The moonlit chamber feels both陌生 and achingly familiar as I step through the mirror into what should be an empty celestial retreat. I came seeking answers about my fragmented memories—dreams of a mountain god with gentle hands and a voice that haunts my waking hours. Instead, I find him.

There, seated on the roof with a small child who looks remarkably like both of us, is the Heavenly Emperor himself. The ruler of all celestial realms, supposedly in seclusion for centuries. Except he's not the distant divine figure from temple paintings—he's the man from my dreams. The man who loved me.

Our eyes meet across the courtyard. Time stops as recognition flickers across his face, quickly replaced by pained disbelief. "I must be going mad," he murmurs to himself, turning away as if I'm a hallucination.

My legs move before I can think, carrying me across the courtyard until I'm standing directly in front of him. The child has gone inside, sensing the tension between us. He won't look at me, his once-black hair now shockingly white.

"It's really me," I whisper, my voice breaking as tears spill down my cheeks. "You told me never to forget you. I didn't."

He finally meets my gaze, his eyes filled with such raw emotion it takes my breath away. "Xuan Cheng..." he breathes, the name a prayer on his lips.