Shen Yuan was prepared to face a hoard of undead on his way to the crevice, but they fled far from it instead, like sinners running from purgatory. He only had to deal with a couple of strays and unlucky encounters which took 1 to 3 shots each. By the time he reached the crevice, he hadn't reloaded once.
The air around the crevice was both hot and cold. It heated his skin and flesh yet froze his bones and nerves. The closer he got to the crevice, the more intense both extremes became.
But not enough to waver his steps.
He stood at the edge and gazed down the hellhole. Cries of anguish, pain, and desperation echoed from deep within, previews of what lay below. Countless charred, skeletal undead crawled up the walls, creating grotesque, rolling tides as bodies piled and stepped on each other to reach the light just one second faster. Even through the sacrifice of others.
Huo Yan raised his paw and stomped it down. Shockwave shook the earth, and the damned fell off the wall like scrapped fleas. He nudged his head down the crevice and looked up at Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan took a few steps back. "Alright. Here goes nothing."
He braced himself, shifted his center of gravity, and dashed forward. When his foot stepped the very end of the ground, he thrust himself forward and jumped into the inferno abyss.
One by one, specters followed his descent, surrounding him in clusters of soft, dark clouds and wrapping him in their cold, yet protective embrace. They decelerated his fall and shortly broke him through.
A lightless hall greeted him on the other side, and his feet soon reunited with solid ground. Despite the lack of luminance, he could see his surroundings as if the room was dimly lit. The ground and walls were made of cold, dull stone. Pillars carved out of the same material encircled the walls like a cage and felt more like so with the absence of any door or window.
At the center of the room was a sleek black pedestal, so smooth and polished that it gave off an iridescent metallic sheen. On top of it was a pearl white orb.
Shen Yuan approached it, his small, light steps echoing back to him. He stopped in front of the pedestal and studied the orb in front of him before carefully reaching out a hand. When his palm touched the cold surface, a pulse reverberated to his heart from within.
The pulse he knew all too well.
'Ah Yuan.'
A deep, melancholic voice entered Shen Yuan's head and melted into his chest. His lips curled into a smile before his conscious mind could initiate it.
"I didn't mind you speaking cat language, but as expected, I prefer comprehensible words."
'With how much of his power Zhou Yi has regained, it'll be difficult for me to avoid detection if I don't split and reduce my existence like this.'
"I know. I guessed at much. As I said, I didn't mind." Shen Yuan caressed the velvet surface of the orb. "Based on your words, I assume you remember everything?"
'Yes.' A pause flitted through before the vulture lowly added, '…Including what I am.'
"Must be a shock, huh?"
'You…knew?'
"I'm sent here to kill you. Of course, I know what my target is." Shen Yuan chuckled. "Yet, you still managed to win me over. I don't know if I'm crazy or you're too skillful."
The vulture fell silent for another second. '…I destroy your world.'
"Technically, it's not destroyed yet. Broken, but surviving."
'But something like me—'
"If you were a regular person, just another human in my life, we might not be where we are right now." Shen Yuan cut the vulture off. "We've even got married, something I never thought I'd ever experienced in my life. You think I care what you are at this point? The only thing you are to me is a lover."
The orb trembled.
"You willingly died for me. You offered your heart and soul to me. And now, you brought me this far. I know you want to leave with me and you know I want to take you out with me, so what are you spouting this bullshit for?" Shen Yuan huffed. "Or do you want to go back and serve your queen now that you restore your memory? Is this your way of telling me that you don't want to be with me anymore?"
'Never.' The vulture refuted in a heartbeat. 'I want to be with you. Eternally.'
"Then, just shut the fuck up and give yourself to me."
A low, amused chuckle tingled Shen Yuan's brain.
'My wife is too fierce.'
"As if you don't like me for that."
'Indeed, I love it.'
What more was there to think about?
Crimson light burst from within the orb, and specters flooded into the hall. They swirled thicker and faster, forming a powerful hurricane until they covered the entire wall. Streams of red light swam in amidst, casting flashes of lights imitating streaks of lightning.
Shen Yuan spread his arms and the storm flurried towards him. It seeped into his skin, danced with his hair, and kissed his breath with sweet desire.
Power, life, and passion boiled his blood and stirred his soul. Shared memories surged into his mind—the day they met, the nights they intertwined, and the promises they made—heavy with the weight of love the bearer carried for him.
More and more specters poured down the crevice and joined the flurry. Wind raged around the world as they rushed across land and sea to reunite with their beloved, hurling everything that blocked their path without the slightest regard.
The hurricane finally thinned after the last of its portion joined. Shen Yuan took in the final wisps and sighed.
He felt…complete.
His body and soul had grown accustomed to the vulture's presence. Perhaps, even fed on it.
There was no unbearable heat, no pain, and no overwhelming stimulation. Only a sense of fulfillment and satiation.
The orb dimmed into a dull gray and waned into a plain, spherical rock. Shen Yuan touched it but didn't hear his lover's voice anymore. He had retrieved every part of him.
It was time for the finishing touches.
Closing his eyes, a ray of light soon beamed from behind him and formed into a pure white door. He stared at it for a few seconds.
His time in the orphanage might not be the greatest period of his life, but it was certainly an important point between his past and present. It was the end of his days as a sickly yet loved child and the beginning of his days losing screws in his head, bringing him to where he was right now.
A befitting door for life and death.
Shen Yuan pushed it open and let the light swallow him whole.
***
Key clacks mixed with the beeps of the heart monitor resonated in the medical room. Fingers coordinated on the keyboard at a continuous speed, forming words upon words on the document displayed on the holographic screen. It came to a stop with a period, and Yang Mei let out a small, tired sigh.
She reclined in her chair and took off her glasses, relieving her eyes from a long day of stress. She couldn't deny the convenience of technology, but sometimes, she wanted to just write and scribble away with a pencil in her hand and a paper on her desk.
Unfortunately, paper and ink were too precious to be used willy-nilly.
"Do you camp here every night?"
Yang Mei raised her head to see Gao Lang entering the room. The automatic door barely made a sound when it opened, and his visits often startled her at first, but now she was used to it.
"Lieutenant General understands as much as I do how uncertain this operation is. There must be at least one personnel keeping watch at any time." Yang Mei straightened on her seat.
"Yes, but there are more than a dozen other people in this operation team." Gao Lang scanned the heart monitor for a brief second before approaching the desk. "Call in one of them and take a break. I can't have my lead scientist collapse when we need her."
"I take afternoon naps. I won't collapse."
"Do you not trust your colleagues that much?"
"I'm more reassured if I monitor everything with my own eyes." Yang Mei wore back her glasses and got off her seat to face Gao Lang properly. "And although you say that, you often, if not always, visit this late at night. If there's nobody in this room, would you have not been displeased?"
"The problem here is that you're taking all the night shifts by yourself."
"So you didn't come here knowing that I'll be here, Lieutenant General?"
Gao Lang choked on his words and covered his coughs, concealing the tint on his cheeks. "W-What—cough! I don't—"
"Do you wish to continue this conversation or would you like to skip to official matter?" Yang Mei tilted her head.
"…Official."
"Understood."
Alarms suddenly blared, the high-volume beeps startling both of them. All 3 main screens upfront blinked yellow in warning, pulling their full attention to them.
[Warning! Agent Shen's vital signs drop below normal ranges. Attend to the subject immediately!]
[Warning! Agent Shen's vital signs are approaching critical lines. Attend to the subject immediately!]