The Unhealed Scar of Time
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The scorched forest bled a black cloud that hid a starless sky. Golden ash rained down like secrets tainted with sin, clinging to Lang Xian's cracked skin like a dried-up land. He crouched atop a black rock that resembled a giant skull, holding in his hands the Map of Fates—a piece of human skin etched with the blood of gods. The map breathed, groaning each time his finger traced its winding veins like the arteries of a dying universe.
"The game is getting boring…" he whispered to himself, his ashen eyes following a path on the map that led to the Hanging Shadow Kingdom, where it was said time itself was sold in the bazaar of sorcery.
Suddenly, a flaming arrow pierced the darkness, embedding itself in the rock beside him. The arrow was crafted from blue dragon bone, its fletching made of demon hair.
A sharp female voice:
"Old wolf… do you think you're the only one who can read the map?"
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First Encounter: The Huntress Who Hunts Gods
From the charred trees emerged a tall woman clad in armor made from the hides of mythical beasts. Her face was hidden behind a silver mask adorned with wolf fangs, and her brown eyes gleamed with a cunning honed by centuries of schemes. Slung across her back was a massive bow carved from the spine of a forgotten goddess.
Lang Xian (turning the map indifferently):
"I see you've finally learned to use real arrows instead of tears."
The Huntress (laughing as she draws a string made of dead human hair):
"Tears are for children… I prefer hunting old wolves."
When she released her next arrow, time itself split into slices, each showing a different version of Lang Xian being killed in a unique, inventive way.
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The Dance of Blade and Lust
The battle erupted like fire in a gunpowder forest:
The Huntress moved between temporal dimensions, each arrow opening a gate to a parallel universe.
Lang Xian turned his body into black mist, reappearing behind her to strike with a fist made of sacred children's bones.
The map on the ground absorbed the splattered blood, sprouting black roots that tried to seize them both.
At the height of frenzy, the huntress ripped off her mask, revealing a scarred face marked with golden wounds that matched exactly those on Lang Xian's back.
The Huntress (in a voice like bones breaking):
"You recognize these scars… don't you?"
Lang Xian froze for a moment. The memories he had buried for a thousand years returned like a flood:
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Brotherhood of Poisoned Blood
In a past timeline, at the Eternal Shadow School where divine assassins were trained:
Lang Xian and Liang Yue (the Huntress) were twin siblings chosen for the ritual of fusion with wolf spirits.
On the final night of training, Lang Xian betrayed his sister, stealing her power to become the sole survivor.
The golden scars on their bodies were marks of a sacred pact… and the brand of treachery.
Lang Xian (twirling a dagger stained with her ancient blood):
"Weakness is a disease… and I'm the cure."
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The Wolf Who Ate His Twin
Back in the present, the Huntress had encircled him with arrows forged from frozen time. Each one carried a memory from their shared past.
Liang Yue (her left eye melting into golden blood):
"Do you know why I stayed alive? To show you that betrayal… always bears fruit."
She pulled from her belt a broken pendant, identical to the one Lang Xian hid beneath his armor. The pendant ignited, unleashing a swarm of shadow wolves that inhaled every breath he had stolen from his twin.
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The Feast That Awaits the Wounded Wolf
Lang Xian, instead of fleeing, sat on the ground. From beneath his armor, he drew the Goblet of Skulls—a legendary artifact that drank the souls of gods.
Lang Xian (filling the goblet with his black blood):
"You always overestimate your worth… now you've come to become my wine."
When he drank, the shadow wolves exploded into dust, and Liang Yue fell to her knees, her strength being pulled into the goblet.
Liang Yue (laughing as her body melted):
"Betrayal… is like a candle… it glows brightest before it dies…"
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The Blood That Writes the Final Chapter
After absorbing her power, Lang Xian stood over her dissolving body. The map on the ground had devoured her blood, forming a new path to the Heart of the Shadow Kingdom.
But before he could move, he noticed something strange:
The golden scars on his body began to bleed… for the first time in a thousand years.
The broken pendant in his hand emitted a chime that matched a distant heartbeat.
A black shadow on the ground moved on its own… pointing toward the forest.
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The Wolf Who Saw His Reflection
In the depths of the forest, he found the Lake of Illusions, its waters revealing absolute truth. When he gazed into it, he saw:
His twin Liang Yue, alive in a parallel universe, ruling the Shadow Kingdom.
Himself, a chained servant of time, bound to a laughing goddess.
The map, transforming into a golden serpent devouring its own tail.
Lang Xian (punching the water's surface):
"The only lie… is that I care."
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In a world where universes are sold in looting markets, two twins were born with golden scars on their backs. One held a blade… the other, an empty goblet awaiting wine.