Eternity | MDZS React

001. The Start

The silence that followed Xie Lian’s words was heavy enough to feel like breath held in unison.

Then the air shimmered.

A faint hum filled the vast hall, and the empty wall before them bloomed with light. The glow rippled outward until it formed a great screen, misty at first, then sharpening, colors beginning to move like reflections caught on water.

All eyes turned toward it.

Lan Xichen’s breath caught quietly in his throat. He could feel the unease radiating from the other sect leaders—the tension, the fear, the anticipation—but he refused to let it take root in his own heart.

Perhaps, he thought, this will not be as grim as we all imagine. Perhaps the heavens mean for us to change it.

He glanced once more toward the girl the god had named—Jiang Wanyin, the young Heiress of Yunmeng Jiang. Her hands were folded tightly in her lap, knuckles pale, her expression carefully composed though her eyes betrayed confusion and a trace of fear.

Lan Xichen felt something stir—pity, perhaps, or protectiveness—and returned his gaze to the glowing surface as the light began to steady.

The first image began to form.

The screen shimmered once more. The light cleared, revealing a boy — no more than eight or nine — standing within a sunlit pavilion. His robes were of fine Jin gold, the fabric glimmering as he moved, small hands guiding a sword through slow, practiced motions.

He stopped, sighing faintly, and turned at the sound of quick footsteps running along the wooden planks of the pier beyond the pavilion.

In the room, there was a collective intake of breath.

The Jin were the first to react. Jin Guangshan leaned forward slightly, eyes narrowing as pride flickered across his features. Madame Jin’s lips curved into a rare smile — not of calculation, but genuine delight.

A child. A boy. Their bloodline continued.

Jin Zixuan could barely breathe as he stared at the boy. The child had his hair, his eyes — and yet the shape of his face was soft, unmistakably belonging to his betrothed. The sight made his heart twist. He should have felt only joy, but instead, it was a strange mix of contentment and ache — happiness laced with something he didn’t dare name.

At the other side of the room, the Jiang family sat in stunned silence before smiles began to bloom. Jiang Fengmian’s eyes softened; Yu Ziyuan’s lips curved upward just slightly. Their daughter would have a child of her own — a grandchild, an heir.

Jiang Yanli’s smile trembled faintly, her hand clutching her sleeve. Her gaze flicked from the child on the screen to her betrothed, whose expression she knew better than anyone. Jin Zixuan looked proud… but beneath it, she saw something else. That flicker of dejection, that glance that lingered too long on her younger sister, standing quietly beside her.

Her heart sank.

So it’s true, she thought bitterly. Even then, even after everything, his eyes still follow her.

Beside her, Jiang Cheng — still so young, only fifteen, but already sharp and aware — tilted her head slightly. Her lips quirked in a dry little smile.

The boy on the screen had her sister’s soft cheeks, that warmth in his eyes, but he also had the arrogance of a Jin, although a softer and kinder one, Jiang Cheng could tell. A perfect blend of lotus and gold.

“Just because I’m friends with A-Xuan doesn’t mean I’ll lie,” she thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. He’s a spoiled peacock.