Plunged into a dreadful nightmare, Wen Lin stood before Priestess Alya, her wicked smile frozen in the shadows. All around him, the eyes of Fantasia's heroes pierced him with icy contempt, their gazes full of silent accusations and reproach.
"What did I do to deserve your hatred?!" Wen screamed, his voice broken. "I didn't do it, damn it!"
Betrayed. Wounded. Disfigured into a monster.
Suddenly, the dream warped, shifting into an older scene — a forgotten memory, but one never forgiven. He saw again the time he amused himself by torturing Qin Tiang. In that vision, he forced him to swallow insects. A little further away, an old man watched the scene, his gaze heavy with disappointment.
"Wen… you're a monster. You always have been," the man said in a hoarse voice.
Those words pierced Wen's heart like a blade. A blinding light suddenly tore him away from the nightmare. He woke up with a start, gasping for air, beside Yue, naked, curled up against him in a bed surrounded by treasures, in the heart of a luxurious room.
"Qin Tiang…? It's my fault, isn't it…?" Wen sobbed, covering his face with his hands. "I know I'm not a good person… but I really deserved this, didn't I, Tiang?!"
He coughed violently, blood spilling from his lips.
Yue opened her eyes slightly. Worried, she sat up and pulled Wen into her arms, her embrace trembling.
"Are you okay? Huh…?" she asked with a shaky voice. "I'm here, okay? I'm here…"
A man dressed in a kimono, radiating a strange aura, then entered the room with a broad grin.
"Well, the lovers are awake, I see," he chuckled.
"I'm neither his wife nor his lover!" Yue snapped, grabbing a bedside lamp and raising it defensively toward the stranger.
The man made a slight movement with his foot, disarming Yue in an instant, then whispered a few words under his breath. His breath chilled the air, and Yue froze, paralyzed.
"Who are you?!" Wen shouted, his voice thick with hatred.
"You foolish children… I'm not your enemy," the man replied in a neutral tone.
Suddenly, Wen felt a crushing pressure fall upon him.
"If I had truly wanted to kill you, you'd both be dead already."
He paused for a moment.
"I am one of the demonic commanders of Queen Xuelan Mowang. My name is Lu Bei."
With each of his steps, a golden halo lit the floor, the trees seemed to tremble in a mystical dance, and the heavens themselves sang his name.
"Lu Bei… the Celestial Demon?!" Yue gasped in awe. "You're the one who invaded the worlds ten million years ago? What is a legend like you doing in this lower realm?"
"Alas," Lu Bei said, eyes lifted to the stars, tinged with sorrow, "my masters have banished me here…"
Wen spat blood toward the demon.
"Then what do you want from us, old relic? Why save us?!" he barked, only to vomit another surge of blood.
"AAAAAARGH!" he screamed in agony.
"Wen, no…!" Yue held him tighter, her sleeve soaking with his blood. "Please… save him… I'm begging you!"
Lu Bei walked forward, calm and unhurried.
"Poor child… fate has never favored you."
He placed two fingers against Wen's forehead. Golden light pulsed through Wen's veins, knitting the wounds within. With a heave, Wen coughed up a black, tar-like sludge.
"You've been infected by the Goddess of Fantasia. This healing is only temporary. Once the Qi I've given you fades… the curse will return."
"I'm… going to die here?" Wen murmured. "Yue…"
"Don't say that! I love you… I don't want to lose you!" Yue sobbed. "Heal him… find a way… please!"
Lu Bei closed his eyes, then spoke solemnly:
"There are two ways to counter the divine poison of the Goddess. The first: a ritual requiring an artifact of a local god, the blood of one of Fantasia's twelve priestesses… and the Demon King's grimoire from the nation of Bei."
Yue went pale.
"And the other?"
"To cultivate. Relentlessly. Until your body purifies itself through sheer spiritual power."
A heavy silence fell over them. Then Yue rose to her feet, her eyes burning with resolve. She placed a hand over her heart, standing tall.
"Then train us. No… take us as your disciples!"
Lu Bei gave a faint, almost wistful smile.
"Master Xuelan… you'll be proud of me at last," he murmured to himself.
Yue knelt before him.
"Very well. I accept," Lu Bei said. "Starting tomorrow, you will train under me. Do not disappoint me."