Netherworld Pavilion: Keeper of Souls

Li Zhen stood frozen in the dark void, his senses heightened by the ethereal presence surrounding him. His heart hammered in his chest as the air shimmered, distorting like heat waves rising from the pavement on a hot summer day. The cold, lingering sensation of ancient energy pulsed around him, both alien and familiar at the same time. He could feel it—not with his eyes or ears, but with something deeper, something more primal. It was as if his very soul could sense the weight of this place.

The translucent figures floated before him, moving slowly, aimlessly, their faces indistinct, their bodies ghostly. But he knew—he knew without a doubt—that these were souls, lost and seeking resolution.

"What is this place?" Li Zhen thought, his voice barely a whisper in the vast, empty expanse. It felt as though the void itself absorbed sound. It felt empty, lonely, and yet filled with an ancient, ever-present hum.

A soft glow caught his attention in the distance. He turned instinctively toward it, his feet barely making a sound as he walked. The further he moved, the more real everything became. The air seemed to thicken, and the edges of the dark void gave way to clearer shapes, slowly materializing like the mist lifting from a mountain at dawn.

And then he saw it—a figure. A woman, sitting on a stone platform in the middle of the void, her body hunched over as if she were exhausted from a long journey. Her hair, long and black, cascaded over her shoulders, and her clothes, a simple but worn robe, hung loosely from her frame. Her head was bowed low, her hands resting limply on her lap. She seemed… broken, lost.

Without thinking, Li Zhen took a step forward, his instincts guiding him. He didn't know what to do or why, but something deep inside told him that this was his first task. This was the soul he was meant to guide.

As he approached, the woman's head lifted slightly, her eyes wide but empty, as if she could sense his presence but could not see him clearly. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, her lips trembling.

"Who… are you?" she whispered, her voice hollow and distant. "Where am I?"

Li Zhen stopped a few feet away from her. His mind raced, trying to recall anything about dealing with spirits or souls, but there was nothing. The man, Gu Ling, had spoken of guiding souls, of tasks to be completed, but this? This was beyond anything he had ever imagined.

"I… I don't know how to help you," Li Zhen said, his voice filled with uncertainty. "I'm not… I'm not a spirit guide. I don't even understand what's going on."

The woman's eyes flickered in confusion. "Help… me?" She repeated the words, as if she were trying to remember something long forgotten. "I'm so tired. I don't know where I am or how I ended up here…"

Her words struck Li Zhen like a dagger. "I'm so tired." The weight of those words seemed to fill the void, pressing on his chest, making it harder to breathe. There was something deeply painful in her voice, something that tugged at the edges of his heart.

"Who are you?" Li Zhen asked, his voice softer now, stepping closer.

The woman's gaze shifted, and for the first time, she seemed to focus on him, her eyes narrowing slightly as though trying to piece together his presence. "I… I was a woman… once," she murmured, her voice trembling. "But now I'm nothing. I don't belong anywhere. I wandered the world, seeking something… but I never found it. I died without knowing why. I don't know why I was left like this… Why I'm still here, lost in this place."

Li Zhen's heart tightened as he listened to her story, or rather, the fragmented pieces of it. There was so much sorrow in her words, so much regret. It was clear she didn't remember her life or death entirely, and that was perhaps what kept her here—stuck, suspended between two worlds, without a clear path forward.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I wish I could help."

The woman didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes drifted down to the stone beneath her, her voice softening. "I just… I want peace. I want to move on, but I can't. I don't know how. I don't know where to go."

Li Zhen stepped forward again, his mind racing for a solution. What was he supposed to do? How could he help her move on? The woman's sadness, her helplessness, felt overwhelming. The task Gu Ling had spoken of was suddenly clear—it wasn't just about guiding souls; it was about offering them closure, helping them find their way to rest.

A task… a responsibility.

Li Zhen's fingers brushed the wooden box he had noticed earlier, still resting on the pedestal in the center of the room. His heart skipped a beat as he remembered the glow that had emanated from it earlier. Without fully thinking, he reached out, lifting the box into his hands. There was no label, no instructions, but something inside him told him that this was part of the solution.

The moment his fingers touched the box, the air around him seemed to thrum with power. It was as if the very fabric of the space was responding to his presence. A subtle vibration ran through his body, and he felt a strange connection to the woman in front of him—like a thread pulling him closer to her.

Li Zhen opened the box, and inside, there was a small jade pendant, intricately carved with delicate patterns. It glowed faintly, pulsing with an energy that felt almost alive. As he held it, a vision flashed before his eyes.

He saw the woman, her life unfolding before him like an old photograph. She had once been a healer, a kind woman who helped those in need, even at the cost of her own happiness. But somewhere along the way, she had made an enemy, a dark figure who had cursed her in her final moments. "You will never know peace," the figure had hissed as she lay dying, and with those words, her soul had become trapped.

The vision ended as quickly as it had begun, leaving Li Zhen breathless and shaken. He could feel the pendant's power coursing through him now, and he understood. This was how he could help her—he had to break the curse that held her soul in this limbo.

The woman's voice broke through his thoughts. "What is that?" she asked, her eyes following the pendant. "What is that… thing?"

Li Zhen held it out to her, offering it with a sense of purpose he hadn't felt before. "This pendant… it's the key to your peace. It will break the curse. It will allow you to move on."

The woman looked at him, her eyes filled with both disbelief and hope. "Can you really do that?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Li Zhen nodded, his resolve hardening. "I can. But you must accept it. You must let go of your pain and allow the curse to break."

For a long moment, she said nothing. Her eyes lingered on the pendant, and then, slowly, she reached out with trembling hands. When her fingers touched the jade, there was a flash of light so bright that it blinded Li Zhen for a brief second. The pendant grew warmer in his hands, and the temperature in the air seemed to rise.

The woman gasped, her entire body trembling as the curse that bound her soul began to unravel. The darkness that had clouded her eyes lifted, and for the first time, her expression softened. The sadness that had dominated her face gave way to a gentle smile, one that spoke of acceptance and release.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice full of gratitude. "I can rest now."

The air shimmered one final time, and as Li Zhen watched, the woman's form began to dissolve into light, her figure fading away until there was nothing left but the soft glow that lingered in the air. And then, as quickly as it had come, it vanished.

Li Zhen stood there for a long time, the pendant still warm in his hand. The task was complete. He had done it.

But the moment was fleeting, and as the last remnants of the woman's soul faded into the unknown, Li Zhen realized something deeper. This hotel—this strange, ancient place—was more than just a building. It was a crossroads, a place of passage, a place where souls sought peace. And now, it was his responsibility to help them find it.