Lin Yue stepped toward Xuan Mo, trembling.
"Will this hurt?" she whispered.
"Yes," he answered honestly. "But we will hurt together."
"Overly romantic," she muttered.
"Then deny me," he murmured, voice breaking."Say you do not want this. I will obey."
She stared at him.
This overpowered, emotionally incompetent, fate-defying man.
This impossible man.
And with a soft, steady voice:
"I choose you."
Light erupted.
Xuan Mo caught her waist as the celestial binding ignited — threads of moonlight and violet soul-fire weaving around their bodies, pulling them closer.
Lin Yue gasped as her soul stretched, opened, then intertwined with his.
Their foreheads touched.
Their breaths mingled.
Their hearts synchronized.
It hurt.It burned.It healed.
Her past incarnation whispered, fading:
"As it was always meant to be."
The binding sealed with a pulse strong enough to blind the heavens.
Their souls merged—
Not losing themselves—But becoming more.
When the light dimmed, Xuan Mo held her firmly, forehead resting against hers.
"Lin Yue," he whispered, voice gentle and wrecked,"You are mine as I am yours."
Her cheeks burned. "You're very dramatic."
"I have waited lifetimes for you," he murmured."Allow me this."
She wanted to kiss him.
She almost did.
But—
The sky ruptured.
A voice thundered:
"THE EMPEROR AND THE PROPHECY-BEARER HAVE BROKEN THE LAW—THE HEAVENS DECLARE WAR."
Lin Yue groaned into his chest."I swear to god, can we have ONE quiet moment?!"
Xuan Mo pulled her closer, eyes blazing with divine fury.
"There will be peace," he said.
"How?" she asked.
"We will force it."