Chapter 2135: The Name Beneath the Ashes
The sun rose.
But for Caizhi, the world remained dim.
No one looked at her twice. No one felt her aura. Even the stars above avoided her gaze.
Jasmine stayed near. So did Yun Che.
They remembered.
But beyond them, no one did.
Not her old sect.
Not the Blue Pole Star.
Not even her own reflection, when viewed in spirit mirrors.
Yun Che tried everything—divine inscriptions, memory links, fate-bond triggers.
Nothing worked.
Until one night…
---
In the Moonflower Garden
Caizhi sat alone. Moonlight spilled across the silent courtyard.
She whispered names to herself. Her own.
Over and over.
> "Caizhi… Caizhi… Caizhi."
But the name felt hollow. Like it didn't fit anymore.
And then—someone spoke behind her.
> "You were never meant to be forgotten."
She spun.
A woman stood there—tall, robed in ash-grey, her face hidden behind a silver veil. No aura. No pressure.
Just presence.
Caizhi rose, fists clenching.
> "Who are you?"
The woman didn't answer.
Instead, she asked:
> "Do you want to be remembered?"
Caizhi's voice cracked.
> "Yes."
The woman tilted her head.
> "Then you must remember who you were before you were a god."
And she held out a hand.
Caizhi hesitated.
But reached out—
And was pulled into memory.
---
Elsewhere—A Forgotten Place
Not a vision.
Not a dream.
This was real.
Caizhi stood in a field of white poppies under a golden sky. A village lay in the distance, simple and quiet. Chickens. Wind chimes. Laughter.
And a small girl.
Holding a bamboo sword.
> "Watch me, Father! I'm going to be the best sword fairy ever!"
Caizhi froze.
> "That's… me."
The girl didn't hear her.
But someone did.
From the edge of the field, an older voice echoed—familiar, distant:
> "Caizhi. Daughter of stars. Remember the roots before the wings."
Suddenly, the woman in grey appeared beside her.
> "The Throne of Unbinding erases by stealing the future and unraveling the past. But some memories burn deeper."
She turned.
> "Find one person. One soul. Who remembers you without reason. That will be your anchor."
> "Or fade."
---
Back in the Moonflower Garden
Caizhi gasped—falling to her knees.
Yun Che caught her instantly.
> "What happened?"
She looked up at him, then at Jasmine.
Her voice was small—but steady.
> "There's one person. Somewhere. Who remembers me, not because they should… but because they refuse to forget."
And a single tear slid down her cheek.
> "I just have to find them before I disappear completely."
---
Meanwhile: The Throne That Unbinds
In the deep void, the Throne stirred.
It saw the flicker.
A spark resisting the unraveling.
> "One remembers."
> "That is… enough to begin."
And its fingers brushed across a new name.
One none of them would want to hear.
> Yun Che.