A faint shimmer surrounded Concubine Li, her presence wavering like a candle's dying flame. She looked at Shi Yao, her voice laced with both relief and sorrow.
"Finally… After all these years, I've found someone who can reach me."
She hadn't intended for things to unfold this way—never meant for the palace to become an abyss of endless nightmares. All she had wanted was a dream, a place where she could be with everyone again.
The dream was meant to be a sanctuary—a place where she could be with those she loved once more. But something had gone terribly wrong. The dream had misinterpreted her desires, warping them into an abyss from which no one could escape.
Shi Yao listened intently, his presence an anomaly in this realm.
Shi Yao's expression remained steady as he spoke, the weight of his words heavy in the silent space between them.
"I was led here," he said finally. "In my previous dream, I was taken to the altar and touched the candle flame—then I found myself here."
Concubine Li stiffened. Her fingers trembled as she turned toward him, her breath caught in her throat.
"The candle's light?" she whispered. "But… but even I… I can only see the candle—never its light."
A crack splintered through the dream. It was as if the very fabric of reality had been torn apart. The surroundings rippled, trembling violently as the illusion began to collapse. Shi Yao felt the pull—an invisible force dragging them back, shoving them out of the dream's core.
Concubine Li tried to speak, her voice swallowed by the chaos, her words slipping away—inaudible, desperate—
And then—
BAM.
Shi Yao gasped, jolting awake, his heart pounding in his chest. He blinked rapidly, disoriented, his hands clutching the silken sheets beneath him. The scent of incense filled the air.
They had awoken.
In Concubine Wen's palace.