The course from the Hidden Village became slender and winding, shrouded in shadows forged through the dense, twisted timber that coated the way. Silence hung heavy withinside the air, damaged most effective through the crunch in their footsteps. Despite the awful warnings of Fenris, Yuan's thoughts became elsewhere, drifting thru fractured reminiscences that felt like shards of glass. The Sword of a Thousand Faces pulsed faintly at his side, every beat in time together along with his very own heart—a steady reminder of its presence, and of the energy that lay dormant inside it.

Zaelis and Kael moved in sync, casting occasional glances returned at Yuan, situation etched into their expressions. Since leaving the village, Yuan had spoken little, his gaze distant, misplaced in a global that most effective he ought to see. Shadows from his forgotten beyond danced at the rims of his thoughts, as though taunting him with glimpses of what he'd misplaced. He ought to experience them, those fragmented reminiscences, however they slipped thru his hands on every occasion he attempted to understand them fully.

As the course widened, they observed themselves overlooking a ravine, with a bridge of rotting planks and frayed ropes swaying lightly over the abyss. A gust of wind rattled the bridge, sending shivers up their spines.

Kael approached it cautiously. "This bridge hasn't visible a traveller in years. Are you positive we must move here?"

Yuan's gaze settled at the bridge. The sight of it stirred some thing inside him—a faint memory, buried deep. He remembered a bridge like this from his beyond, a crossing he had taken in a determined moment. But in which, and why? The information slipped away as quickly as they formed.

"We'll be fine," Yuan replied, his voice steadier than he felt. He began out forward, gripping the rope railings, his eyes constant at the planks below his feet. The bridge creaked ominously beneathneath his weight, however he driven on, every step bringing him towards the a long way side.

Zaelis followed, her gaze constant on Yuan's returned. She'd observed the extrade in him—the haunted appearance that had settled into his eyes on the grounds that they'd met Fenris. She had visible this appearance in infantrymen who had misplaced themselves in battle, warriors who had fought too many wars and had forgotten why they fought. But there has been some thing extraordinary approximately Yuan's torment, some thing that went past easy loss.

When they reached the opposite side, Kael set free a breath he hadn't found out he became holding. "That's one impediment down," he muttered, however his voice lacked its traditional levity.

They persisted thru the forest, the course winding deeper into the timber, in which the mild of the placing solar slightly reached. Shadows lengthened, the air developing chillier with every passing hour. As they walked, a peculiar silence fell over them—a silence so thick it felt nearly oppressive.

Finally, not able to endure it any longer, Zaelis spoke up. "Yuan, what passed off returned there with Fenris? The sword... it did some thing to you, didn't it?"

Yuan hesitated, his hands brushing the hilt of Yahuo. The weight of her query pressed down on him, a heavy reminder of the weight he carried. "The sword holds... reminiscences," he stated slowly, suffering to discover the proper words. "Fragments of the beyond. Of lives misplaced, of battles fought. When Fenris touched it, the ones reminiscences... they surged up, like a tide. I felt them, every one like a whisper withinside the dark."

Zaelis's eyes softened. "And are they... your reminiscences?"

Yuan shook his head, aleven though even he wasn't certain. "Some of them, maybe. But maximum are older. Ancient. The sword has visible limitless hands, carried via way of means of warriors and kings, every leaving a hint of themselves behind. It's like wearing the burden of one thousand lives, all screaming to be heard."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "Sounds greater like a curse than a weapon."

Yuan glanced at him, his expression grim. "Perhaps it's both."

They fell into silence again, however now, an unstated know-how hung among them. They had been sure now no longer simply via way of means of purpose, however via way of means of secrets and techniques and shadows, every one wearing their personal ghosts.

As night time descended, they determined a small clearing and installation a modest camp, their hearthplace crackling softly withinside the darkness. The warm temperature turned into a welcome reprieve from the chill, however the flickering mild forged peculiar shadows round them, every one seeming to bop with a lifestyles of its personal. Yuan sat aside from the others, staring into the flames, his thoughts drifting via recollections that felt like fragments of a person else's lifestyles.

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And then, a voice—soft, nearly too quiet to hear.

"You haven't changed, have you?"

Yuan's head snapped up, his coronary heart pounding as he scanned the darkness. The voice turned into acquainted, painfully so. It turned into a voice he hadn't heard in years, one which belonged to a lifestyles he should slightly remember. His hand instinctively went to the hilt of Yahuo, as though in search of consolation from the simplest steady he knew.

"Who's there?" he referred to as out, his voice slightly a whisper.

Zaelis and Kael regarded up, their expressions startled, however Yuan slightly noticed. His gaze turned into constant on a shadow simply past the firelight—a discern that appeared to flicker inside and outside of existence, like a ghost soaring on the threshold of reality.

"You've forgotten, haven't you?" the voice continued, tinged with sadness. "Forgotten what we fought for. Forgotten why you swore that oath."

Yuan felt his coronary heart twist painfully. Memories surged up, fragments of battles fought facet via way of means of facet, of laughter shared below a blood-pink sky. The discern stepped forward, and Yuan's breath stuck in his throat. It turned into a younger man, his face acquainted but distant, like a dream half-remembered.

"Azryen..." Yuan whispered, his voice full of emotion.

The parent's expression hardened. "You betrayed us, Yuan. You left us to die, desirous about a sword and a hole promise."

Yuan shook his head, his thoughts reeling. "No... that's now no longer true. I might never..."

But whilst he spoke, doubts gnawed at him. The sword in his hand felt heavier, as though it, too, changed into accusing him. Had he virtually betrayed the ones he had as soon as referred to as friends? Had he sacrificed the entirety for a strength he slightly understood?

Zaelis and Kael exchanged involved glances, however neither dared to interrupt. They watched as Yuan regarded to struggle with some thing unseen, his face light and haunted.

The ghostly parent took some other step forward, his eyes blazing with accusation. "The Sinasty Empire changed into our enemy, however you... you have become worse. You have become a weapon, a device of destruction. And now, you are trying to find redemption? Fool. There's no redemption for a person like you."

Yuan felt his arms tremble, his thoughts a whirlwind of conflicting recollections and emotions. He desired to disclaim it, to push the accusations aside, however the weight of the sword pressed down on him, its silent judgment not possible to ignore.

With a unexpected burst of anger, Yuan rose to his feet, his voice ringing out withinside the darkness. "I am now no longer that guy anymore! I don't understand what happened, what I did, however I will discover out. And if I did betray you, if I did fall... then I will catch up on it, even though it takes the relaxation of my life."

The ghostly parent watched him, silent and unmoving, as though weighing his words. Then, slowly, he commenced to fade, his shape dissolving into the night time like mist.

"Remember your oath, Yuan," he whispered, his voice lingering whilst his parent vanished. "Remember what you as soon as have been, and what you swore to protect."

Yuan sank again to the ground, the silence settling over him like a shroud. His arms have been shaking, his coronary heart pounding in his chest. He felt Zaelis's hand on his shoulder, her contact heat and steady.

"Yuan... are you alright?" she requested softly.

He nodded, aleven though he wasn't positive he believed it. "I'll be fine. I just... want to remember."

Kael let loose a sigh, his tone uncharacteristically serious. "Then let's desire the ones recollections carry you the solutions you're searching for. Because in the event that they don't, this adventure would possibly result in a manner none folks expect."

Yuan stared into the fire, his thoughts churning with questions. The echoes of the beyond haunted him, and the street beforehand regarded darker than ever. But he knew one issue with certainty: he might find the truth, regardless of the cost. And while the time came, he might face his beyond—even though it supposed going through the darkest components of himself.