Immortal Druid

[POV: Nyx]

Mab was a selfish fool.

That was Nyx's assessment of her sister, and it had never changed across the countless cycles she alone remembered.

"Hah... sister."

The word felt laughable every time it crossed her mind. Their master had insisted that they address one another that way, claiming it would help them understand humanity. Yet the Sisters of Destiny had never been sisters. They were different manifestations born from the same origin, different aspects of a single existence separated only by purpose. Should a person refer to their own arm and leg as siblings? The notion was absurd.

Even so, she had obeyed.

She always obeyed.

Perched upon the thick branch of an ancient tree, Nyx rested her back against its trunk while her dark eyes drifted toward the silver moon hanging peacefully overhead. Its gentle radiance bathed the world in silence, a silence that only deepened the emptiness within her.

"Master... where are you, when we need you?"

Her voice dissolved into the night breeze, unanswered as always.

When Wo Li finally regained consciousness, Nyx immediately made her way to the pavilion. Mab had already reached him first, hovering anxiously at his side as though afraid he would disappear if she looked away.

"I'll be leaving for a while," Wo Li said. "Protect this place in my stead."

"I shall guard it with all that I am," Mab spoke gently, her melodious voice carrying both devotion and worry. "But please, My Lord, you've only just awakened. You should rest."

Wo Li slowly shook his head.

"This can't wait."

His gaze shifted away from Mab and settled upon Nyx.

"Let's talk."

Nyx merely nodded before casting one last glance toward the lovestruck fool standing behind him.

Unlike Mab, she had never truly fallen in love with Wo Li.

At least... she told herself that.

Mab remained blissfully ignorant of a truth hidden from everyone else. This was not the world’s first timeline, nor its second, nor even its hundredth. It was the secret her master had entrusted her to keep above all else.

Time had rewound countless times before. With every reset, the cycle erased the memories of every living being, wiping their experiences clean as if they had never happened. Everyone forgot. Everyone except one.

Mab possessed the Blessing of Time, allowing her a second chance and the ability to directly tug at fate. Meanwhile, Nyx possessed the Blessing of Memories, allowing her to remember every beginning, ending, and betrayal. The cost was merely her freedom, unable to speak of the past to anyone, even to the person she called her sister.

Most importantly, she remembered the monster hiding beneath the gentle face known as Wo Li.

The man before her had slaughtered civilizations without hesitation in forgotten timelines. He had drowned entire realms beneath oceans of blood, reduced immortals to ash, and broken the heavens themselves when driven beyond reason. The compassionate cultivator everyone admired was merely one side of his existence.

Nyx had witnessed the other.

It was hideous, terrifying, and so horrible that it was enough to make even immortals despair.

She found him filthy and utterly disgusting.

And yet...?

Every time Mab looked upon him with boundless affection, Nyx felt an unfamiliar yearning growing within her own heart. She wanted to understand that emotion. She wanted to know what made Mab smile so sincerely despite knowing nothing of the countless horrors hidden beyond forgotten timelines.

Perhaps...?

If enough cycles passed...?

Nyx truly would come to love him.

Without another word, Wo Li transformed into an enormous eagle. Brilliant feathers shimmered beneath the moonlight as he soared into the heavens.

Nyx followed.

They crossed mountains, forests, and rivers until the Touch Grass Sect disappeared beyond the horizon. Only after leaving the sect grounds and the surrounding wilderness did Wo Li descend beside the enormous lake resting at the heart of the Serenity Lake Domain.

His eagle form dissolved, returning him to his elven appearance.

As naturally as breathing, Nyx stepped beside him and gently wrapped both hands around one of his arms. She leaned against him with practiced intimacy, the same act she had repeated through countless forgotten lives.

"My lord," she said softly, "how may I be of service? I would gladly offer you everything I possess, my mind, my body, and my soul. They have always belonged to you."

Instead of accepting her affection, Wo Li firmly removed her hands from his arm. "You don't have to force yourself," he said quietly. "Not if it makes you uncomfortable."

Nyx blinked. For the first time across countless timelines, he had rejected her. Her expression remained composed, but confusion churned beneath the surface. 

"If my advances truly made you uncomfortable," she replied, "you would have pushed me away long ago. You never did. Doesn't that mean... you wanted me to stay close?"

Wo Li sighed.

"I'm still a man."

His answer came without hesitation.

"A beautiful woman caring for me, pampering me, showing me affection... regardless of whether I returned those feelings, I'd be lying if I said I disliked it. I enjoyed being cared for. That's why I allowed you to do as you pleased. But even someone like me knows where to draw the line."

Suddenly, the air around Wo Li changed as his eyes became strange.

Nyx’s heartbeat slowed to a heavy, deliberate thud in her chest. Those eyes… she recognized them instantly. They were not the warm, comforting eyes that had guided countless beasts, nor the playful ones that so often teased Mab. These were the eyes of the monster she remembered across countless timelines.

It was calm, cold, and utterly unreadable.

“Nyx,” Wo Li said, his voice slicing through the heavy silence. "You're hiding your true strength."

She met his gaze without flinching, refusing to look away. “So what if I am?” Her lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. “I’m only doing what Mab did.”

The words left a sour taste on her tongue. 'Why am I the one being questioned?' she thought. 'Why is this conversation even happening?'

Wo Li remained silent for a long moment, studying her. When he finally spoke, his voice had grown strangely subdued.

“Fight for me.” He paused, then added quietly, “I need your strength.”

Only then did Nyx realize how deeply she had misunderstood. The expression in his eyes was not hostility. It was not dominance or cruel calculation. Instead, it was raw and real fear, so terribly true she thought it was hers.

Wo Li lifted a trembling hand to his face, as if trying to steady himself. His breathing grew uneven, and even his lips quivered slightly. For the first time in any timeline she could remember, he looked truly fragile.

“I saw something,” he whispered.

Nyx frowned. “When you collapsed?”

He gave a slow nod. “I could hear it.”

“Hear what?”

“The world.” His voice dropped until it was almost inaudible. “I could feel it crying and screaming in pain.”

His fingers clenched into a tight fist, knuckles turning white.

“Something has begun entering our world.”

A heavy silence fell over the lakeside. The gentle lapping of water against the shore felt distant, almost mocking in contrast to the weight of his words.

Nyx’s pupils contracted sharply.

"An invasion."

Only one kind of existence could make the world itself scream in agony before it had even fully arrived.

A Primordial Being.

But… that was impossible. According to every timeline she remembered, it was still far too early.

Nyx stared at Wo Li in silence, the impossible thought refusing to leave her mind. If a Primordial Being had truly begun forcing its way into their world, then everything she knew had already started to unravel. There was only one possibility that could explain why events had diverged so drastically.

"Do you... remember the past?" she asked carefully.

Wo Li frowned, visibly puzzled by the question.

"The past?" he repeated. "No. Should I?"

The tension inside Nyx eased ever so slightly.

There had been several forgotten timelines in which Wo Li awakened fragments of previous iterations. Sometimes he remembered battles that had yet to happen. Other times, he recalled enemies he had never met. Those fragmented memories had often allowed him to prepare against catastrophes long before they arrived. It also agitated the Primordial Beings, making them more reckless and fearsome.

Fortunately, this did not seem to be one of those timelines.

Wo Li closed his eyes for a brief moment, taking several slow breaths until the fear lingering on his face gradually disappeared. When he opened them again, the panic had been replaced by steady resolve.

"We'll think about the war later," he said firmly. "Right now, there's a greater threat before us. If I'm going to face it, then I'll need every capable ally I can find."

His words had barely settled when space distorted a short distance away. A familiar figure emerged from the rippling air, dressed in elegant robes with a sword hanging at his waist. His posture remained relaxed, but the pressure surrounding him revealed the strength hidden beneath that composed exterior.

It was Hu Gang, the sovereign of the Horizon Kingdom.

"So," Hu Gang said with an amused smile, "have you finally given some thought to my proposal?"

Wo Li met his gaze without hesitation. "I'll accept your arrangement."

Hu Gang's smile widened.

"But," Wo Li continued, "I have one condition. Consider it a favor that you'll be owed, one you may call upon sometime in the future."

Hu Gang fell silent as he considered the offer.

Nyx quietly observed the king.

Among all the people she remembered across countless timelines, Hu Gang remained one of the greatest mysteries. She knew almost nothing about him despite the innumerable resets. That alone spoke volumes. His continued survival could be counted on one hand, while most timelines saw him perish before he ever played a meaningful role. Sometimes, he died in war. Other times, he simply vanished because of countless butterfly effects created by the ever-changing flow of history.

His fate had never been stable.

After a lengthy pause, Hu Gang chuckled.

"A favor from the Hermit Sage?" he mused. "Especially one capable of performing resurrection arts? That's worth more than an entire kingdom."

His expression grew serious.

"Then I have my request. If I should fall in battle one day, I ask that Sage Wo Li resurrect me. And should a day come when I have an even greater need, that favor shall instead be exchanged for that request."

Nyx inwardly admired the man's shrewdness.

It was an open-ended agreement. If death claimed him, resurrection would repay the favor. If circumstances demanded something even more valuable, he retained the freedom to change his request. Either outcome favored the Horizon Kingdom.

Wo Li nodded once. "We have a deal."

The atmosphere surrounding him shifted. The hesitation lingering moments earlier vanished completely, replaced by the bearing of a veteran warrior preparing for battle.

"But understand this first. The condition I'm asking of you may very well cost us our lives."

Hu Gang's expression became equally serious.

Wo Li continued. "I heard the voice of the world. It was crying in pain. A terrible existence is forcing its way into this plane. My condition is simple. Fight beside us. Help me eliminate that existence."

Hu Gang remained silent before his gaze slowly shifted toward Nyx. "I assume," he remarked, "she'll be joining us as well. Well, I'd appreciate another hidden master moving forward in this war. Though it worries me that this threat you speak of is so great that it risks the end of the world."

Nyx's eyes narrowed slightly, feeling impressed.

"Then we only need to triumph over it."

She had concealed her cultivation so thoroughly that even Wo Li and Hao Lei, both masters of perception and illusion, had accepted the facade without question. Yet Hu Gang had seen through it after only a single glance.

"Incredibly fighting spirit, my lady," remarked Hu Gang, his eyes seemingly smiling. "Then we shall not only triumph over it, but trample them, until they are no more."

She gave a small nod as her expression grew increasingly grave.

"That would be for the best, but I ask that you not underestimate this threat. If we fail to eliminate this Primordial Being, this world's fate may very well come to an end. The war consuming this continent is undoubtedly important..."

She looked toward the distant horizon.

"...but compared to a Primordial, it simply cannot compete."

"How long will this take?" he asked, folding his arms. "The war raging across the continent isn't something that can simply be ignored forever."

Before anyone could answer, the world trembled. The ground lurched violently beneath their feet as countless ripples spread across the enormous lake. Birds fled into the sky while the surrounding forest erupted with terrified cries from countless beasts.

Wo Li's expression hardened, his eyes fixed upon the center of the lake.

"We'll need at least today. If we fail to stop it now, then the entire Serenity Lake Domain will sink."

The lake exploded.

An earth-shaking roar tore across the heavens as the waters violently split apart, revealing a colossal black rift beneath the lakebed. The wound in reality widened with terrifying speed as gigantic octopus tentacles, each thicker than a mountain range, emerged one after another. Countless writhing suckers lined their monstrous lengths, clinging to the edges of the dimensional fracture and prying it farther open through sheer, overwhelming strength.

The heavens darkened in an instant. The lake itself began collapsing inward, its waters pouring into the growing abyss below.

Nyx’s composure finally shattered.

“No…”

Her dark eyes widened in disbelief as she watched the impossible appendages force their way deeper into their world. Her voice trembled, barely above a whisper.

“It really is… No... No... A Primordial Being is forcing its way into our world!”

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