Wei Chen's chest burned cold where the black sun brand sat. The crack in it was small, like a thin door drawn in ink, but it felt huge inside him. Something breathed on the other side.
"Finally," the whisper purred in his mind. "A body."
Wei Chen's spine went rigid. He grabbed his own chest like he could crush the crack shut with his hand. "Get out," he growled.
Lin Xue saw his face change. Her eyes sharpened at once. "What is it?" she whispered.
Su Mei staggered beside them, breathing hard, lips pale. Her purple qi flickered weak like a dying flame. "Your brand opened," she hissed. "That's the worst thing that could happen."
Below the ledge, the Frost-Eater climbed higher. Its storm-body rolled and scraped, chains dragging like claws on stone. Its gold-black eyes stared up at them like they were hanging meat.
"Key," it rumbled. "Give."
Wei Chen forced a grin, but it looked ugly with pain. "I'm not a key," he snapped. "I'm a lockpick."
Lin Xue's fingers grabbed his wrist. "Chen Wei," she said, voice shaking but firm. "Say my name. Stay real."
Wei Chen swallowed. His mouth felt dry. "Lin Xue," he said.
"Again," Lin Xue demanded.
"Lin Xue," Wei Chen said louder.
The bond rope flared warm between them. For one breath, the whisper inside his brand quieted, like it hated the sound of something real.
Wei Chen leaned close, shameless even now. "If you keep bossing me like that," he murmured, "I'll start obeying in bed."
Lin Xue's cheeks flushed. "Wei Chen!"
Wei Chen kissed her forehead, quick and steady. "Rules," he whispered. "Stop means stop. You choose. We seal this together."
Lin Xue swallowed. "Stop means stop," she whispered. "And I choose you. Tell me what to do."
Su Mei barked a harsh laugh. "Romance later," she snapped. "If that thing steps through his brand, you'll be kissing a puppet."
Wei Chen's eyes narrowed. "Then help."
Su Mei's jaw tightened. "My core is cracked," she said. "If I push too hard, I collapse. But I can bite the brand shut for a moment."
Lin Xue looked at her, cold and jealous. "Your demon qi will touch him."
Su Mei lifted a brow. "Yes. And you'll hate it."
Wei Chen's grin returned, wicked. "Both of you touching me at once?" he teased. "Careful. My Nine-Suns might explode on purpose."
Lin Xue pinched his side hard. "Focus!"
Wei Chen hissed and laughed at the same time. "Fine," he said. Then he turned serious. "Rules. Lin Xue, do you agree to Su Mei sealing me?"
Lin Xue hesitated, pride battling fear, then nodded once. "Yes," she whispered. "Live."
Wei Chen turned to Su Mei. "Rules," he said. "Stop means stop. One bite. No chain."
Su Mei's eyes glittered. "Say yes."
Wei Chen breathed in. "I choose this," he said. "One bite."
Su Mei stepped in and pressed her palm to his chest, right beside the crack. The touch was warm and sharp. Violet qi slid like silk, trying to wrap the black door. Wei Chen felt the whisper inside the brand hiss, angry, like a trapped snake.
Su Mei leaned close, lips near his ear. "Hold steady," she murmured, almost too soft. "Or I can't save you."
Wei Chen smirked, even while his heart hammered. "That sounded like care."
Su Mei's mouth curved. "Don't get proud."
Lin Xue's eyes narrowed. Jealousy flashed, but she didn't step back. Instead she pressed her cold hand over Su Mei's wrist, adding frost. "I'm here," Lin Xue said to Wei Chen. "Stay with me."
Wei Chen's chest tightened. He turned his head and kissed Lin Xue, slow and deep, because he needed the anchor more than air. Lin Xue clutched his collar and pulled him close, not forced—chosen. Their bond rope flared gold and silver. The whisper inside the brand shrank back for a heartbeat.
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. "Seal it."
Wei Chen nodded and pressed his forehead to hers. "Say my true name," he told her, low. "Hold it."
Lin Xue's lips trembled. "Chen Wei," she whispered. "Anchor to me."
The bond rope flared brighter. Lin Xue's frost sharpened, clean and careful. She guided it toward the crack like a needle of ice, not to freeze his heart, but to freeze the doorframe.
Su Mei hissed, pushing violet qi harder around the crack. "Now," she snapped. "Close!"
The crack shuddered. The whisper inside it screamed in Wei Chen's head. "Mine!"
Wei Chen's body jerked forward again, pulled by the Frost-Eater below and the thing inside his brand at the same time. Pain shot through his ribs like a knife.
Lin Xue grabbed his face. "Chen Wei," she said sharp. "Say my name. Stay real."
Wei Chen forced the words out. "Lin Xue."
"Again," she demanded, tears bright in her eyes.
"Lin Xue," he said louder.
Wei Chen's naughty grin flickered through the pain. "You really like telling me what to do," he rasped.
Lin Xue's cheeks burned. "Later," she snapped. "Live now."
The Frost-Eater rose until its chains scraped the ledge. A huge shadow-hand reached out, made of mist and law, and slammed onto the stone beside them. The impact shook the ledge.
Su Mei's violet rope snapped off her arm and fell limp. She staggered. "I can't pull anymore," she whispered, voice raw.
The Frost-Eater's eyes locked on Wei Chen's chest. It saw the crack. It saw the door.
"Open," it rumbled. "Key."
The black sun brand pulsed in answer.
The crack widened by a hair.
Cold breath slid out.
Lin Xue gasped. Frost climbed her own arm as she pushed harder. Her lips went pale again. "I can't hold it," she whispered.
Wei Chen grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers, one by one, fast and fierce. "You can," he said. "I'm here."
Lin Xue looked up at him, shaking. "Do you choose me?" she whispered, like she needed to hear it again.
Wei Chen's voice went low and real. "I choose you," he said. "Always."
Then he leaned close and added, shameless again, "And when we live, I'm kissing you until you stop pretending you don't like it."
Lin Xue's eyes flashed with heat. "I'm not pretending," she whispered.
Wei Chen's grin widened. "Good."
Su Mei coughed, wiping blood from the corner of her mouth. She stared at Wei Chen's chest with a hard decision in her eyes. "There is one way," she said. "I can bite the crack shut completely."
Lin Xue snapped her head toward Su Mei. "How?"
Su Mei's voice went quiet. "With my core," she said. "I push all my demon essence into that door and seal it. But if I do… I might not wake up."
Wei Chen stared at her. For the first time, he didn't joke. "Su Mei…"
Su Mei looked away, angry at herself. "Don't thank me," she muttered. "Just… don't let that thing wear you."
The Frost-Eater lifted another chain, aiming right for Wei Chen's chest, like it wanted to rip the brand open.
Lin Xue's frost trembled.
Su Mei raised her palm, violet light gathering like a final candle.
Wei Chen pulled Lin Xue tight and whispered, "Hold me."
Lin Xue pressed her lips to his, desperate and chosen, and the bond rope flared as the Frost-Eater's chain came down—
To be Continued
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