Mystique Soul: A Cultivator's Flame
Chapter 21: The Breath of Death

Chapter 21: The Breath of Death

The barrier shimmered faintly, a fragile dome of light separating the group from the ominous mist that pressed against it like a living, breathing entity. Each step forward was heavy with unease. The mages in the group, sweat beading on their foreheads, maintained the barrier with unwavering focus.

The mist clung to them like a living thing, cold and unrelenting, muffling every sound until the world seemed to vanish. Visibility was reduced to mere feet ahead, where the swirling gray tendrils danced and coiled like ghostly serpents. Each step felt heavier, as if the ground itself resisted their advance, the damp air seeping into their skin and chilling them to the bone.

The mist wasn’t silent, it whispered. Faint, almost inaudible murmurs seemed to emanate from all around, like the voices of the dead calling out from the void. Shapes loomed in the distance, but when approached, they dissolved into nothingness, leaving only an aching emptiness.

Then came the voices. Not from the mist but from those around Feng Jiao Xue. Greedy murmurs that snaked through the group like poison,

"Those weapons look valuable.. "

"Some of their storage rings are intact..."

Feng Jiao Xue caught the flicker of movement from the corner of her eye. A pair of cultivators, their faces shadowed with greed, crouched beside a corpse. One of them snatched a ring from the finger of a fallen warrior discreetly.

"We shouldn’t linger here, she said quietly, her voice steady. "The barrier is holding, but if we lose focus-" Her words were cut off by a sudden hiss of excitement.

"Look at that sword!" one of the cultivators whispered outloud, pointing to a corpse clutching a gleaming blade. "That could be worth a fortune."

Before anyone could stop him, the man darted forward. Another followed close behind, their greed overcoming their caution. "You fools, stop!" barked the crown prince, his voice unusually sharp.

It was too late.

The idiots unknowingly crossed the barrier though his companion stopped just in time, stagerring as his eyes widened.

It was like the moment froze.

The air staggered, not a movement was made and the sound of silent so loud. A single second felt like forever and then,

Tendrils coils around the cultivator as it was raised up by the mist itself. The golden sword he picked up fell with a loud "clang". Flesh sizzled and peeled away as though burned by acid. Their agonized cries echoed as the mist consumed them entirely, leaving nothing but bones and scraps of cloth,

"gh-aaahhhh!" The man screamed pierced through the momentary silence. His scream tore through the stillness, raw and guttural. They watched in some in terror others in morbid facination as the mist begond to eat away at his flesh. His skin melted in grotesqui streams that the mists absorbs fervently,

"Help! Ghaa! Help! Please! Help!" The cultivator begged while some felt sick at the sight, his companion standing there, frozen like a statue while his friend lost his skin leaving raw muscles, veins and organs until those too where eaten away, all that was left was nothing but bones falling.

’Clack, Clack Clack!’ The bones piled on each other.

Feng Jiao Xue regained compusure and the first thought she had in mind was the memory of the small bird being forced into the mist, helpless, blameless little bird sent to its possible death and they did nothing but watch.

And yet, the man that run to his death garnered tears even from strangers.

The brarrier shimmered as if something unseen was pressing against it snapping everyone back into from the terror.

"Focus!" The prince sternly ordered immediately.

"Hold the line!" shouted one of the mages in response, their voice cracking under the strain.

"This... this mist is alive," one of the mages whispered, their voice trembling.

"Stay within the barrier," Han Qing commanded, his voice cold and unyielding. "And do not touch anything. If greed blinds you, it will be the last thing you see."

His words carried weight, silencing even the most reckless among them. The journey through the mist continued, each step accompanied by the oppressive silence of death.

The group pressed on, their fear palpable. The greedy spark thathad lingered in some eyes was now extinguished, replaced by the sobering reality ofthe mist’s true nature.

Every few steps, the mist would surge against the barrier, its tendrils pressing and curling like searching fingers. The glow of the barrier dimmed momentarily with each contact, and the group froze, their breaths caught in their throats. But the light held, and the journey resumed, each step heavier than the last.

"Xiao..." Feng Jiao Xue paused as she heard a familiar voice but as she looked around she noticed she isn’t just the one looking around.

"Mom!!!" Feng Jiao Xue looked at Mei Lin trying to run towards the mist tears in her eyes.

"Lin, there’s no one there!" Chen Rong held her down but the girl continues to struggle.

"What do you mean? Rong it’s mom! Didn’t you hear her? Mom is out there!" Mei Lin pointed to the mist gasping in excitement. "Mom! Mom! Rong she’s right there!" Mei Lin pointed towards the mist yet there was no one there.

It looks like she wasn’t the only one though. Feng Jiao Xue looked around and saw various people being held back by others, calling out to different people.

"Xiao Xue...." She hears again making her snapped towards the voice.

There, standing in front of her in a prestined lab coat, familiar glasses and perfectly styled hair, smiling at her softly, warmly...

Tears welled in her eyes once more, shakily she stepped towards him.

"...Lou Xi..." She whisphered longingly.

"Xue-hime..." Lou Xi smiled more brilliantly. "Let’s go home"

Feng Jiao Xue sobbed at that. ’home’.

Immediately she nodded hesitantly taking a step, then another, and then another. Faster, faster, faster. His right there, smiles as bright as the sun and eyes as calming and gentle as the moon. Her home...

She felt something stopping her and as she looked she saw chains trying to stop her, a buzzing in her ears making her roughly snapped herseld away from them before sprinting towards her brother.

"Come closer, Jiao Xue, my Xiao Xue" he said softly, his voice carrying a warmth she had long since forgotten. "You don’t need to be alone here anymore."

"Lou Xi!" She couldn’t help calling out.

Harshly, she was thrown back mking her widen and there, in front of her, Yin Xiao stood between her and the mist, his antlers glowing clearing her mind.

Desperately, even though her heart runs cold knowing what she will see, she still stood up and looked.

Nothing.

There was nothing there but the void.

Empty. Just like the hallowness he left behind in her life. Nothing but emptiness.

He was right there... but there was nothing, no warmth, no smile, no refuge. Only the cold, suffocating silence of the mist.

Feng Jiao Xue choked a sob.

Her knees buckled, and she sank to the ground, her hands gripping the damp earth. She knew it wasn’t real. She knew he was gone, and yet... "Just once," she whispered, her voice barely audible, "just once, let me see you again."

Her hands trembled as she clutched at her chest, the weight of his memory crushing her. That same void echoed in her heart, a gaping wound that never fully healed, no matter how much time passed. It wasn’t just his voice or his face that she missed, it was the way he made her feel whole, the way his presence had anchored her even in the darkest moments.

"Hey..." Liang Feng called out softly to announce his presence as to not startle her.

Looking up, she noticed that the ’chains’ holding her back was actually him and the others.

"Are you-?" Xu Bo wanted to ask if she was alright but coldly she cut him off.

"I’m fine" She stated, eyes as cold as ice. Her expression betrayed nothing as she stood up as if nothing happened.

"Yin Xiao, snap the others out" Feng Jiao Xue ordered making the deer nudge her worriedly but she just looked at him firmly making the deer nodded and throtted off to also snap the others out.

Emotionlessly, Feng Jiao Xue walked amongst the others as they continued their journey. A hallow and aching emptiness freezing her within.

Only her hands, burried in her pocket, trembled away from prying eyes.