Pov Author
Dawn did not arrive gently.
It crept into the Dark Wood like an intruder, thin bands of pale light slipping between twisted trunks and shattered stone. The forest did not welcome it. Shadows still lingered where Renji's power had scarred the land, clinging stubbornly to the earth as though night itself refused to leave.
Anna woke to silence.
Not the peaceful kind—but the kind that pressed against her ears, alert and watchful.
She sat up slowly, the borrowed cloak sliding from her shoulders. Cold air brushed her skin, sharp enough to make her shiver. For a moment, she forgot where she was. Then the memory returned all at once—the forest tearing apart, red and black light, Shou Feng standing like the end of the world given form.
She looked around.
Kiyoshi and the others were already awake, packing quietly. No one spoke. Even the birds had not returned.
Her gaze moved instinctively to the edge of the clearing.
Shou Feng stood where he had all night.
He had not moved.
Morning light brushed against his dark robe, but it did not soften him. If anything, it made the shadows around him deeper, sharper. His long black hair was loose, unmoving despite the breeze, as though the wind itself avoided him.
He was watching the horizon.
Waiting.
Anna rose to her feet and walked toward him, careful with each step. The ground still felt wrong beneath her boots, as if the forest remembered pain.
"You said we leave at dawn," she said quietly.
"This is dawn," he replied.
His voice was calm. Too calm.
She followed his gaze. The sky beyond the trees was pale, washed clean of stars, yet heavy clouds gathered low, pressing down on the world.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"North," he said. "Beyond the mountain line."
"That's vague."
"That is intentional."
She exhaled softly, then nodded. She had learned by now that pressing him too hard only closed doors she could not yet afford to lose.
Kiyoshi approached and bowed deeply. "The path is prepared. We can move."
Shou Feng turned at last.
The motion was smooth, controlled—but Anna caught it. The brief tension in his shoulders. The way his hand flexed once at his side, fingers curling as if grasping something invisible.
Power.
Held back by will alone.
"Good," Shou Feng said. "We leave now."
The group moved swiftly through the forest.
The deeper they went, the more wrong the land felt. Trees leaned inward at unnatural angles, their bark split and blackened. Roots twisted across the ground like veins exposed to air. No insects buzzed. No animals stirred.
Anna struggled to keep pace. The path was narrow and uneven, and though Kiyoshi stayed close, she refused to be helped. She would not be a burden—not here, not now.
After a while, she realized something unsettling.
The forest was reacting to Shou Feng.
Branches bent away from him. Shadows shifted before his feet touched them. Even the broken earth seemed to pull back, as if afraid of being noticed.
She slowed, disturbed.
"Does it always do that?" she asked quietly.
Shou Feng did not look back. "Yes."
"Everything fears you," she murmured.
"That is the natural order."
She frowned. "Is it?"
He stopped.
The sudden halt rippled through the group. Kiyoshi froze instantly, hand drifting toward his weapon.
Shou Feng turned to face Anna.
Up close, the difference between them felt unreal. She barely reached his chest. He loomed like a living ruin—ancient, unyielding, carved from something that had never learned how to be gentle.
"You keep asking questions that do not serve you," he said.
"Maybe," she replied. "But they matter to me."
His black eyes studied her.
For a moment, she thought he might dismiss her again. Instead, he spoke.
"Fear exists to maintain balance," he said. "Without it, mortals grow reckless. Gods grow careless. Worlds fall."
"And love?" she asked before she could stop herself.
The word echoed dangerously between them.
Kiyoshi stiffened.
Shou Feng's aura shifted.
Not violently—but sharply, like the sudden tightening of a blade.
"Do not speak of that," he said.
Anna swallowed. "Why?"
"Because love destroys restraint," he replied. "And restraint is the only thing standing between this world and ruin."
She looked away, her chest tight.
"I don't think love is always destruction," she said softly.
He stepped closer.
The pressure of him pressed against her senses, heavy and overwhelming. Her breath hitched, but she did not step back.
"Everything you are," he said quietly, "comes from a world that has never faced gods like me."
She met his gaze again. "Maybe that's why I can stand here."
Silence.
Something dark flickered behind his eyes.
Then he turned away.
"We move," he said.
They continued north.
By midday, the forest thinned, giving way to stone and rising cliffs. The path climbed steeply, winding along the mountain's spine. Wind howled through narrow passes, tugging at robes and cloaks.
Anna's legs burned.
Still, she did not complain.
At a narrow ridge, Shou Feng raised his hand.
They stopped.
He closed his eyes.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
Anna felt it then—a ripple beneath the surface of everything, like something vast shifting in its sleep.
Shou Feng's eyes opened.
Red.
Not fully—but enough to stain the black.
"Renji is watching," he said.
Kiyoshi cursed under his breath. "From where?"
"From a place beyond sight," Shou Feng replied. "But not beyond reach."
Anna's heart raced. "Is he coming?"
"No," Shou Feng said. "He is waiting."
"For what?" she asked.
"For me to lose control."
A chill ran through her.
They resumed their climb, faster now.
The sun dipped lower by the time they reached a high plateau carved into the mountain. Ancient stone ruins stood there—pillars broken, symbols worn smooth by time.
Anna slowed, awe washing over her.
"What is this place?" she asked.
"A boundary," Shou Feng replied. "Built long before your kind learned to fear the sky."
Kiyoshi knelt. "The seals are damaged."
Shou Feng's gaze darkened.
"They were not meant to be touched."
Anna approached one of the pillars. Strange markings spiraled along its surface—nothing she recognized, yet something about them felt familiar. Her fingers hovered just above the stone.
"Don't," Shou Feng said sharply.
She froze.
"Those seals respond to intent," he continued. "If you touch them while afraid, they will break."
Slowly, she pulled her hand back.
"I'm sorry," she said.
He studied her for a long moment, then nodded once.
"We rest here," he ordered.
As the others set up camp, Anna sat near the edge of the plateau, staring out at the endless sky. Clouds drifted below them, pale and distant.
She felt small.
More than ever.
Shou Feng stood apart, watching the ruins.
"You're thinking too loudly," he said without turning.
She smiled faintly. "Is that possible?"
"For you," he replied, "yes."
She hesitated, then spoke. "Renji called you brother."
Shou Feng's hand tightened slowly.
"He was not born my equal," he said. "He was raised under my shadow."
"And he hated you for it."
"Yes."
She looked down. "Do you hate him now?"
"No," Shou Feng said. "Hatred requires closeness."
"That sounds worse."
"It is."
Night fell quickly at that height.
Stars burned bright and cold above them, sharper than Anna had ever seen. The fire crackled softly, but it did little to chase away the chill.
Anna lay awake again.
Sleep refused her.
She sensed him before she saw him.
Shou Feng stood at the edge of the plateau, staring into the void beyond the clouds.
She rose and joined him.
"You should rest," she said.
"You should stop worrying about me," he replied.
She folded her arms. "That doesn't seem possible anymore."
He glanced at her.
"For someone so fragile," he said, "you are remarkably persistent."
She huffed softly. "I've been called worse."
A long pause followed.
Then he spoke again—quietly.
"If Renji returns," he said, "you must run."
Her chest tightened. "And leave you?"
"Yes."
She shook her head. "I won't."
His aura flared—red and black curling dangerously close.
"That is not bravery," he snapped. "That is foolishness."
"Maybe," she said firmly. "But I won't abandon you."
Something in him cracked.
Not visibly—but deeply.
"You do not understand what you are choosing," he said, voice low. "If I fall, everything near me will burn."
"Then don't fall," she replied.
The simplicity of her words stunned him.
He stared at her, red fading slowly from his eyes.
"You ask the impossible," he said.
She met his gaze. "So did you—when you chose restraint."
The wind roared around them.
Far away, thunder echoed.
Shou Feng turned back to the darkness.
"Tomorrow," he said, "everything changes."
Anna followed his gaze.
She didn't know how.
She didn't know why.
But she felt it too.
The world was shifting.
And somewhere beyond the horizon, a god was waiting for another god to break.
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End of Chapter