Yucong, No. 34 Twisted Puppet

First form

Yucong, No. 34 Twisted Puppet

卅四号·混沌魔偶：“玉琮”

The phantom realm fades, and Sha-Chi spills forth. The Mirrorwood is sealed in ice and snow, all sound swallowed by the frost, leaving the forest quiet and still. The tree where Bai Chilian once dwelled now stands empty, replaced by the Chaos Puppet that appeared that day in the Rift Estate. This bitterly cold place is the perfect refuge for her, as one of the puppet’s consciousnesses fears heat and craves the cold.

The puppet’s three faces bicker without end, yet the moment they wield that bone-chilling Chaos Blade, they act as one. The three faces take control of the body in turn, the blade at times cloaked in frost, at times wreathed in Chaos Flames, and at times gleaming like steel. For a moment, it is as if they have returned to twenty years ago.

They too once walked the Wulin side by side, swords in hand, full of youthful spirit. Then one became timid, while another fell into a sleep from which she never awoke. In the end, the three fused into one, enduring unbearable agony without a moment’s peace.

They fled here hoping to escape the Herald’s control. Yet now, as they fight, the burning pain within the body becomes unbearable, and the feeling of being bound grows ever stronger, as if the Herald had hidden some mechanism within them, now clamoring to tear the three of them apart...

Second form

Steel Yucong

“玉琮”：钢刃

In those days, the three sisters each excelled in a different art. They devoted themselves to honing their skills, each mastering her chosen art. She chose that dark-iron steel blade, a symbol of her resolve. She practiced drawing and striking day and night, until her mastery reached the point where she could split mountains and cleave stone. Yet no mastery of the blade could save her two younger sisters: the second was trapped in the frozen realm, while the third was corrupted by ghost-fire, leaving both forever changed.

When the three awoke in one body, she realized that she had fallen into the Herald’s scheme. She was the one who coaxed the second sister into drinking the medicine, and the one who poured it past the third sister’s lips. What began as a desperate attempt to save them had instead poisoned them all, dragging the sisters into the abyss. Now imprisoned in a single body and tortured day and night, she was consumed by regret.

The Herald once promised that if they killed Soul, they could be divided among three vessels, each with a place of their own. Now, with Sha-Chi surging through her, she seeks only to atone for the sin of that day and escape the torment of sharing one body. Gripping the steel blade that can split mountains and cleave stone, she strikes with resolve, determined to fight to her final breath.

Third form

Frost Yucong

“玉琮”：寒冰

When that steel blade is in her hand, frost covers the edge and ice hangs from its ridge. She summons wind and snow, driving the blade into the earth to raise a towering wave of snow. A sweep of cold freezes anything it touches in an instant, locking blood and meridians in ice.

As the second sister, she was clingy by nature, relying on her elder and younger sisters for everything. She loved ice from childhood. Its surface was clear as a mirror, reflecting her pure eyes. The ice never scolded her; it only listened. She gradually came to fear the world, yet never the ice. Following its cold glimmers, she entered the frozen realm and became one with the ice. From then on, she feared every warmth in the world.

Later, she overcame her fear for the first and only time, drinking the scalding medicine in hopes of reuniting with her sisters. She made a three-headed cloth doll, each head smiling, the three souls as one, just as they had vowed never to part. Her words became prophecy. Somehow, the doll became the grotesque creature it is today, and for twenty years, the sisters have been unable to separate. Her younger sister’s fire burns her skin without cease, driving her deeper into madness and fear. Three sisters who once complemented one another—how did becoming one body turn their bond into such torment?

Fourth form

Chaos Yucong

“玉琮”：混沌

Chaos Flame burns around her body and coils around the blade in her hand.

Years ago, seeking the power of Chaos, she used her own body as fuel and drew the flames within. Ever since, she has been trapped between uncontrollable madness and endless sleep. But she gained the power she sought, unmatched and at the very pinnacle of martial skill.

People are often like this. They spend everything chasing the height of martial mastery, only to long for the peace and warmth of ordinary life once they reach it.

When she drank the “Three Souls as One” medicine, she did not feel nothing. Sometimes she wonders if that brief moment of hesitation was what ultimately left them as they are now.