Chen's lips trembled, the faintest shadow of a smile appearing despite the blood streaking his face.
"What…?" he whispered, his voice rough and fading. His eyes, half-lidded, caught Yunxi's as if trying to hold onto her presence.
Then, with a flicker of clarity, he smiled — not the cold, distant expression he always wore, but something soft, something real.
"If I… don't make it," he said hoarsely, "remove the ring… from my hand. That… might stop the curse."
Yunxi, startled, blinked away her tears and looked at the ancient black ring on his finger — the one he never removed.
"Chen—"
"Do it," he whispered, his head falling back.
With trembling fingers, she reached for the ring. The moment her skin brushed it, an icy current shot through her. Her hand burned, the air thickened, and her chest tightened.
She gritted her teeth and pulled.
But the ring wouldn't budge.
It clung to his finger like it was alive, dark smoke slithering around it.
"I—can't—get it off—" Yunxi gasped, pulling harder.
Then suddenly, a blast of force erupted from the ring, throwing her across the cave.
She crashed into the stone wall with a sickening thud, her body crumpling as she coughed violently — blood splattering the ground beside her.
Her vision dimmed, ears ringing, but she could still see Chen — still there, still unmoving.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to crawl back to him.
"No… no… please," she whispered, voice hoarse with pain. "Chen…"
The ring pulsed once — dark, malevolent — as though warning her.
And deep within its black surface, a red glow awakened.
Yunxi's body trembled as pain surged through her chest. But her eyes—red-rimmed and filled with stubborn resolve—locked onto the black ring that pulsed like a heartbeat on Chen's hand.
She coughed again, blood staining her lips. Still, she pushed herself forward, inch by inch, until she was beside him once more.
"I don't know what this ring is… but if it's hurting you—" Her voice cracked. "Then it needs to come off."
With fierce determination, Yunxi took out the ceremonial dagger she kept hidden under her sash. Without hesitation, she slashed her palm.
The sharp sting of the blade was nothing compared to the ache in her heart.
Blood flowed freely, warm and vivid.
She pressed her bleeding hand over the ring, letting her blood drip onto it.
The moment her blood touched the ring, it hissed—dark smoke spiraled upward like writhing serpents. The air crackled with energy, and Chen's body jolted as if shocked.
Yunxi gritted her teeth. Her fingers burned like fire was coursing through them, but she gripped the ring with all her strength.
"Come off… come OFF!"
Her scream echoed in the sealed cave.
The ring resisted, pulling back with supernatural force. Her vision blurred. But just as she thought she couldn't endure another second, the ring loosened—
—then with a violent burst of black energy, it slipped from Chen's finger.
Yunxi was thrown backward again, her body skidding across the rocky ground.
The ring clattered to the floor with a hollow clang, its dark glow extinguished.
Silence.
The demonic presence that filled the cave seemed to vanish in an instant. The air became lighter.
Chen's chest rose slightly… then again.
As the last drop of Yunxi's blood fell from the ring, the darkness that had coiled around Chen's body shattered like glass. A powerful gust of wind surged through the cave, shaking its sealed walls. The blood pooled on the floor shimmered with ancient symbols, responding to a power long buried.
Chen's body arched violently—and then, everything went still.
A low rumble echoed from deep within him. His eyes snapped open—no longer the cold obsidian of a trained assassin, but a fiery, otherworldly gold swirling with traces of stormy blue and crimson. His wounds vanished, replaced by glowing markings that coiled across his skin like ancient seals breaking.
Then—
BOOM!
A deafening roar burst from his throat as massive spectral wings of light and shadow erupted from his back. His figure glowed with scaled patterns as he rose from the ground, no longer a man—but a dragon in human form. His hair danced wildly in the air, his aura
shaking the earth beneath him.
Outside the cave, the sealed entrance exploded in a blaze of golden light. Chen shot through the sky like a comet, circling above the trees of the forest, the very heavens trembling at his awakening.
A dragon's roar echoed across the land.
Then, with a fierce yet graceful descent, he landed silently on the ground—his human form restored, but still cloaked in the raw majesty of his dragon bloodline. The storm in his eyes slowly settled.
But Yunxi—
She had seen everything. Her body couldn't take the shock.
Eyes wide in awe and disbelief, she swayed.
"Chen… you…"
Before she could finish, her knees buckled. The overwhelming energy, the sight of his transformation, the draining of her strength—it was too much.
She collapsed, unconscious once more.
Chen turned sharply, catching her just before she hit the ground.
He held her close, his voice low and trembling, "Why do you keep saving me, even when it destroys you?"
He pulled her closer, wings fading, as moonlight streamed through the broken cave.
"Now I owe you my life… again."
Chen sat quietly beside the moonlit window of the Moonlight Pavilion, his face half-shadowed, the soft flicker of lanterns casting dancing light across his features. The room was still, save for the gentle clink of porcelain as he ground herbs into powder. His movements were precise—controlled—but his mind was elsewhere.
Yunxi stirred on the bed, the scent of medicine thick in the air. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. A familiar warmth lingered by her side.
"Chen…?" she whispered, her voice still hoarse.
He turned immediately, the coldness in his expression melting just for a second. "You're awake," he said simply, reaching to check her temperature with the back of his hand. "Don't move too much. You lost a lot of blood."
But Yunxi, weak as she was, pushed herself up and grabbed his sleeve. Her eyes searched him, trembling but determined.
"Are you hurt?" she asked, her voice barely more than a breath. "Your wounds… are you okay now?"
Chen froze.
That question—so small, so ordinary—struck something in him.
He looked down, hiding his face, his voice unusually low. "I should be asking you that. After what you saw... after what I became..."
Yunxi shook her head slowly. "You saved me. Again. That's all I saw."
His breath caught.
She reached out, her hand softly brushing his arm. "Chen... are you in pain?"
He didn't meet her eyes. Instead, after a pause, he asked, "Are you... not afraid of me?"
The words hung in the air, heavy and trembling. The seal was gone. She had witnessed the truth—his transformation, the dragon's roar, the brutal battle.
He was no longer just Prince Chen. He was something ancient. Dangerous.
Yunxi stared at him for a moment—then smiled faintly through her tired eyes.
"I'm afraid for you. Not of you."
Chen blinked. He hadn't expected that.
"You carry so much alone. You think your truth will make people run from you," she said softly, "but all I see... is someone who chose to protect me, even when it nearly killed him."
Silence stretched between them.
Then—unexpectedly—Chen looked away quickly, his voice a whisper. "You… really are strange, Yunxi."
Her fingers gently tightened around his sleeve.
"And you're not as heartless as you pretend to be."
Outside, the moon cast its pale light through the open lattice, falling gently over the two figures—one still carrying the weight of an ancient curse, the other quietly breaking through it.