dark, like the sun had long since abandoned it. He lay there...unconscious, unmoving. His hoodie torn, blood trailing from his lip, breath shallow. Above him, the last flickers of golden light from the gate vanished, curling into the clouds like a candle's final breath. Blue had returned to Murim. But it was not the home he remembered. And the man he was before? He had died a long time ago. After his eyes fluttered shut, and darkness rushed in again—
[System Online.]
[Location Confirmed: Murim.]
[Countdown to synchronization: 48 hours]
[Welcome back, Tang Jiung.]
--
A Few Days Later
A warm cloth pressed to his brow. The scent of wolfroot and pine resin filled his nostrils. Blue stirred beneath a worn blanket, his body stitched with pain. A woman's voice rang clear and firm.
"Relax. You're recovering. Don't put our work to waste."
He blinked through the haze. Wooden beams above. Herbs hanging from twine. Clay bowls on a low shelf. Light filtered through a rice-paper window, soft and yellow. Across from him sat two men...one older, with graying hair and a staff across his back, the other broad-shouldered and younger, his arms folded tight.
"You're lucky we found you," the older one said. "You were half-buried near the wastelands. Most don't walk out of there."
"You should've been dead," the younger added. "You got a name?"
Blue sat up slowly, wincing. "Blue."
"Just Blue?" the older man asked.
Blue shrugged. "It's the only name I use now."
The younger one narrowed his eyes. "Where are you from?"
"Earth," Blue said simply. "A golden gate pulled me through. I woke up here."
That made both men exchange a look.
"Why did you end up in the wastelands though?" The younger follwed up.
"Thats where the gate spit me out i guess." Blue sighed
"A golden gate, huh..." the older one muttered. "There's one here. The Martial Alliance keeps it under wraps, but it leads to a world called Veltrax. They don't have qi there...just something called aether. Strange place. Magic, not martial arts."
"Aether?" Blue echoed. The word was unfamiliar.
"What's your plan now?" the younger asked.
Blue kept his voice neutral. "Find a city. Learn what I can."
The older man chuckled. "Only a few cities left. Most belong to the sects. Chengdu's the biggest...ruled by the Martial Alliance now. It used to be the Tang Clan's stronghold."
Blue didn't flinch, but inside his pulse raced. Then came the next blow.
"Strange, though," the younger said. "You speak our language fluently. Even dialects. How?"
Blue hesitated. "Maybe the gate gave me that ability? Honestly, I'm not sure." But inside, he was screaming. Did they say Chengdu?Did they say Tang?
Murim. I'm in Murim. I made it back. But I can't tell them who I am… not yet.
He bowed his head slightly. "Can you take me to Chengdu?"
The men exchanged another glance, then nodded.
"It's a two-hour walk. We've got a cart. But listen well," the older one added. "That city's crawling with warriors from three major sects: the Wudang, the Heavenly Demon Cult, and what's left of the Tang Clan. The younger interjected. "Dont forget about the bandits, oh and do try not to stand out. Don't talk too much. Keep your head low."
The ride was bumpy, the road lined with fractured stone and dry husks of trees. As they crested the ridge, Blue saw the city sprawled beneath them. But something was off. The old sign...faded wood that once read CHENGDU...had been scorched. Over it, branded in crude strokes:
MARTIAL ALLIANCE STRONGHOLD
His heart twisted. And then, from within:
[System Notification]
Countdown to Synchronization: 8 hours
"Where you belong."