The black line from Wei Chen's chest pulled tight, like a leash made of law. It ran down into the pit and hummed with cold hunger. The Frost-Eater's eyes below were so wide now that the dark felt like it had a face.
Su Mei screamed and poured more violet qi into the rope above them. The rope glowed and shook, burning like a living vein. "I'm pulling!" she shouted. "But that line is dragging you down!"
Wei Chen held Lin Xue tight to his chest. His black sun brand pulsed again, and his body jerked forward like it wanted to dive into the pit on its own. Wei Chen growled through his teeth. "I'm not yours," he spat into the dark.
The Frost-Eater answered with one word, deep and pleased. "Key."
Lin Xue's frost flared in panic. Cold poured off her shoulders like smoke. Her voice shook, but her eyes stayed fierce. "I can freeze the line," she whispered. "If I freeze it, it can't pull you."
Wei Chen looked at her, breath rough. "If you freeze it wrong," he said, "you might freeze my heart with it."
Lin Xue didn't look away. "Then we do it right," she said, stubborn like an elder facing death.
Wei Chen's mouth curved, shameless even now. "Ice Queen," he murmured, "you're really trying to freeze a leash off my chest. If that isn't love, I don't know what is."
Lin Xue's cheeks warmed, angry and embarrassed in the falling wind. "Shut up," she snapped. "Stay with me."
Wei Chen nodded once. Then he made himself calm, because rules mattered most when fear was loud. "Rules," he said. "Stop means stop. You choose."
Lin Xue swallowed. "Stop means stop," she whispered. "And I choose you. I choose to save you."
Wei Chen's chest tightened. "Do you want my help?" he asked, clear. "I can push heat into your frost so it freezes the line, not my heart."
Lin Xue nodded hard. "Yes," she said. "Now."
The pull yanked again. The Frost-Eater whispered his stolen name, soft as a kiss. "Chen Wei…"
Wei Chen's body jerked forward. Lin Xue grabbed his face with both hands. "Chen Wei," she said, sharp. "Say my name. Stay real."
Wei Chen forced the words out through pain. "Lin Xue."
"Again," she demanded.
"Lin Xue," he said louder.
The bond rope flared warm in his mind, and the leash weakened for a breath. Wei Chen didn't waste it. He kissed her.
Slow, deep, and steady, like a vow pressed into breath. Lin Xue clutched his collar and pulled him closer, not forced—chosen. Their heat and frost met and hummed, tight and fast, like two rivers forced into one bed.
Wei Chen pulled back just enough to ask, "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, stronger, like a promise with teeth. Then he pressed his forehead to hers and breathed out, guiding his Yang through the bond. "Freeze the line," he whispered. "Not me."
Lin Xue closed her eyes. Frost gathered, but it didn't explode outward. It focused. It turned sharp and clean.
Above them, Su Mei's voice cracked. "Do it fast!" she shouted. "My core is burning!"
Wei Chen looked up, then shouted back, "Hold one more breath!"
Su Mei snarled, "I am holding my life, pretty boy!"
Wei Chen couldn't help it—he flashed a grin. "Jealous you're not in my arms?"
Su Mei cursed so hard the rope sparked. "Shut up!"
Lin Xue tightened her hold on Wei Chen, jealous heat in her eyes even through fear. "Stop teasing her," she snapped.
Wei Chen kissed Lin Xue's cheek quickly. "Then claim me again," he whispered, naughty and warm. "It makes me stronger."
Lin Xue's face went red, but she said it anyway, loud into the wind. "Chen Wei is mine. By choice."
The bond rope flared like a sun in snow.
Lin Xue lifted one hand toward Wei Chen's chest without touching the brand. Frost poured from her palm in a thin, careful line. It wrapped around the black leash, not around Wei Chen. Wei Chen pushed heat into it at the same time, tempering it so it wouldn't bite his heart.
The black line hissed.
Ice formed over it like glass.
For one heartbeat, the leash stopped pulling.
The Frost-Eater roared.
The sound hit them like a wave. The pit below heaved, and the dark rose up. The Frost-Eater finally showed its shape—not a beast of flesh, but a giant storm-body made of mist, chains, and frozen faces. In its chest, a spinning black core looked like an empty sun.
"Key," it rumbled. "Open."
Wei Chen's black sun brand flared, answering like a lock turning. Pain stabbed his ribs. The ice on the leash cracked.
Su Mei screamed and poured everything she had into the rope. Violet light burst down, yanking Wei Chen and Lin Xue sideways toward a stone ledge jutting from the wall.
They slammed onto it hard. Wei Chen rolled, taking the удар, keeping Lin Xue on top of him instead of the rock. Lin Xue gasped and grabbed his shirt like she was drowning.
Wei Chen held her face. "Are you hurt?" he asked, simple.
Lin Xue shook her head fast. "No," she whispered. "You?"
Wei Chen forced a grin. "I've been kissed worse," he said, then softened. "I'm fine."
Lin Xue's eyes flashed. "Stop joking."
Wei Chen kissed her once more, steady and deep, just enough to anchor. Lin Xue melted into it for a breath, then pulled back, flushed and shaking. "Live," she whispered.
The Frost-Eater climbed higher, its chains scraping the air. One chain reached toward the ledge like a hand.
Su Mei landed beside them with a stumble, breathing hard. Her lips were pale. Her purple qi flickered weak. "My core is cracked," she hissed. "If it grabs you now, I can't pull again."
The Frost-Eater's eyes locked on Lin Xue. "Frozen Heart," it rumbled. "Come home."
Lin Xue stiffened. Frost surged again, wild this time.
Wei Chen grabbed her wrist gently. "Rules," he said, low. "You choose."
Lin Xue swallowed, eyes fierce. "I choose you," she whispered.
The Frost-Eater laughed, and the black sun brand on Wei Chen's chest pulsed like it was laughing too.
Then the brand opened.
Not fully, but enough.
A thin crack of darkness appeared on Wei Chen's skin, like a door drawn in ink.
Something on the other side breathed.
And Wei Chen felt a new whisper slide into his mind—closer than the coffin, colder than the pit.
"Finally," it purred. "A body."
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
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