There was a single rule , the greatest taboo that every villager knew by heart: never leave the village at night. When the sun falls and darkness rises, the world outside is no longer the same. Shadows gain mouths, silence gains claws, and even the bravest hunters lock themselves indoor. Night was not a time of rest in this world; it was a predator.
Li Yun grew up knowing this. She was a young girl filled with dreams, hopes, and a desire to live a life bigger than the small village she was born into. She knew survival wasn't easy, but she had never imagined how cruel lessons could be until she learned them the hard way.
Two neighbors lived next door to her, siblings about her age. Lei and Lan, with their rare sky-blue hair, stood out in the village. Lei was kind, gentle, and soft-spoken. Lan was adorable yet stubborn, always sticking to her brother like a shadow. They were the kind of siblings who made others feel their bond was unbreakable.
After spending time together, Lei eventually confessed his feelings. Li Yun accepted not because of some grand passion, but because she saw in him a kindness she had never experienced from her own family.
Months later, wanting to deepen their relationship, Li Yun invited him to the forest edge one evening. She hoped for a quiet, intimate moment together. But Lei never came. His sister had fallen ill, and Lei stayed home to care for her.
Li Yun understood… but at the same time, she didn't. A part of her always felt jealous of Lan. After all, she too had a brother at home someone who should have protected her but instead…
Inside the old, broken temple at the village edge stood a shattered stone statue, long forgotten by time. It was inside this temple that Li Yun's painful memories were carved into her heart.
She remembered being only a small girl, holding her head and sobbing while her older brother hovered over her with a twisted smile. He stomped on her head until blood trickled through her hair.
"You better not tell our parents," he hissed, voice dripping with malice. "Or I'll push you into the darkness."
Her brother was not a guardian. He was a sadist.
When her mother later asked what had happened, Li Yun had simply whispered, "I fell down."
As the years passed, her brother's cruelty only worsened. When he faced rejection from another girl, he sought someone weaker to vent his anger on. Li Yun became his outlet. That night, he dragged her back to the ancient temple their unofficial battleground of torment.
But this time, he wanted to do more than beat her.
He wanted to push her and rape her.
She was stripped down into naked. She begged but it only made her sadistic brother's grip stronger.
The temple sat right at the border where the safe zone of village ended and night's abyss began. Through a crack in the broken wall, Li Yun could see the swirling blackness like a living void, a place where light didn't exist and nothing ever returned.
Her brother shoved her down, laughing. "Go on scream. I know you bitch just want your brother's dick."
Li Yun stared into that void… and for the first time, she felt the darkness staring back.
But something inside her snapped.
Before he could do anything to her, Li Yun's trembling hand closed around a rock lying beside her.
Crack.
The stone struck her brother's skull. His eyes went unfocused. He stumbled.
Li Yun didn't hesitate.
She shoved him.
He stood at the edge, teetering as the darkness pulsed like a hungry beast. He turned to her, shock and betrayal filling his eyes
And Li Yun smiled. She was already standing near him.
A soft, cruel smile. He gently pushed him.
Her brother fell backward, swallowed whole. No scream escaped him. Only silence.
The next morning, villagers found nothing but bones and scraps of fabric near the temple ruins. People mourned. Parents wept. Li Yun cried as she clung to them… but behind their shoulders, hidden from the world
She was smiling.
Because that day, Li Yun learned a truth that shaped her soul:
To gain something… one must be willing to do anything without hesitation, guilt and mercy.
She grew up remembering that lesson.
And she never forgot it.
---
Li Yun stood alone inside the same ancient, broken temple its cracked walls and faded stone statue watching her like silent witnesses of old sins. The evening wind slipped through the gaps in the stone, whispering across the dusty floor. This place carried memories she wished she could forget, yet always returned to. Perhaps because it was where her life had truly changed. Perhaps because the darkness outside reminded her of the line she had crossed long ago.
Lei had left earlier, apologizing softly, saying he needed to care for Lan. It wasn't surprising he always placed his sister first. But today, something in Li Yun twisted painfully when he said it. The last time she had asked him to come here, he hadn't appeared either. He always had reasons, always responsibilities, always Lan.
Her thoughts darkened.
If she weren't around… would Lei choose me first for once?
The idea flickered like a poisonous spark. She imagined pushing that little girl into the darkness outside. Just like she once pushed
Li Yun shook her head violently.
"No… I can't… not again…"
But the thought remained, lingering like a shadow clinging to her bones.
She stepped toward the temple's broken wall the one that opened directly toward the world's forbidden side. Beyond it lay the swirling black abyss the village called simply "The Darkness." It swallowed anything living that touched it. Her brother had vanished inside it. Nothing had returned from it.
Nothing except destruction, the legends said.
Which was why Li Yun froze when she saw it.
A faint glow shimmered in the center of the darkness. A single, small light like a falling star trapped in ink. For a heartbeat she wondered if she was imagining it. But then the glow grew brighter, flickered, and
Something dropped out of the Darkness.
A dull thud echoed across the stone floor.
Li Yun's breath hitched. Fear surged first but curiosity burned hotter. She quickly hid behind the broken statue, peeking from behind it.
From the shadows, she saw a body lying on the temple floor.
A boy.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. She waited. She watched. When nothing stirred, she cautiously stepped closer until she could see him clearly.
He looked… alive.
And beautiful.
Golden blond hair fell across his forehead in soft waves. His eyelashes were long, his skin pale, his features sharp almost ethereal. He looked maybe two years older than her. Even unconscious, he surpassed Lei in appearance so effortlessly it made Li Yun's chest tighten.
She knelt beside him, hesitating. Then, unable to help herself, she gently touched his cheek.
Warm.
His skin was warm.
Her ears burned. She had never felt this kind of fluttering when she was with Lei. Her pulse raced, her hands trembled, and an unfamiliar heat coiled in her stomach.
As she brushed her fingers against him, the boy suddenly stirred.
His eyes opened.
They were golden clear, bright, and intense like sunlight piercing through a storm.
He saw her. She froze. Then she smiled nervously.
The boy blinked, startled, then blushed. "Where… am I?" he whispered weakly.
Li Yun swallowed, trying to calm her voice. "You're in a temple at the edge of the village. Are you… hurt?"
He closed his eyes briefly. "I was being chased. By dangerous people. I… thought I was dead." He exhaled softly. "But I ended up here."
Li Yun listened quietly, captivated.
No villager dared come here. This temple was practically hers alone. No one would disturb them.
Over time, the boy shared stories about the outside world lands beyond the village. Beyond the Kingdom, Li Yun's eyes shone whenever he spoke.
He spoke of dangers too the monsters, Glyphs, the darkness, the Rituals and the cruelty of the world. But even then, Li Yun felt her heart pulled toward that unknown horizon he described.
A world bigger than this village. Bigger than the kingdom. A life bigger than her cage.
Each day, Li Yun secretly brought him White Smoky Roses the healing kind that was gift from Lei. She tore them carefully, applied them to the boy's wounds, and also fed him.
Day by day, he recovered.
And day by day, they grew closer.
A month passed quietly.
One evening, the temple's dim lantern cast soft light against the shattered statue. Li Yun and the boy sat close together, their shoulders brushing. He gently reached for her hand, threading their fingers together.
"Li Yun…" he whispered. "I'm grateful. Truly."
She looked down, cheeks pink. "I… I just didn't want you to be alone."
He smiled softly. "I'm not. Not when you're here."
Her chest warmed. For the first time, she felt seen not as the girl who got brushed aside, not as someone's sister, not as a victim but as a person worth holding onto.
Even though she had told him about Lei… the boy still reached for her hand. He still chose to stay.
Later that night, she found herself revealing the secret she never told anyone her brother, the temple, the darkness.
Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I was small. I was scared. He kept hurting me. And when he tried to rape me that night… I… I pushed him in the darkness."
She expected disgust. Fear. Judgment.
Instead, the boy's expression softened. He pulled her into a gentle embrace.
"You survived," he murmured. "You did what you had to."
His warmth, his acceptance they melted something inside her that had been frozen for years. She closed her eyes, tears soaking into his shirt.
Under the flickering lantern light, they held each other.
The statue watched silently, as if guarding their fragile peace.
Eventually, the lantern dimmed, and the temple grew quiet. And only moans of the Boy and Li Yun was resonated.
---
"THIS BITCH" The man who was watching the scene from the bubble shouted loudly even the Red Spector closed his non existing ears.