The scene faded again.
This time, she stood before a swirling mass of darkness. A giant wave of fear hit her. Her knees shook.
She didn't know what this thing was.
But she was scared of it.
Before she could move, the fear almost made her want to fall to her knees and cry.
But suddenly—
CRACK!
The illusion broke.
......................
Xi Ping opened her eyes to a dark basement.
Chains clinked.
She was tied up—again.
This was the day she was kidnapped. The cold walls. The scary voices. The crying.
She saw herself being dragged away, screaming for help. Her big brother, fighting off the kidnappers, yelling her name.
Then—darkness.
Time passed.
She escaped eventually, found a new home, new parents… but something always felt missing.
In this illusion, she saw herself grown up, searching again.
She wandered through alleyways. Forests. Cities.
Finally, she reached a quiet graveyard.
And there, in front of her, was a body.
Her brother's.
Cold. Lifeless.
