Under the night sky, he looked up and saw stars brighter than usual, like countless doors opening in the heavens. The river in his hometown was as still as a mirror, reflecting countless unfamiliar constellations. The boy, named Luo Chen, was fifteen years old. He had once found a tattered star chart at an old bookstall at the village entrance, and tucked inside was a page of ancient notes: "Traverse the stars, and make a pact with an ancient dragon." Those words took root in his heart like a seed, and from then on, everything in his daily life was imbued with an extraordinary light.
One night, he followed the map to a deserted altar. The wind whispered around him, and the starlight cut through the air like sharp blades. Luo Chen recited the remaining incantation from the page, his voice echoing in the silence until the ground beneath him trembled, and a裂缝 opened, like a bottomless black sea. His body was pulled by a gentle yet terrifying force, as if he had become a small stone thrown into the depths of the universe. The stars were not mere points of light, but islands floating in the boundless night. At that moment, he knew he had left his original world.
In the center of the sea of stars, there was an ancient palace, its scale-like walls shimmering in the starlight, like a sleeping giant beast. An ancient dragon slept within the palace, its scales like the Milky Way, its eyes like two fallen stars. The dragon's voice emerged from its dream, low yet encompassing, asking him why he had intruded. Luo Chen did not answer, but simply presented the tattered star chart. The ancient dragon looked at it for a long time, and finally breathed out a flame of light, which transformed into a rune of a pact, landing in Luo Chen's palm.
The pact was not merely about granting power. The ancient dragon embedded a fragment of its star core into the boy's chest. From then on, Luo Chen heard the dragon's heartbeat and felt every breath synchronize with the stars. He gained the ability to traverse the sea of stars, using his thoughts as oars to propel his consciousness to distant star islands. However, the ancient dragon also warned him: every crossing would take away a memory. Taking and giving, it was never easy.
Upon returning to his hometown, Luo Chen was changed. The children gathered around him, clamoring for tales of wonder, but he vaguely remembered his mother's laughter, yet had forgotten the name of the old locust tree behind his house. He used his newfound power to help the villagers avoid the plague, guiding lost flocks back along ancient mountain paths, but after each act of magic, another forgotten night was added to his blank memory. Gradually, he found himself unable to distinguish whether the glory brought by protection or the fear of being forgotten was deeper.
On one journey through the stars, he arrived at a city consumed by time, where the inhabitants were made of light and shadow, living in an obsession with the past. Luo Chen helped them let go of their heavy memories, weaving the fragmented memories into a river, allowing the light and shadow beings to flow downstream and return to the sea of stars. The ancient dragon whispered in his heart: A true covenant not only gives you power but also teaches you responsibility. He understood that he had to learn to exchange loss for a broader salvation.
The final test arrived. The ancient dragon summoned him in a dream; the other half of the star core had been devoured by a dark beast. If it wasn't retrieved, the sea of stars would become unbalanced, and both worlds would be torn apart. Luo Chen ventured alone into the heart of darkness, where there was no light, only echoes. He was almost overwhelmed by fear, but in the deepest part, he saw his own shadow—a young man pale with responsibility. He transformed all his remaining memories into a sword, cleaving the darkness. As the sword's light pierced through, he saw his mother's smile, the sound of the wind in his hometown—all that he thought he had lost had become the strength that supported him.
When he returned to the abandoned altar, the stargate in the sky slowly closed. The ancient dragon's voice receded from his chest like a tide, the star core returned to its place, and the covenant was fulfilled, but the price was that his name was forgotten in the village. He stood before the gate, gazing at his familiar yet unfamiliar home, a gentle sadness washing over him. Luo Chen had no regrets. He raised his hand and looked up at the starry sky, where countless star islands he had protected resided, and where the ancient dragon quietly pulsed in his chest. Even if forgotten by the world, he was still the young man who traversed the stars, bearing a promise far heavier than memory.
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