Pov Anna
I didn't stop walking until the corridor ended.
The night air hit my face like cold water when I stepped outside the stronghold, and only then did I realize my hands were shaking. Not violently—just enough to betray me. I curled my fingers into fists and forced them to still.
Breathe.
I'd faced death before. Hospitals taught you that. I'd watched monitors flatline, held hands that grew colder, learned how to keep my voice steady when the world was collapsing for someone else.
So this shouldn't have hurt.
And yet.
Fragile .
In the way .
I leaned against the stone railing and stared out at the fractured horizon. The realm beyond was still wounded—veins of dark energy threading through the land like scars that refused to heal. Somewhere in the distance, something roared. Or maybe it was only the wind moving through broken mountains.
"Get a grip," I whispered to myself.
He was cruel by nature. Everyone knew that. Gods of destruction didn't soften because a healer asked them a question. I'd walked into that room knowing what he was.
So why had I hoped?
The thought irritated me more than the ache in my chest.
I pressed two fingers to my wrist, feeling my pulse. Steady. Alive. Still me . Whatever Shou Feng was—whatever he wasn't—didn't get to define that.
Footsteps approached behind me, light and careful.
I didn't turn.
"Anna," Kiyoshi's voice said softly. "You shouldn't be out here alone."
"I'm fine," I replied. The words came automatically. Too automatically.
He didn't argue. He never did. Instead, he came to stand beside me, his presence calm in a way that felt almost unreal in this place. The lantern he carried cast a warm glow over the stone, pushing the shadows back just a little.
"You spoke with him," he said.
It wasn't a question.
I nodded once.
Kiyoshi watched the horizon with me. "And?"
I let out a breath that sounded more like a laugh than I intended. "And he's exactly who everyone says he is."
A pause. "That doesn't tell me how you are."
I closed my eyes.
"I asked for clarity," I said. "I got it."
Kiyoshi's gaze flicked to my face. He studied me—not intrusively, but thoroughly, the way someone does when they're worried and trying not to show it.
"You are hurt," he said gently.
"I'm disappointed," I corrected. "There's a difference."
He didn't push back. He only inclined his head, accepting the lie for what it was.
"Renji will not stop," Kiyoshi said after a moment. "Lord Kazan's influence may be gone, but Renji's need to prove himself remains."
I opened my eyes. "He wants me."
"He wants what you represent," Kiyoshi replied. "A challenge. A way to step out of Shou Feng's shadow."
I swallowed. "And Shou Feng?"
Kiyoshi hesitated.
That told me everything.
"I won't be his excuse," I said quietly. "Or his weakness. Or whatever he thinks I am."
Kiyoshi's lips curved into something like pride. "Good."
I turned to face him. "Teach me how to fight."
His brows lifted slightly. "You already know how."
"I know how to heal," I said. "I know how to endure. I don't know how to stand ."
Kiyoshi considered me for a long moment. Then he nodded. "Tomorrow."
Relief settled into my bones—not comfort, exactly, but purpose.
Behind us, somewhere deeper in the compound, a ripple moved through the darkness. Not a sound. Not a presence I could point to. Just… awareness.
The hairs on my arms lifted.
I turned sharply.
Nothing.
But I knew.
He was there.
Watching.
I straightened my shoulders and didn't look away from the shadows. "I'm not yours," I said, not loudly, but clearly enough for the night to hear. "I never was."
The darkness didn't answer.
But it shifted.
—
I dreamed of fire.
Not the kind that burned flesh—but the kind that erased. Whole cities turned to ash beneath a sky split open by black lightning. A dragon's silhouette coiled through the clouds, eyes like dying stars.
And at the center of it all—
Him.
Not the Shou Feng who sneered and cut with words.
But the one who stood alone after the destruction, hands stained with power he couldn't wash away.
When he turned, his eyes found me instantly.
Stay behind me.
I woke with a gasp, heart hammering.
Morning light filtered through the paper screens, pale and fragile. For a moment, I lay there, staring at the ceiling, grounding myself in the present.
It was just a dream.
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and stood.
Whatever pull existed between us—whatever dangerous gravity he carried—I wouldn't let it drag me under.
I had survived betrayal in my own world. I had crossed into a myth and lived.
I would survive him too.
Outside, the compound stirred to life.
And somewhere beyond the walls, Renji was coming.
This time, I wouldn't be standing behind anyone.
To be continued