The radiant surge tears through the battlefield and then vanishes, leaving the mountain trembling in its wake.
In the sudden quiet, Lin Yue sways.
Before any healer can reach him, the air behind him moves.
Cool. Coiled. Certain.
An arm slides around Lin Yue's waist, pulling him back against a solid chest. Scales—smooth and warm—brush his wrist as a familiar presence settles behind him.
"Easy," Mo Shan murmurs near his ear. "You pushed too far."
Lin Yue exhales sharply, grounding instantly. "You felt it."
"I felt you," Mo Shan replies.
The elders freeze.
Snake Clan aura rolls through the cavern like deep water pressure—silent, suffocating, absolute. Mo Shan lifts his head slowly, golden slit-pupiled eyes sweeping the room in a single, warning arc.
"He is mine," he says calmly. "And under my protection."
No threat.
No raised voice.
A statement of fact.
Feng Lihan lands at the cavern entrance moments later, wings still smoking at the edges. His gaze locks onto Mo Shan's arm around Lin Yue—then to Lin Yue's steady breathing, the way his body instinctively leans back into Mo Shan's hold.
Relief flickers before restraint clamps down.
"You're late," Feng Lihan says.
Mo Shan finally looks at him. "You were holding the sky. I was holding the ground."
Their gazes meet—fire and venom, neither yielding.
Then Feng Lihan nods once.
"Thank you."
The tension eases, just enough to breathe.
Mo Shan guides Lin Yue to sit, coiling partially around him without crowding, one hand resting protectively over Lin Yue's abdomen. A faint green sigil pulses beneath his palm, stabilizing, shielding.
The healer gasps. "That's Serpent womb-warding."
"It's permanent," Mo Shan says. "I placed it when he accepted me."
Accepted.
Not claimed.
Outside, the battle shifts—wind screaming, metal ringing. A demon's shriek echoes, cut short.
Mo Shan's expression darkens. "The Demon Lord is probing the borders," he says. "He felt the child awaken."
Lin Yue stiffens. "So he knows."
"He always knew," Mo Shan answers quietly. "He was waiting for confirmation."
Feng Lihan's wings fold in, tight and controlled. "Then he won't stop."
"No," Mo Shan agrees. "Which is why we leave nothing exposed."
He meets Feng Lihan's eyes again—this time without challenge.
"I will take Lin Yue to the Serpent sanctuary if the line breaks. Underground paths. Old ones. Even demon magic struggles there."
Feng Lihan's jaw tightens. "If you run—"
Mo Shan interrupts smoothly. "If you fall, someone must still be standing."
The words land heavy.
Lin Yue reaches out, gripping Feng Lihan's wrist. "Both of you stop deciding alone."
They look at him.
Strong. Awake. Unbroken.
"I won't be hidden," Lin Yue says. "Not again. Our child will know where he comes from."
Mo Shan studies him, pride flickering briefly across his usually impassive face. "Then I'll make sure the world survives long enough for that choice to matter."
A violent shockwave slams into the mountain.
A scout crashes into the cavern, bloodied. "Chief! The Demon Lord is moving—straight toward the inner peaks!"
Feng Lihan's wings ignite anew.
Mo Shan rises fluidly, scales whispering as his full height becomes apparent, aura coiling deadly and patient.
Lin Yue stands between them—hawk fire at one side, serpent shadow at the other.
For the first time in centuries, the sky and the earth align around a single bloodline.
Far away, in the shadowed hall, the Demon Lord's smile fades.
"…So," he murmurs. "The Serpent has already chosen."
The wind answers—not with fear.
But with promise.