Chapter 2: The Peak of Confusion

“What are you doing, Xyon? Why didn’t you just let her die?” Xiao hissed, pacing angrily across the room.

Xyon sat calmly by the window, unbothered by her fury. “We need to keep her alive, Xiao. She holds the largest share in the company. If she dies now, everything we've worked for could fall apart.” His voice was smooth, calculated. “You need to calm yourself.”

Xiao’s face twisted in frustration. “So... what’s your plan now? I’m tired of being your damn secretary, hiding everything and pretending!”

Xyon stood and walked over to her, his eyes softening as he gently held her hand. “Sweetheart,” he said with a sly smile, “we’re almost there. The company will be ours. Just a little more patience. Once everything is settled, we won’t have to hide anymore. No more lies, no more secrets. Just us.”

Xiao turned her face away with a huff, but her anger simmered quietly beneath the surface.

Unbeknownst to both of them, Shiya lay in the hospital bed, eyes shut but mind wide awake. She had heard every word—every lie, every betrayal.

“How dare you two deceive me like this…” she thought bitterly, her heart aching. Tears slid silently down her cheeks, soaking into the pillow beneath her head.

Moments later, Xiao left the room, heels clacking against the tile. Xyon sighed, remaining behind, and turned to Shiya.

“Shiya…” he murmured upon noticing her eyes open. He walked closer, his voice taking on a false tenderness. “I’m so glad you’re awake. I was... really worried. Why did you do such a thing?”

Shiya stared at him with cold, hollow eyes. She said nothing for a moment, calculating her next words. She forced her voice to remain even.

“Tell me… how did you find me in that place?”

“I asked someone to follow your car,” Xyon answered, a nervous edge to his tone. “I was worried... You weren’t in a good place after the news about your dad. I thought you might do something reckless—”

“Stop it!” Shiya snapped. Her voice cracked from both pain and fury. “Don’t speak of him. You have no right to mention my father.”

Xyon recoiled slightly, guilt—or perhaps irritation—flashing in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just... I asked you to wait for me, to give me time to sort things out. And then you disappeared. I was scared I lost you…”

You already lost me, Shiya wanted to scream. I saw you... kissing her. But she swallowed her pain for now.

“I want to be alone,” she said firmly. “Please close the door when you leave.”

Xyon hesitated, then nodded. “Alright. We’ll talk when you’re ready.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

That’s the last kiss you'll ever get from me.

As the door closed behind him, Shiya broke down, the tears she’d been holding back pouring freely. “You should have just let me die…” she whispered. “It would have hurt less than this.”

She turned to the window, gazing blankly at the fluttering butterfly that had just landed on the glass. Something about it tugged at her memory. A fragment from the dream—or was it a vision?—she had before waking up.

Eri Kingdom… the pixies… Prince Liu… it was all just a dream, wasn’t it?

She sighed. “What a beautiful nightmare.”

Eriland…

Yon Zue stood tall before the Prince. “Prince Liu, the Princess left the palace,” he reported.

“What? Why did you let her go?!” Prince Liu’s voice rose with alarm as he glanced at the empty corridor behind Yon Zue.

“The Princess can handle herself,” Yon Zue replied coolly. “But something about her felt… off. I followed her in secret. There’s something wrong. I intend to discuss this with the Queen.”

The Prince frowned. “Why won’t you ever just talk to me straight? You always run to my sister. Do you like her or something?”

Yon Zue remained composed. “She is the Queen.”

With that, he turned on his heel. “Excuse me. I need to escort the Princess back to her quarters. I’m starting to get a headache from your whining.”

“Hey—! Yon Zue!” the Prince called after him, but Yon Zue was already gone.

They had grown up like brothers, trained under the same master. But duty had split their paths. Prince Liu carried the weight of the crown. Yon Zue bore the castle’s protection in silence, loyal but detached.

Flashback…

“We must wed the Prince to the one who bears the stone,” Erica advised the Queen. “Only then can the kingdom gain unshakable power.”

Queen Krystle, young but wise, nodded slowly. “Yes… but I worry. My brother deserves to choose his own path.”

“If it means securing our future, I accept whatever match is required,” Prince Liu said, stepping into the room. “Don’t worry about me.”

The three shared a quiet moment of understanding.

Outside, Sushie—Shiya’s other self—wandered alone through the twilight-drenched palace grounds. The stone pendant at her neck pulsed softly, warm against her skin.

So… I’m only important because of this thing, huh?

She exhaled slowly, bitter air filling her lungs. Then, without warning, her shimmering wings flared open. With one powerful beat, she soared into the sky, letting the wind slice past her.

Clouds churned above—unnaturally dark, trembling with fury.

KRAKOOOM!

Lightning cracked like a whip across the heavens, striking her chest with divine rage.

A cry ripped from her lips as she spiraled downward, crashing hard into the clearing below with a sharp thud.

“Ugh…” She grimaced, her body aching. “What now…”

A shadow fell over her, and a lazy, familiar voice followed.

“Yo, Sushie. That was a graceful crash,” Arnoux teased, standing above her with a smug grin and crossed arms.

She glared up at him, winded. “Arnoux… Can’t you show up without mocking me for once?”

He crouched beside her, unbothered. “What can I say? It’s part of my charm. Ornaphendreul asked me to keep an eye on you—so here I am.”

She rolled to her feet, shaking off the pain. Her eyes flared with golden light as the pendant glowed and stretched into the form of a sleek, ethereal sword. Her armor rippled into existence, laced with runes that shimmered like starlight. Her ears lengthened, her eyes sharpened—her elven blood awakened.

“Then keep up,” she spat, wings twitching with strain. “Because I’m not in the mood.”

“Oh, you’re still clinging to that stone?” Arnoux smirked, drawing his twin daggers. “You know it’s only a matter of time.”

Sushie didn’t respond. She lunged.

Her movements were sharp—wounded but relentless. She struck with brutal elegance, her sword a blur of silver arcs. Arnoux backflipped, barely dodging the slash that carved a clean gouge into a marble pillar.

“I’m not here to fight!” he called out, laughing. “Okay, maybe just a little!”

He countered with a spinning strike, but she deflected with a twist of her wrist. Sparks burst as their blades clashed. With a growl, she spun and knocked him backward with a glowing wing sweep.

“You’ll never touch this stone,” she said coldly, raising her blade high.

But just as she was about to strike—

Thwip!

A sudden arrow whistled through the air, splitting the silence—and struck her sword with perfect precision. It snapped from her grip, shattered into fragments of light, and reverted back into the simple pendant.

It clattered to the grass at her feet.

Sushie froze. Her eyes widened.

“What the—?!”

A second shadow stepped from the trees, bow in hand, cloaked in indigo.

“Didn’t anyone teach you not to fight with your heart wide open?” said the archer coolly.

Sushie’s gaze darted between the two enemies now surrounding her—Arnoux smirking on one side, and the mystery archer on the other.

Despite her pain and the odds, she bent down slowly and picked up the stone, curling her fingers around it.

Then, without a word, her eyes flared again.

“You want a real fight?” she whispered.

The wind around her exploded outward as the ground cracked beneath her feet.

“Then come and try me.”

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