The city of Hangzhou sparkled beneath a blanket of stars, its riverside fair alive with lanterns, laughter, and the scent of candied hawthorn. Music echoed from every corner—flutes, bells, and traditional drums dancing through the air.
Teenaged Shang Jin walked alongside his adoptive parents, Shang Ruiming and Shang Lihua, hand gently gripped in his mother's warm palm. Their faces glowed in the light of the lanterns, their smiles soft as the evening breeze.
"Jin'er," Lihua said with a gentle voice, "Do you know why today's fair is held?"
Jin looked up, his eyes catching the light of the lanterns above. "Isn't it the Day of the Celestial Twins?"
Ruiming laughed. "That's right. But do you remember the story?"
Jin nodded. He paused in front of a golden paper lantern shaped like two swirling dragons.
"It's the legend of Asura and Nirvana," he said. "Two divine siblings who descended from the stars to save our world from being swallowed by the Sea of Void. Asura was strength and wrath. Nirvana was serenity and light. But after the battle, they vanished… becoming myths."
"They said one day, they will return and Someone who would change the fabric of humanity."
Lihua smiled, brushing a hand through his hair. "You remember so well."
"Because I like stories," Jin said. "And I want to believe they're real."
Night fell slowly, turning the fair into a sea of glimmering lights and fading noise. Jin, now tired but content, walked beside his parents along the outer road—laughing at street performers juggling fire.
Then he saw it.
A pair of children—a little boy and girl, no older than six—trying to cross the road amidst the traffic.
And then—
A truck.
No time to think.
He sprinted. Screamed for them to move. And then—impact.
The world went black.
Machines beeped faintly. Doctors argued in hushed tones outside the room.
"He's in critical condition."
"Multiple fractures. Internal bleeding. His spine—"
"We should inform the family. There's nothing more we can—"
Lihua collapsed in the hallway, tears soaking her sleeves. Ruiming clutched the wall, frozen.
Inside the room, time stopped.
The clocks ceased ticking. The air itself seemed to freeze.
And before Jin's unconscious form, they appeared.
The children from earlier—but now no longer human.
One was cloaked in black flames, eyes like dying stars. The other radiated calm golden light, her long silver hair flowing like mist.
Asura and Nirvana.
They looked down at Jin. His chest barely rose.
"He's the one," Nirvana whispered. "The spark among countless timelines."
Asura crossed his arms. "He didn't hesitate. Even though he had no power. He pushed us aside without knowing what we were. He risked everything."
Nirvana knelt by Jin, her voice tender. "This boy… he is the one the prophecy spoke of. The one who will rise not from legacy, but from pain. He will carry wrath… and peace. He will shape the Lower Expansion and decide the fate of countless realities."
Asura nodded.
"Shang Jin. One day, your name will shake the Sacred Domain. One day, you will stand where even Elder Gods tremble."
"And when that day comes—we will remember this moment. We will stand by you, as you stood for us."
Nirvana placed her hand on Jin's chest. A golden sigil glowed briefly. His wounds began to mend. Bones realigned. Breath returned.
Then—silence.
The gods vanished. Time resumed.
Doctors rushed in—and gasped.
"Vitals—normalizing!"
"His pulse—he's stabilizing!"
"I—what? This is impossible!"
Lihua burst into the room as the monitors beeped steady rhythms. Her boy was alive. No one could explain it. No medicine had worked. But he was alive.
Later That Night
Jin stirred in the hospital bed, his body aching. He blinked, confused.
His mother rushed to him, hugging him tightly.
"You're okay… You're okay…"
Jin looked past her—to the window.
The moon was high. The stars shimmered.
And deep in his heart, something stirred.
He didn't remember the gods.
He didn't remember their faces.
But something remained.
A flame. A pull. A forgotten promise etched into his soul.
And far above the world, in a realm of silent divinity…
Asura and Nirvana watched.
Waiting.
Knowing.
That the boy who once bled for others would one day make gods bleed.