The wind of Dragonspine howled outside, the moonlight washing the snow in pale silver.
Outside the tent, Su Xuan had set a hemisphere-like barrier — opaque, soundless, isolating the world.
Inside the barrier, time felt sealed away.
Inside the tent—
Eula's long boots tapped softly against the ground.
Each step was light, controlled, precise — a dancer's footwork.
And yet her heart was numb.
Because Su Xuan had stated his "conditions" plainly:
Only the boots and mantle stay.
Everything else removes the noise distracting from the dance.
If this wasn't something to be remembered as a grudge, she didn't know what was.
—※ This grudge, she truly noted.
And then, as if that wasn't enough, Su Xuan had added:
"Close your eyes.
If you cannot see the situation, the situation does not exist."
The audacity of it nearly made Eula want to throw him into the snow.
But she danced anyway.
Even blind, she did not falter.
Her Dance of the Surging Wave flowed like snowmelt riverwater—
elegant arms, rotating steps, the arc of her back drawn like a crescent moon.
Her balance, her breath, her rhythm—unshaken.
Until the third movement.
A deep forward bend.
Her body remembered the spatial orientation of the dance:
In that moment, Su Xuan should have been standing directly in front of her.
But she could feel only open air.
She froze.
Her eyes flew open—
And found nothing in front of her.
Su Xuan's voice came from behind.
"Why stop?
You were dancing well. Your body simply paused."
Eula's breath stilled.
She didn't turn around — she couldn't.
And then, calmly, almost casually, he added:
"Strange how similar you all are, you know.
Ei.
Lisa.
Jean.
And now you."
"All cold at a glance.
All warm once snow melts."
Eula's shoulders trembled.
She did not understand the metaphor—but she understood the target of the metaphor.
Her heart beat faster.
Su Xuan's tone softened — lightly teasing.
"Come now.
Don't you have a line for moments like this?
Something like:
'This hatred, I remember it.'"
Under normal circumstances, she absolutely would have said it.
Hands on hips. Chin lifted. Pride unbroken.
But right now her heartbeat was too loud in her ears.
Even the snow outside felt hotter than her skin.
She said nothing.
Su Xuan sighed gently — as if coaxing someone learning something new.
"The first time is always unfamiliar.
After this, it will come naturally."
Eula wanted to throw something at him.
She was just about to turn and snap back—
When a pulse of energy brushed her spine.
Her breath cut.
Strength fled her limbs in a wave.
Her knees gave out.
Her hands failed to catch her weight.
She fell—soft, helpless—onto the furs beneath her.
Her fingers twitched, attempting to push up—
But her arms trembled uselessly.
Su Xuan watched her calmly.
"Even without strength, you're still trying to move.
As expected of the Knight of the Waves."
His voice was warm.
Praising, even.
But his words made her want to bury her face in the snow forever.
She was not trying to escape.
She was simply confused and trying to understand what her body was doing.
But she could not explain that now.
Her pulse raced, her breath thin, her thoughts scattered.
She tried again to lift herself—
And just as her strength returned enough to move—
Su Xuan moved again.
The barrier outside hummed softly.
Inside the tent, Eula could only gasp—
"…!"
Her voice never fully formed.
The blizzard outside swept on, unaware.
Advance Chapters available on P@treon
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