Legend of the Embroiderer

Chapter 375 Memory Collapse

The moment Lingyue's fingertips touched the bronze giant door, the blood runes seeping from the door suddenly twisted violently, as if countless live snakes were frantically slithering across the door's surface.

The runes rearranged and combined to form a distorted human face. The person grinned with a gaping maw and let out a piercing laugh that made Lingyue's eardrums ache and her head buzz.

She suppressed her discomfort and pressed the fragment in her hand hard against the door. The moment the fragment touched the door, a dazzling light burst out, blinding her.

With a deafening roar, the bronze gate slowly opened, the sound like thunder, shaking people's souls.

As the giant gate opened, a cold, damp aura rushed out like a surging wave, carrying a nauseating stench of decay and rust that made one want to vomit.

Behind the door was a pitch-black space. The thick darkness seemed almost tangible, swallowing up all the light and rendering one's vision completely useless.

Only a faint light flickered in the depths, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, like a candle in the wind, teetering on the verge of collapse, yet also like a candle flame swaying in the darkness, emitting a weak light that lured her forward.

Lingyue stood in front of the door, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her inner fear.

She clutched the fragment tightly in her hand; it was her only clue to entering this unknown and eerie realm.

She gazed at that faint light as if it were her lifeline in the darkness, and then resolutely stepped into this unknown territory.

Her footsteps were exceptionally clear in the silent space. With each step, the ground trembled slightly, as if something enormous was awakening deep underground, stirring restlessly.

From the surrounding darkness, there were occasional rustling sounds, like countless tiny claws scratching at the ground, or like low moans, which sent chills down one's spine.

Lingyue's heart pounded harder and harder, and fine beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead, but she suppressed her fear and continued to walk forward step by step.

That faint light kept flickering not far ahead, drawing her closer and closer.

Suddenly, a dark blue light flashed in front of her, like a shooting star streaking across the night sky, instantly illuminating a small area around her.

Lingyue's gaze was drawn to the light. Looking closely, she saw countless broken mirrors scattered on the ground. These mirrors varied in size and shape, and each one seemed to contain endless secrets.

Lingyue slowly approached the mirrors, curiously examining them.

When her gaze fell upon the mirror, her face suddenly turned ashen.

Each mirror reflected a different scene, a scene so nightmarish it nearly stopped her heart.

In a mirror, she saw herself holding a dark scepter, radiating a chilling aura of darkness.

Behind her followed a legion clad in silver armor, like a pack of hungry wolves, wantonly destroying everything around them.

Houses were destroyed, and people fled in terror, but she stood atop the ruins, a cruel smile playing on her lips.

On the other side, Li Zhao, covered in blood, lay amidst ruins.

His body was covered in gruesome wounds, and the blood stained the ground beneath him.

His eyes were tightly closed, as if he had lost all life, and Lingyue could only watch helplessly as he did so.

In another mirror, Wenli is tightly bound by chains, her body trembling and her face showing a pained expression.

She struggled desperately to break free of the chains, but it was all in vain.

These images flashed before Lingyue's eyes like lightning, each one like a sharp blade, piercing her eyes and heart.

"No...this is not true..."

Lingyue murmured to herself, her voice filled with terror and unease, as if these images would become reality in an instant.

She tried to turn away from the mirrors, wanting to escape this horrible place.

No matter how she turned around, those mirrors remained in her sight like ghosts.

Those terrifying images flashed before her eyes repeatedly, as if under a spell, making it impossible for her to escape them.

Lingyue's head grew heavier and heavier, as if countless hands were pulling at her thoughts.

Her memories began to become chaotic, with various fragments intertwining in her mind, making it impossible for her to distinguish between what was real and what was illusory.

Just when she was feeling desperate, the faint light suddenly became brighter, illuminating the road ahead.

Lingyue seemed to grasp at a straw and ran desperately toward the light.

As she drew closer, a blurry figure gradually emerged from the light.

When she finally saw the figure clearly, she couldn't help but gasp – it was Wenli!

Wenli huddled in the corner, her body covered in wounds, her once flowing long hair now disheveled and scattered across her face, her eyes empty and filled with despair.

She clutched a half-fragment tightly in her arms. The cracks on the fragment seemed deeper than before, emitting a faint light, as if it were clinging to life.

"Wenli!" Lingyue shouted and rushed towards Wenli.

Just as she was about to touch Wenli, a transparent barrier suddenly appeared, blocking her from the outside.

Lingyue anxiously pounded on the barrier and called out Wenli's name, but Wenli seemed not to hear her and continued to stare blankly ahead.

"Don't waste your efforts."

A cold voice came from behind.

Lingyue turned around stiffly, only to see Li Zhao standing there. His eyes held a strangeness and coldness she had never seen before, as if the person in front of her was just an empty shell, no longer the partner who fought alongside her.

Li Zhao exuded an eerie aura; his black robes fluttered without wind, and a faint black mist swirled around them. The tip of the scepter he held shimmered with a ghostly purple light, completely different from the black and white intertwined power he had previously displayed.

"Li Zhao, what's wrong?"

Lingyue asked in a trembling voice, her heart filled with fear and doubt.

Li Zhao's lips curled into a cold smile as he slowly said:

"Lingyue, you're too naive. Do you really think you can save Wenli? Change all of this? You're nothing but a pawn in the hands of the dark will."

His words were like a bucket of cold water, chilling Lingyue to the bone.

"No! I don't believe it!" Lingyue shouted hoarsely, "We've been through so much together, you couldn't have become like this! Something must have gone wrong!"

Li Zhao ignored her cries, raised his hand and waved it, causing the surrounding space to begin to distort and deform.

The shattered mirrors flew up and hovered in the air, making the images in them even more chaotic and terrifying.

Lingyue felt as if her head was about to explode, her memories began to crumble, and those past memories became fragmented and indistinguishable from the real ones.

She didn't know who she was or what to believe.

In the midst of her confused memories, Lingyue suddenly saw a scene: in ancient times, a group of guardians sat around an altar, holding fragments in their hands and wearing pious expressions on their faces.

In the center of the altar, a huge black heart beats slowly, exuding an evil aura.

The face of one of the guardians gradually became clear—it was Li Zhao!

This scene struck Lingyue's heart like a heavy hammer blow.

She looked at the unfamiliar Li Zhao, her heart filled with confusion and despair.

She didn't know if she could find the truth or save everything.

At that moment, a sinister laugh echoed from the darkness, as if mocking her helplessness and insignificance...