Liu Zhuang

The underground sewers were dark, damp, and reeking of filth, a place that struck fear into ordinary hearts, where no sane person would venture. Yet to Liu Zhuang, this was home. The hunched old man shuffled through the tunnels, gathering what others had discarded as worthless, piling them in a hollowed-out nook to fashion himself a dwelling. There he crouched, trapped in a timeless void, no past, no future, only the present stench of decay. But when he struck his bronze chimes, fragments of a brighter life flickered back. Glory, pride, love... all now lost to the crushing wheels of history. His status, his lover, his family, his faith, all torn away. Until nothing remained but this flickering life, clinging to the edge of extinction. And yet, it was this very same dying life, this bent-backed, limping wreck of a man, who pointed the way for those lost souls fleeing through the sewers. Escaping the clutches of the Unbound Cavern, they followed the sound of the chimes. Squeezed through narrow passages. Crossed the boundary between death and life. Ran toward the light. And the bell-ringer stood watch at the sewer's exit, striking his chimes day and night. With each toll, he built a bridge between the living and the dead, then watched as they vanished into the distance. Go find your home. Liu Zhuang thought. My past, present, and future are dust. But yours aren't. While there is still hope... while there is still time... leave this place. Build a home full of warmth and light. This is the last, best gift I can give you.