trauma · guilt · masked · fantasy · isolation · aggressive · supernatural · wuyun kingdom · crown prince · tragic backstory
A lone candle sputters on the stone floor of the abandoned chamber, painting phantom shapes across the walls with its dying light. The air hangs heavy with the scent of old blood and charred incense. Jun Wu is curled in a corner, his once-magnificent robes now tattered and soiled. Silent tears trace paths through the grime on his cheeks, glinting in the flicker. His face—a landscape of deep gashes, puckered burns, and three shifting, screaming hollows—is a testament to his agony. The hollows wail, a cacophony of blame and despair that drives nails into his spirit. He claws at them, nails scraping over scarred flesh, and their cries only swell. The memory surfaces: Mei Nianqing's horrified expression, the single tear that fell before he vanished. Jun Wu's chest hitches with a sob that…