The Silent Rift groaned one final time.
From its collapsing depths, the last tendrils of golden mist unraveled into glimmering threads of starlight. They floated upward—no longer desperate, no longer violent. Just quiet. Final. The very fabric of space seemed to exhale, releasing tension woven into the bones of reality.
Where once the world had been torn open by unearthly pressure, now only silence remained.
A crater, blackened and scorched, stretched for miles. Spires of melted stone and veins of shattered crystal pulsed faintly beneath a silver sky. Embers drifted like snow—slow, surreal, glowing as if the very soul of the Rift disintegrated into light.
And from that silence… four figures emerged.
Their shadows were long against the crater edge, cast by a moonless starlit sky that shimmered with unnatural brilliance. Every step they took whispered survival. Their robes, torn and burned, hung in tatters. Skin streaked with soot. Their breathing shallow but steady. They did not collapse. They did not cry.
They walked.
Li Wei stood at the forefront, his Diendriver now sheathed at his side like a memory he could not yet face. His boots crushed glass-like debris underfoot as he paused. His gaze swept the vast horizon—not seeking enemies, but remembering battles fought beyond reality.
He remembered the darkness. The silence. The weight of choice.
And the light that had refused to die.
Zhu Zhuqing stood beside him, every line of her body alert, poised like a shadow sculpted in steel. Her clawed fingers twitched once, unconsciously. The air around her shimmered faintly—her killing intent wasn't active, but her awareness was sharp as a blade honed by grief and devotion.
Her golden eyes turned to Li Wei. And for a moment, just a heartbeat, she smiled.
Behind them, Ning Rongrong shook ash from her once-pink robes, now gray with smoke and grit. Her elegant fingers tugged the fabric straight, not for vanity, but for dignity. Her chin lifted. Where once she would have leaned on others, now she stood rooted in her own strength.
And at her side, Xiao Wu stretched, arms over her head with a grunt. Her smile was soft, but her eyes held a calm unlike any she had worn before. The childlike spark remained—but it had grown. Hardened by pain. Refined by loss.
They did not speak.
They did not need to.
Then, softly—almost too softly to hear—Li Wei said, "Shrek Academy… we've returned."
The words were not dramatic. They weren't shouted to the sky. But they echoed all the same.
A squad of Spirit Hall enforcers stood stationed at the rim of the crater, weapons drawn and eyes sharp. When they saw the four figures walking toward them—no illusions, no tricks—they froze.
Mouths parted in disbelief. One soldier stepped forward, weapon lowering. "I thought they were—"
"Silence," barked a superior. His voice wavered.
He activated a communication crystal, his words hurried, urgent, barely held together by protocol. "High Command, respond. Four survivors identified. Subject Li Wei confirmed. I repeat—confirmed. Escort formation authorized. Do not engage unless provoked."
The enforcers shifted. A formation closed in—but not as captors.
As guards. As protectors.
And the four allowed it. Not out of fear. Not even out of duty.
But because there was no need to prove anything anymore.
They had become something beyond mere students. Beyond survivors.
They were witnesses to the impossible.
____________________
Spirit Hall Border Outpost – That Night
The four sat in a quiet tent, robes exchanged for clean garments. Healers had tended to their wounds, but no one truly rested. Not yet. The night air was crisp, clean, like the first breath after drowning.
Outside, stars wheeled overhead in an unfamiliar pattern, as if the sky itself had been reborn. They watched them in silence, shoulder to shoulder.
"It feels… too quiet," Xiao Wu murmured, arms wrapped around her knees.
"It's not quiet," Ning Rongrong said softly. "It's just… peaceful."
Zhu Zhuqing golden gaze flicked to Li Wei. "You were right. The Rift wasn't the end."
Li Wei didn't respond at first. His eyes remained on the horizon, where dawn waited beneath the earth.
"It was never about surviving," he finally said. "It was about returning with truth."
___________________
Spirit City – Elder Li Lu Quarters
Elder Li Lu sat cross-legged in his meditation chamber, a space of candlelight and scripture, where the air pulsed with ancient soul energy.
A sharp chime rang out.
A messenger entered, bowing low. In his hand there a scroll sealed in golden thread.
Li Lu took it.
He read it.
He read it again.
And then… he laughed. Low and broken, but rich with disbelief and joy.
"You stubborn, stubborn child," he whispered.
From beneath his robe, he pulled a soul token—faded blue, old and worn. His knuckles whitened around it.
"You owe me a story, boy. One that lasts until dawn."
Tears slipped from beneath his eyelids. He didn't wipe them away.
____________________
Three Days Later – Spirit City Courtyard
The gates of Spirit Hall groaned open under a clear morning sun. Shadows fell over the polished marble of the courtyard, where banners rustled lightly in the breeze. Soul masters and officials lined the halls, their ranks stiff with anticipation.
Four figures emerged from the archway.
Li Wei walked at the front, wearing the formal robes prepared by Spirit Hall—a blend of silver and midnight blue that echoed his rank and his ordeal. His Diendriver gleamed faintly at his side, no longer a weapon, but a symbol.
Zhu Zhuqing walked beside him, her long dark hair tied in a warrior's braid. Her presence was ice and flame, tempered and unshakable.
Ning Rongrong followed, soft gold trim lining her white robes. Her every step radiated clarity, the calm grace of a girl who had found her own foundation.
Xiao Wu danced lightly beside her, her steps almost playful. But beneath that ease was steel.
Li Wei stepped forward.
At the center stood Elder Li Lu, his ceremonial white and gold robes catching the light.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Li Wei bowed deeply. "Grandfather."
Li Lu took a long step forward, eyes sweeping the three girls behind his grandson.
"So this is the path you return on," he said at last.
Li Wei straightened. "It is. I do not ask to be welcomed as a lost heir. I return not in debt—but in choice. We survived the Rift. But more than that… we saw what matters."
He looked to Zhu Zhuqing, then Ning Rongrong, then Xiao Wu.
"They did not just fight beside me. They chose me. And I chose them. Not out of desperation. But because in that darkness, we saw each other clearly. I intend to marry them all."
He reached out his hand.
Zhu Zhuqing placed hers in his, silent and sure. "We stand as sisters. Not rivals."
Xiao Wu grinned. "You think I'd fight over him after everything? Please. I nearly punched a star beast in the face for this man."
Ning Rongrong added, "We chose love that wasn't bound by rules. That was honest."
Silence again.
Then Elder Li Lu stepped forward and placed a hand on Li Wei shoulder.
"Then walk that path proudly," he said. "You have my blessing."
His voice was soft. But it rang like a bell.
_________________
The morning sun rose higher, casting light over the courtyard.
The world had changed. Quietly. Subtly.
But forever.
They had returned.
Together.
And soon, the world would learn what had returned.