Lian Feng's sword trembled as he faced the Hollow Queen. Her crystalline body shimmered with corrupted Divine Essence, but her remaining human eye—*her mother's eye*—locked onto him with a flicker of recognition.
"Feng'er…" she rasped, her voice fraying between the Hollow Queen's guttural snarls and the gentle tone he remembered. "my baby … you've grown so tall."
The words shattered him. For a heartbeat, she wasn't a monster. She was the woman who'd taught him to wield a sword, who'd scolded him for skipping meals, who'd hummed lullabies when nightmares plagued his sleep.
"Mother," he whispered, his blade lowering. "I can save you. The castle—Li Mei—there's a relic that can purify the Essence—"
"*No!*" The Hollow Queen's crystalline arm lashed out, striking his chest. He flew backward, crashing into rubble. The Echo blared:
**"Critical damage detected. Divine Essence required for healing."**
She loomed over him, golden tears streaking her fractured face. "There's no saving me. Only… only *ending* me." Her voice fractured, shifting between the mother and the monster. "Do it, Feng'er. Before I… before I *hurt you* again."
---
**Flashback: A Mother's Love**
*Twelve-year-old Lian Feng sneaked into the castle kitchens, his hands still shaking from his first sparring match. His mother found him there, devouring a stolen honey cake.*
*"Skipping meals again?" she chided, but her eyes sparkled. She placed a steaming bowl of soup beside him. "A warrior's strength comes from his heart—*and his stomach.* Eat. And drink water, unless you want to pass out during drills."*
He grinned, crumbs on his cheeks. "Yes, Mother."
---
**Present: The Final Strike**
The Hollow Queen's claws pinned Lian Feng to the ground. Her human eye flooded with tears as her monstrous half hissed, "*Kill him!*"
"Feng'er… *run*," she gasped, her voice suddenly clear. "Please your mama is weak now she don't wanna die but ... I .. I don't want to… I don't want to *hurt you*."
The Echo screamed: **"Divine Essence critical. Corruption risk: 82%."**
Lian Feng's body burned, his veins glowing molten gold. With a roar, he summoned every shred of Essence, his sword blazing like a star. The blade pierced her chest—*not the crystalline heart, but the human one*.
The Hollow Queen stiffened. Golden light erupted from the wound, and for a moment, she was *herself* again—Lady Xiu, smiling softly as she cupped his face.
"My brave boy," she whispered. "Don't forget… don't forget to eat. And drink water. You've… you've always forgotten….."
Her monstrous body disintegrated into shimmering dust, the Essence swirling into Lian Feng's blade. The Echo chimed, cold and hollow.
**"Divine Essence harvested: +100. Corruption risk: 89%."**
---
**Aftermath: The Weight of a Mother's Last Words**
Lian Feng collapsed to his knees, the sword slipping from his grasp. The horde retreated, their shrieks fading into the ash-choked wind.
*Don't forget to eat.*
*Drink water.*
Her final words echoed, absurd and devastating. He clutched the locket he'd taken from the monster days before—the one with the girl's portrait putting her little at the front with the proud face —and realized it was *hers*. A tiny braid of hair, his own childhood trinket, lay coiled inside.
The castle gates groaned. Golden light spilled across the ruins as Li Mei emerged, the Song of Ashes glowing in her hand.
"Lian Feng!" she cried, rushing toward him.
Towards a boy who is looking at dead body of his mother killed by his own hands
And then he look up at a girl who was running like flower in the wind with no expressions but tears
He tried to warn her, to tell her to stay back, but his voice failed. His body was more gold than flesh now, his eyes burning like twin suns.
Li Mei froze, her gaze dropping to the locket in his hand. "Your mother… she's the one who…"
"She's free now " he rasped. "But I… I'm not."