Myth Beyond Heaven

Yun Lintian stared at the statue in astonishment. The woman in the statue was simply a taller version of Hongyue. Her facial features were practically identical.

This revelation sent a jolt through him, shattering the fragile pieces of his understanding. The inscription in the labyrinth mentioned a champion, a woman who wielded the Moon Scepter. Now, he stood before a statue of a woman who looked exactly like Hongyue, in a city that mirrored the architecture of the Divine Moon Clan graveyard.

The weight of the connection was undeniable.

But how could this be? Hongyue hailed from the Divine Moon Clan, a celestial clan lost to time. Yet, she existed in his world. Was this all just a cruel coincidence, a cosmic joke playing on his sanity?

A million questions swirled in his mind, each one more perplexing than the last. Were there perhaps remnants of the Divine Moon Clan scattered across different dimensions? Or was this city, this necropolis, a mere echo, a reflection of a bygone era somehow imprinted on this world?

Yun Lintian suddenly had a thought about the gods he had encountered inside the tower. They claimed to be the first generation of gods created by the Creator, predating the thirteen Primordial Gods he was familiar with. Could the Divine Moon Clan also have existed in that era?

Buzz—

The light on Yun Lintian's chest flared abruptly, urging him forward.

The warmth of the fragment against his chest intensified, pulling Yun Lintian with an undeniable force. He followed its guidance, navigating the deserted streets of the moonlit city.

The silence was profound, broken only by the occasional rustle of unseen creatures and the echo of his own footsteps on the smooth, moonstone ground.

The architecture, while breathtakingly beautiful, held a sense of melancholy. Buildings, seemingly crafted from moonlight itself, stood silent and empty, their purpose long forgotten.

Intricate carvings adorned the walls, depicting scenes of celestial battles and warriors clad in shimmering silver armor. The resemblance to the carvings on the crescent moonstones in the graveyard was undeniable, further solidifying the connection between this city and the fallen Divine Moon Clan.

His journey led him to a towering monolith, its peak seemingly scraping the silver-white sky. A grand staircase, carved with intricate lunar symbols, spiraled around its base.

As he ascended, the fragment's warmth grew even stronger, a beacon guiding him towards his destination.

Reaching the summit, he found a magnificent structure, unlike anything he'd ever seen. It resembled a central hall, its dome shimmering with a soft, ethereal glow.

The entrance was flanked by two towering statues, their imposing figures radiating an air of forgotten power.

Yun Lintian hesitated for a moment, his heart pounding with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. Taking a deep breath, he stepped through the entrance.

The interior was vast and awe-inspiring. Pillars of polished moonstone reached towards the vaulted ceiling, which was inlaid with countless miniature stars that shimmered with an otherworldly luminescence.

The air hummed with an energy unlike any he'd ever felt, a subtle thrumming that resonated deep within his soul.

His attention was immediately drawn to the far wall, where two massive murals dominated the space. Each one depicted a woman, their figures rendered in exquisite detail.

One of the women was unmistakably Hongyue. Her red hair flowed down her back like a cascading waterfall, and her eyes were rendered in the same ethereal scarlet red. She wore a flowing red dress adorned with intricate crescent moon patterns, her posture radiating strength and serenity.

But it was the woman in the other mural that truly stole his breath away. She was Hongyue's perfect mirror image, except for one striking difference – her hair was a deep, celestial blue, the color of a twilight sky. Her expression held a hint of gentleness in her sapphire eyes that contrasted with Hongyue's stoicism.

Yun Lintian's mind reeled. Two women, identical twins except for their hair color, both bearing an uncanny resemblance to Hongyue.

The name immediately popped up in his mind. The woman with blue hair must be Lanyue!

As he stared at the murals, a sense of familiarity washed over him. He felt a strange connection to both women as if their lives were somehow intertwined with his own. The fragment on his chest thrummed even more violently, its warmth a beacon in the vast hall.

Suddenly, a faint inscription appeared on the moonstone floor beneath the murals, shimmering with an ethereal light.

Yun Lintian knelt down and traced the inscription with his finger.

'Yue Hong and Yue Lan, daughters of the Moon, protectors of the celestial balance. One bathed in moonlight, the other in starlight, their destinies intertwined, forever bound to the fate of the Divine Moon Clan.'

Yun Lintian's pupils constricted. Yue Hong and Yue Lan... The names bore a striking resemblance to Hongyue and Lanyue.

"Daughters of the Moon? Protectors of the celestial balance?" Yun Lintian muttered to himself, frowning.

Suddenly, a realization struck Yun Lintian: he had no idea about Lanyue and Hongyue's origins. How were they born? Who were their parents?

Hongyue was one of the people who had been with him the longest, yet Yun Lintian, in fact, knew very little about her. This realization filled him with shame.

Tap… Tap…

Lost in thought, Yun Lintian was abruptly startled by the sound of footsteps echoing from behind.

He whirled around, his expression freezing as he saw a woman cautiously approaching him… the woman from the coffin!

The woman stopped in her tracks, her gaze filled with curiosity as she looked at Yun Lintian. Strangely, instead of fear, she felt a hint of closeness to him.

"You..."

Yun Lintian and the woman spoke simultaneously, both momentarily startled.

Recovering quickly, Yun Lintian introduced himself. "My name is Yun Lintian. Are you perhaps a descendant of the Divine Moon Clan?"

The woman furrowed her brow, a puzzled expression crossing her face. "Yun Lintian...?" she muttered, straining to recall. The name sounded familiar to her but she couldn't think of anything.

"Ah!" A sharp cry escaped her lips as she clutched her head in pain.

Yun Lintian, alarmed, reacted swiftly. With a flick of his wrist, a thick vine shot out and gently wrapped around her wrist. A soothing warmth emanated from the vine, alleviating her suffering.

The pain receded gradually from the woman's head. With a grateful look, she lifted her gaze to meet Yun Lintian's and softly murmured, "Thank you."

Her voice, soft and soothing, washed over Yun Lintian like moonlight.

Yun Lintian withdrew the vine, a thoughtful silence settling between them.

The woman offered a hesitant smile. "Please forgive me, but I can't seem to recall my name."