"What is sealed here?" Cairen's voice rang firm.
The ethereal woman turned toward him.
"An Evil Spirit. A being of pure voracity and chaos that, once released, would drain the life from the continent until nothing remained but a dry husk."
"My life, and the lives of many others, were the price paid to contain it here. Your cooperation will be the price to keep it contained."
Cairen exhaled deeply as he listened, his mind racing.
Fifty years felt like an eternity. It was time enough to grow stronger, to seek revenge, perhaps even to no longer be on this planet when the time came, depending on the system.
And if he were still here, would he not be strong enough to deal with the seal, or even with the demon, alone, without relying on Ling by his side?
Acceptance was the only logical path to stay alive.
"I accept," he said, his voice echoing over the water.
Ling, on her part, after a long moment in which her golden hair slowly returned to its original silvery hue and the bone spikes completely retracted, bowed her head slightly.
A faint, enigmatic smile played on her lips.
"I also accept," she said, her voice soft and calm, as she glanced sideways at Cairen.
Cairen watched her, and frustration simmered within him. He couldn't read her.
She had approached him with the clear intention of using him as bait to lure her brother, the Crown Prince, and kill him. So why now, when he looked at her, did he feel no trace of direct hostility?
No hatred, no murderous contempt.
Only interest. A deep, unsettling curiosity, like a child watching a rare insect in the yard.
It infuriated him more than any open threat could. Her unpredictability was a weapon.
But then, Cairen suddenly thought, how would the woman, how would Sela, ensure that they fulfilled the pact? How would she even know if they were alive fifty years from now?
The answer came before he could ask.
An intense heat burst within Cairen's mind, followed by a sharp sting, like a needle of both ice and fire piercing into his skull.
He grabbed his head, gasping. At the same time, he saw Ling doing the same, though she pressed her hand against her chest. Her calm silver eyes widened for a brief instant before settling again.
And then, he felt it. The connection, already strong, became stronger, symbiotic.
He could feel the rapid rhythm of her heartbeat echoing within his own chest.
He could sense the flow of her Qi, the breath in her lungs.
It was an intrinsic, profound, vital link. And with terrifying clarity, he immediately knew.
If Ling's heart stopped beating, his would stop at the same instant. And vice versa.
She had suddenly become his anchor of life, and he, hers. A blood pact forged by an ancient woman.
Ling realized the truth at the same moment. Her eyes met Cairen's across the distance between them.
And then, she laughed. It wasn't mockery or triumph, it was a loud, genuine, and profoundly disturbing laugh.
The sound echoed across the lake endlessly, like an omen of misfortune, as if she had already seen the pieces of a game beyond her control fall perfectly into place according to her will, in an unexpected and fascinating way.
"Until fifty years from now, then," Sela's voice resounded, beginning to fade with her ethereal form.
"When you return, I will remove the seals that bind you. Now go. The domain will close."
Suddenly, the world around them began to collapse. The sky above seemed to crack like glass, and a blinding white light engulfed them.
Cairen felt an irresistible force pulling him away, ripping him out of that place.
His last vision was of Ling's silver eyes locked on him, carrying a promise of an intertwined future that made his mind burn.
A silent threat, that to survive, he had to ensure that his enemy, now his ally, remained alive as well.
**************************************************
The silence above the inheritance gate was heavy, laden with an anxiety that grew with every passing hour, making everyone wonder who would emerge with the inheritance.
The inheritance gate, once a spectacle of blue-green light and pulsing energy, had now calmed, appearing as a scar upon the landscape.
Outside the gate, the factions held their positions. Elder Xu, from the Three Poisons Sect, tried to meditate, but his eyes opened every five minutes, fixed on the gate. The other two elders stood beside him, anxious, unbothered by showing it.
Elders Ye of the Blue Sparrow Sect and Han of the Golden Sword Sect spoke in low tones, their initial arrogance replaced by cold gazes.
The absolute silence was abnormal.
On the royal ship, the old guardian remained motionless, but his mind held a flicker of concern for only one person, Princess Ling.
Yet compared to the others, he had absolute faith that she would obtain the inheritance for herself.
And then, finally, after they had waited many long hours, the gate reacted…