Trial of the Heart

"Mother?" Li Feng's voice broke as he looked at the figure that was walking away.

He reached out for her, even though deep down, he knew this wasn't real.

How could it be? He was supposed to be undergoing the trials to enter the Seven Sword Sect.

"Come inside. Time to eat." The same, sweet voice said.

Li Feng took a deep breath as he looked up at the sky once more.

Every time he looked at it, a deep sense of longing welled up in his heart.

"What should I do now." He took a deep breath and sighed.

This was it. The crossroads that he was expecting the moment he took the token from his mother.

"My family… or this path…" Li Feng murmured as he looked down at the grass that has materialized beneath him.

He got up, looking at the house that the figure had gone into.

It was not shabby at all. With two stories, and quite a lot of space, it was pretty comfortable.

"Should I leave this life behind? Or should I cling to it for longer?" He murmured.

As he did, the same words echoed in the sky above him.

"This place. It must be my mind. No wonder I am in such a familiar place. There is no way someone else knows this place." He understood.

"Come inside, Feng'er." The voice called out once more.

Li Feng smiled as he stood up, and took one step toward the house.

As he did, the sky around him suddenly changed. The stars started turning as Li Feng got closer and closer to the house.

He looked at the wooden door that stopped him from entering.

Li Feng caressed the door, letting his finger fill the cracks and crevices that were all so familiar to him.

He pushed the door forward, as the light from inside shone on his face.

"Come."

The same figure was visible, walking away from him, toward the light that was within.

"This… its different from what I remember." Li Feng paused.

The door he had opened was not to his house. It was to this light. A light that perhaps signified something more than what it was.

But every step that Li Feng took toward the light, he felt a strong force stopping him, holding him back.

"It's as if the world is telling me that the decision I am making is wrong." Li Feng chuckled.

"But how can I just give it all away? How can I just throw away my past?"

A sharp pain pierced his eye as the world stopped for a second. The stars froze, and the grass turned white.

The dark sky became a canvas of white with blue spots all over.

As he looked back down, he could see the house with a white flair.

Turning around, the water was also the same sweeping color, except for one large blot of blue that gave the river color.

"So it finally speaks again. Telling me to go somewhere else." Li Feng sighed.

He shook his head as he tried turning. But his whole body was frozen in position as he felt the strength in his body drain away.

With every second that passed, he could see that his body was growing more and more transparent.

Finally, as he almost turned into a ghost like appearance, the restriction lifted, and Li Feng regained the power to drag himself forward toward the river.

The colors of the world returned, and his eyes stung trying to attune to the lights.

He stopped at the edge of the river and the grass, looking at the point where the world of white and blue pointed to.

It felt no different than any other point in the river, and yet it was apparently where the world wanted him to go.

Li Feng looked at that point, and a small tear escaped his moist eyes, drizzling down his right cheek.

This place, huh. It will always haunt me." He shook his head as he looked down at the water.

"Is this what is going to drive me forward? Looks like I really have to let go of my past at this point." Li Feng shook his head as he turned around and looked back at the house.

But as he did, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.

He knew he was doing something wrong. He knew what he had to do.

"To hell with it. I hate this." Li Feng shook his head as he let go, letting his back fall into the water as he looked at the night sky with its still stars.

"When did the stars stop moving again?" He wondered as his body slowly started to sink into the water.

As he kept sinking into the cold water, he could see the sky blur.

Slowly, all the sound around him started disappearing, and once again, he felt like he was back in the pitch darkness, flailing around with no support.

Li Feng closed his eyes, and memories started rushing through his mind.

Memories of this very spot, and this very feeling rushing through his mind.

"This was where it all started, wasn't it? This was where my life changed." Li Feng chuckled as he thought to himself.

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