The Cursed Red String

The Altar's Judgment

The moment Meiyu's hands touched the altar, a pulse of energy rippled through the chamber. It was neither warm nor cold—just an overwhelming force that felt as though it could split her soul in two. The carvings beneath her fingers glowed with a soft, eerie light, and a strange hum vibrated through the air. Han Xun and Weisheng stepped back instinctively, their gazes darting between her and the shifting walls around them.

The whispering voices grew louder, filling the chamber with an indecipherable murmur. The symbols on the walls twisted, rearranging themselves in patterns that pulsed in time with the energy surging through the room. Meiyu's breath quickened. The chamber was responding to her presence.

"What's happening?" Weisheng asked, his voice tense. He reached forward, but Han Xun grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Don't touch her," Han Xun warned. "This place is ancient. It's testing her."

Meiyu's fingers curled against the altar as a sharp pain lanced through her mind. Images flooded her vision—flashes of past lives, of moments she had lived and died, again and again. She saw herself as a warrior, wielding a sword against faceless enemies. As a scholar, writing scrolls that held forbidden knowledge. As a healer, mending wounds of the wounded, only to watch them perish regardless. And always, always, she saw him—Weisheng. His face changed, his roles varied, but his soul was the same, entwined with hers across the ages.

A voice, different from the whispers, cut through the haze of memories.

The cycle must end... but the price must be paid.

Meiyu gasped, her knees buckling as the force of the altar's power threatened to crush her. The symbols burned beneath her touch, demanding something—demanding a sacrifice.

Han Xun took a step closer, drawing his sword. "Meiyu! Step away!"

She couldn't. The energy wrapped around her like invisible chains, rooting her in place. Her heart pounded, her body trembling under the weight of the choice being forced upon her. The past, the present, and the future were colliding in this single moment.

The whispers turned into a chorus, their words finally clear.

One must break so another may be free.

Tears blurred Meiyu's vision. She understood now. The cycle could only be severed if a debt was paid, if one of them relinquished their place in it.

Weisheng moved forward despite Han Xun's warning. "Meiyu, look at me!"

Her gaze lifted to his, and she saw the same recognition dawning in his eyes. He had seen the visions too. He knew what was being asked of them.

"No," he said firmly. "There has to be another way."

The altar pulsed again, and a deep crack split across the stone. The entire cavern trembled, dust raining from above. The voices grew more urgent.

Choose, or be lost in the cycle forever.

Meiyu clenched her fists. If she did nothing, they would be trapped in this endless loop, doomed to repeat their fates over and over again. But if she made the sacrifice... someone had to be left behind.

Han Xun's voice cut through the chaos. "Meiyu! Whatever this is, you don't have to do it alone!"

But she knew she did. This choice was hers alone to make.

Drawing in a ragged breath, she whispered, "Forgive me."

And she made her choice.

The chamber erupted in a blinding light, swallowing them whole.