🌸 Realm Garden: An Unbreakable Claim
The air in the lush, jade-hued garden was thick with the scent of night-blooming jasmine and sudden, bewildering tension. Merin's earlier appearance had shattered the fragile peace of the moment, and now, her very presence was a catalyst for a chain of irreversible declarations.
Before Jade could register the shift in the atmosphere, before her back even met the cool, unforgiving stone where she was about to fall, a strong arm clamped around her waist. Justin's touch was sudden, possessive, and utterly arresting. He hauled her against his chest with a speed that stole her breath, his body a solid, warm wall at her back.
"So you know... me before...," he purred, a dark, self-satisfied smirk playing on his lips as he held her impossibly close.
Jade's heart hammered against her ribs. The intimacy was suffocating, yet thrillingly dangerous. She could feel the hard muscle beneath the expensive silk of his tunic, the heat radiating from him. She offered a weak, awkward smile, her mind reeling from the physical shock and the cryptic words he'd just uttered.
Merin watched the exchange, her expression a mask of chilling indifference that only momentarily cracked with a flare of pure, unadulterated fury.
"Who is she?" Merin demanded, her voice flat, devoid of the soft, humanizing inflections of emotion.
Justin gently, almost tenderly, helped Jade find her footing, but he didn't release her. He turned, facing Merin with a predatory glint in his emerald eyes. His smirk widened, this time holding a clear, undeniable challenge.
"She is… the girl I'm going to marry."
The words were a calculated strike. He didn't wait for Merin's reaction; he simply proved his point. Justin tightened his grip, yanking Jade back into his side by firmly grasping her waist. Her breath hitched. Jade's eyes widened to saucers, shock replacing all other emotion. Marry?
Merin's cold façade crumbled entirely. "No. Way."
A subtle shimmer of light gathered around Merin's extended finger. She moved with the fluid, deadly grace of a predator, reaching out to touch Jade's forehead, clearly intending to use her magic to peer into Jade's origins, to tear down the mystery of the woman standing beside the King of the Fox Realm.
But Justin was faster. In a swift, seamless motion, he spun Jade around, sheltering her entirely beneath the protective curve of his chest. His hand settled on her back shoulder, anchoring her in place. Then, he dipped his head, resting his cheek against her temple, his voice a low, mocking rumble that only Merin was meant to hear.
"She is the future queen of the Fox Realm," he declared. "You don't need to check her identity. It's disobeying her."
The sheer audacity of the claim hung heavy in the air. Merin stood frozen.
"I was just going to check which realm she is from," Merin forced out, her eyes blazing with an impotent fury. "I haven't seen her in the Immortal Realm before."
Justin straightened, his arm still locked around Jade. "You don't need to know. She is my woman."
Merin let out a short, cynical chuckle. "You've changed a lot, Justin."
Justin's serious tone was edged with ice. "I have already said... I am not... interested... in you."
"Stop," Merin cut him off, a sharp command that carried the echo of old power. "I say, stop. Anyways... it's your wish, whoever you marry." She turned, a flicker of white light surrounding her.
Jade, finally breaking free of the shock, turned as well, needing to confront Merin, to deny the lie. But Justin held her fast.
He looked over her head at Merin's vanishing form and said, with a triumphant, mocking smile, "I will send you a wedding invitation. Don't forget to come."
Merin vanished completely, only a residual, fading white aura marking the place where she stood moments before.
The Cold-Eyed Truth
The sudden silence was deafening. Jade tore herself from Justin's grasp, her face flushed with confusion and anger.
"What are you saying?" she challenged, her voice trembling. "I won't marry you!"
Justin leaned in, his imposing figure dwarfing hers. "You won't?"
"Yes!" Jade insisted, taking a shaky step back. "We have met only two days ago! How could you marry an unknown girl? How could I marry an unknown man like you?"
As Jade spoke, Justin's emerald eyes, moments ago alight with challenge, turned cold—a stark, desolate hue that sent a shiver down her spine. He advanced slowly, deliberately. Each step he took, Jade matched with a retreating one, until her back hit the rough-hewn stone of a garden pillar.
He cornered her, his movements economical and terrifyingly masculine. He placed one hand flat on the pillar beside her head, trapping her. His voice dropped to a husky whisper as he leaned close, his breath warm against her ear.
"Then... I will try to know you from onwards. Not only me... each other. Are you okay?"
His proximity was overwhelming. He was too close. The intensity in his gaze, the mesmerizing handsomeness when he was utterly serious, locked her in place.
"What?" she whispered, barely audible.
Justin stood straight, the dark intensity in his eyes never wavering. The romance of the moment was instantly replaced by a brutal ultimatum.
"If you want to live here, you have to marry me. Otherwise, you can't."
With those words, he turned and began to walk away, the picture of cold resolution.
"Who wants to live here? I won't!" Jade cried out, her voice loud and desperate.
Justin's retreating form flinched, his shoulders tensing. For a fleeting second, his face was consumed by a deep upset, before his jaw tightened into a hard, unforgiving line. He turned his head just enough to deliver the final, crushing blow.
"Then do you want to be captured by the Heaven Realm?"
The implication was clear. Capture, punishment, perhaps death.
"No…" she whispered, the fight draining out of her.
Justin didn't wait for another word. He continued his walk, disappearing around the corner of the grand, sprawling garden.
Jade's legs gave out. She sank to her knees on the cool, damp earth, her composure shattered. What should I have supposed to do? A single, hot tear finally escaped, tracing a path down her cheek.
"Mom... Dad... Gloria," she whispered, her voice cracking with the pain of abandonment. "Why did you leave me alone? You guys should have brought me with you too..."
Far away, hidden behind a curtain of weeping willow branches, Justin stood motionless. His face, no longer cold, was consumed by worry as he watched the distant, kneeling figure of Jade. In his hand, he clutched a smooth, circular jade bangle.
"How could you say that, Jade?" he whispered to the shimmering stone.
Blue Moon Kingdom: The Iron Warrior
In the harsh, dust-choked expanse of the war area in the Blue Moon Kingdom, a lone warrior fought with a desperate, singular focus. His sword was a blur of lethal silver, spinning so quickly it seemed to defy the laws of physics. He was a force of nature—fast and furious.
After his final enemy fell, he stood amidst the chaos like an immovable monument of iron. He slowly, deliberately, removed the battle mask that concealed his identity. Beneath it was a face of mesmerizing handsomeness, a perfect, chiseled jawline set with the grim determination of a veteran.
A glowing, iridescent bubble floated toward him. He snatched it from the air. The bubble spoke in a familiar voice—Ryan's.
"Do you forget my ceremony? Or forget your brother? Leave it. Once you win, come here."
The handsome man's stern features relaxed into a rare, genuine smile. The bubble vanished.
Immediately, another message appeared: a small sphere of thick, blue smoke. He grabbed it. It was from his Grandpa, Zerath.
"Leo, you have to complete a task..."
Leo listened, his gaze drifting from the message to the distant, smoke-filled horizon, his thoughts already elsewhere.
The Grand Hall: The Ancestral Secret
Jade finally reached the corridor of her temporary quarters. She paused, then spotted Daisy, her attendant, bustling nearby. Relief washed over her.
She ran toward Daisy, gasping for breath. Daisy steadied her, concerned.
"Slow down, princess. If you called me, I would come."
"Where is your King or Queen?" Jade demanded, her voice still laced with urgency. "I want to meet them immediately!"
Daisy hesitated, her brow furrowing slightly. "Come with me."
I'm sure if I meet them, I can tell them I won't marry their son, Jade thought, her last shred of hope clinging to the idea of parental understanding. Maybe they will understand me.
A few minutes later, she entered a vast, ancient grand hall, a space designed to inspire awe and reverence. She looked around, her eyes sweeping over the majestic architecture, until they landed on the center.
She gasped. Shock froze her in place.
On the central dais were two large, beautifully framed portraits: a middle-aged man and woman, both possessing the same regal bearing and the unmistakable, deep-set emerald eyes that belonged only to the Fox King.
"They passed away," Daisy said quietly, her voice low with respect.
"Sorry, I didn't know," Jade mumbled, ashamed of her ignorance.
"Our Prince, Justin was the only one nine-tailed fox in our realm," Daisy explained, pride and sorrow mingling in her tone. "So every other realm wanted to defeat him."
"But why?" Jade asked.
"He was the strongest one, of course. Enemies wanted to defeat him," Daisy said. She then smiled, attempting to inject a lighter note. "You are lucky, because you are going to marry him."
A long-standing worry resurfaced, now a desperate lifeline. "I have a doubt," Jade hesitated. "How can he marry a mortal girl like me? Is that possible?"
"Of course," Daisy reassured her. "In our realm, we can marry people from other realms, but only one thing is important: they have to have true love toward their partner. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise?" Jade pressed.
Daisy looked away, her posture stiffening. "I don't want to talk ill omen. Sorry."
"It's okay. Tell me. What happens if they marry without true love?"
"Sorry, I can't. I have to go," Daisy said abruptly, walking quickly away, leaving Jade utterly alone in the imposing hall.
Jade looked around, offering a polite greeting and a slight bow to the passing, ancient elders—a sign of respect she had been taught in the Mortal Realm.
Then, something caught her eye. A soft, otherworldly light emanated from a carved wooden drawer set into the wall. Curiosity overcoming caution, she walked over and pulled it open.
Inside, nestled on a bed of faded velvet, was a mesmerizing object: a white globe, about the size of an apple, shining with an intense, bright luminescence.
"What is this?" she whispered, reaching for it.
The moment her fingers brushed the surface, the globe acted like a magnet. It absorbed her hand. A searing pain shot up her arm, and she could feel her very essence—her blood—being violently sucked into the globe. A strong, chaotic wind suddenly whipped through the quiet hall, rattling the grand windows.
"What are you doing!" a sharp, old lady's voice cut through the air.
Jade yanked her hand back with a scream of effort. The light in the globe instantly dimmed and the unnatural wind ceased. Confused and terrified, she spun around.
A royal hanfu-clad old lady stood before her, her expression stern and commanding.
"Who are you? I didn't see you before," the lady asked, walking toward Jade.
Jade offered a small, horrified smile. The old lady reached out, touching a single, cool finger to Jade's forehead. A flicker of recognition passed over her ancient face.
"So you are the mortal girl Justin brought from the Heaven Realm, aren't you?" she said, then smiled—a knowing, unnerving smile.
"What are you doing here? Oh, yes. Are you here to give respect to the elders?"
Jade nodded silently. "Who are you?" she asked in a low tone.
The old lady chuckled. "You are the first person asking me this. I'm a one-thousand-year-old fox in this realm."
"Oh," Jade replied. "What is that white globe in that drawer?"
The old lady's smile vanished. Her face turned serious, her eyes fixed on the globe. "It's our ancestors of the nine-tailed fox."
"What?" Jade whispered, afraid.
"They aren't dead yet," the old lady said, leaning in conspiratorially. "If he could... find her... then we can bring the nine-tailed foxes of our ancestors' life back."
"But how did they die?" Jade questioned. "And how can you bring back the life of one who has died?"
"Of course, it's possible," the old lady smiled faintly. "Two thousand years ago... Our ancestors were killed by... her."
"Who?"
"The devil every realm is afraid of. She ruled every world under her control. Everyone was afraid of her. She is Farina."
The old lady looked directly into Jade's eyes. "Then did you kill her?" Jade asked.
"She died. But…"
"Oh no! Then how can you bring their life back if she already died?"
"She will reborn," the old lady stated, her eyes suddenly turning a frightening, cold orange.
Jade stepped back in fear.
"If the existing nine-tailed fox... can find her," the old lady continued, her voice cold and hard, "we can bring their life back."
"How did Justin's parents die?" Jade asked, trembling.
The old lady's eyes returned to normal. She turned to Jade. "They had a natural death. But... in their life... she won't be reborn, so they couldn't find her. If she is born in this era... Justin has to do it."
"What if he can't, too?"
The old lady's smile disappeared completely. "He has to. Or otherwise... his kid has to do it."
"Is that evil born?" Jade asked.
"Not yet, I think," she smiled thinly, then added, "I heard Justin wants to marry you. We are happy. You have to give birth to an heir or heiress, too. He is the only last nine-tailed fox. I don't want to see our nine-tailed realm vanish."
The old lady grabbed Jade's hand, her grip surprisingly strong.
Jade offered an awkward, panicked smile. How can I marry him? she thought miserably. I don't even love him.
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To be Continued...
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