The mountain winds whispered around the old house like gentle voices lost in time. Snow drifted from the heavens in lazy swirls, brushing across the roof tiles as sunlight finally broke through the morning frost.
Inside, Crown Prince Longxuan sat quietly, the rest of the world hushed around him.
The blue jade Zither now rested across his lap.
No one dared interrupt.
Even Fenglan, who had tried to balance a dumpling on Zhenhai's nose a moment earlier, had gone utterly still, the food forgotten. Fenglie sipped tea without looking away. Shuiyun and Huayin sat by the window, their divine auras faintly rippling with curiosity.
There was something… different about the room now.
Like it wasn't part of the mortal world anymore.
Longxuan plucked the first string.
A clear, crystalline note rang out.
It wasn't loud. It wasn't flashy.
But it echoed.
Like it carried weight across distance. Across planes.
The Zither's energy responded to him, its Yin aura curling like a silver wisp through the air. It shimmered at his fingertips, as though the Zither were sighing in relief after centuries of silence.
He plucked the second note.
Then the third.
A slow, delicate rhythm—unpolished, hesitant. Longxuan didn't consider himself a musician. And yet… his hands moved like they remembered a melody his heart never learned.
Zhenhai leaned in, whispering to Fenglan, "He looks like he's remembering a lost lover."
Fenglan sniffled. "He is. It's so romantic I want to throw something."
But before anyone could joke again, something happened.
The fourth note rang out—and the strings beneath Longxuan's hand pulsed suddenly with light. Cold Yin energy burst from the Zither—not violent, but clear—like a ripple through space.
Everyone froze.
The air turned still.
Even the fire in the hearth seemed to lean closer.
In that fleeting moment… on an island far away, in a place untouched by time...
—————
Mo Tianzun, seated cross-legged on the cliffside, meditating with one hand braced over his knee, suddenly opened his eyes.
His fingers twitched.
Something brushed his consciousness.
Not a voice. Not a word.
But a sound.
A single note.
Clear, trembling, aching with longing.
He turned his head toward the wind.
The sea rolled gently below him. Magical beasts in the distance stirred but did not approach. The air shimmered faintly around him. His white hair caught the light.
"…Longxuan?" he whispered.
But the wind gave no answer.
Only the trace of a melody, faint as a dream.
His heart clenched.
And for the first time in days, he smiled widely because he knows Longxuan still waiting and finding him.
"I love you ka talaga"
—————
Back in the cabin, Longxuan gasped.
The strings stilled beneath his fingers. The energy retreated. But his heart felt like it had reached somewhere he could never physically go.
"Did something happen?" Fenglie asked, quietly.
Longxuan didn't speak. He only stared at the Zither.
"No," he whispered eventually. "Nothing happened. But I think... he knows I'm still looking."
Outside, the snow had stopped falling.
And the sun had begun to rise.
—————
Author's Note: "I love you ka talaga" is translated into 'I love you really' it's a Filipino words since I'm a Filipino and I like the Encantadia(2016) this word inspired me to use because of Danaya and Aquil love story, hehehe >\\\<