The chains were heavier than Tianlei expected not because of their weight, but because of what they represented.
Each step across the stone floor of the death arena scraped his ankles raw.
The crowd was already awake.
They leaned forward from the stands, eyes bright with anticipation. This was not justice. It was a theater and Tianlei was tonight's offering.
"Is that the kidnapper?"
"That's him? He looks… ordinary."
The whispers flowed over him like filth-filled water.
Tianlei kept his head lowered, not out of shame, but because lifting it would mean meeting their eyes and he refused to give them that satisfaction.
He had been a cleaner, and nothing more.
That truth echoed in his mind as guards forced him to his knees at the center of the arena.
A cleaner who scrubbed blood from marble floors, who kept his eyes down and mouth shut and also a cleaner who happened to open the wrong door at the wrong time.
Inside that room had been the third princess of the Zhao family.
And a man who was not supposed to be there.
The memory surfaced uninvited. Clothes scattered across the floor. Then a window thrown open as a noble heir fled into the night like a coward. Then silence.
Then eyes turning toward Tianlei, already rewriting the truth.
"How dare you force yourself on me," she had said later, her voice trembling just enough to be convincing.
The lie had been effortless.
The guards stepped back. He raised his head slowly, drawn by a presence he could not ignore.
The third princess sat in the central stand, draped in pale blue, her expression composed and distant.
Beside her stood the man who should have been here instead of him, the man whose hands had trembled as he ran, now carefully folded behind his back, posture straight, face schooled into concern.
They were denied the right to intervene, officially condemned to observe, but their eyes never left Tianlei.
They were watching him die.
A pulse of bitterness throbbed in his chest.
He wondered briefly if this was what helplessness truly felt like not the lack of strength, but the certainty that truth no longer mattered in this world ran by wicked systems and organizations.
The Zhao family was well known to be royal assassins who slaughtered people like chicken.
A woman's voice cut through the noise.
"Tonight's punishment is simple."
Tianlei looked up.
Zhao Yuyin, aunt to the third princess levitated above the arena.
"This monster has committed an unforgivable crime against the Zhao family," she continued. "To force himself on royal blood is to spit on the order of this world."
"He will face other criminals sentenced to death. Whoever kills him will be granted release."
The arena stirred instantly.
Hope was a dangerous thing and she had just handed it to desperate men.
Tianlei felt it then as the gates opposite him opened and two figures stepped out.
Hardened men with nothing left to lose and everything to gain.
So this was how it would end.
Beaten and torn apart.
The first blow came without warning.
A fist slammed into his ribs, snapping the breath from his lungs. Pain blooming white-hot as he was driven sideways across the stone.
Laughter erupted from the stands. Another hit followed, then another.
Tianlei curled inward, teeth grinding as he forced himself not to scream.
His gaze drifted back to the stand. The princess did not look away. Her lips were pressed together.
The man beside her shifted once, discomfort flickering briefly before being smothered.
"I can't watch this, it has to stop," the third princess said, slamming her fist on the armrest.
"What are you saying? This happened because you allowed it to happen," the young man replied.
"Yang Chen, are you seriously blaming me for his fate? I had to figure something out, and he was closest to the room. Remember, I did what I did to save you."
The young man shifted his gaze to Tianlei, then leaned closer, lowering his head to whisper in her ear.
"Then let it go. Besides, he's just a servant boy. My reputation is far too valuable to stain."
"Are you calling me a stain?" she yelled, just loud enough to catch Zhao Yuyin's attention.
Zhao Yuyin glanced over. The two immediately straightened, regaining their composed postures.
"I just want you to know—I love you. Being here is my sign of care toward you. Surely they'll realize how much I love you and put aside our family differences," Yang Chen continued.
The beating continued, designed not to kill him too quickly.
Anger crept in then.
Why me?
He had asked that question once before, in a different context when Lan Xueyin's uncles had stood between them and said words Tianlei had never forgotten.
"He is weak."
Lan Xueyin.
The name surfaced like a wound reopening.
Her blue hair had always caught the light, soft as morning frost. Her blind eyes never saw his face, yet they always found him regardless. She had smiled at him without judgment and laughed at his awkward silences.
That was what true love in this cruel world felt like .
The memory twisted inside him as another blow cracked against his shoulder making him taste blood.
Hatred pooled, not solely toward the third princess or the young man. They were fighting for love, but they had dragged him into their madness.
"Why do I have to be judged because I am weak? Why do I have to be undermined? Third Princess even in my death, I'll let you taste the horror of being devoured alive."
Something answered.
"Then kill her," a voice echoed in his head.
At first, it was only a tremor beneath his skin . His heart thundered, blood roaring in his ears as heat flooded his veins.
The chains snapped.
The first criminal barely had time to register surprise before Tianlei's hand went through his throat.
Black veins tore through his skin, piercing the other man's heart.
He stood firm, blood dripping from his eyes and lips. He looked less like a man now more like a madman.
Startled by the sudden turn of events, the third princess stood up, eyes widening at the sight of blood.
"My lady, what is this?"
Zhao Yuyin only smiled.
"No wonder I sensed such powerful killing intent. Your strength is weak, but the monster genes within you…" She paused.
"They must be harvested by this lady."
She turned to the shocked crowd.
"See the kind of monster that dared to harm a member of the Zhao family. Today, I will use his blood to paint my floor red."
The crowd roared.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Tianlei stared at the men screaming. His suffering was entertainment to them. He turned his gaze to the third princess.
She stumbled backward, collapsing into her chair.
Tianlei gritted his teeth, feeling the urge to kill her.
He didn't feel like himself anymore. The monster genes of a deviant especially of the highest class made one lose sanity as they mutated, turning the bearer into a mutant human.
Zhao Yuyin snapped her fingers.
The gates opened, revealing well-built men with clear intent to slaughter.
"Kill the mutant human and be rewarded with freedom."
She seemed to just want them also to die as she tested Tianlei's true inner devilish strength.
Unease flickered across their faces but the promise of release erased caution.
" They want to kill you. Why don't we kill them first, then you can leave and find your love?" the voice echoed again.
"I am not a murderer. I just want to get out of here."
"Yes but kill them first, and then we leave. You think you're weak, but you're not. You're a monster yet to awaken. If you want, we can even kill the third princess."
Tianlei clutched his head, trying to drown out the voices.
He fell to his knees, screaming.
Seeing his miserable state, the men rushed forward. They had been given no weapons except only their fists to face such a being.
The princess stiffened . The man beside her went pale, finally understanding that his lie had created something far worse than punishment.
Then the air changed.
A presence soft yet immovable like snowfall smothering a raging fire.
A figure descended from the sky, hands wrapped firmly around a scythe. She swung it in a wide arc; it rotated around the arena, killing two men before returning to her grasp.
Blue hair brushed her shoulders. Her eyes were covered with a white cloth hiding the fact that she was blind, yet her face turned directly toward him.
Lan Xueyin.
His heart stuttered.
For the first time since the chains snapped, confusion cracked through the rage making the monster's voice go silent.
"Feng Tianlei," she said softly.
The sound nearly broke him.
Threads of light spread from her raised hand, weaving through the air while slowing blood mid-fall.
It reached him.
"You're hurting," she said.
He wanted to deny it. Wanted to scream that pain no longer mattered, that this was what the world deserved.
Instead, his breath hitched.
"Xueyin…" His voice was rough.
"You shouldn't be here."
She smiled, sad and beautiful.
"Neither should you."
For one impossible moment, the arena vanished.
There was only her.
Only what could have been.
Only the unbearable truth that the world had crushed them both in different ways.
The hesitation cost him everything.
Lan Xueyin knelt beside him, hands trembling, unable to touch. He could feel her grief even without sight.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
He laughed weakly, blood bubbling at his lips. "So am I."
Above them, Zhao Yuyin exhaled slowly.
"This monster would have been useful. Whoever this girl is, she's ruined my plan."
A ripple surged through the light as Zhao Yuyin moved her hand subtly.
"How dare you interfere in matters concerning my Zhao family."
"The Zhao family is nothing compared to the value of his life," Lan Xueyin replied calmly.
"You are chickens pretending to be eagles. And yet you will never fly."
"Big words. Since you came seeking death, this lady will grant it."
She tightened her grip on her scythe and stepped forward.
"Today, I want to see who dares hurt my Heavenly Thunder while this princess stands here."
"Xueyin," Tianlei called weakly.
"Just go. This is—"
"Why would I let the future father of my children suffer?" she interrupted. "If it is death, I'll fight these idiots until my vitality runs dry."
Zhao Yuyin laughed.
"Such charming words. But I'm afraid you will all stay."
She raised her hand to the sky, then pointed downward.
An enormous gravitational force crashed down upon them.
Xueyin's knees buckled, but she steadied herself with her scythe.
The pressure tore through Tianlei's body. The monstrous voice roared again, this time so loud he couldn't hear its words.
He screamed as blood burst from his body.
"Heavenly Thunder!" Xueyin cried.
A stone tablet appeared in her hand. She crushed it slightly, cracks forming, then threw it.
As it passed Tianlei, it exploded, sending ripples through the air that twisted into a small circular wormhole.
"Trying to escape?" Zhao Yuyin sneered.
The wormhole expanded, swallowing Tianlei whole.
He screamed reaching out for her, only to see an immense force crash into Xueyin before darkness consumed him.