The moment they burst back into the tunnel, cold hit them like a slap.
The coffin wall was split wider now, like a mouth forced open. The Frost-Eater's gold-black eye stared through the crack, unblinking, pleased. A shadow hand shoved out and grabbed Wei Chen's throat in one smooth motion.
Wei Chen's body jerked. His breath cut off. The grip wasn't just strength. It was law. It wasn't choking him like a fist. It was trying to own his voice.
Lin Xue moved without thinking. She slammed her palm onto Wei Chen's chest, right over the black sun brand, and shouted, "Black sun—stop!"
For one heartbeat, the shadow hand hesitated.
Wei Chen's eyes flickered gold-black.
One heartbeat.
Then two.
Two heartbeats too long.
Lin Xue's stomach dropped. "Chen Wei!" she snapped, grabbing his face hard, forcing his eyes toward her. "Say my name. Stay real!"
Wei Chen's throat was locked under the shadow hand, but his lips still moved. The gold-black in his eyes pulsed, like a door blinking.
A soft sound tried to come out.
Not a word.
A breath shaped like "yes."
Lin Xue slapped her fingers over his mouth. "No," she whispered. "Not that yes."
Wei Chen's eyes widened—then focused on her, struggling, real fighting wrong. He nodded once, small, like a man drowning who saw the rope.
Lin Xue leaned in, mouth close to his ear, and spoke like a blade. "Chen Wei," she whispered, "look at me. Choose."
Wei Chen's eyes held hers.
Lin Xue's voice shook, but she made it clear. "Stop means stop," she whispered. "Do you want me to pull you out of this?"
Wei Chen blinked—one slow blink.
Yes.
Lin Xue exhaled and acted.
She pressed her mouth to Wei Chen's—deep and fierce—because she needed to anchor his breath with hers. Wei Chen kissed back through the pressure, rough and desperate, like his body remembered the rule: touch makes reality hold. Lin Xue kept one hand on his chest-brand and one hand on his jaw, holding him steady.
Wei Chen broke the kiss just enough to rasp, barely audible, "Don't… stop…"
Lin Xue's cheeks burned despite the terror. "I won't," she whispered. "But obey."
Wei Chen's eyes flared warm-black again, the gold-black flicker fading like a dying flame.
Lin Xue turned her head sharply toward the shadow hand on his throat. "Release," she commanded, voice cold and absolute. "He is not your door."
The shadow hand tightened.
The Frost-Eater's eye blinked slowly, amused.
Then Su Mei stepped closer.
Her black-eyed body moved like it had no fear. Her hand lifted toward Wei Chen's chest, aiming for the brand crack again—aiming to open the door wider.
Lin Xue snapped, "Stop!"
Su Mei didn't stop.
Lin Xue's blood went cold. That word had no power on Su Mei anymore. The rule was broken on her.
Wei Chen's jaw clenched. His fan flicked open in a sharp snap, and he slammed the fan's edge into Su Mei's wrist, knocking her hand aside. "Not him," Wei Chen growled at whatever was wearing her. "Touch her instead if you're brave."
Su Mei's black eyes turned to Lin Xue.
Lin Xue's wrist mark burned like a warning bell.
The copy of Lin Xue stood farther down the tunnel, smiling sweetly like a teacher watching children fight. "So many rules," it purred. "So many kisses. So many vows."
Wei Chen's throat strained under the shadow hand. He grabbed the shadow wrist with one hand, fingers shaking from cold, and forced a breath in. "Lin Xue…" he rasped.
Lin Xue snapped back to him instantly. "Name Test," she said, voice shaking. "Now."
Wei Chen's eyes locked to hers. "Lin Xue," he forced out.
"Again," Lin Xue demanded.
"Lin Xue," Wei Chen said louder, and the bond rope flared warm like it was fighting to stay alive.
Lin Xue nodded once, fierce. She pressed her palm harder to the black sun brand. "Black sun," she commanded, "obey me. Release his throat."
For one heartbeat, the shadow hand trembled.
Wei Chen inhaled, chest heaving.
The Frost-Eater's eye narrowed, annoyed.
Then the shadow hand tightened again, refusing.
Lin Xue's wrist mark cracked with a sharp sting. Pain shot up her arm. The law-thread bit deeper. The bond rope inside her mind flickered thin.
Wei Chen felt it and snarled. "No."
His Nine-Suns heat surged, not wild, shaped into a hard burst. Golden fire ran up his neck under the shadow fingers like a scorching collar.
The shadow hand hissed—silent, furious—smoke curling off its edges.
Wei Chen growled through clenched teeth, "Burn."
Lin Xue grabbed his jaw. "Do you want me to stop you?" she asked, clear, because consent still mattered even in hell.
Wei Chen shook his head once. "Don't stop," he rasped.
Lin Xue's cheeks flushed, and she leaned in, whispering against his mouth, "Then stay with me."
Wei Chen's heat surged again.
The shadow hand finally recoiled, jerking back toward the coffin crack like a burned animal.
Wei Chen coughed, pulling in air, eyes wide. Lin Xue grabbed him, holding him tight. Her palm stayed on his chest-brand, feeling the crack pulsing under her hand like a heartbeat that didn't belong.
The Frost-Eater's eye blinked slowly.
Then its voice slid into the tunnel, quiet and pleased, like ice touching skin.
"Chen Wei," it whispered. "Say yes."
Wei Chen's throat tightened.
His eyes flickered gold-black again.
Lin Xue grabbed his face hard. "Chen Wei," she snapped, "say my name. Stay real!"
Wei Chen swallowed.
The "yes" rose like poison.
Lin Xue didn't wait. She kissed him—deep, fierce, chosen—then pulled back and pressed her palm over his mouth again.
"No," she whispered. "Not that yes."
Wei Chen's breath shook. He looked at her like she was the only law left. "Lin Xue," he rasped. "Don't let it speak through me."
Lin Xue's eyes burned. "Then we cut its mouth," she whispered.
She turned toward the coffin crack.
The split was wide enough now that a full arm could slide through.
And in the darkness behind the eye, something else moved—something bigger than a hand.
Something with shoulders.
Lin Xue's blood went cold.
Because the Frost-Eater wasn't just reaching anymore.
It was coming.
To be Continued
© Kishtika., 2025
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