NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63: Undevoured Still
~~~
"Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"
The Dragon turned, looking at the sword-grafter at his side.
Daiyu no longer looked the same as she had all those centuries ago, when they first began their journey. Her body was marred with broken edges. Her blades were chipped and warped.
His executioner had become more lethal than any sword had a right to be, and yet was made lesser because of it.
Zhong could no longer recall the last time he saw Daiyu smile.
"I will be fine. Is Lixuan around, Daiyu?"
"He is, my lord." She grimaced. "But he does not wish to see you. He still has not forgiven you for what you did to us."
"That is fine." Zhong's smile was heavy. "Go to him, Daiyu. Yang Jian should be with him as well. Try to keep each other alive. The new Empire will need capable hands to lead it."
Left unsaid was that Zhong did not believe he would still be around in the aftermath to oversee his Imperial Dynasty.
His executioner hesitated. The relationship they shared was no longer so simple. Too many things had occurred for her to call him 'Boss' anymore.
But even so, it was difficult for a sword to forget its loyalties, especially to the wielder it still loved.
Eventually, however, she turned away.
"We will do our best to hold off the Primate for a time," Daiyu said. "Do what you have to do."
"Do not try to defeat him. Seek only to stall," Zhong advised. "Anything more than that… Even with the three of you combined, you are not his equal. Our past friendships will not stop him from killing you."
"I am well aware," Daiyu nodded. There was no denial of Zhong's words; no protest against his assessment. Her eyes sharpened. "Watch for the Fox. We still don't know where she is."
"She might not be here. The chaos of this battlefield ill-suits her."
"You know that is not true, my Lord. Like us disciples, she goes where you go, even if she denies it to her final moments."
Zhong said nothing. He simply stared ahead, facing Mount Tai's dying breaths.
Daiyu closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she brought her hands together in salute.
"May fortune be with you, my Lord. Please… Come back alive."
She left him then. Zhong was alone.
But not for much longer. His Heart awaited him at the summit.
"I will see you freed, one way or another," Zhong promised.
No matter what you desire, it ends today.
~~~
Zhong coughed up blood.
He was too weak to fight anymore. His strength was utterly spent.
The man was held upright by another body. Battered and missing chunks, his opponent was similarly a hairbreath from death.
Zhong's vision was blurred, but the lovely hue of her blood-red hair was still visible to him.
He smiled.
"I… win."
Within her chest, his arm pulled back, dragging out her still-beating heart.
No. Not hers. His. The one he gave her so many aeons ago.
"And now… You are free," he weakly whispered. "Whether you want it or not."
She said nothing. She only stared at him.
Two differing eyes, one coloured emerald Jade, the other the kaleidoscopic horror hue of a Demon Unending.
He saw the hate and despair in them.
He saw her love.
"I deny you your death," Zhong muttered, consciousness fading. "With my life, I deny you… Immortality. Go, my dearest guide, and live your life…"
Free of Fleshborne Divinity.
Then, she smiled.
Not one of forgiveness. Not one of sorrow.
But one of triumph. Zhong froze.
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"You miscalculated, my dearest Dragon," the woman whispered, eyes blazing. "There are yet those who would see you live, even if it goes against your desire to see me free. Even if it denies your sacrifice."
The scent of mercury filled the air. Zhong watched with horror as the incarnation of pleasure appeared atop the Star-Eating Mountain.
The enormous, ghastly form of the Fox looked down. Her violet eyes held regret, but the mercurial creature had never once considered any alternative.
Su Daji would never accept any outcome that would see her Dragon lost forever.
Zhong tried to shout, to stop her, to beg, but it was pointless.
Silver fire and sulphur engulfed the sky. The Nine Tails of Gratified Calamity reached for the Heavens.
Somewhere, the Dragon heard the Jade King laugh. The dying woman in Zhong's arms claimed his lips.
And the peaks of Mount Tai erupted.
~~~
"NO!"
Feng woke up, arms grasping nothing.
He was on a bed, his breathing frantic. Beneath the silk sheets, his body was covered in sweat. His torso burned with phantom pains. It was still night outside…
He could still taste her lips on his tongue. How dare she? How dare she?!
"Zhong?" / "Feng?"
Someone touched his shoulder. Zhong / Feng reacted.
Arms blazing, the Young Master panickedly activated a fire technique. Fist wreathed in flames, he swung wildly at his assailant as the room lit up explosively in the dark.
A chitin-armoured hand caught the blow before he accidentally set the bed on fire.
"Zhong, don't think about—" / "Feng, it's me! Calm down!"
Voices overlapping with each other. He could not think. Could not see. His vision and thoughts were still trapped in a dream. He could still see Mount Tai burning. Erupting. Dying.
He failed. Failed. Failed!
Unspeakable rage and sorrow were engulfing his mind. The labile part of him could not understand or comprehend.
Again and again, one thought repeated itself:
I NEED TO SAVE YOU!
He was shouting, he realised. Someone was hugging him from behind, trying to hold him still as he thrashed and howled.
Mad… Was he becoming mad?
"Stop thinking. Listen to her." / "Do you remember how we met?"
Zhong/ Feng growled. Distantly, the Young Master realised his teeth had turned to fangs.
"I was nine years old. You were ten. Your Father took you to the Split-Headed Carnivores Sect with him to meet me."
Zhong/ Feng opened his mouth. His fangs tore into the arm holding him. The reinforced skin tore apart like it was paper.
Saliva dripped and hissed like acid. The powerful flesh of the limb restraining him fell apart like melting wax, blood bubbling together with muscles and bones.
The arms around him did not waver. They only held him tighter.
"I didn't like you back then. I was still grieving for my Father, for everything that happened before we met. Stuck in nightmares. I dreamt of childish plots to kill Mother for what she did."
Gentle. Warm. The person holding him did not pull away even as his mouth slurped and devoured the liquified meat of their arms. If anything, they pressed themselves willingly into his maw.
Someone was stroking his hair.
"You had everything I wanted. A caring father. A happy childhood. A Sect without famine and screams in winter's night. They told me I was to marry you. Mother decided that, without my consent. Just like everything else she did. I hated that vile woman. And so I hated you as well."
Blood and melted meat stained the silk sheets. Zhong— no, Feng's eyes were leaking blood and black matter. His cries were mournful. Feral.
Why didn't you let me save you?
Behind him, warm tears fell upon his nape.
"I must have been difficult. I opposed your efforts to know me every step of the way. But you never hated me. You never give up trying to get closer, even when you almost died. Even after I… almost killed you. Do you remember what you told me? When I asked you why you stayed, even after I nearly devoured you to death?"
Feng closed his eyes. He gritted his teeth, holding back the sob.
"I wouldn't be myself if I left you alone," Feng whispered.
Lianshi held him tighter, uncaring of the unhealing wound on her arm. She kissed his neck.
It took a long while before Feng dared to look back at her. Lianshi's eyes were tearful. Her smile was beautiful.
"Don't leave me now, Feng."
"I am here."
They stayed like that for a while, holding each other.
~~~
It was not the first incident. It would not be the last.
Those peaceful days before the wedding died one after another. The nights they spent in intimacy grew fewer, until they stopped entirely.
Lianshi's injuries grew. Feng, despite his promise, began distancing himself from his Fiancée.
As she slept alone, the Young Master sat outside of his estate, unable to bring himself to her.
The mounting wounds he left on her… They still scarred her skin, despite her superior cultivation.
That should not be possible. There was something deeply wrong with him. And he did not know how to fix it.
"Things will not resolve themselves like this."
On that moonlit night, the wraith returned. Silver pale skin luminated under fading snow and lunar tears.
"Why wouldn't you just leave me be?" Feng whispered. "You are not real. You cannot be real."
His eyes were closed, his teeth gritted.
He could still see her. She was always there.
And the dreams… Ever more frequent. Ever more haunting. Feng told himself those were simply nightmarish delusions, no matter how familiar or real they felt in remembrance.
An impossible past… Who was he anymore?
"You already know the answer to that."
Feng opened his eyes. The wraith stood before him.
Jade of eye. Blood of hair. Beauty unparalleled under Heaven or Earth. She cupped her hands under his cheeks and pulled his face up to meet hers.
Their lips met each other. Feng folded into her embrace. When they parted, he tasted sweetness.
Nectarous Decay… and Fleshborne Divinity.
And in that moment, Feng realised the truth: that he could never love any other but her.
There was only her.
"Do not forget our Pact, dearest Dragon," the wraith whispered, lips brushing against his. "Mount Tai lies undevoured still."
Even after she disappeared, the painful taste of her lingered for the rest of the night.