The Gate of Eternity Curse of Heaven

A COMPLICATED CHOICE

Zhao Lingyun stared at Wei Xuan's slowly disappearing figure, his words echoing in his mind: “the truth written in your own blood.” He grasped the badge tightly, feeling its cold metallic texture. The changing names on its surface-Hong Ying, Lin Chen, Ying Fenghua-were like puzzle pieces that refused to fit together properly.

That night, Zhao Lingyun couldn't sleep. He sat in front of the window of his room, staring at the red clouds that were never absent from the sky of the heavenly realm. For years, he had taken the cloud's presence for granted-a natural phenomenon that was said to have appeared since the Great War five hundred years ago. But now, after everything that had happened, he began to wonder.

“Red clouds,” he muttered to himself. “Always there, never changing... like a perpetual reminder of something to be forgotten.”

Suddenly, an almost forgotten memory came to mind. When he was a child, his grandfather had once told him about the sky of the heavenly realm that used to be brilliant blue. “The sky changed,” his grandfather said back then, ”when the Gate of Eternity was first sealed.”

The Gate of Eternity. The name appeared like a whisper in his mind. She had heard it somewhere, but where?

A soft knock on the door broke her reverie. When she opened the door, there was no one there. Only a worn-out piece of paper lying on the floor. On it, written in gleaming golden ink:

“Meet me at the Twin Moon Temple at dawn. Bring the badge. -LF”

LF. Lin Fengtian? That name again. Zhao Lingyun weighed the risks. This could be a trap, but something in him-perhaps the blood running through his veins-said that he had to go.

The Twin Moon Temple was an ancient structure located on the border of the heavenly realm, a place rarely visited due to its remoteness and mysterious reputation. It was said that the temple was built in the time before the separation of the realms, when light and shadow still coexisted.

When Zhao Lingyun arrived, dawn was just beginning to break. The golden light of the sun mixed with the red tinge of the eternal clouds, creating an almost magical scene. The temple stood majestic yet silent, with two twin towers rising high into the sky.

“Welcome, Zhao Lingyun,” a voice rang out from the direction of the altar. “Or should I call you... little brother?”

From behind the pillar emerged the figure of a man. His appearance was shocking-his black hair was graded golden, and his eyes... one was gold, one was blood red. Lin Fengtian.

“You...” Zhao Lingyun was silent for a moment. “How is that possible?”

Lin Fengtian smiled, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. “How is that possible? How could you be my brother? Or maybe... how could the history you've known all this time be a lie?”

Before Zhao Lingyun could answer, the air around them shook. Transparent figures began to appear-reflections of the past, just like the ones he saw in the mysterious mirror.

“Look.” Lin Fengtian pointed towards the visions that had sprung up. “See the truth they're trying to bury.”

In the vision, Zhao Lingyun saw a woman who looked a lot like his mother-Ying Fenghua-standing in front of a giant gate that emitted a strange light. Next to her, a man with heterochrome eyes like Lin Fengtian.

“That's our father,” Lin Fengtian explained. “Li Tianshen, the God of War who supposedly 'disappeared' in the Battle of Red Dawn. In reality? He fled with our mother to the shadow realm when the Supreme Council decided to 'purify' the heavenly realm.”

“But... didn't mom disappear before I was born?”

“Yes and no.” Lin Fengtian took the badge from Zhao Lingyun's hand. “Hong Ying, Lin Chen, Ying Fenghua-they're all our mother, Xiao Yingmei. She used various identities to protect you, to make sure you could grow up in the heavenly realm without being suspected. While me...” he smiled bitterly, ”I was born with a mark too obvious to hide.”

Zhao Lingyun looked into his brother's different colored eyes. “That's why you were banished?”

“Banished? No, little brother. I was the first experiment-living proof that heavenly blood and shadow can unite. And that's why they fear me.” Lin Fengtian stepped towards the altar. “But what they don't know is... this is all part of a much bigger plan.”

With one smooth movement, Lin Fengtian placed the badge in the center of the altar. Instantly, the floor of the temple shook, and from the center of the altar emerged a giant mirror-a much larger version of the mysterious mirror Zhao Lingyun had.

“This is the Mirror of Immortality,” Lin Fengtian explained. “The portal between the true realms. And you, my little brother, are the key.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You know why you always feel different? Why your fighting techniques never fully followed the standard patterns of the heavenly realm? Because in your blood flows the power to balance both the realm's

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching. Lin Fengtian smiled. “Ah, it seems like the elders are already aware of our existence. But that's okay. They came just in time to witness the awakening of the truth.”

The temple door opened with a bang. Zhang Qingxuan and Wei Xuan were standing there, along with several other elders. But there was something strange-their eyes were all misty, like they were shrouded in a thin fog.

“Welcome, Fog Guardians,” greeted Lin Fengtian in a mocking tone. “Or should I call you... the puppets of the Shadow Council?”

Zhang Qingxuan stepped forward, his misty eyes staring intently. “You've gone too far, Lin Fengtian. Balance must be maintained.”

“Balance?” Lin Fengtian laughed bitterly. “You talk about balance while you yourself are proof of that imbalance! Look at your eyes-veiled in a fog of darkness. You claim to be the protectors of the heavenly realm, but you've long been slaves to the shadow realm!”

Zhao Lingyun looked at the elders with new eyes. That's right. There had been something strange about their eyes all along, but he had never really noticed.

“My brother.” Lin Fengtian turned towards Zhao Lingyun. “Now you have to make a choice. Join me in exposing these lies, or remain in comfortable ignorance?”

Before Zhao Lingyun could answer, another figure appeared from the shadows-a woman with hair as dark as night and fiery red eyes. Hong Ying... or Ying Fenghua... or whoever she really was.

“My sons,” her voice was soft yet powerful. “You are reunited at last. But remember, not all truths need to be revealed. Not all secrets need to be exposed.”

Zhao Lingyun felt a strange energy coursing through his blood. Before him, the Mirror of Immortality began to glow with an increasingly bright light. He stood at the crossroads of destiny, with a choice that would change not only his life, but also the balance of the entire realm.

In the distance, red clouds moved in different formations-no longer reminders of the past, but harbingers of an unpredictable future. And in the center of the ancient temple, two brothers stand face to face with the misty elders, while the mysterious mother watches silently.

The question now is: what is truly real-the balance maintained by lies, or the chaos born of truth?

“Choose wisely, little brother,” Lin Fengtian whispered. “Because your choice today will determine the fate of both realms.”

Zhao Lingyun observed the Mirror of Eternity that was glowing brighter and brighter. In the reflection of its rippling water-like surface, he saw moving shadows-pieces of the past trying to tell their own stories. She saw her father, Li Tianshen, standing tall in his golden armor, fighting against an army of shadows. But there was something different about the version of history she knew-Li Tianshen wasn't attacking the shadow realm, he was protecting them from something even more terrifying.

“Look carefully, little brother,” Lin Fengtian's voice broke the silence. “What you're witnessing is the real Battle of Red Dawn. Not a war between light and shadow as told in history, but a battle against those who want to destroy the balance-the Guardians of the Mist.”

Zhang Qingxuan laughed coldly, his voice echoing off the walls of the ancient temple. “Balance? You speak of balance while your own existence is proof of that imbalance! Mixed bloods like you and your sister are anomalies that shouldn't exist.” Her misty eyes flashed a dangerous glint. “We, the Guardians of the Mists, have maintained the purity of the realm for centuries. We will not let you destroy what we have built.”

“Purity?” Xiao Yingmei-their mother-stepped forward, her aura emitting a harmonious mix of light and shadow energy. “You speak of purity, but look at yourselves. Eyes shrouded in mist, souls bound in darkness. You have long since lost the true essence of what you protect.”

Amidst the tension, the Mirror of Eternity suddenly emitted a blinding light. From its surface, a figure emerged that made everyone in the room fall silent-Li Tianshen, or at least a projection of him, stood with his armor cracked and covered in blood.

“My sons,” Li Tianshen's voice resounded with a familiar yet unfamiliar energy vibration. “What you saw today is only the beginning. The real truth is far more profound and dangerous. The Fog Guardians are merely pawns in a greater game-a game that began from the very beginning of the realm's formation.”

Zhao Lingyun felt a strange vibration in his blood, as if each of his father's words awakened something that had long been dormant within him. Beside him, Lin Fengtian clenched his hands tightly, his heterochrome eyes flashing with complex emotions.

“The Gate of Eternity,” Li Tianshen continued, ”isn't just a portal between realms. It's the key to unlocking the final seal-the seal that holds the truth about the origins of us all. The Fog Guardians are not from any realm; they are remnants from the era before the separation, beings who refused to choose sides.”

Zhang Qingxuan and the other elders began to move restlessly. The mist in their eyes swirled faster, as if reacting to Li Tianshen's words. “Enough!” shouted Zhang Qingxuan, drawing his sword that glowed with an unnatural golden energy. “We will not let this secret be revealed!”

But before the battle could break out, Xiao Yingmei raised her hand. A gentle yet powerful wave of energy swept through the room, calming the prevailing tension. “Enough bloodshed,” she said in a voice that contained absolute authority. “It's time for the truth to be revealed, not through fighting, but through understanding.”

In the midst of it all, Zhao Lingyun felt something stir within him-an understanding that was slowly coming to the surface. He began to understand why his fighting techniques were always different, why he could see beauty in shadow as much as in light. He was not simply the product of two opposing realms; he was living proof that harmony between the two was possible.

“There is no choice to be made today,” Zhao Lingyun said finally, his voice calm yet full of conviction. “What we need to do is understand-understand that the line between light and shadow is not as certain as we thought. And perhaps, it is in that uncertainty that the true balance lies.”