"Where… am I?"
Kaelin opened her eyes abruptly.
Around her was nothing—no room, no light, just an endless canvas of pale silence.
She instantly realized this wasn't the real world.This was a Residual Echo Realm, born from a twisted soul-bond.
The soul-bond ritual was a dangerous spiritual technique, one that linked two souls at deep frequencies, enabling them to share energy, emotions—even fragmented memories.
But when one soul experienced a severe mental impact, the connection could distort into a Residual Echo Realm—a hallucinated memory space built from regrets, unspoken thoughts, and emotional remnants.
"Lu Feng…" she whispered, reaching out.
But her hand only touched mist.
As she wandered forward, scenes began to emerge from the fog—ones painfully familiar.
A younger version of herself stood in a courtroom, being questioned about breaking Bureau rules.Another image—her kneeling beside a dying colleague, her hands stained with blood.Then—
A black-cloaked figure, tall and hollow-eyed, walked slowly toward her.
Its face was her own.
"Who are you?" Kaelin demanded.
"I'm the part of you you've tried to bury," the figure answered softly."I am the one who never believed in trust.The one who only knows how to protect by pushing everyone away."
Kaelin's body trembled.
"You're not me."
"I am.""I am what you became the day you chose duty over love."
Behind the black-cloaked self, images appeared again.
Kaelin alone in the hospital after losing Lin Qian.Kaelin walking away from friendships.Kaelin rejecting warmth to avoid pain.
"You think you can trust Lu Feng?" the other Kaelin whispered."You'll only lose him like you lost everyone else."
Kaelin tried to run, but chains of light wrapped around her ankles.Her soul was beginning to split.
She could hear Lu Feng's voice from beyond the echo:
"Kaelin! Come back! Stay with me!"
The dark Kaelin extended a hand:
"Forget him. Forget pain.Choose safety. Choose silence."
And for a moment—she nearly gave in.
Until a glowing chain of soft light broke through the fog.
Lu Feng's soul-bond—gentle and firm—reached her like a lifeline, not pulling, not forcing, just... waiting.
He had placed it not to rescue her,but to remind her—she was never alone.
Kaelin took a deep breath and looked the shadow version of herself in the eye.
"Thank you for protecting me for so long."
"But I'm ready to be whole now."
She embraced her dark self.
The world of mirrors shattered.
Reality – Bureau Medical Wing
Kaelin's eyes snapped open.She gasped as though surfacing from deep water.
"Kaelin!"Lu Feng rushed to her, catching her before she fell.
She looked up at him, voice trembling:
"I… saw the part of myself I didn't want to be."
"Did she leave?" Lu Feng asked.
"No," Kaelin replied, her smile faint and honest."She's still with me. But now... I can live with her."
Lu Feng held her close.
"Then we'll walk forward together."