Pov Author
Darkness swallowed Anna whole.
It was not the gentle dark of sleep, nor the empty black of closed eyes. This darkness pressed , alive and suffocating, wrapping around her limbs like unseen hands. Cold bit into her skin as she fell, the scream trapped in her chest, torn away by the rushing void.
Her body struck stone.
Pain exploded through her side, sharp and breath-stealing. Anna gasped, the sound swallowed instantly. The ground beneath her was smooth, ancient, etched with symbols that pulsed faintly—red, then black.
She tried to sit up.
The darkness responded.
Chains rose from the floor.
Not metal—something older. Veins of shadow twisted together, coiling around her wrists and ankles before she could react. They burned where they touched her skin, not hot, not cold, but Wrong , as if her soul itself rejected them.
"No—!" she struggled, breath shaking.
The shadows tightened.
A slow clap echoed through the chamber.
"So fragile," a voice murmured. "And yet… exactly as she was."
A figure stepped into the dim crimson glow.
Lord Kazan.
He looked unchanged—and completely unhinged.
His silver robes dragged across the floor like spilled moonlight, eyes gleaming with feverish delight. His smile was too wide, too reverent, as though he stood before a miracle rather than a captive.
"Nahan," he whispered.
"I told you," Anna said hoarsely, fighting the chains. "That's not my name."
Kazan tilted his head, studying her like a broken toy rediscovered after centuries. "You always said that," he replied softly. "You never remembered who you were."
A wave of dread rolled through her.
"I'm not her," Anna said. "I don't know you."
His smile trembled—then sharpened.
"You will," he said. "You always do."
---
Above the ruins—
The world screamed.
The moment Anna vanished, something inside Shou Feng snapped.
The ground split beneath his feet, black and red energy detonating outward in a violent storm. Pillars shattered, ancient stone turning to dust under the force of his rage. The seals that once held the ruins together disintegrated like ash.
Renji staggered back, eyes widening.
"So," he murmured, almost impressed. "This is what she means to you."
Shou Feng did not answer.
His roar tore through the sky—raw, unrestrained, no longer godly but feral. Shadows erupted from his body, devouring the ruins, climbing the walls, ripping through the earth as if searching for her.
"SHOU FENG!" Kiyoshi shouted, struggling to remain upright as the wind howled violently around them. "If you lose control—"
"I will burn the world," Shou Feng said.
His voice was no longer calm. No longer measured.
It was pure destruction.
Black scales ripped through the air as one of his dragons emerged from the void, massive wings blotting out the sky. The second followed, eyes glowing crimson, its roar shaking the mountains.
Renji's expression darkened.
"You'll doom everything," he warned.
Shou Feng turned slowly.
His eyes locked onto Renji—not with rivalry, not with hatred—but with finality.
"You," Shou Feng said quietly, "will not leave this place alive."
Renji smiled faintly. "Still choosing her over everything."
"Yes," Shou Feng replied.
And then he attacked.
---
The clash of gods shattered the valley.
Renji summoned death itself—cold, pale energy slicing through the air like blades. The ground beneath him rotted, life withering instantly. Shou Feng met it head-on, darkness colliding with death in a violent explosion that split the sky.
Kiyoshi threw up barriers, shielding the soldiers as shockwaves tore through the ruins.
"Stop this!" Kiyoshi cried. "Anna is alive—I can still feel her!"
That stopped Shou Feng.
Just barely.
His chest heaved, shadows writhing violently around him. "Where," he demanded, voice shaking with barely restrained fury.
"Below," Kiyoshi said urgently. "The ancient chamber—Kazan's sanctum."
Renji laughed weakly as he pushed himself upright. Blood—black and silver—dripped from his lips. "Too late," he said. "He has her now."
Shou Feng looked at him.
And Renji finally felt fear.
Without warning, Shou Feng raised his hand.
The shadows obeyed.
They crushed Renji to the ground, pinning him mercilessly. Shou Feng stepped closer, towering over him, power suffocating the air itself.
"Listen carefully," Shou Feng said. "You will live."
Renji blinked, stunned.
"You will return to Kazan," Shou Feng continued, voice low and lethal. "And you will tell him this."
He leaned down, black eyes burning.
"If she bleeds—if she cries—if she fears him for even a moment—
I will erase gods. I will erase realms. And I will start with him."
The shadows released Renji violently, throwing him across the ruins.
"Go," Shou Feng commanded.
Renji vanished.
The moment he was gone, Shou Feng turned toward the shattered ground.
"I am coming," he said.
And the world trembled in answer.
---
Below—
Anna's vision blurred as Kazan circled her slowly.
"You don't remember," he mused. "But you were radiant once. Loyal. Devoted. You belonged to me."
"That's not love," Anna whispered.
Kazan stopped.
His smile vanished.
"What would you know of love?" he asked sharply.
Anna swallowed. "What?"
"You freed him," Kazan snapped. "And now he cannot exist without you."
The chains tightened, forcing a cry from her throat.
"He will destroy everything for you," Kazan said softly. "Just as he did before."
Anna's heart pounded.She was confused What was going does shou feng has feeling for her ?
Before? Those words from hus mouth .
"You're lying," she said.
Kazan laughed. "Ask him," he whispered. "Ask the god who pretends he does not feel."
The chamber shook.
Stone cracked above them.
Kazan's head snapped up, eyes blazing with excitement. "Ah," he breathed. "He's here."
The ceiling exploded.
Darkness poured in like a living storm.
Shou Feng descended through the ruins, cloak torn, power raging uncontrollably around him. His dragons coiled behind him, roaring fury into the depths.
The moment his eyes found Anna—
The world went silent.
The chains shattered instantly, reduced to ash.
Shou Feng landed before her, aura flaring violently, every instinct screaming possession, protection, **mine**.
He did not look at Kazan.
He knelt.
"Are you hurt?" he asked, voice hoarse.
Anna stared at him, shaken, terrified—and safe.
"I… I don't know," she whispered.
That was enough.
Shou Feng stood.
And turned.
Kazan smiled, delighted. "There you are, my greatest creation."
Shou Feng's expression went utterly empty.
"You touched her," he said.
Kazan opened his arms. "She belongs to—"
Shou Feng moved.
The chamber collapsed as the God of Destruction unleashed himself fully for the first time in centuries.
And far above, the world began to burn.
To be Continued