Sakura found herself back in Room 304, the empty classroom now bathed in the dim, artificial glow of the overhead lights. Her body still thrummed with residual dark energy, a faint tremor running through her limbs. The fury that had consumed her during the fight with Li Wei slowly receded, leaving behind a hollow ache, a familiar emptiness. She sank into the same desk chair, her gaze once again fixed on the blank blackboard, but this time, her face was not blank. It was etched with a complex mix of frustration, despair, and a desperate, fragile hope.
She still has power, Sakura thought, the memory of Li Wei's azure burst searing in her mind. More than I anticipated. More than Valerius led me to believe.
The door opened, and Valerius, in Hiroshi's form, stepped inside. He moved with a quiet, almost languid grace, his eyes, through Hiroshi's, assessing her with cold precision. "A rather spirited exchange, wouldn't you agree, Sakura?" His voice was smooth, devoid of judgment, yet laced with an unsettling amusement. "You failed to secure the Emperor."
Sakura flinched, but held her ground. "She is stronger than you said. Her arcane abilities are fragmented, but her will... it is formidable."
Valerius chuckled, a dry, rustling sound. "Indeed. The General was always tenacious. A loyal dog, even in a new skin." He walked towards her, stopping a few feet away. "But you learned, did you not? You gauged her strength. A valuable lesson, even in defeat." He paused, his gaze piercing. "Now, tell me, Sakura. Why the sudden surge of... personal investment? You were meant to observe, not engage so directly."
Sakura's composure fractured. The coldness in her eyes softened, replaced by a desperate vulnerability. "You lied to me," she whispered, her voice trembling, stripped of its haunting echoes. "You said it would make him love me. You said if I served you, if I brought him to you, he would see me. He would choose me."
Valerius's smile was thin, cruel. "Love? Such a fragile, fleeting emotion in this world. And in the last, Kaelen's affections were always... misplaced." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper. "I promised you he would see you, Sakura. And he has, has he not? He remembers you. He knows your name. You have his attention."
Sakura closed her eyes, a single tear tracing a path down her cheek. "But not in the way you promised. Not in the way I... I remember." Her voice was filled with an ancient sorrow, a longing that transcended lifetimes.
"He only sees me as an enemy. Because of you."
"A necessary step," Valerius purred, a hand reaching out, almost touching her shoulder before withdrawing. "True love, true devotion, is often forged in the fires of conflict. He will come to understand. He will come to appreciate your... dedication." He paused, his eyes gleaming. "And when he is broken, when he has nowhere else to turn, then he will see you for what you are: the one who truly understands him, the one who offered him salvation."
Valerius smiled, a chilling, utterly convincing display of warmth. "I promise, Sakura. Serve me, and Kaelen will be yours. His heart, his soul, his very being. All will be yours."
Li Wei watched from the shadows of the hallway. She had returned, drawn by a lingering unease, a faint echo of the dark energy she had felt during the fight. She had heard the last part of their conversation, the chilling promise, the desperate plea.
He will love me.
The words, spoken by Sakura with such raw, agonizing hope, struck Li Wei with an unexpected force. A strange, unfamiliar sensation coiled in her gut. It was a sharp, unpleasant twist, a sudden tightness in her chest that she couldn't quite identify. It wasn't anger, not exactly. It was... something else. Something akin to a cold, possessive ache.
Love? Kaelen? And Sakura?
Li Wei, the general, had always been pragmatic. Her loyalty to Kaelen was absolute, a sworn duty that transcended personal emotion. She had never considered "love" in the context of her Emperor. Her focus had always been on his safety, his empire, his strategic objectives. Yet, hearing Sakura's desperate longing, hearing Valerius's twisted promise, a new, unsettling emotion stirred within her.
She pressed herself further into the shadows as Valerius and Sakura exited the classroom, their faces once again composed, their conversation now mundane. She watched them disappear down the corridor, her mind reeling.
The war was not just about power and empire. It was about souls, about promises, about twisted desires. And for the first time, Li Wei felt a personal stake in the outcome that went beyond duty.
Li Wei walked home, the setting sun painting the sky in hues of orange and purple, but she barely noticed. Her mind was a whirlwind of strategic calculations, overlaid with the unsettling echo of Sakura's desperate wish. He will love me. The phrase repeated in her head, a persistent, irritating hum.
She found herself in her room, the familiar modern comforts doing little to soothe the turmoil within her.
She paced, her movements agitated, unlike her usual calm composure. She tried to analyze the feeling, to dissect it with the cold logic of a general. It was illogical. It was a distraction. Kaelen was her Emperor, her charge. Nothing more.
Yet, the image of Sakura's tear-streaked face, the raw yearning in her voice, kept returning. And with it, that strange, unpleasant tightening in Li Wei's chest. She stopped pacing, her fists clenching.
"What is this?" she muttered aloud, her voice a low growl of frustration. She brought her fist up, punching the air with a sharp, controlled jab, then another, and another. The physical exertion did little to dispel the unfamiliar emotion.
"This... this feeling." She didn't understand it. She had faced down armies, outmaneuvered assassins, endured torture without flinching. But this... this was a new kind of torment, an internal chaos she couldn't categorize or control.
It was a feeling she didn't recognize, couldn't categorize.
A flicker of something akin to jealousy, a possessiveness over a connection she hadn't realized she valued so deeply.
Kaelen was her Emperor. Her responsibility.
The thought of him, even in this new, fragile form, being manipulated by Valerius through such a base, personal desire... it was infuriating. And the thought of Sakura, her enemy, being the object of such a twisted promise, made that unfamiliar emotion burn even hotter.
The general, who had always understood strategy, was now confronted with an emotion she didn't comprehend, a new, unsettling variable on the battlefield of her heart.