ch 22 – The Thorn Beneath the Veil

The war between the Celestial Realms and the Abyss had stretched into its third blood-stained year.

Forests had turned to bone-fields. Stars flickered weakly, watching from above, as if unsure which side deserved their light. The air tasted of ash and magic, bitter with regret.

At the frontlines of the Eastern Vale, where black winds howled and the moon refused to shine, Rui Xuan stood alone at the cliff's edge.

He wore his celestial armor — not for protection, but tradition — its silver-white design laced with runes that shimmered faintly like mourning flame. His long hair was tied in a warrior's knot, strands loose across his cheek. His eyes, cool silver, stared through the smoke rolling across the dead valley.

> "He's near," Rui Xuan murmured, drawing his sword. "I can feel the rot in the wind."

Behind him, Xuan Min approached, armor dulled with blood from skirmishes past.

> "The serpent king rarely stays hidden for long," he said grimly. "You're the one he always comes for."

> "Let him," Rui Xuan replied. His voice was calm. Too calm. "This blade was carved from a fallen star — it was made to silence devils like him."

But beneath that divine certainty… was anticipation.

And something else Rui Xuan refused to name.

---

🐉 The Serpent Devil Appears

No fanfare.

No roar.

Just silence — unnatural, thick.

A low mist curled around broken stones and melted bones.

And from within it… he came.

Mo Jue.

Barefoot. Black silk robes licking the ground. His skin shimmered faintly under the poison moonlight, scales crawling faintly along his collarbone and throat. White hair flowed like ink in water, wild and unbound. His golden eyes — slit, ancient, inhuman — locked onto Rui Xuan's.

There was no hatred in his gaze.

Only hunger.

And curiosity.

> "Protector," Mo Jue drawled, lips curling. "You always stand alone when you know I'm near. How sweet."

Rui Xuan didn't flinch. He raised his blade, voice razor-sharp.

> "And you always arrive like a ghost that doesn't know it's already dead."

Mo Jue chuckled — deep and soft, the sound like a blade unsheathing inside the soul.

> "I expected more venom from the Celestial Protector. Or have you grown tired of pretending you don't enjoy our little dances?"

> "You mistake duty for desire."

> "Do I?" Mo Jue stepped closer, mist parting around him like a bowing servant. "Or do you mistake desire for duty?"

The air between them snapped like a pulled string.

---

⚔️ Clash of Fire and Frost

Rui Xuan struck first — a sweep of holy silver, his blade singing with radiant energy.

Mo Jue moved like shadow in water, his robes flowing unnaturally, claws erupting from his fingertips mid-spin. His tail flicked beneath the hem of his robe, just enough to strike aside a falling boulder — one summoned by Rui Xuan's divine echo.

Lightning fell from the sky.

Serpents of black mist curled around Mo Jue's arms, snapping at Rui Xuan's throat — but were burned to ash by his radiant aura.

They moved like old enemies who knew the pattern of each other's breath.

And still—neither aimed to kill.

Not truly.

Not yet.

Rui Xuan's sword finally caught Mo Jue — slicing across his side. Smoke hissed from the wound, but Mo Jue only smiled through the pain.

Rui Xuan stepped forward, blade at his throat.

> "Yield," he said through gritted teeth. "Or the next time—"

> "You won't stop?" Mo Jue interrupted, leaning just slightly into the blade. "But you always do."

> "Don't tempt me."

> "Oh, but I live for temptation."

Their breaths mingled. Too close. Too intimate.

Rui Xuan hesitated — half a breath — just long enough for mist to swallow Mo Jue's form.

He vanished.

---

🌘 After the Battle

The silence that returned was different.

Not the silence of death — but of questions left unanswered.

Rui Xuan sat atop the ruined cliff later that night, sword laid beside him, fingers bruised, pulse uneven.

A faint scorch mark still touched his neck — a place where Mo Jue's magic had grazed him, not deep enough to wound.

But enough to mark.

> "He could've struck me down," Rui Xuan whispered to no one. "He had the chance."

> "Then why didn't he…?"

He stared at his hands.

His voice trembled, just barely.

> "This isn't how devils fight. It's how lovers… lose."

He didn't understand it.

He didn't want to.

And yet, in the deepest part of his chest — he could still feel it.

That warmth beneath the blade.

That moment where Mo Jue had smiled.

Not as a conqueror.

But as something… almost human.

---

End of Chapter 22