The mountain slept uneasily that night.
Mist coiled low along the ridges, thick and silver under the fractured moonlight. It carried with it a silence that wasn't peace, but the pause before something broke. Even the owls refused to call, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Liana stood alone at the edge of the altar's cliff, the cold stone rough beneath her bare feet. She hugged her cloak tightly around herself, though it wasn't the wind that made her shiver—it was the echo of that voice.
We shall see, little mortal…
The Immortal King's words clung to her mind like smoke, impossible to shake. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw his gaze again: galaxies swirling in the darkness, a loneliness so vast it felt like it could swallow her whole. And beneath it, a yearning that terrified her more than his power ever could.
Han Jian was a shadow behind her, his presence silent but heavy, protective. He hadn't let her out of his sight since the mist's manifestation. Even now, his hand rested on the hilt of his sword, as if he expected eternity itself to step out of the night and try to take her.
"Can't sleep?" His voice was low, edged with exhaustion but steady.
She shook her head without turning. "Every time I close my eyes, I see him. I feel like he's waiting for me to fall asleep, so he can step into my dreams."
Han Jian moved closer, his warmth brushing against her cold shoulders. "Then I'll keep you awake."
Her lips curved faintly despite the weight pressing on her chest. "That's not much of a solution."
"It's the only one I've got," he muttered. "Until I figure out how to cut down an immortal."
She turned to face him then, and for the first time, she noticed how tired he looked. The sharpness of his features was dulled by shadows under his eyes, his jaw tight with a burden he refused to set down.
"You can't protect me from everything, Han Jian." The words slipped out before she could stop them.
His eyes flared, dark and unyielding. "Watch me."
Her heart stuttered. She opened her mouth to argue, but his hand lifted, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. The gesture was startlingly gentle for a man made of iron and fire.
"I don't care what fate says," he said softly, dangerously. "Bride, key, ghost of a dead queen—I don't give a damn. You're Liana. Mine to protect. Mine to…" He cut himself off, his throat tightening.
Her breath caught. "Yours to what?"
But he didn't answer. Instead, he turned his gaze back to the mist below, jaw locking shut like a gate slammed against words too dangerous to let out.
Before she could press further, a ripple tore through the ground beneath them. The altar flared violently, the runes blazing brighter than before. The air thickened, vibrating with energy that made her bones ache.
Qing Feng appeared from the shadows, his golden aura flickering like a lantern in storm winds. He was breathing hard, sweat glistening on his brow—a rare crack in his usual calm.
"It's happening faster than I thought," he said urgently, his voice echoing with threads of celestial power. "The seal… it won't hold much longer."
Liana staggered back. "But I haven't chosen yet!"
"That is why it strains," Qing Feng said, eyes hard on her. "The seal recognizes you. It waits for your decision. But the longer you hesitate, the more unstable it becomes."
Han Jian's hand tightened on his sword. "Then she won't choose. We'll find another way."
"There is no other way," Qing Feng snapped, rare frustration breaking through his calm. His golden eyes turned to Liana, piercing. "You have to decide, Liana. Or the Immortal King will rip through without your consent—and then none of us will have a choice."
The wind howled, carrying with it the faint echo of laughter. Liana clutched her chest, her heart pounding.
A choice. Always a choice.
And yet, every path felt like a trap.
---
The hall trembled under the Immortal King's pressure, each word he spoke bending reality like a storm pressing down on fragile glass.
Liana's chest heaved. The revelation that she was both Liana and Amara—a soul split between lifetimes—burned inside her like wildfire. Every look from Han Jian carried the weight of devotion; every word from the Immortal King carried the chains of inevitability.
"You cannot run," the King said, his voice echoing like thunder. "A key does not choose whether it opens the lock—it simply fits. You were Amara, the key to my eternity. And you are Liana, bound again to me by fate. You cannot escape me."
Han Jian's jaw clenched. He stepped in front of Liana, blocking the Immortal King's reach.
"She is not your key. She is my woman. And if fate dares to chain her, then I will shatter fate itself!"
A clash of auras exploded.
The floor cracked. The air between them sparked with raw power.
Liana screamed, clutching her head as Amara's memories surged violently—visions of her past life with the Immortal King: nights of cold marble halls, his hand gripping hers like iron, her voice begging for freedom that never came.
Her heart split.
One side was Liana—the girl who laughed, loved, cried, and found a future with Han Jian.
The other side was Amara—the prisoner, the bride who had once been forced into chains of destiny.
"Stop it!" she shouted, her voice raw, desperate. "I am not a thing for either of you to fight over!"
The Immortal King's expression flickered. For the briefest moment, he looked almost… human. A flash of regret. Then it was gone.
"You will understand, once your memories fully awaken. You were mine before time itself, and you will be mine again."
Han Jian's fury peaked. His hand wrapped around his sword, flames of dragon essence burning bright.
"If you want her… then you'll have to rip her from my corpse. And even then—" his crimson eyes blazed, "—I will claw my way back from death to take her hand again!"
The hall cracked apart as their powers collided. The Immortal King unleashed shadows that swallowed light, but Han Jian countered with fire strong enough to burn even void itself.
Liana stood between them, trembling, as Qing Feng's voice rang in her mind—urgent, broken:
"Sister, listen to me! Your soul is the balance. If you let either side consume you, you will vanish. Only if you choose your own path will you survive this!"
Her knees buckled. She saw visions of two futures:
In one, she submitted to the Immortal King—immortal, but trapped in chains of eternity.
In the other, she stayed with Han Jian—love burning bright, but constantly hunted by gods and kings alike.
Her tears fell like shards of glass.
"Why must I choose only between chains… or blood?"
The hall shattered further as her aura flared. A new force emerged—not Amara's, not Liana's, but something beyond both. The walls trembled. Even the Immortal King's eyes widened, just for a second.
"Impossible…" he whispered.
Han Jian looked at her, bleeding, broken, but smiling like she was his entire world.
"Liana," he rasped. "Whatever you choose… I'll follow you. Even into hell itself."
Her trembling lips curved into a bitter smile.
"Then maybe… it's time I carve my own destiny."
The power burst from her chest, forming a wave of blinding light that threw both men back.
And in that moment, the true choice began.
---
❓️❓️❓️❓️
If you were in Liana's place—torn between a love that defies fate and a destiny that promises power but chains—which path would you choose?