The tunnel felt smaller now that the coffin gate was sealed. The pale blue runes on the walls flickered like they were afraid. Cold air pressed against skin, not the clean cold of winter, but the dead cold of a place that wanted you quiet.
Lin Xue stayed on top of Wei Chen for one heartbeat longer, because her body still remembered how close he had just pulled her from death. Then she pushed up, cheeks flushed, eyes sharp again.
Wei Chen's grin flickered, shaky and naughty. "You're heavy," he whispered.
Lin Xue's glare could cut stone. "Liar."
Wei Chen's eyes dipped to her lips, then back to her eyes. "Do you want me to stop looking?" he asked, low and clear.
Lin Xue's throat moved. She shook her head once. "Don't stop," she whispered, then immediately looked away like she hated herself for saying it.
That tiny softness didn't last.
A soft clap echoed again.
The copy of Lin Xue stepped closer, smiling sweetly. Her white robes were spotless. Her silver hair fell perfectly. Her eyes were too calm, too empty behind the gentleness.
"How romantic," the copy murmured. "You sealed yourselves in."
Behind her, Su Mei stood upright, but she didn't stand like Su Mei. Her body was still, balanced, obedient. Her eyes were black, and the black looked deep, like a pit with no bottom.
Wei Chen felt his black sun brand throb on his chest.
Cold pressure built under his skin like a breath held too long. A thin line cracked across the brand—just enough to leak a chill.
Lin Xue saw it at once. Her face went pale. "It's opening," she whispered.
Wei Chen's jaw clenched. "I feel it," he said. His voice was steady, but his fingers curled into the stone. "Something's knocking."
Su Mei's mouth moved. The voice that came out wasn't hers. It purred like a satisfied predator.
"Let it open," it whispered. "The coffin is closed. No one can run. Now we can finish."
Lin Xue's frost rose in a sharp wave. The air around her turned brittle with cold. "Stop," she hissed.
Su Mei's black eyes didn't blink. "Stop means stop," the voice mocked softly, like it enjoyed stealing their rules.
Wei Chen's eyes went hard. "Don't use my rules like a joke," he growled.
The copy smiled wider. "Rules," it said sweetly. "So adorable. Tell me, Chen Wei… who do you choose?"
It spoke his true name like honey and poison.
Wei Chen's chest jerked. His brand pulsed. His body leaned forward by a hair, pulled by the sound.
Lin Xue grabbed his wrist fast. "Chen Wei!" she snapped. "Say my name. Stay real."
Wei Chen swallowed through the pull. "Lin Xue," he said.
"Again," she demanded, voice shaking.
"Lin Xue," he said louder.
The bond rope flared warm, bright enough to sting the copy's smile for a heartbeat. The pull weakened.
Lin Xue didn't waste the breath. She shoved her palm against Wei Chen's chest, right over the black sun brand. Her touch was cold, but not cruel. "I'm going to bite it shut," she whispered. "My frost will seal the crack."
Wei Chen looked at her hand on him and his mouth tried to be naughty even now. "Touching me like that again," he rasped. "You really do like claiming me."
Lin Xue's cheeks flared. "Focus."
Wei Chen nodded once, serious again. "Rules," he said, low. "Do you want me to stop you?"
Lin Xue's eyes held his. "No," she whispered. "Do it with me."
Wei Chen breathed in and pushed his Nine-Suns heat carefully—not exploding, not wild—just enough to warm her frost so it wouldn't freeze his heart. "I'm with you," he murmured.
Lin Xue's frost sharpened into a thin, clean seal. It slid under her palm like ice ink, wrapping the cracked line on the brand.
The crack hissed.
Something inside Wei Chen screamed in his mind—silent but violent.
Wei Chen groaned, teeth clenched, because the cold pressure fought the seal from inside. It shoved. It pushed. It wanted out.
Su Mei's black eyes watched with calm hunger. The copy stepped closer, hands folded like a patient teacher.
"You can't keep a door shut forever," the copy whispered. "Sooner or later… someone has to open."
Wei Chen's breath shook. Lin Xue leaned closer, face near his, voice low and fierce. "Chen Wei," she whispered, "stay with me."
Wei Chen's eyes found hers. "Always," he rasped.
Lin Xue's cheeks warmed again, a dangerous warmth, because their faces were so close and his breath was hot on her mouth. Her body trembled, not from fear only.
Wei Chen noticed. His grin flickered, wicked and tender. "Do you want a kiss?" he asked softly. "For anchor."
Lin Xue's eyes darted to the copy, to Su Mei's black stare, then back to Wei Chen. She nodded once, small and desperate. "Yes," she whispered.
Wei Chen kissed her. Slow, deep, steady. Lin Xue clutched his collar and pulled him close, not forced—chosen. Their heat and frost met and hummed together, and for one sweet breath the crack quieted, like it hated how real they were.
Wei Chen pulled back just enough to ask, "Do you want me to stop?"
Lin Xue shook her head. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Hold me. Keep it shut."
Wei Chen kissed her again—shorter, stronger—then pressed his forehead to hers. "Say my name," he murmured. "Anchor me."
Lin Xue's lips trembled. "Chen Wei," she whispered. "I choose you."
The bond rope flared bright.
The crack in the black sun brand tightened under Lin Xue's frost seal. The cold breath stopped leaking for half a heartbeat.
Then Su Mei moved.
She stepped forward with black eyes, silent as a shadow. Her hand lifted and pressed to Wei Chen's chest—right beside Lin Xue's hand—like she was touching a lock she owned.
Lin Xue snapped, furious. "Don't touch him!"
Su Mei's black eyes met Lin Xue's, and the voice that came out was calm and cruel. "He is the key," it whispered. "Keys get held."
Wei Chen grabbed Su Mei's wrist hard. "Stop," he said, voice like steel.
Su Mei's hand froze.
She stopped.
For one breath, the rule still worked.
Wei Chen exhaled. "Good," he rasped.
Lin Xue stared, chest heaving. "Her body obeys," she whispered. "But her eyes don't."
The copy smiled, pleased. "You're learning," it murmured.
Then the copy lifted a finger and traced the air. A thin black thread appeared again—law-thread—reaching for Lin Xue's wrist mark, reaching for the bond rope itself.
"Let's cut the anchor," the copy whispered. "Then the door opens on its own."
Lin Xue reacted fast, frost shooting from her fingertips to slice the thread. The thread dodged, alive and hungry.
Wei Chen snapped his fan open and slashed, knocking it aside, but it kept coming.
The thread touched Lin Xue's wrist mark.
Lin Xue gasped. Pain shot up her arm, cold and sharp. Her bond rope flickered like a candle being pinched.
Wei Chen's black sun brand pulsed hard in answer.
The frost seal on it cracked—one thin line—like the door inside him smiled.
Cold breath leaked out again.
Lin Xue's voice broke. "Chen Wei—"
Wei Chen grabbed her face, forcing her eyes to his. "Lin Xue," he said, urgent. "Say my name. Stay real."
Lin Xue swallowed through pain. "Chen Wei," she whispered. "Stay with me."
Wei Chen's chest tightened. "I'm here," he rasped.
But the cold breath kept leaking.
And Su Mei's black eyes smiled as if the crack was a mouth opening.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.