The sky above Crimson Peak was painted in streaks of violet and orange, the kind of breathtaking beauty that almost felt cruel in its timing. War loomed. Death lingered in every shadow. And yet, for one brief moment, the world paused.
Xiao Lian sat at the edge of a moss-covered ledge overlooking the valley, legs dangling over the side. The breeze whispered through the trees below, brushing against her face like a fading memory. She closed her eyes and let herself breathe...deeply, quietly.
"Not hiding, are you?" came a voice behind her. Warm. Familiar.
She opened one eye and glanced over her shoulder. Ji Ren stood there, hands tucked into the sleeves of his robe, an uncharacteristic softness in his expression.
"If I were hiding," she said, smirking, "you'd never find me."
He chuckled. "I don't know. I'm getting pretty good at tracking you down."
She patted the stone beside her. "Then you might as well sit and enjoy the view."
He joined her in silence. The wind rustled Ji Ren's dark hair as he glanced out at the sprawling valley below. Fires from smaller skirmishes flickered in the distance, like stars preparing to fall.
"I remember coming here as a disciple," he said. "Back when I thought the sect's biggest problem was running out of dried pork buns."
Xiao Lian smiled faintly. "And now we're the last line between Heaven's wrath and our people."
"Quite the promotion."
They fell into silence again, not uncomfortable but thoughtful. The kind that comes when two people have seen too much and survived too long not to feel the weight of what's ahead.
"I almost didn't come," Ji Ren said suddenly, his voice quieter now.
"To the mountain?"
"To this war. To you."
She blinked and turned to look at him, but he kept his eyes forward.
"When my clan declared war on Crimson Feather, I thought… maybe I should just vanish. Let fate play itself out. But the moment I saw you on that battlefield, standing tall with the whole world falling around you, I knew I couldn't run."
Xiao Lian swallowed hard, her usual quick wit suddenly lodged in her throat.
"I didn't expect to feel this way," he continued. "Not in the middle of chaos. Not with death watching our every step. But every time I think about the end, if it comes...I realize I'm not afraid of dying. I'm afraid of dying without telling you this."
He turned to her then, and she saw the raw truth in his eyes, not polished like his swordplay or cloaked in jest. Just real. Honest.
"I love you, Xiao Lian."
The words hit harder than any blow she'd taken in battle. For a moment, she didn't breathe.
Then, reflexively...she laughed.
It wasn't cruel or dismissive. It was sharp, awkward, a defense mechanism honed by years of pushing people away.
"You're confessing now? With a war looming over us?"
Ji Ren tilted his head, amused. "There may not be a later."
She rolled her eyes, her cheeks suddenly warm. "You always were terrible at timing."
"And you," he countered, "are terrible at accepting feelings."
SIS chose that moment to chime softly in Xiao Lian's ear:
Heartbeat elevated. Facial temperature increased. Recommend emotional acknowledgment protocol.
She muttered under her breath, "Now's not the time, SIS."
Ji Ren raised a brow. "Is your A.I. trying to ship us?"
"Don't flatter yourself," she said, bumping her shoulder lightly into his.
But when she looked at him again, the teasing dropped just enough for sincerity to peek through.
"I'm not good at this," she admitted. "Feelings. Trust. Letting anyone in."
"I know."
"But you've been there. Through everything. Even when I didn't ask."
"You never had to."
She turned fully to face him, her eyes scanning his face as if trying to memorize him in case fate didn't grant them another moment.
"I can't promise you anything," she said, voice low. "Not after what's coming."
Ji Ren smiled, and it wasn't sad, it was sure.
"I'm not asking for promises. Just… let me stand beside you. If this war destroys everything, I want to face it at your side."
She looked at him for a long moment, then reached out and took his hand. Just a simple touch but one that made his breath catch.
"Then stay," she whispered. "But don't make me cry. If I start crying, I might destroy a mountain."
He laughed, a rich, genuine sound that cut through the heavy air like sunlight. "You'd probably take out half the continent."
They sat in comfortable silence again, fingers intertwined, the sun dipping lower with every second. It could've been a beautiful ending to a story that had known too much pain.
But peace was always short-lived for people like them.
SIS's tone shifted, sharp and immediate. Enemy signatures inbound. Eight high-tier cultivators. Defensive wards breached.
Ji Ren was already on his feet. "They found us."
"Faster than I expected," Xiao Lian muttered, her body already moving with practiced efficiency.
From the trees below, flames erupted. Explosions rocked the ledges, shaking the mountain with deafening force. Crimson Peak was under attack.
Xiao Lian and Ji Ren leapt into the air just as enemy cultivators soared from the shadows, blades and spells gleaming under the bleeding sky.
SIS projected targeting data directly into Xiao Lian's vision as she unsheathed her fan, channeling energy into a wave of defensive force that shattered the nearest attacker's spell.
Ji Ren was beside her, his sword gleaming as it cut a path through incoming fire. Every movement they made was in sync, a dance forged by trust, sharpened by countless battles.
The mountain roared beneath them. Screams echoed from the outer walls as disciples scrambled to their stations.
War had officially begun.
As they pushed forward, side by side, Xiao Lian glanced at Ji Ren, his expression focused, his strength unshaken.
And in the middle of blood and fire, she allowed herself one unspoken truth:
If the world burned, she would rather burn with him than survive without him.