Su Yin ran.
Branches tore at her sleeves. Roots caught her ankles. Her lungs burned, but she didn't slow. The jade at her throat was hot now, not painful, just alive, like it had finally remembered what it was for.
"Stop, stop glowing," she gasped, clutching it as if that might help.
It didn't.
The forest shifted.
Not magically. Not dramatically.
Just… wrong.
The mist thinned. The birds went quiet. Even her footsteps sounded louder than they should.
"You really did it now," the deer said, trotting easily beside her.
Su Yin nearly screamed. "You said don't bleed!"
"I said don't bleed on it," the deer replied. "You bled near it. Fate isn't picky."
Su Yin stumbled and fell hard, palms scraping raw. She stayed there for a second, forehead pressed to the ground, shaking.
"I didn't ask for this," she whispered.
The deer didn't joke this time. "Neither did the last three who wore it."
Su Yin looked up slowly. "Last three?"
Before the deer could answer, the air split.
Not with sound, with pressure.
Su Yin's ears rang as a figure stepped out of nothing, boots touching the ground like it belonged to him.
He wore Heaven's white.
His face was calm. Too calm.
"I am Immortal Inspector Qian Luo," the man said, eyes already on the jade. "Hand it over."
Su Yin scrambled backward. "I don't know what it is!"
"That is irrelevant."
The deer bared its teeth. "You're early."
Qian Luo didn't look at it. "Heaven does not wait."
Lightning cracked overhead.
Another presence descended, lighter, sharper, faster.
A woman landed beside Qian Luo, electricity crawling lazily over her fingers.
"Lei Xue sent me ahead," the woman said. "Name's Lei Shuang, Heavenly Lightning Envoy."
Su Yin's heart dropped into her stomach.
The deer cursed softly.
"I won't go with you," Su Yin said, surprising herself with how steady her voice sounded.
Lei Shuang tilted her head. "You don't get to decide."
The jade pulsed.
Su Yin cried out, not in pain, just overwhelmed. Something pushed back. Not violently. Not bravely.
Instinctively.
The ground cracked.
Qian Luo took a step back for the first time.
"…Interesting," he murmured.
Heaven shook.
Shen Yueyin felt it in her bones before the sound reached her ears. A sharp, twisting pull ran through her chest, familiar and terrifying all at once.
She dropped the training staff.
Lin Qiao caught it before it hit the ground. "Hey… what's wrong?"
Shen Yueyin pressed a hand over her heart. "She's awake."
Pei Lan stiffened. "Who?"
"The jade," Shen Yueyin said. "And the girl."
Xu Ren swallowed. "There's a girl?"
Lei Xue appeared behind them, lightning flickering uncontrollably along her arms.
"So," Lei Xue said slowly, "the board finally moves."
Shen Yueyin turned. "You knew."
Lei Xue didn't deny it. "I knew Heaven hid something in the Human Realm. I didn't know it would wake like this."
Shen Yueyin stepped forward. "You're going to kill her."
Lei Xue's eyes flicked away for half a second.
"That depends," Lei Xue said. "On whether she survives Heaven finding her first."
Shen Yueyin's voice dropped. "Let me go."
"No."
"I can feel her," Shen Yueyin said. "She's terrified."
Lei Xue laughed once, sharp and humorless. "Good. Terror keeps mortals alive."
Shen Yueyin clenched her fists. "So does mercy."
Lei Xue looked at her fully then.
"Mercy," Lei Xue said quietly, "is why Heaven keeps losing control of you."
In the Demon Realm, Mo Lanyin stood alone.
The ritual circle was ash now. The elders were gone. The air still smelled like burned souls.
She pressed two fingers to her temple, breathing slowly.
"She's awake," Mo Lanyin said.
A shadow moved behind her.
A tall demon stepped forward, armor scarred, eyes glowing faint red.
"General Kharos," Mo Lanyin said. "Mobilize the Blood Seekers."
Kharos hesitated. "Your Majesty… if Heaven reaches her first,"
"Then Heaven dies faster," Mo Lanyin replied calmly.
She walked toward the shattered altar and knelt, picking up a shard of black crystal. Her reflection stared back at her, fractured.
"I will bring him back," she whispered. "Even if I have to steal him from fate itself."
The crystal shard warmed in her hand.
Somewhere far away, chains rattled.
Yin Beichen laughed.
It was a quiet sound, broken at the edges, but it echoed too loudly in the silence of Heaven's prison.
Chronos Li appeared instantly. "You feel it too."
"Of course I do," Yin Beichen said. "She touched blood."
Chronos' jaw tightened. "You shouldn't be connected anymore."
Yin Beichen lifted his head, eyes bright despite the chains biting into his wrists.
"You cut the rope," Yin Beichen said. "You didn't kill the knot."
The prison shook.
Not violently.
Warningly.
Wu Yan appeared, gaze sharp.
"This is escalating beyond projection," Wu Yan said.
Chronos nodded. "Prepare containment protocol,"
"No," Wu Yan interrupted.
Chronos turned. "What?"
Wu Yan's voice was low. "Prepare for war."
Back in the forest, Su Yin couldn't breathe.
Lei Shuang advanced slowly, lightning crawling closer with every step.
Qian Luo raised his hand. "Enough. We take her alive."
The deer moved.
Fast.
It slammed its antlers into Qian Luo's chest, sending him skidding backward into a tree.
Lei Shuang swore and struck.
The bolt should have killed Su Yin.
Instead, it curved.
Wrapped.
Dissolved.
Su Yin screamed, dropping to her knees as the jade flared bright red.
"I didn't mean to!" she sobbed. "I didn't mean to do anything!"
The ground split open.
Not wide. Not deep.
Just enough.
Enough for something ancient to breathe out.
Lei Shuang froze. "What is that?"
The deer backed away slowly. "That," it whispered, "is why Heaven buried it."
Su Yin looked down.
Blood ran from her nose now, warm and frightening.
"I want to go home," she whispered.
The jade pulsed once.
Hard.
And far above, every realm felt it.
Shen Yueyin screamed.
Mo Lanyin smiled.
Yin Beichen closed his eyes.
And Heaven realized, too late, that fate had chosen a hand that didn't belong to them.