The crack in the coffin wall split wider with a slow, painful grind, like stone was being torn apart by patient hands. Cold poured in. Not winter-cold. Not snow-cold. This cold felt like a rule. It crawled into Lin Xue's ribs and made her Frozen Heart Curse sing like it finally heard a home call.
A gold-black eye opened in the split. It watched them the way fire watches dry grass.
Lin Xue sucked in a sharp breath. Her body shivered, and her frost flared without permission. Her palm stayed pressed over Wei Chen's black sun brand, sealing the crack on his chest, but she could feel it breathing under her hand—cold and pleased, like the door inside him recognized the eye in the wall.
Wei Chen tightened his arm around her waist, pulling her closer into his lap like he was physically holding her soul in place. "Lin Xue," he said urgent, voice rough, "look at me."
Lin Xue forced her eyes away from the eye and onto Wei Chen's face. His messy black hair fell into his eyes, and for one heartbeat he looked more scared than naughty. "Chen Wei…" she whispered.
"Say my name," he ordered softly. "Stay real."
"Chen Wei," she breathed. "Stay with me."
The bond rope flared warm for a moment, fighting the cold. Wei Chen leaned in and kissed her—slow and steady—like he was pressing a promise into her mouth. Lin Xue clutched his collar and pulled him closer, trembling, not forced—chosen. The kiss warmed her curse just enough to make it hesitate.
Wei Chen pulled back just enough to ask, low and clear, "Do you want me to stop?"
Lin Xue shook her head. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Hold me. Keep it shut."
Wei Chen's roguish grin flickered, wicked even with death watching. "Bossy," he murmured, then pressed his forehead to hers. "Good."
Ahead, the copy of Lin Xue smiled sweetly, like a teacher enjoying a lesson. "Now the two doors meet," it whispered. "The wall door… and the chest door. All that's missing is the key."
Wei Chen's throat tightened. "My true name," he growled.
The copy's eyes gleamed. "Once it owns your name," it purred, nodding toward the gold-black eye, "it can walk through any door. Your body becomes a gate. Your bond becomes a leash."
Su Mei stood beside the copy, black eyes calm, breathing slow. She lifted her head slightly, like she heard the Frost-Eater calling through the crack. Her lips parted.
Wei Chen felt cold climb his throat, like a word trying to climb out of him. The black sun brand pulsed under Lin Xue's palm. The crack inside it pushed, eager.
Lin Xue pressed harder, frost tightening around the edges like a ring. Her voice cut sharp. "Black sun—stop."
For one heartbeat, the push weakened.
Wei Chen exhaled and leaned close to her ear, voice low and shameless even now. "Ordering my chest again," he whispered, "you're going to make me addicted."
Lin Xue's cheeks burned bright red. "Focus," she hissed.
Wei Chen's mouth brushed her jaw. "Do you want me to stop teasing?" he asked, clear.
Lin Xue swallowed, eyes bright with fear and heat mixed together. "No," she whispered. "Just… obey."
Wei Chen's eyes darkened, and he answered like a vow. "Yes."
That "yes" was his. Real. Chosen.
Then Su Mei spoke.
Not loud. Not dramatic. Just one smooth syllable, sliding out like a knife being drawn.
"Chen…"
Wei Chen's body jerked. His chest tightened. The cold eye in the wall brightened, pleased.
Lin Xue snapped her head up. "No!" She grabbed Wei Chen's face with both hands, forcing his attention onto her like a hard anchor. "Chen Wei," she commanded, shaking, "say my name. Stay real!"
Wei Chen swallowed through the pull. "Lin Xue," he forced out.
"Again!" Lin Xue demanded.
"Lin Xue," Wei Chen said louder.
The bond rope flared warm—then flickered as Lin Xue's wrist mark burned again. The law-thread tightened and chewed the bond thinner. Pain stabbed her arm, and her frost faltered for a breath.
That was all the black sun needed.
The crack under her palm widened by a hair.
A cold breath slipped out.
Lin Xue gasped and slammed her mouth to Wei Chen's lips, kissing him hard—chosen, desperate, real—because she needed his heat and his will to stay in the same place. Wei Chen kissed her back like he was starving for truth. His arm locked around her waist. His other hand covered her hand on his chest, holding her there like a seal.
Wei Chen broke the kiss just enough to ask, breathless, "Do you want me to stop?"
Lin Xue's voice shook. "Don't stop," she whispered. "Hold me. Burn it."
Wei Chen nodded once. He inhaled and pushed Nine-Suns fire into the crack—thin, sharp, controlled. Golden heat bit at the dark like light biting paper. Lin Xue's frost held the edges tight, keeping the fire from spreading into his heart.
The black sun hissed.
The eye in the wall blinked, annoyed.
The copy's smile thinned. "Careful," it murmured. "If you burn your door shut, you burn your own voice too."
Wei Chen's jaw clenched. "Then I'll borrow hers," he snarled.
Lin Xue's cheeks flared. "What?"
Wei Chen looked at her, eyes fierce and soft at once. "Your voice anchors me," he said. "Tell me what to say."
Lin Xue's breath caught. The tunnel was cold. The monster watched. And still he made her feel chosen like it was the only law that mattered. Lin Xue swallowed and whispered, "Say: 'My name is mine.'"
Wei Chen spoke it loud. "My name is mine."
The runes flickered.
The copy's eyes narrowed.
Lin Xue whispered again, closer, mouth near his ear, the words turning into something intimate and powerful at the same time. "Say: 'I belong to my choice.'"
Wei Chen's voice rumbled. "I belong to my choice."
Lin Xue's cheeks warmed fiercely. "Say my name," she whispered, and her hand squeezed his chest like she was claiming the truth.
Wei Chen said it like a vow. "Lin Xue."
For one heartbeat, the pull loosened.
Su Mei's black eyes widened, and her mouth tried again. "Chen Wei…"
The Frost-Eater's eye flared bright.
And the crack in the coffin wall opened wider, like it was smiling.
A shadow hand began to slide through the split—long fingers, cold law—reaching toward Wei Chen's throat.
Lin Xue's curse screamed inside her ribs, excited and terrified.
Wei Chen's black sun brand pulsed hard under her palm.
And from deep inside Wei Chen's chest, a soft, hungry voice whispered—wearing his breath like it was already his.
"Yes."
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
All rights reserved.