Chapter 1 Rebirth Behind the Bronze Gate

A desolate silence.

Zhang Qiling could feel his life slipping away, like sand through his fingers, impossible to grasp or hold onto. The ten-year promise was fulfilled, the mission completed, and he had given his due to that person… to Wu Xie. A sense of peace, even a hint of relief, settled over him as he slowly closed his eyes.

The end, as it should have been.

However, the expected eternal darkness did not descend. Instead, a vast, ancient, familiar yet strange force enveloped him. His consciousness was forcibly pulled back from the chaos and plunged into a burst of light.

He opened his eyes.

The familiar bronze ceiling, gleaming with a dark green luster, came into view. The air was filled with a cold, damp atmosphere, mixed with the unique smell of dust from the passage of time.

This is behind the bronze door.

But he clearly remembered that just moments before, his senses had begun to fail, and his vital signs had nearly vanished. Yet now, though his body was still cold, it was brimming with power, as if... as if time had reversed.

Zhang Qiling sat up without the slightest hesitation. He looked around and confirmed his guess—this was not the moment he was about to leave after ten years of guarding, but rather the moment he had just entered the Bronze Gate, when everything was just beginning.

Rebirth?

Even for him, this thought was enough to stir up a storm in his usually calm heart.

Before he could think it through, the mysterious power inside the bronze door seemed to find an outlet, surging into his mind.

It's not about indoctrination, it's about replaying.

Like a masterful observer, he was forced to re-examine his own life—or rather, the life he experienced in the original Tomb Raider Chronicles—from the clearest perspective, a life where he gave everything for Wu Xie but betrayed another person.

The scenes of memory flashed by rapidly:

—At the Heavenly Palace on the Clouds, he silently walked at the forefront, carrying the Black Gold Ancient Sword. Black Bear, always with a cigarette dangling from his lips, casually followed at the back of the group, or to the flank, his eyes, hidden behind sunglasses, vigilant against any danger lurking in the shadows. Every time he charged forward to protect Wu Xie, a figure would tacitly shield him from a stray arrow from behind.

—The Snake Swamp Ghost City was fraught with danger. He carried the injured Wu Xie on his back and broke through with all his might. It was Hei Xiazi, covered in blood, yet his laughter was still hearty (or rather, deliberately feigned), who covered his retreat and stopped the crazed crested snake. He remembered glancing back and seeing Hei Xiazi's lips curl into a smile behind his sunglasses, gesturing for him to "hurry up," but behind that smile was an undisguised weariness and… a hint of barely perceptible loneliness.

—The Zhang Family Ancient Tower, the final battle. What he remembered most vividly wasn't his own bloody fight, but rather, at a narrow corner of the tomb passage, Hei Xiazi, to push him aside as he was targeted by traps, used his own back to shield him from a falling boulder. The man, coughing up blood, still jokingly said, "Mute Zhang, you owe me a life, you have to treat me to a meal." He had only responded with a "hmm" at the time, thinking it was just another ordinary battle after they had fought side-by-side. Now, however, he could "see" Hei Xiazi lean against the wall after he turned and continued on his way, taking a long time to recover before wiping the blood from his mouth and following him as if nothing had happened. That back view, so stubborn, was heartbreaking.

The final frame freezes on the moment before he enters the bronze door.

He told Hei Xiazi, "Take care of Wu Xie for me."

So naturally, yet so heavily entrusted.

Black Bear paused for a moment, then his carefree smile returned. He patted him on the shoulder, his voice as casual as if to say, "Tomorrow's weather will be nice."

"Don't worry, with me here, your little darling won't be missing a single hair."

But now, Zhang Qiling, with his "God's-eye view," clearly "saw" it—behind those sunglasses, in that instant when the smile appeared, something in those eyes that always held a playful glint had been completely extinguished. Like the last spark of hope, it had been blown out by the cold wind brought by that entrustment.

That's not resignation, it's a sense of relief after the heart has died, it's finally deciding... to let go completely.

"boom--!"

Zhang Qiling felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart tightly, the pain almost suffocating him. He had always thought Hei Xiazi's carefree attitude was innate, but now he understood that it was a protective shell honed through repeated disappointments, and the knife he finally handed over, called "entrustment," was one that he had personally welded shut on that shell.

Just then, in the torrent of memory, some details that had been overlooked before, like sediment at the bottom, were stirred up by this force and became crystal clear:

When Wu Sansheng (Xie Lianhuan) mentioned the ultimate, his words deliberately guided him to focus on Wu Xie;

Some seemingly coincidental crises always happen just right, requiring him to temporarily leave the area where Hei Xiazi is located for Wu Xie's sake;

The older generation of the Nine Gates looked at him with an evaluative gaze, assessing whether he was a useful "tool," and with a subtle, unspoken apprehension about the overly tacit understanding between him and Hei Xiazi...

The so-called "destiny" and "responsibility" are nothing more than an intricately woven net. He was used as the sharpest knife, bound by the pure reason of "protecting Wu Xie," clearing obstacles for the Nine Gates. As for Hei Xiazi, this uncontrollable yet extremely powerful variable, they cleverly pushed him away from his side in various ways, including by exploiting his attitude towards Zhang Qiling.

He saw the chessboard and finally realized that he and Hei Xiazi were just pieces on the board, manipulated at will.

The most painful thing is not being used.

Instead, his knife, unknowingly and unconsciously, struck the very person who truly protected him with his life.

"turn out to be……"

Zhang Qiling muttered to himself, his voice echoing within the empty bronze door, carrying a slight, almost imperceptible tremor.

"The person I should protect the most has always been protected by him with his life."

"But I pushed him away with my own hands."

An unprecedented surge of violent emotion rose from the depths of his heart. It was no longer the cold killing intent he felt when facing zombies or enemies, but rather directed at those who had schemed against him, and even more so at... his foolish self from his past life.

The eerie green light from inside the bronze door reflected in his dark pupils, as if igniting two clusters of cold flames.

ten years?

No, he wouldn't wait another day.

He wants to go out.

Immediately, right away.

Go find that blind man wearing sunglasses who laughs carefree.

Go and correct that colossal mistake.

This time, it's his turn to take control of the game!