The Mirror That Howls the Truth
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The Lake of Illusions looked like a giant eye opened in the body of the universe. Its black waters, filled with faded stars, reflected events from times yet to be born—and others that had ended in catastrophe. The air was heavy with the scent of old blood mixed with the dampness of madness. Lang Xian stood at the lake's edge, staring at his distorted reflection: one half of his face was a wolf with a golden eye, the other human with black veins crawling under his skin like worms.
The golden scars on his back bled slowly, each drop of golden blood touching the water created a tiny vortex that devoured fragments of his past. Suddenly, a rift opened in the lake's center, revealing the Black Shadow he had seen before. But this time, it wasn't just a shadow… it was a full entity with the features of his twin, Liang Yue, but with black eyes instead of golden ones.
Shadow/Liang Yue: (Her voice like knives scraping bone)
"Finally… you've returned to where the end begins."
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The Dance That Was Never Danced
The battle began without a word. The shadow attacked with daggers of liquid darkness, each stab creating a temporal rift pulling Lang Xian into different memories:
Childhood memories in the Shadow School: Liang Yue defending him from their cruel instructors.
The Night of Betrayal: The moment he stabbed her in the back, her golden blood soaking into the ritual soil.
A parallel world where she is Empress and he a slave bound in chains of light.
Lang Xian deflected every rift with his bone sword, but the emotional wounds bled more than the physical ones. The golden scars on his back ignited, transforming into black wings that drove him into a savage assault.
Lang Xian: (Shattering a temporal rift with his fist)
"The weak die… and the strong steal death!"
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The Lake That Devours Its Children
At the climax of the battle, the lake's edges collapsed. The black waters rose like monstrous arms, wrapping around both the shadow and Lang Xian. Beneath the surface, he found himself in the Forgotten Realm of Illusions:
Walls made of human eyes that followed every movement.
A throne of twin skulls from those who failed the merging rituals.
The real Liang Yue, chained in fossilized time, her golden eyes glowing like dying suns.
Shadow/Liang Yue: (Appears beside him, her dagger at the real twin's neck)
"Choose… save her and die, or leave her and become a god."
Lang Xian didn't hesitate. He drove his dagger into the heart of the real twin, unleashing a scream that shattered the realm of illusions.
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The Betrayal That Birthed a God
Liang Yue's golden blood exploded like a cosmic tsunami. Lang Xian drank it to the last drop, his body swelling with power that made stars tremble. The golden scars on his back became divine black wings, each feather bearing the face of a victim.
Lang Xian: (His voice echoing across universes)
"Loyalty to the weak… is betrayal of strength!"
But victory had its price: the lake turned into a monstrous beast, devouring everything around it.
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The Wolf That Swam in the River of Madness
Lang Xian escaped through time rifts, but the lake followed like a curse. In every universe he passed through, he left behind:
Villages burned in tongues of black flame.
Children with golden eyes crying tears of ash.
Shadows mimicking his twin chasing him with unanswerable questions.
In one final world, he found himself before the Tree of Hope, now just a skeletal husk bearing fruit made of human flesh.
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The Roots That Know All Secrets
When he touched the tree, its trunk split open to reveal the Beating Heart of the Universe. The heart looked like his twin Liang Yue, but with Lang Xian's gray eyes.
Heart/Liang Yue: (Speaking with the voice of all his victims)
"You are not a god… you are the wound that will never heal."
Lang Xian tore the heart out with his hands, chewing it slowly, its golden blood mixing with black in his mouth.
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The End That Gives Birth to the Beginning
When he swallowed the heart, the universe exploded. But the explosion was not the end… it was the birth of a new universe. Amid the ruins of flesh, a Black God was born, with golden wings and eyes like black holes.
Beneath him, in the void, a newborn cried… one golden eye, one black.
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And somewhere beyond time, where universes are hidden in jars made of gods' bones, a cruel laugh echoed… the laugh of the wolf who finally learned how to laugh.