An Immortal Love

The Search

They soar through the skies, tracing an arc around the mountains. Each body of water they pass glimmers under the pale light, but none reveal the presence of the dragon. Their journey weaves through deep valleys and clouded peaks until they reach the heart of the mountain range, where the terrain takes on an ominous air.

"Look there," Lord HuO commands, his sharp voice cutting through the wind.

Yijun twists his body inside Lord HuO's scaled claws, craning his neck to follow the god's gaze. Below, a dark stain mars the plain, shrouded in mist that clings like ghostly veils. The place exudes an unspoken menace, as if the earth itself holds its breath.

"Do you think His Lordship is there?" Yijun asks, skepticism etched across his face as he glances at Lord HuO's scarlet, downy chest. The dragon has a penchant for cleanliness and refinement; the wretched place down there seems an unlikely resting ground for him.

Lord HuO tilts his feathered head, his eyes narrowing. "Maybe. The aura from that place is... familiar."

A chill skitters down Yijun's spine. He suppresses a groan, sensing where this is headed. Surely, we're not going there...

But, of course, they are. Resignation settles over him as Lord HuO adjusts their course, his body tilting towards the aura's direction. They land softly at the edge of a shadowy forest, where the oppressive atmosphere thickens like a tangible force.

Lord HuO shifts back to his human form with an elegant flourish, his fan snapping open to shield his face. His eyes glint ahead where the forest looms—a labyrinth of twisted trees whose gnarled branches form a canopy so dense it devours the light. Tendrils of mist coil between the trunks, thick with the smell of decay.

"Come on," Lord HuO snaps, striding forward without hesitation. His body emits a glow, the soft lift pushing back the encroaching darkness. Shadows recoil from his presence, their malevolence retreating like wounded beasts.

Yijun hesitates, his heart sinking, looking at the ominous forest ahead.

"What are you dawdling for? We're not here to admire the scenery," Lord HuO calls back, irritation flaring in his tone.

Sighing, Yijun trails after him, carefully placing each step in his companion's wake. The ground beneath his feet is carpeted in a thick layer of mold, its spongy surface releasing a sickly, earthy odor with every step. Foul air clings to him, thick and damp, weighing on his chest with each breath.

The trees seem alive with malice. Their mottled bark, blackened and slick, leans inward as if reaching for him, their branches clawing the air like skeletal hands. He shudders, feeling the faint echo of distant screams carried on the fetid wind.

Lord HuO strides confidently through it all, his fan flicking lazily as if swatting at invisible nuisances. Each step he takes dispels the miasma around him, burning away the rot and decay with a soft, purifying heat. Even the twisted trees seem to shrink back, their grotesque limbs wilting under his light.

Yijun's gaze darts nervously around the forest. Strange fungi sprout from the decaying wood, their swollen forms pulsating faintly, as though alive. Some emit an otherworldly glow, casting eerie reflections on the thick mist that blankets the forest floor.

The oppressive atmosphere bears down on him, heavy with an indescribable wrongness. Yet, through it all, he follows Lord HuO, who glows like a beacon in this labyrinth of despair. As they venture deeper into the shadowed heart of the forest, the world they left behind seems to dissolve, swallowed by an oppressive silence. The hum of life fades, replaced by an eerie stillness that clings to the air like damp mist. Only the sporadic creak of ancient, decaying trees and the faint rustle of unseen creatures disturb the quiet. The silence feels alive, pressing in on Yijun from every direction, heavy and suffocating. Each breath he takes sounds unnaturally loud, a ghostly whisper in the oppressive void. His heartbeat pounds in his ears, an anxious drumbeat that reverberates through the gloom.