Word spread faster than wildfire and twice as dramatic.
The Night Emperor brought a woman to the palace.He performed a soul resonance ceremony.He touched her wrists with his bare hands.BARE. HANDS.Is the world ending?
By afternoon, the palace's political ecosystem was in full meltdown.
Nobles whispered in corners.Elders prayed to gods they didn't believe in.Assassins updated their wills.
Lin Yue walked behind Xuan Mo through a long corridor lined with celestial lanterns while every servant who passed her promptly forgot how to breathe.
"Did I… do something?" she whispered.
"Yes," Xuan Mo replied. "You existed."
"That seems like an overreaction—"
"The world reacts to what it fears. Or desires."
"Oh great. So I'm both terrifying and desirable. Classic."
He paused mid-step.
Slowly turned.
His eyes — eclipsed silver — locked onto hers.
"I did not say I desired you."
Lin Yue smirked. "I mean… you also didn't say you don't."
A gust of moonlight swept the hall as if the palace itself choked on air.
Xuan Mo stared at her.
The world held its breath.
"Do not provoke me," he said softly. Too softly.
But the edge beneath it wasn't anger.It was something heavier.Something dangerously close to curiosity.
Before she could respond, an entire council of elders burst into the hall.
"YOUR MAJESTY!""IS IT TRUE?""WHO IS THIS GIRL?""WHY IS SHE ALIVE— I MEAN— WHY IS SHE HERE?""DID SHE REALLY SURVIVE THE FIRST RESONANCE?""HAS THE APOCALYPSE BEGUN?"
Lin Yue lifted a hand. "Hi. Hello. I can hear all of you, you know."
Elder Jin collapsed. Just dropped like a sack of spiritual potatoes.
Xuan Mo stepped slightly in front of her — subtle, unintentional, but protective.
"She is under my authority," he said.
The entire council screamed internally.
One brave elder squeaked, "Your Majesty… may we ask… what is she to you?"
Xuan Mo opened his mouth.
Time slowed.
Lin Yue prepared to deny being anything at all.
Then he said:
"Mine."
And the hall exploded into chaos.