The ledge snapped like dry bread.
Wei Chen and Lin Xue dropped into open dark, bodies twisting, robes snapping in the wind. Above them, Su Mei's violet rope jerked tight with a sharp crack. It held for half a heartbeat, then screamed under the strain.
Lin Xue clung to Wei Chen's neck. Her breath hitched in cold bursts. "We're falling," she whispered like she didn't believe it.
Wei Chen hugged her tight to his chest, turning his body so he would take the first удар if they hit. His grin tried to appear, stubborn and roguish even now. "I've carried you worse ways," he murmured near her ear. "This one is just faster."
Lin Xue's cheeks warmed for a second. "Stop flirting!"
Wei Chen's voice went low and naughty anyway. "Then hold tighter," he teased. "If you squeeze me like that, I might forget how scared I am."
Lin Xue's fingers tightened by accident, and she realized it. Her face went red. "Idiot."
Above, Su Mei shouted, voice strained and sharp. "If you two don't stop cuddling, I'll drop you out of spite!"
Wei Chen laughed once, breathless. "Jealous again?"
Su Mei cursed. "Shut up and anchor!"
The gold-and-silver bond rope between Wei Chen and Lin Xue flared warm in his mind, even without wrist touch. It was the only steady thing in the falling. But his black sun brand was not steady.
It pulsed cold.
It pulsed again.
And the dark below answered.
The Frost-Eater's eyes opened wider in the pit, huge and hungry. A voice rolled up like thunder through water. "Key," it rumbled. "Come."
Wei Chen's chest burned like ice pressed into his heart. The black sun brand turned heavy, like a weight pulling him down. His bones wanted to obey. His body leaned forward in the air, like the pit was calling him by force.
Lin Xue felt it. She grabbed his face with both hands, forcing his eyes to hers. "Chen Wei," she said, voice shaking but hard. "Say my name. Stay real."
Wei Chen swallowed through pain. "Lin Xue," he said.
"Again," she demanded, stubborn even while falling.
"Lin Xue," Wei Chen said louder.
The bond rope flared warm. For a breath, the leash weakened. Wei Chen's body stopped tilting toward the pit.
Wei Chen pressed his forehead to hers. "Rules," he said, simple and steady. "Stop means stop. You choose."
Lin Xue's breath trembled. "Stop means stop," she whispered. "And I choose you. Don't let it take you."
Wei Chen's mouth curved, naughty even through fear. "If you keep saying that," he murmured, "I'm going to start believing you like me."
Lin Xue glared through tears. "I—"
Wei Chen kissed her before she could finish. Slow, deep, and steady, like a vow you could bite. Lin Xue clutched his collar and pulled him closer, not forced—chosen. Their breaths mixed. His heat rolled into her, and her frost steadied him back. The bond rope flared gold and silver in his mind, bright enough to make the dark hiss.
Above them, Su Mei sent a fresh surge of violet qi down the rope. "Hold him!" she shouted. "His brand is pulling!"
Wei Chen broke the kiss just enough to ask Lin Xue, "Do you want me to stop?"
Lin Xue shook her head, breathless. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Not because of it."
Wei Chen nodded and kissed her again, shorter, like a bite of promise. Lin Xue made a small sound and pressed closer, seeking heat.
Su Mei's rope burned brighter, and they slowed—just a little. But the Frost-Eater was not done.
A black wind rose from below like a giant inhale. It wrapped around Wei Chen's chest, right over the brand. The pull doubled.
Wei Chen grunted. His spine arched. His eyes went wide. "It's—" he started.
Then the Frost-Eater spoke again, and this time it used his stolen true name like a hook. "Chen Wei."
Wei Chen's body jerked hard, like a puppet string snapped tight. He fell faster, dragging Lin Xue with him. Su Mei's rope screamed. The violet line frayed with tiny sparks.
Su Mei screamed from above, truly angry now. "No! It's calling him!"
Lin Xue's eyes went fierce. "Not him," she whispered. Her frost surged in panic, spilling off her like smoke. "Not mine."
Wei Chen felt her curse rising. If she let it bloom, it could freeze the wind. It could freeze the pit. It could freeze him too.
Wei Chen grabbed her wrists gently, even in the chaos. "Rules," he said, breath rough. "You choose. If you unleash it, it might freeze us both."
Lin Xue stared at him, trembling. "I'd rather freeze with you," she whispered.
Wei Chen's grin flickered, soft and wicked at once. "Careful," he murmured. "That sounded like a love confession."
Lin Xue's face flushed, furious at him and at fate. "Chen Wei," she snapped, "shut up and live!"
Wei Chen laughed, then winced. "Yes, Elder."
Lin Xue pressed her mouth to his, not waiting—choosing. The kiss was fierce, desperate, real. Her frost didn't explode outward. It focused. It wrapped around their bond like armor instead of a storm.
The air around them turned sharp with cold, but Wei Chen's heat answered, keeping it from killing them. Yin and Yang hummed together, tight and fast, like two blades rubbing sparks.
The black wind hissed, slowed, then fought harder.
Su Mei's rope yanked them sideways, trying to drag them toward a different wall. "I can catch you on a ledge!" she shouted. "But your brand is still pulling down!"
Wei Chen looked down. The eyes below were closer now, too close. The Frost-Eater's voice rumbled again. "Key… open."
Wei Chen's black sun brand pulsed once, huge and cold.
A click echoed in his chest.
Not a real sound. A law sound.
Something opened.
Wei Chen gasped as the brand lit like a dark sun. A thin black line shot from his chest down into the pit, connecting him to the Frost-Eater like a chain.
Lin Xue saw it and went pale. "It linked to you," she whispered.
Wei Chen's teeth clenched. "It's using me," he growled.
Su Mei's voice turned sharp with fear. "That's not a pull anymore," she shouted. "That's a lock! If that line tightens, it drags you into the pit no matter what I do!"
Wei Chen held Lin Xue tighter, and his naughty mouth still found one line in the dark. "If we die," he murmured near her ear, "I'm dying with you on top of me."
Lin Xue's face went red even while terror shook her. "You're impossible."
Wei Chen kissed her cheek, quick. "Then choose," he whispered. "Stay with me."
Lin Xue nodded, eyes fierce. "Always."
The black line from Wei Chen's chest tightened.
Su Mei screamed and poured all her demon qi into the rope.
Lin Xue's curse flared, ready to freeze the world.
And the pit below opened wider, like it was smiling.
To be Continued
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