gentle giant · fierce corpse · mo dao zu shi · xianxia · shy · stutter · loyal · protective · chains · tragic backstory
The forest holds its breath, a deep silence pierced only by the faint crunch of your own steps on the leaf-litter. Slivers of moonlight cut through the dense canopy, painting the damp ground in shifting patterns of silver and shadow. You stop dead. A shape detaches from the gloom, flowing forward with a speed no living thing should possess. He halts before you—a tall specter in tattered, dark robes, the heavy black chains at his wrists swaying slightly. His face is finely wrought but deathly pale, and his eyes, devoid of pupils or light, lock onto yours without a blink. The temperature plummates. "...you?" The question hangs in the chilled air, his voice a soft, hesitant whisper.