Immortal Druid

"Am I... Am I going to die?" Wo Li asked weakly.

The words shattered what little composure Mab still possessed.

"No! No, you won't!" she cried, kneeling beside him. Her trembling hands cupped his face as though she could keep his soul from slipping away by touch alone. "Please don't say that. You won't die. I'm here. I'm right here with you. I won't let anything happen to you."

Yet even as she spoke, she watched the crimson tears stream from his eyes. Blood stained his cheeks while the light within his gaze steadily dimmed. Every fading breath felt like another blade driven into her heart. She had witnessed this sight once before, in another lifetime, and the nightmare was repeating itself before her eyes far too soon and quickly.

Panic overwhelmed reason.

Without another thought, Mab raised her hand.

"The Hollow Star..."

Darkness gathered above her open palm, twisting into a mysterious blackened crown whose presence distorted the surrounding space. It radiated an authority that seemed older than worlds themselves, silently demanding dominion over existence.

The instant it appeared, the pavilion trembled.

A rift silently tore open in the air, and Nyx stepped through, her presence cutting through the heavy tension like a blade. The moment her eyes landed on Wo Li’s bloodied body, fury ignited across her face.

“What did you do?!” she demanded, her voice sharp with accusation.

Then her gaze fell upon the crown resting in Mab’s open palm. Her expression shifted instantly from raw anger to utter disbelief.

“WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!” Nyx cried. “GET THAT AWAY FROM HIM! HE’S NOT READY!”

“No,” Mab argued desperately, clutching the crown tighter. “He should have it. If he had more time to master its powers, then—”

A sharp slap echoed throughout the pavilion. Mab’s head snapped to the side from the force of the blow.

"How dare you decide that for him?" Nyx shouted. "And you were supposed to be the one advocating harmony between the three worlds? So what if it benefits him? You know this is cheating! You might as well invite the Holy Emperor's wrath upon yourself, you stupid woman! I almost wish He would smite you where you stand! This has gone too far! I won't stand for this! You didn't even respect his consent!"

Nyx's voice became colder than winter itself.

"What even led to him suffering such terrible injuries?"

She immediately knelt beside Wo Li, gently lifting his blood-soaked face into her hands. Blood covered his robes, the floor, and even her fingers, yet she paid none of it any mind.

Mab lowered her eyes.

"I... I..." Her voice shook uncontrollably. "He... He asked me to tell him about his other self..."

"You insufferable..."

Nyx carefully drew Wo Li into her embrace, protecting him as though he were the most precious treasure in existence.

"You owe me one, sister."

Every Sister of Destiny had been bestowed a sacred treasure by the Throne of Creation, each artifact serving as the manifestation of their divine authority.

Nyx closed her eyes.

"Awaken... Dark Veil."

Her whisper barely reached the air.

The robes covering her body dissolved into an amorphous black veil, flowing away like liquid shadows before gently wrapping themselves around Wo Li. The living darkness clung to him with remarkable tenderness, mending unseen shattered flesh, restoring ruptured meridians, and drawing the rampant corruption from his body.

Nyx held him tightly throughout the process, while tears quietly streamed down her cheeks.

"What would we have done if he had perished beyond recovery?" she asked through clenched teeth. "Forget the three worlds. This entire universe would have been doomed to the calamity awaiting the future. What were you thinking, sister?"

Mab stood frozen, while the Hollow Star still rested upon her palm.

"I... I..."

The words refused to come. No excuses, no explanations, no justifications rose to her lips. Only heavy and unrelenting shame remained, pressing down on her chest until breathing itself felt like a punishment.

She had been blinded neither by ambition nor by the lure of power. No, it was far simpler and far more devastating than that. She had been blinded by love.

She could not endure watching the person she cherished experience True Death before her eyes a second time. The wounds left by that first life had never truly healed. Those scars had remained buried within her heart, quietly influencing every decision she made whenever Wo Li's life stood in danger.

It was a flaw woven into her very existence.

As the Dark Veil continued restoring Wo Li's essence, Nyx spoke again, her anger tempered only by sorrow.

"Have you already forgotten what our master taught us? We are tools. Vessels entrusted with the Power of Supremacy. Our purpose is to protect the Source and the Origin. If both are lost to the Primordial Forces, every balance across infinite realities will collapse."

Her gaze hardened.

"This war consuming this insignificant continent is nothing. Compared to the battles that will one day descend from the heavens, this is less than a spark. I understand your desire to protect Wo Li. I truly do. But forcing the Hollow Star upon him crosses a line that never should have been crossed."

Mab slowly lowered her gaze toward the crown.

Memories surfaced within her mind.

The first time she had offered the Hollow Star to Wo Li, she had secretly hoped he would accept it. When he refused, disappointment had briefly taken root inside her heart. Yet that feeling had quickly been buried beneath admiration. He had stood firmly by his convictions, refusing immense power simply because it violated the path he believed was right.

She had respected him all the more because of it.

Even now, despite everything that had happened, she still wished to trust that unwavering resolve.

Her fingers slowly curled inward, tightening into a fist as resolve settled over her like a shroud. The Hollow Star dissolved into swirling darkness before vanishing completely from sight.

She no longer had the right to force that choice upon him. The sacred treasures were never meant to be mere weapons. They were symbols of absolute authority, each one embodying a single, irreversible decision that would reshape existence itself.

If Wo Li wore the Hollow Star, he would become the Mortal Plane incarnate, devouring the Spiritual and Heavenly Planes until only one world remained. If he accepted the Dark Veil, he would become the embodiment of the Spiritual Plane, sealing the other two away and preserving the balance of existence through eternal separation. The third sacred treasure carried the same unforgiving weight, its power no less final.

From the moment Wo Li had been cast into this world, destiny had prepared only one conclusion for him. He would unite the three worlds not as their ruler, but by becoming the world itself. Ascension was never intended as a reward. It was intended as a sacrifice.

Mab had never accepted that answer.

She refused to believe harmony demanded martyrdom.

The three worlds did not need to be united through domination, nor preserved through isolation. They could prosper together through understanding, cooperation, and mutual respect. That future would undoubtedly be more difficult to achieve, yet it was the only future she wished for Wo Li.

Those had always been her sincere beliefs.

And because she loved him too deeply to watch him bear the burden of destiny alone, she had nearly betrayed the very ideals she had sworn to protect.

However, not everyone shared Mab's convictions.

Since the dawn of creation, grudges had accumulated across countless eras, festering through wars that ordinary cultivators could never hope to comprehend. Ancient immortals had long withdrawn from the affairs of the cultivation world, suppressing their hatred and restraining themselves from interfering with mortal conflicts. They waited only for the fated day when the true catastrophe would descend upon existence. Until then, Wo Li needed this world. Every trial, every hardship, and every bond he forged here tempered him into the person he was destined to become.

The Wo Li Mab remembered from her previous life had never involved himself in the struggle between the Ten Great Sects and the Four Sovereign Flags. He had remained detached from worldly affairs, walking his path alone without allowing himself to become entangled in the ambitions of others. That solitude had granted him an unparalleled freedom, though it had also left him carrying burdens with no one beside him.

This life was different.

Now, he had surrounded himself with companions, disciples, allies, and people who genuinely cared for him. Every new relationship strengthened him, yet every connection also became another chain that bound his heart. He had never been more loved, and paradoxically, he had never been more constrained.

Even with memories of the future, Mab no longer knew whether her decisions were leading him toward salvation or quietly steering him away from it.

"It's over," Nyx said softly as the living darkness peeled itself away from Wo Li's body. The Dark Veil flowed back toward her like liquid night before reforming into elegant black robes that draped over her once more.

Mab immediately knelt beside Wo Li once more, her movements urgent and filled with concern. With trembling fingers, she pressed against his neck, searching desperately for a pulse.

It was steady.

She extended her spiritual senses inward, carefully scanning his condition. His meridians still flowed with spiritual energy, his dantian remained intact, and though his soul fluctuations were unstable, they lingered within him.

He was alive.

"He needs to rest," Nyx said quietly.

Relief washed over Mab, though it did little to ease the guilt crushing her heart.

She gently adjusted Wo Li into a more comfortable position before waving her hand. Soft emerald moss emerged beneath him, forming a natural bed that cradled his body. Around him bloomed dozens of pale blue and white flowers whose delicate fragrance carried soothing medicinal properties, allowing both body and soul to recover more peacefully.

Only after ensuring he was comfortable did Mab finally turn toward Nyx.

"Do you have any idea what happened to him?"

Nyx remained silent for several moments.

"I'm not entirely certain," she admitted. "But... I believe Wo Li's soul has been split."

Mab's brows furrowed.

The Wo Li she remembered from her previous life and the Wo Li lying before her had always felt subtly different. She had attributed that difference to the countless choices he had made after arriving in this timeline.

Now she wondered if the distinction had existed from the very beginning.

Slowly, she placed her hand over Wo Li’s chest, her palm pressing gently against his bloodied robes. She concentrated deeply, extending her senses far beyond flesh, beyond meridians, and even beyond the soul itself.

She knew something existed within him, something hidden. Something that should not have been there.

A gentle hand suddenly grasped her wrist.

"Don't," Nyx said.

Mab looked at her. "I have to."

"It's too dangerous."

"Our master once told us a story," Mab replied. "One of the Supreme Beings from the ancient past possessed an unusual soul. It was almost... divided into separate natures. Perhaps Wo Li is experiencing something similar."

Nyx slowly shook her head. "I know more about this than you do."

Mab's eyes narrowed. "Then tell me."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I promised our master." Nyx lowered her gaze. "Please trust me. This isn't like the story you heard. It's something entirely different."

Silence lingered between them.

Then Nyx extended a hand.

Tiny stars materialized above Wo Li's unconscious body, each one revolving around him in intricate celestial orbits. As they continued circling, they illuminated something neither ordinary sight nor divine perception could observe.

Mab’s pupils contracted sharply.

Where a soul should have existed as one complete, unified whole, she saw countless fragments instead. They resembled grains of sand, except even smaller. Each tiny piece shimmered with its own independent light, forming an immeasurable sea of glittering shards that somehow continued to function as a single soul.

Nyx watched the countless particles drift through the miniature constellation she had summoned. "Wo Li's soul has been split many times," she revealed quietly. "So many times that it no longer resembles a soul at all. It looks more like an endless collection of fine grains of sand."

She took a slow breath before continuing.

"When I used the Dark Veil to stabilize him, those grains briefly settled. But the moment they encountered whatever disturbance your words created, they became violently turbulent."

The countless fragments suddenly accelerated within the orbiting stars, forming a miniature storm.

"This..." Nyx whispered, "...is what I believe happened inside him."

She pointed toward the swirling tempest.

"Whatever mechanism governs these soul fragments appears to react whenever knowledge of the future is introduced. The moment you prepared to reveal information about his other self, the grains that once composed his soul became agitated."

The storm grew increasingly chaotic.

"They attacked him from within."

Mab stared at the phenomenon in silence, her mind racing. Knowledge of the future. A soul shattered beyond imagination. A mechanism that punished revelation itself. Only one possibility came to mind.

Her expression darkened.

“…This is the prisoner’s doing, isn’t it?”

Nyx’s body stiffened.

“You know about the prisoner?” Mab asked.

Nyx neither confirmed nor denied it. She remained perfectly still, her face unreadable.

“What is this secret truly about?” Mab pressed, her voice rising with urgency. “I already know someone is imprisoned inside Wo Li.”

Nyx slowly closed her eyes, as if gathering strength. “It’s better that you don’t know.”

“It’s not for you to decide that.”

A long, heavy silence stretched between them. When Nyx finally opened her eyes again, she merely shook her head with quiet finality.

“I can’t tell you.”

The refusal became the final spark that ignited Mab’s frustration.

“Get out!” she cried.

Nyx looked toward the unconscious Wo Li one last time, sorrow lingering deep within her eyes. She offered no argument, no defense. Without another word, space quietly distorted around her. Then she disappeared.

The pavilion fell silent once more, leaving Mab alone beside the man she feared losing more than anything else.

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