DAYS LATER
The rain had just stopped, leaving everything glistening and moist. Mist curled over the stone walkways like forgotten spirits, clinging to the flowers, whispering through the leaves and dancing with the atmosphere.
Allison stood beneath a cherry blossom tree, her hair still damp from training. She wore a simple black tunic now and the pendant still visible on her neck.
"Why are you always just… there?" she asked, voice flat but not unkind.
Lucian stopped beside her, holding a porcelain cup of tea.
"I don't know how to leave," he said as he chuckled.
She took the tea from him without a word. Their fingers touched briefly but it made her feel things.
"You know," he said after a long pause, "when I first saw you … I didn't think you'd survive if you ever knew our world."
She glared at him. "Romantic."
He smiled faintly. "It wasn't supposed to be romantic. Just honest."
"Okay, I like honest."
"We can be together"
"I'm not ready," she whispered.
"I'm not asking you to be," he replied. "I'm just… standing here. In case you ever want someone to stay. In case you lose yourself to power ."
The softest tremble of emotion passed through her chest, she felt warm.
And somewhere, not far, a pair of silver eyes watched from the trees.
---
SOMEWHERE IN THE FOREST – NIGHT
A figure stood beneath a twisted pine, cloaked in shadow.
He watched the villa from a distance, silver eyes unblinking staring deeply at it.
"Just as Ren said," the man muttered. "She's bonded to him."
A hawk landed on his gloved wrist.
He fed it something, a dried petal, blackened at the edge.
"Lu Quing," he said softly, like tasting the name. "You've hidden long enough."
------
Yueying sat by the window, watching Tianlei sleep peacefully for once, wrapped in thick blankets, one hand still curled around Beatrice's wrist like she was going to be taken away from him any moment. His breathing was calm.
And then she heard a knock.
Lu Quing stood there, holding a small cloth-wrapped box.
"I should let you rest," he said. "But I thought…"
She opened it as he handed it to her.
Inside was a hairpin.
Silver and delicate. Etched with gold and feathers.
"This was your mother's," he said. "She wore it on her last days."
Allison stared at it. "Why didn't you give it to me sooner?"
"I wasn't sure if you were ready to remember her as more than a figment of her own memory."
She took the pin, her fingers brushing his.
"Do you believe in fate?" she asked.
"I believe in decisions," he replied.
"And if I decide not to trust you?"
He leaned just slightly closer.
"Then I'll keep earning it. Until you do." He whispered.
Their faces were inches apart. Her breath caught.
But he didn't kiss her. He only touched her hair, softly moving a strand behind her ear and walked away. Her heartbeat didn't settle for hours.
---
MOUNTAIN RIDGE
Ren stood at the edge of a cliff, nursing a healing wound across his chest.
"You saw her," said the man with silver eyes, emerging from behind a jagged boulder.
Ren didn't look back.
"She nearly killed me," he muttered.
"Not nearly," the man said, stepping forward, his voice laced with timeless gravity. "She was holding back."
Ren turned now.
"You knew this would happen."
The figure's eyes glinted silver. "I knew they would definitely cross path."
"Lucian?" Ren's laugh was hollow.
"He's no ordinary man."
"Then what?"
"Angel to some, monster to others. The last of an ancient race who sealed the Gate of Origins with his own blood among others." He tilted his head. "Even I fear him."
Ren gritted his teeth. "And she's falling for him."
"It was written," the silver-eyed figure said. "But not how it ends."
"You can still break her," the man continued. "But not with war, with doubt."
Ren's smile returned.
"I know exactly who to send."
PRIVATE GARDENS, NIGHTFALL
The moon poured silver over the quiet grounds of Lu Villa. Allison stood beneath a cherry blossom tree that had bloomed out of season staring deeply at the starless sky. She didn't know why she was drawn here tonight. Maybe it was the scent. Maybe, it was memory. Maybe it was him?
"You didn't sleep," came a voice behind her. Low and calm as usual.
She didn't turn. "Hmm".
Lucian stepped beside her, his hands tucked behind his back, the soft crunch of grass barely audible under his boots.
For a long time, they didn't speak. Letting silence fill the ache between them.
Then he said, "You came back stronger."
She glanced sideways. "And different."
"I noticed," he murmured, his eyes on her profile admiring her beauty. "There's something in your eyes now. Passion to fight but not just that." He stepped closer, and for a moment Allison felt that strange yet familiar flutter in her chest.
"You're afraid of what's inside you controlling your will" he said.
She turned sharply. "Aren't you?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he reached up brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The motion was slow.
"You're not a weapon, Allison. You never were. You're becoming something they can't control and they're terrified."
Her heart beat faster.
"Then why aren't you?" she whispered.
Lucian looked at her.
The moment stretched, taut and fragile.
"Because it's my responsibility to stand beside you."
" Thanks, " Allison said.
" Let's go in,"
" Yeah, okay" Allison walked back to the villa hand in hand with Lucian.
---
FLASHBACK – LUCIAN'S PAST (UNKNOWN TIME)
Snow.
Endless snow and blood. Lucian stood alone on a battlefield littered with bodies, monsters, men, things with eyes too dark to be human. He was the only one breathing, his hands were bare. His sword shattered but his eyes glowed silver.
A robed figure stood across from him, cloaked in time itself. He looked like a sorcerer who has moved through different timelines.
"You survived again," the figure said, almost disappointed.
Lucian didn't blink.
"I always do."
"And yet you still pretend to be mortal."
Lucian lips curled faintly. "Pretending is a skill."
"This " he pointed to the battlefield " it's to show you that you would never be human. Let's rule the world together Lucian". Lucian gave him a glance and turned away.
---
PRESENT – KITCHEN (THAT SAME NIGHT)
Allison narrowed her eyes.
"You're not just a soldier or mafia lord are you?"
Lucian smiled faintly. "You're only asking that now?"
"I've seen you bleed," she said.
"Bleeding doesn't mean mortal." He said.
Her heart raced.
"Then… what are you?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he stepped forward again, this time brushing his thumb against the pendant resting against her collarbone. It pulsed under his touch. So did she, she was leaning towards him.
"You're not ready to know what I am," he said softly. "But you're getting closer."
She swallowed hard. Something about the way he stood there, tall, steady and eternal made her feel like he'd walked through history itself .
"You're still in love with her," she said suddenly shifting the topic. "Your ex. The woman who died."
His jaw tightened.
"I buried that love."
"But you still wear the pain."
He looked at her.
"I wear it," he said, "until someone gives me a reason not to."
The moonlight swelled between them. Allison looked down, her heart was beating too fast.
"I'm not ready," she said quietly.
"I didn't ask you to be." He chuckled." You've used that word so many times".
She looked up, blushing out of embarrassment.
"I just asked you not to run."
Then he reached forward.
And tucked something into her palm. A red plum blossom. Cold from the wind. He stepped back, nodding once and disappeared into the shadows.
---
UNKNOWN LOCATION — HILLS OVERLOOKING LU VILLA
A figure stood on the cliff above, watching the garden through an enchanted lens.
He saw Lucian walk away.
He saw Allison stand still, confused, unsure.
"She still doesn't know what he is," the figure said softly.
Behind him, a low voice replied,
"Let her fall slowly, then strike."
The watcher didn't blink.
"Even gods break when they love."
" Lucian hasn't lost in any fight"
" Okay?"
" He's a smart one"
" Okay?"
" He wouldn't let you pry his privacy even with an enchanted lens."
" What is he up to ?"
BLACK STRING RUINS
Ren's body ached with pain. That injury was no ordinary one.
"She's slipping from me," he muttered, rage simmering beneath the surface.
"She was never yours to control" said a voice in the dark.
Ren didn't turn. He knew the speaker.
"You're late."
The figure stepped forward. A man with no name, no record. Only silver rings on every finger.
"I came when the game turned interesting," he said.
Ren gritted his teeth. "Lucian is interfering. I need power". His eyes flickered.
The man smiled.
"Then perhaps… it's time we tell Allison who he really is."
" How is your son? That boy is no ordinary child." He said .
" I know but it's okay if he's with his mother " Ren said .
" Tsk and you claimed you have complete hatred for Beatrice".
There was silence for a long time.
With that the unknown man walked away.
BEATRICE'S ROOM – THAT NIGHT
She couldn't sleep. The blossom still lay in her palm. She turned it over and over, unable to shake the way Lucian had looked at her.
He was hiding something and yet he offered her something no one else did, space to become herself.
Her chest ached. She sat up suddenly walking towards the window. Below, the garden glowed with quiet magic. As if waiting for her return. She clutched the pendant tightly. She wasn't ready to love.Not with all these events happening.
But maybe…
She was ready to fight for a future where love wasn't a curse.