The white light was so close now.
So close she could almost feel its warmth wrapping around her again.
Her parents stood ahead of her, clearer than before.
Their figures no longer distant silhouettes — but vivid, loving, waiting.
"Come," her mother said softly, holding out her hand.
Her father smiled gently.
"You don't have to suffer anymore."
She stepped forward instinctively.
The warmth tugged at her chest.
The exhaustion she had been carrying for months, for years, felt like it could finally dissolve.
The palace.
The schemes.
The loneliness.
The pain.
All of it could disappear.
She could rest.
Her mother's fingers brushed against hers.
Just a little more.
Just one more step.
Then—
A voice.
Broken.
Desperate.
"Lian An… wake up."
The warmth flickered.
Her mother's smile faltered slightly.
Another whisper.
"I love you."
Her heart clenched violently.
That voice.
Not memory.
Not imagination.
Real.
Calling her.
Through worlds.
