Chapter 1: The Ghost of Betrayal

Chapter 1: The Ghost of Betrayal

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The city sprawled beneath her, a neon-lit landscape of towering structures and artificial rivers. From this height, the skyline of the 25th-century metropolis was breathtaking-a testament to the power and innovation she had helped build. Standing on the edge of her penthouse balcony, Feng Xiaoxiao looked out over it all-her empire, her creation. She was clad in dark, well-tailored clothes that spoke of quiet authority; her eyes were as keen and cold as frost, unblemished by the beauty of the world she ruled. Power vibrated along every line of her poised frame, a living testament to discipline and unbreakable will.

A soft chime filled her earpiece. "Lady Feng, your presence is requested in the council hall," a voice greeted her, formal, yet hesitant, as though fearing to interrupt her solitude.

She tapped the device on her wrist, silencing the message in a swift, economical motion of her finger. Her gaze never wavered off the cityscape before her. In this world, no one dared make demands upon her—not anymore. She granted requests if she so pleased, or dismissed them if she did not. Her reputation alone had quelled nations and quieted rivals. Feng Xiaoxiao was a name spoken with respect and fear, for she was a force who could bend the will of emperors, shaping fates.

Yet, in the quiet of night, there was a memory of sorts. Like an ice crack in her fortress, an echo of the past played within her mind, a memory that had long been locked away with the hope of never returning.

She recalled the night of betrayal, the night she learned what trust actually cost.

Years ago, when she was not this unreachable fairy, Feng Xiaoxiao had been a young prodigy, celebrated for her talent in martial arts and medicine. And so, full of dreams to protect the people she loves, Feng Xiaoxiao worked hard to fight her way to the top. That night she stood on a stage much like this-in the reception of an award recognizing her as a rising star. For every time the crowd had applauded her, that sound of applause had filled her with hope, cheer after cheer a promise of the future she thought awaited her.

But then, as she held her award, a quiet urgent whisper reached her ear.

"Lady Feng, your sister has been injured. She's asking for you."

Those words had sent a chill down her spine. Yiyi-her loved sister, her one weakness-was hurt. Not wasting another moment, Xiaoxiao abandoned the celebration, her heels frantically clicking on the polished floors as she hurried toward finding her sister. Her mind whirled with worry, her thoughts huddling over possibilities. Yiyi was her responsibility, her family-her heart.

She had burst into the room, wild-eyed, panting… and was confronted by a scene which sent her world crashing down.

There was Yiyi, uninjured and laughing softly, her eyes bright with mischief. Slung over her shoulder, arm hooked possessively about her, was Mo Tianheng—Xiaoxiao's boyfriend, the man she had loved and trusted. For a second, she didn't understand what she was seeing. It was as if time did a slow dance as her mind fought to make sense of it all, placing together those pieces into this wicked jigsaw.

Yiyi looked up, her eyes meeting Xiaoxiao's with a chill of a smile. There was no remorse or shame, just the bent satisfaction of the twisted people. "Oh, sister," she had murmured, each word laced with mockery. "Did you really think you were the only one he cared for?

All along, Xiaoxiao's chest had tightened, her heart breaking as she looked to Mo Tianheng, searching his face for any sign of regret, an explanation. But he'd only smirked, his eyes cold and dismissive.

"You were useful, Xiaoxiao," he'd said, all emotion dripping from his voice. "But you never understood that your role was temporary. Do you honestly think someone like me would settle for someone like you?

The words cut through her like a whip, cruel and razor-sharp; each sentence had shredded her illusions. How many nights she had wasted, how many times she had put the needs of Yiyi and Mo Tianheng before her own, thinking that would be enough… only to find she had been no more than a pawn in their plans. It was as though the agony of betrayal had twisted inside her chest, stealing her breath, breaking her.

But she hadn't crumbled. Instead, she had let the betrayal harden her. In that one instant, she knew that the world did not reward kindness or loyalty; it rewarded strength. The people she loved had used her for a stepping stone, and she would never allow herself to be so weak again.

She had walked away that night, mute, each step a promise to her soul that she would rise above this, untouchable, someone they all would fear. She would make herself powerful so no one could ever betray her again.

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DAY.

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Now, standing in her penthouse and staring out at the city she ruled, Feng Xiaoxiao felt a rare pang of something she barely recognized-a flicker of that old pain buried so deeply she thought it had been erased. But it was quickly smothered by the steely resolve that had carried her this far.

"Lady Feng," the voice in her earpiece persisted, softer, more tentative this time.

She breathed in, allowed herself that one moment of remembering how the betrayal had lit a fire in her, how cold resolve had hardened her heart into iron. She was beyond that pain now; it was the bedrock on which she'd built her empire. Yiyi, Mo Tianheng-they were nothing, shadows behind her, while she stood on the pinnacle of the world, unreachable.

Tell the council they will wait," she said finally, her tone smooth, cold. She turned back to the city, in her eyes the flickering of neon lights like shards of ice. The world belonged to her now-because she had claimed it, piece by piece, with the strength she had forged from her own ashes.

She stared out over her empire and felt nothing but satisfaction. She had become everything she once dreamed, and more. The girl who had been betrayed was gone; in her place stood a legend, cold, powerful, and utterly unbreakable.

In the 25th century, Feng Xiaoxiao was untouchable. And that's how she intended to stay.

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