---
#### **Scene 1: The Labyrinth of Regrets**
The Labyrinth of Regrets was a shifting maze of black stone and ghostly whispers. Each step echoed with the weight of past mistakes, and the air was thick with the scent of decay. The Triad stepped inside, the cursed collar still binding Zhao Ling and Lan Hua together.
"Stay close," Lan Hua murmured, her silver hair glowing faintly in the darkness. "This place feeds on fear and regret."
"Regret?" Zhao Ling snorted. "I don't have regrets. Just… unfinished business."
Xianyu twirled the Jade of Infinite Desire between her fingers. "Oh, I *love* unfinished business. It's like a mystery novel, but with more stabbing."
The labyrinth shifted, walls sliding apart to reveal three separate paths. Each corridor pulsed with a faint, eerie light, and the whispers grew louder.
"Looks like we're splitting up," Xianyu said, grinning. "Don't worry, I'll save you both if you get lost."
"We're *literally* bound together," Zhao Ling growled, tugging at the collar.
Lan Hua sighed. "Let's just get this over with."
---
#### **Scene 2: Zhao Ling's Duel**
Zhao Ling's path led her to a familiar battlefield—a rocky plateau under a blood-red sky. The air was thick with the scent of iron and sweat, and the ground was littered with broken weapons and shattered armor.
"No," she muttered, her grip tightening on her glaive. "Not this place. Not *him*."
A figure emerged from the haze, his crimson eyes glowing with malice. **General Ruo**, her former lover and the man who had betrayed her. His whip—a grotesque weapon made from his own spine—cracked against the ground, sending sparks flying.
"Zhao Ling," he sneered, his voice dripping with venom. "Still clinging to that pathetic sense of honor?"
"Ruo," she growled, her steely gray eyes narrowing. "I should've killed you when I had the chance."
He laughed, a sound that sent shivers down her spine. "You had your chance, and you failed. Just like you always do."
The duel began, their weapons clashing with a fury born of years of hatred. Zhao Ling fought with everything she had, but Ruo's whip was relentless, each strike leaving a searing pain in its wake.
"You're weak," Ruo taunted, his whip wrapping around her glaive and yanking it from her grasp. "You always were."
Zhao Ling's prosthetic arm—a demonic limb forged from molten steel—flared with dark energy. "I'm not the same woman you betrayed," she snarled, slamming her fist into his chest.
The impact sent him flying, his body crumpling to the ground. But as she approached, ready to deliver the final blow, the labyrinth shifted, and the battlefield dissolved into darkness.
---
#### **Scene 3: Lan Hua's Lover**
Lan Hua's path led her to a serene garden, its beauty marred by an air of melancholy. The air was filled with the scent of blooming flowers, and the sound of flowing water echoed in the distance.
"This place…" she whispered, her azure eyes filled with sorrow. "It can't be."
A figure emerged from the shadows, his form cloaked in a veil of smoke. **The Ghost King**, his voice a velvet rumble. "You seek the Chalice of Echoes. Why?"
Lan Hua's heart ached as she stepped forward. "To bring back someone I lost. Someone I… loved."
The Ghost King's veil shifted, revealing the face of her late lover—a man with kind eyes and a gentle smile. "Lan Hua," he murmured, his voice filled with warmth. "You've grown so much."
Tears welled in her eyes as she reached out to him. "I… I never stopped thinking about you."
But as her fingers brushed the veil, the vision dissolved, leaving her alone in the garden. The Ghost King's voice echoed in her mind. "The past cannot be changed, Priestess. But the future… that is yours to shape."
---
#### **Scene 4: Xianyu's Wager**
Xianyu's path led her to a grand hall, its walls lined with ancient tapestries and its ceiling adorned with a mural of celestial beings. At the center of the hall stood a figure cloaked in shadows—**Death itself**.
"Well, this is cozy," Xianyu said, her violet eyes gleaming with mischief. "Do you take reservations, or is it first-come, first-served?"
Death's voice was a cold, emotionless whisper. "You dare jest with me, mortal?"
Xianyu twirled the Jade of Infinite Desire between her fingers. "I dare a lot of things. Like betting this shiny rock in a game of dice."
Death's form shifted, revealing a skeletal hand holding a pair of bone dice. "Very well. If you win, the Chalice is yours. If you lose… your soul is mine."
Xianyu smirked. "Deal."
The game began, the dice clattering against the stone floor. Xianyu's luck held, her rolls consistently beating Death's. But as the final round approached, the stakes grew higher.
"One last roll," Death whispered, its voice filled with menace. "Winner takes all."
Xianyu blew on the dice for luck, then let them fly. The dice landed on double sixes—a perfect roll.
Death's form flickered, its voice filled with reluctant admiration. "You are… fortunate, mortal. The Chalice is yours."
Xianyu grinned, snatching the Chalice from Death's skeletal hand. "Luck's got nothing to do with it. Skill, darling. Pure skill."
---