A Past Revealed

The recuperation room was warm and quiet, the tension from the last battle slowly ebbing away in the comforting glow of soft lantern light. Xia Ren watched as Li Wei sipped the herbal tea, the lines of fatigue easing from his face, if only just a little. They had bathed, tended to their wounds, and rested longer than they should have dared—but Xia Ren knew they both needed it. He glanced over at Li Wei, whose eyes were half-closed as he leaned back against the wall, seemingly lost in thought.

Xia Ren’s curiosity got the better of him, and he finally broke the silence that had settled between them. “You know,” he said slowly, “everyone in the outside world calls you the Reaper. They say you’ve survived the deadliest levels of the escape rooms. But… you must’ve struggled during your first time, right? I mean, no one’s that good from the start.”

Li Wei’s gaze flickered to Xia Ren, his purple eyes reflecting the lantern’s light like polished amethysts. For a long moment, he didn’t answer, his expression unreadable. Then, he gave a faint, almost nostalgic smile. “Struggled is an understatement,” he said quietly. “But I had a bit of an advantage going in.”

Xia Ren’s brows furrowed in confusion. “An advantage? Like what?”

Li Wei looked away, staring into the flickering light, his fingers tightening around the ceramic cup in his hands. “Before I was ever thrown into the escape rooms,” he said slowly, “I was a Domain Hunter.”

Xia Ren blinked, surprised. “A Domain Hunter?” He had heard of them—warriors who risked their lives in the outside world to hunt down demons that breached into their realm. They were well-trained, skilled in both combat and magic, but the danger they faced was nothing compared to the nightmarish rooms they were trapped in now. “You mean… you fought demons?”

Li Wei nodded, a distant look settling over his face. “Yes. I hunted demons in the real world. It was… different from this. Less complex, maybe, but just as deadly. The domains are full of traps, illusions, and monsters that could rip you apart if you made a single mistake. I was used to the danger, the unpredictability. But when I entered my first escape room…” He trailed off, his voice growing softer. “It was like nothing I’d ever faced before.”

Xia Ren was silent, listening intently. He could see the shadows in Li Wei’s gaze, the weight of memories he didn’t often share. “So, that’s why you survived,” Xia Ren said quietly. “You already knew how to handle life-or-death situations.”

“Yes,” Li Wei admitted. “But that didn’t make it easy. The escape rooms are designed to break you, to test every limit—physical, magical, mental. Even with my training, I barely made it out of my first one alive.”

“What happened?” Xia Ren asked, leaning forward, unable to hide his curiosity.

Li Wei’s lips twitched into a humorless smile. “I was overconfident. I thought my skills as a Domain Hunter would be enough, that I could rely on what I knew. I was wrong.” His fingers brushed over the faint scar on his wrist—a reminder of a close call from that first escape. “The traps were smarter, the monsters deadlier, and the magic in the rooms was far beyond anything I’d encountered in the domains.”

He took another sip of tea, the warmth settling his nerves. “I learned quickly that the escape rooms don’t follow the same rules as the real world. They adapt, react, change based on your actions. You have to be constantly vigilant, constantly moving. There’s no room for hesitation. No second chances.”

Xia Ren felt a shiver run down his spine as he listened. He couldn’t imagine facing those horrors alone, especially without knowing what to expect. He had barely survived the last few levels with Li Wei’s guidance, and now he understood why the older man preferred to work alone—why he kept people at arm’s length. “So, your first escape room was a wake-up call,” Xia Ren said, his voice softer now. “But you kept going. Why?”

Li Wei’s expression hardened, his eyes narrowing as he lowered the cup. “Because I had to,” he said, his voice cold. “I was framed, remember? Thrown into a room I had no business being in. I survived because I refused to die for a crime I didn’t commit. Each time they dragged me back, I got stronger, smarter. I learned the rules of this place, and I made it my mission to beat it.”

“Even if it meant being known as the Reaper,” Xia Ren said, the realization dawning on him.

Li Wei’s laugh was bitter, a sound that echoed in the small chamber. “The Reaper, the survivor, the monster—call me what you want. In here, names don’t mean anything. Only survival matters.”

Xia Ren was quiet for a moment, then he shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips. “I think you’re wrong,” he said gently. “Names do matter. You’re more than just a survivor, Li Wei. You’re still a fighter, a Domain Hunter, even if you’re trapped in this nightmare. And you’re not alone, not this time.”

Li Wei’s eyes widened slightly, caught off guard by the earnestness in Xia Ren’s gaze. For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. No one had spoken to him like that in years—no one had looked at him and seen something other than the legend of the Reaper.

Xia Ren leaned back, his grin softening as he crossed his arms behind his head. “Besides,” he said with a chuckle, “if I’m stuck with you, I’d rather know the real Li Wei—the one who fought demons and survived a dozen death traps—than some shadowy figure everyone’s afraid of.”

Li Wei stared at him, stunned, before a slow, genuine smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “You’re either brave or just plain reckless,” he said quietly, his voice carrying an unusual warmth.

“Why not both?” Xia Ren replied, his laughter echoing in the dim light.

The moment was broken by a soft chime echoing through the walls, the warning bell signaling the end of their rest period. They both stiffened, the familiar tension returning to their shoulders as they gathered their weapons. Li Wei stood, slipping his Whisper Blades back into the folds of his clothing, and Xia Ren rose beside him, his Inferno Blade once again burning with a faint glow.

“Ready?” Li Wei asked, his face settling back into the cool, determined mask that had kept him alive through five brutal escape rooms.

Xia Ren gave a sharp nod, his crimson eyes alight with a mixture of excitement and resolve. “Let’s show this place what we’re made of.”

With that, they stepped through the next door together, the chamber closing behind them with a thud. The faint echoes of their past faded, swallowed by the darkness, and the unknown dangers of the next room awaited them.

But now, something was different—something unspoken but understood between them. They weren’t just partners by force anymore. They were comrades, bonded by survival and the shared understanding that whatever lay ahead, they would face it together.

And for the first time, Li Wei felt the weight of the escape rooms lessen, just a fraction, with the knowledge that he was no longer alone in the fight.

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