Yu Zhen awoke to cold.
Not the sterile chill of hospital tile, nor the familiar stone of palace floors — this cold was ancient, steeped in shadow and old magic. The air tasted sharp, like rain mixed with iron. Somewhere high above, bells rang hollowly.
[SYSTEM ACTIVATION — WORLD 3]
[ENVIRONMENT: VAMPIRE NOBLE REALM]
[USER IDENTITY: MOON-BLOOD PRIEST — RARE OMEGA VARIANT]
[THREAT LEVEL: VERY HIGH]
[TARGET LOCATION: SAME CITY — VAMPIRE LORD]
Yu Zhen sat upright.
He wore layered black-and-white ceremonial robes stitched with silver thread — moon sigils marking his status as a sacred blood-priest. In this world, he wasn't merely rare.
He was holy meat — blood so potent it could strengthen or corrupt any vampire who drank it.
Across the city, countless predators could already sense him.
Moon Court Awakens
Stone corridors spiraled outward into candlelit halls where vampiric nobles lingered beneath vaulted arches. Their gazes followed Yu Zhen as he walked — some reverent, others ravenous.
"He's awake."
"The moon priest…"
"Does the Lord know yet?"
Yu Zhen ignored the whispers, posture calm.
[SOUL THREAD PULSE] [TARGET PROXIMITY INCREASING]
He felt it.
The Alpha soul.
The pull hit him like gravity bending — sharp, undeniable — drawing him toward the tallest spire of the Moon Court.
Toward Lian Xuan.
The Vampire Lord
The throne hall was cavernous and dark, lit only by moonlight filtering through glass domes overhead.
At the far end sat a solitary figure.
Black hair tied low.Tall, still posture.Golden eyes glowing faintly in the gloom.
Cold authority radiated from him.
Lian Xuan, Vampire Lord of the Moon Court.
Yu Zhen stopped at the center of the hall.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then —
The Vampire Lord rose slowly from his throne.
Each step sounded like a funeral bell against stone.
The court held its breath.
Lian Xuan halted directly in front of Yu Zhen.
And then, incredibly…
He frowned.
"…You've been in my dreams."
Gasps whispered across the court.
Yu Zhen felt the soul-thread flare painfully bright in his chest.
[MEMORY SYNC — PARTIAL CONNECTION ACTIVE] [AFFINITY: 95%]
Before Yu Zhen could answer, Lian Xuan reached out and lightly grasped Yu Zhen's wrist.
The instant skin touched —
Golden energy exploded between them.
Ancient runes ignited along Yu Zhen's sleeves.
The air howled.
Vampires staggered backward as blood-bond resonance surged violently.
Blood Resonance
Lian Xuan stiffened.
His control cracked.
Images slammed into his mind:
• A moonlit bridge.• Silver hair tangled between his fingers.• A falling god screaming his name.
He inhaled shakily.
"…You."
His voice dropped from regal calm into something rough, feral.
"You're the one I was searching for."
Yu Zhen whispered softly:
"I found you first. I always do."
Their soul-threads coiled into visibility — a silver-gold filament only they could see, sparking between their wrists.
[SOUL MANIFESTATION DETECTED] [BOND TYPE: BLOOD SOUL LINK] [MEMORY FRAGMENT 3 — AWAKENING BEGUN]
The vampires recoiled in terror.
"A blood-bond with the Moon Priest?!"
"That's impossible!"
The elder nobles shouted warnings, incantations, curses — but none dared approach.
Lian Xuan was no longer just observing Yu Zhen.
He was claiming him.
His hold tightened — not painful, but unyielding.
"No one touches you," he growled, golden eyes blazing."In this court or any other."
Yu Zhen met his fierce gaze.
"Then protect me," he said quietly, "because they will try."
A thin dangerous smile curved across Lian Xuan's lips.
"Let them."
The Assassin's Strike
The first attack came only minutes later.
A shadow tore through the candles above — silver dagger glinting midair, aimed straight for Yu Zhen's throat.
Lian Xuan moved impossibly fast.
In less than a heartbeat —
The vampire lord snapped the attacker's neck mid-flight and flung the corpse against the hall wall.
Blood exploded across marble.
Silence thundered.
Lian Xuan didn't even glance at the body.
His eyes never left Yu Zhen.
"Stay behind me."
Yu Zhen didn't argue.
The Alpha didn't need obedience.
His dominance demanded proximity.
[ALPHA INSTINCT OVERRIDE] [DEFENSE SYNCHRONIZATION: 98%]
He took Yu Zhen's hand and pulled him behind the throne dais, shielding him fully with his body as alarm runes ignited throughout the Moon Court.
Yu Zhen watched calmly, heart steady.
This wasn't fear — it was memory.
He had stood behind this man before.
Across wars.
Across death.
Across heaven itself.
Dream-Link Activation
That night, Yu Zhen was escorted to the Moon Chapel — a protected sanctuary warded by blood sigils and ancient runic spellwork.
As he fell asleep beneath moon-crystal ceilings, the System chimed:
[SHARED DREAM-STATE ACTIVATED] [MEMORY LINK UNLOCKED] The Dream
Yu Zhen stood upon a silver sea.
A figure approached across the water.
Lian Xuan as he had been in heaven — golden armored, resplendent, divine.
"I remember now," he said quietly.
"Bits of it."
Yu Zhen smiled sadly. "Enough to suffer."
Lian Xuan reached out and caught his face gently.
"I don't care how many worlds it takes.""I will claim you in every one."
Yu Zhen leaned into his hand.
"And I'll follow you."
They pressed their foreheads together.
Dream turned into truth.
[MEMORY FRAGMENT 3 — 15% AWAKE]
[BOND TYPE: BLOOD-SOUL LINK]
[DANGER LEVEL: EXTREME]