The Isle of Forgotten Time was not an island in an ocean. It was a shard of reality floating in the
chaotic void between the Spirit Realm and the nothingness beyond.
The sky here was a swirling bruise of purple and black. There was no sun, only the
bioluminescent glow of the strange, twisted flora that grew on the gray rocks. Time flowed
strangely here—sometimes a second stretched for an hour, sometimes a day passed in a blink.
Li Wei stepped off Su Mei's flying sword and onto the gravel. The gravity was heavy, pulling at
his tired bones.
"This is it," Su Mei said. She floated above the dust, her pristine white robes glowing against the
gloom.
Li Wei looked around. It was a wasteland. A rock in space.
"It's... quiet," Li Wei said, his voice swallowed by the vacuum-thin air.
"It is secure," Su Mei corrected. She waved her hand.
Rumble.
The gray rock shifted. Stone rose from the ground, reshaping itself at her command. Walls
formed. A roof materialized. Windows carved themselves out of the rock face.
In seconds, a house stood before them.
Li Wei's breath hitched.
It wasn't a palace. It wasn't a prison cell. It was an exact, brick-for-brick replica of the Golden
Phoenix Pavilion from Cloud Sparrow City.
She had recreated their first home.
"I pulled the blueprint from your memories," Su Mei explained, pleased with her work. "Down to
the scratch on the door frame. You liked this place. You were happy here."
Li Wei walked toward the house. He touched the wooden door. It felt cold—it was stone
transmuted to look like wood, but it lacked the warmth of the real thing.
"You built a mausoleum," Li Wei whispered.
"I built a sanctuary," Su Mei said, landing beside him. "Inside, I have placed a Time-Lock
Formation. While you are in the house, your aging will stop completely. You can live here
forever, Li Wei. Safe from the beasts. Safe from the politics. Safe from the mockery of the
Dragon King."
She walked past him into the house.
"Look." She pointed to the shelves. "I have stocked it with ten thousand years of spirit grain,
dried meat, and wine. I have included a library of every book written in the Spirit Realm in the
last millennium."
She turned to him, her gray eyes expecting gratitude.
"You never have to work again. You never have to bow to an arrogance young master. You can
just... exist."
Li Wei stood in the center of the replica shop. It smelled of nothing. No dust, no spices, no life.
"And you?" Li Wei asked. "Will you be here?"
"I have an Empire to rule," Su Mei said, adjusting her sleeve. "But I will visit. Once a decade.
Perhaps once a century. Time means little to us now."
"Once a century," Li Wei repeated. A tear leaked out, freezing on his cheek. "Su Mei, do you "I have set the perimeter wards. If you try to leave the island, the void turbulence will shred you.
Do not try to leave."
"Su Mei!" Li Wei rushed forward, grabbing her hand.
She stopped. She looked at his hand gripping hers. She didn't pull away, but her skin was as
hard as diamond.
"Please," Li Wei begged, falling to his knees. "Just kill me. This is torture. If I am a stain, wipe
me out. Don't put me in a box on the shelf."
Su Mei looked down at him. For a moment, the gray fog in her eyes swirled. A flicker of
confusion? Pity?
"I cannot kill you," she said softly. "You are my husband."
She gently pried his fingers off her hand, one by one.
"I am saving you, Li Wei. Why do you not understand? In the outside world, you are a target.
Here, you are a king of your own little world."
She stepped out of the door.
"Goodbye, Li Wei. I will bring you fresh tea leaves in fifty years."
She flew into the air. The formation activated, a shimmering dome of blue light sealing the
island.
Li Wei ran out of the house. He ran to the edge of the dome. He pounded his fists against the
energy barrier.
"Su Mei! Come back! Don't leave me alone!"
She didn't look back. She became a streak of light, disappearing into the chaotic void, heading
back to the colorful, vibrant world of the living.
Li Wei screamed until his throat bled. He sank to his knees in the gray dust.
The silence descended. It was heavy. Absolute.
"System," Li Wei whispered, his voice cracking.
[Yes, Host?]
"How long until fifty years pass?"
[Approximately 18,250 days. Or 438,000 hours.]
Li Wei looked at the fake Golden Phoenix Pavilion.
"I won't last a month."
[Analysis: Host mental resilience is low. Suggestion: Activate 'Hibernation Mode'. The
System can suppress your consciousness for long durations.]
"No," Li Wei stood up, wiping his face. "If I sleep, I'm dead. I have to wait. She might change her
mind. She might come back tomorrow."
He walked back into the fake house. He sat behind the counter where they used to sell mirrors.
He waited.
The first day passed.
Then the second.
The silence of the Isle of Forgotten Time began to scream.