CHAPTER 39: 39. A SINGLE DANGEROUS IDEA

AT THE SAME TIME

MEI SHEN’S POINT OF VIEW:

The village elder’s voice cracked as he pleaded again for help. His hands trembled as he showed me the brittle stalks of what used to be their wheat, a harvest lost to the relentless drought.

"We don’t know how much longer we can hold on." He said, eyes wet with despair. "The children... they grow weaker by the day."

I swallowed hard, feeling my chest tighten, the weight of their suffering crushing me like a stone. I wanted to promise miracles, to summon rain with words, but all I could offer was a solemn nod. That night, the sky finally broke. Thunder rolled in like a battle cry, fierce and wild, shaking the earth beneath us. Sheets of rain poured down, washing over the parched land, drumming against rooftops and filling the dusty riverbeds.

Relief flooded through the village, smiles, laughter, tears. The farmers danced in the mud, lifting their faces to the storm as if it were a blessing from the heavens. But as I stood there, rain soaking through my clothes, my heart raced with something else, a sudden, sharp clarity. Memories I had buried deep clawed their way back to the surface. A voice clear and resonant, like the echo of thunder itself spoke in my mind.

"You must not forget. You cannot run from what has come before."A voice said in my head.

The god’s presence wrapped around me, fierce and insistent. I stumbled back, breath catching.

Flashbacks flickered, the faces of those I lost, promises I made in a world far away, dangers lurking still, waiting for the moment to rise again. Without thinking, I turned on my heel and ran. My sudden flight shocked everyone around me. Lianwei’s voice called after me, sharp with worry.

"Mei Shen! Where are you going?"Lianwei asked.

But I didn’t stop. The rain blurred my vision, tears mixing with the drops as I ran toward the shadows of my past, driven by a fear and hope I couldn’t yet name. My feet pounded against the soaked earth, slipping on the muddy ground as rain drenched me, cold and heavy like the weight of the sky itself pressing down. Villagers called after me. Lianwei’s voice rose behind them, deep and commanding, but all of it blurred beneath the thundering beat of my heart and the echo of that voice in my skull.

"You must remember. You must see what’s coming."A voice said.

I stumbled into the shrine at the edge of the palace gardens, forgotten, silent, ancient. The door slammed behind me with the wind. I dropped to my knees before the cracked stone altar, trembling.

"Show me." I whispered. "Please, just show me."

And the world shattered. My vision went white, and then black. Silence swallowed the rain. I wasn’t in the shrine anymore. I stood in a field of ash. I turned and saw the palace in ruins. Charred banners, blood on marble. A broken crown at my feet. And in the center of it all, a woman tall, radiant, cloaked in gold shadow. Rosalie. But not as I remembered her. This version of her looked regal, almost divine her eyes blazing with sorrow and warning.

"You left before the story finished, Mei Shen." She said, her voice echoing in my bones. "The world you came from? It bleeds into this one. The apocalypse is not metaphor. It is memory... and future. The famine is the beginning. The veil between realities is thinning. Something worse is coming."

My hands shook.

"What do I do? I can’t, I can’t protect everyone."I whispered.

Rosalie stepped closer. The necklace around my neck the heirloom she gave me, began to glow.

"You are not alone. You never were. But you must stop pretending this world is safe because you chose love. Love is not a shield. It is a reason to fight."She said.

Suddenly, fire erupted across the horizon. Screams rose in the distance, Lianwei’s voice, Huan crying, babies wailing. My knees buckled.

"No. Not again. Please, don’t let me lose them again."I whispered as my voice was trembling.

"Then fight. Remember. There is something buried in your soul, a key. A door. You must open it."

And then the shrine snapped back into place. I collapsed, gasping, soaked in rain and sweat. Lianwei was there, he must have found me, his arms wrapping around me as I shook uncontrollably.

"Mei Shen!" He cried, voice wild with fear. "What happened? Gods, you’re freezing, what happened?"

I clutched his tunic like a lifeline.

"There’s more coming." I whispered hoarsely. "The famine is just the start. Something’s coming, Lianwei. Something worse than I remember. And I think, I think I brought it with me."

His face paled, but his grip on me didn’t loosen. His hand cradled my head as I leaned against him, broken and terrified.

"We’ll stop it." He said fiercely. "Whatever it is. We’ll stop it, Mei Shen. I won’t let anything take you, or this kingdom."

I wished I could believe it fully. But deep inside, something had awakened, something ancient, something furious. And I knew it was already moving. As soon as we reached the palace, I locked myself in my room. I locked the door For the first time since I came to this world, I turned the key and barred them all out, Lianwei, Huan, the maids, the ministers, even the gods. The walls of my chamber were the only things keeping the storm inside from flooding out. And still, I was drowning.

I slid down the door, my back pressed to the wood, trembling as silent sobs wracked through me. My hands clutched at my belly, the smallest, most terrifying promise I’d ever carried. A second child. A second life I was supposed to protect. I could barely keep myself from falling apart.

"You are the one who remembers. You are the one who must open the door."A voice whispered.

The words from the gods kept replaying in my skull like a curse. A prophecy. A sentence. I had left one apocalypse behind, and now it was chasing me into this world. Had I brought it here? Did my arrival doom this kingdom? Did my love doom them? I couldn’t breathe. Tears streamed down my face, hot and endless. I pressed my sleeve to my mouth, trying to muffle the ugly, helpless sounds clawing their way out of my throat. If they heard me, if Lianwei heard me he’d break down this door. I didn’t want him to see me like this. Not like this.

"You must open the door. You must open it. You must remember."A voice kept talking inside my head.

I don’t want to remember. I screamed the words inside. I don’t want to go back. I don’t want to see that world burn again. I don’t want to lose anyone ever again. A knock. Gentle. Hesitant. Then his voice.

"Mei Shen. Please. Open the door."It was Lianwei.

I squeezed my eyes shut, curling into myself like a paper lantern in the rain.

"You need rest. Not isolation." His voice was soft but steady. "You’re not alone. Don’t shut me out."

"I can’t." I whispered back, barely audible. "If I open it, I’ll break."

"You’re allowed to break." He said, closer now, his forehead pressed to the other side of the door. "I’ll be right here to hold the pieces."

That only made the tears worse. Another voice appeared, small and sweet.

"Mommy? Are you sick?" Huan asked.

A sob clawed out of my throat. I turned away from the door, curling on the floor like a child myself.

"I’m sorry." I croaked. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry."

I wasn’t sure who I was apologizing to anymore. Lianwei, Huan, Rosalie, this kingdom, or the child inside me who deserved a mother stronger than this. The necklace on my chest, the one Rosalie gave me, pulsed faintly. Warm. A heartbeat against mine. I knew I couldn’t stay here. I knew hiding wouldn’t stop what was coming. But right now, all I could do was cry. Before I could open any door, I had to stop falling apart.

The rain had not stopped. It whispered against the windows like an unending warning. I sat on the edge of my bed, the candle’s flame trembling in the draft, my fingers numb against the paper. I had been staring at the blank page for too long. But the words had to be written. I could not leave without them.

’Lianwei, forgive me. I love you more than my life, but I cannot stay. There is something I must face, something only I can. If I stay, I will bring the storm to our gates. Protect Huan. Don’t follow me.’

The ink blurred where a tear fell. I didn’t bother to blot it. Maybe I wanted him to see the tear, to know this wasn’t coldness, it was love, twisted and desperate.

"You cannot fight this from behind walls."Zeirith frowned.

"I don’t have other choice."I whispered.

I folded the note, sealing it with trembling hands, and placed it where I knew Lianwei would find it first, on his pillow. My chest ached just imagining his face when he saw it. The necklace burned warm against my skin. Not painfully, but like a hand pressed to my heart, urging me forward. I pulled my cloak from the chair and fastened it around my shoulders, pulling the hood low. The palace was mostly asleep, but the storm’s howling covered my steps as I slipped into the corridor.

Every creak of the floorboards sounded like a shout. Every gust of wind made me flinch. My sandals were silent against the rugs, but still, I felt the palace itself holding its breath.

Down the back staircase. Past the darkened kitchens. Past the hall where I could hear the faint murmur of guards trying to keep warm. At the last door, the one leading into the stables, my hand hesitated on the latch. This was it. One more step, and I was gone from the safety of his arms, from the warmth of Huan’s laughter, from the child who had not even drawn its first breath. Lightning cracked outside, bathing the courtyard in sudden white. My shadow stretched across the wall like a fleeing phantom. I pushed the door open. The wind hit me like a living thing, cold, furious, filled with the smell of rain and the taste of iron. The horses were restless, their whinnies sharp in the darkness. My mare stamped and tossed her head, sensing my urgency.

"Mei Shen!"I recognized the voice.

The voice cut through the storm like a blade. Lianwei. He was running across the courtyard toward me, his hair plastered to his face by the rain, his eyes wide with something between fury and fear. Behind him, more voices, guards, his mother, and Huan calling my name. I froze, the reins still in my hand. I could feel the necklace throb in time with it, a second heartbeat urging me go.