The night air was thick with incense and smoke.
Shen sat cross-legged in the heart of the Phoenix Shrine, shirtless, the crimson mask's symbol now glowing faintly on his chest. The seal pulsed with every breath, like a second heart.
Ru Chen circled him, sprinkling ash and blood petals in a ritual pattern.
"Focus on the mask's memory," Ru Chen whispered. "It will show you what it remembers—what you have forgotten."
⟡ Vision of Flame ⟡
Suddenly, Shen was no longer in the shrine.
He stood in a gilded throne room, lit by a thousand torches. At the center sat a baby, wrapped in red silk. Two women argued nearby—one wept, the other screamed.
Then a tall man, cloaked in jade armor, turned his back and walked away.
"Two sons cannot inherit the same fate."
The baby's cradle was carried out… into the dark.
Shen gasped. "That child… was me."
Back in the real world
He opened his eyes.
Yueyin was beside him now. She hadn't spoken in hours, but her gaze never left his face.
"You saw something," she said softly.
He nodded. "A palace. A throne. My mother… cried. Someone else took my place."
Yueyin's voice tightened. "Do you still doubt you were royalty?"
He shook his head. "No. But now I know who stole it."
The Emperor's Dream
Far away in the Imperial Capital, the Emperor of Xiyuan sat up in bed, sweat on his brow.
He had seen his twin sons again.
One bathed in gold.
The other, in blood.
"They're both alive…" he murmured.
From the shadows, a eunuch asked nervously, "Your Majesty?"
"Send spies to the northern border. Someone is gathering power in a backwater province. Find him."
Yueyin's Question
Back in the village, Yueyin cornered Shen after training.
"You've changed," she said. "The mask. The Archivists. That oath… it's eating you."
"It's not," Shen said. "It's waking me up."
"You talk in your sleep now. You said a name—'Hanbei.' Who is that?"
He hesitated. Then answered:
"My real name."
Yueyin stared.
Then… she smiled.
"Then I'll follow Hanbei, too."