The night Amelia Gao was supposed to die was the night fate decided to rebel.
The moon hung low and bruised, bleeding pale light between the skeletal branches of the forest. Amelia ran barefoot, the cold earth cutting into her skin, but she didn't dare stop. Not when she felt it chasing her.
Her rebirth should have given her clarity—A second life. A chance to rewrite everything.A chance to reclaim the destiny stolen from her.
But tonight, something else wanted her gone before that destiny could unfold.
A shadow detached itself from the darkness, forming the shape of a man—no, something wearing the skin of a man. His smile was needle-thin, his eyes a haunting crimson.
"Amelia," he purred. "Running again? You did in your last life too."
Her blood froze.He knew.He remembered.
"Stay away from me," Amelia said, voice shaking—but her gaze was sharp, calculating. Even reborn, she hid her strength. Her fate was noble, but her life was fragile.
"Oh, but I can't," the creature crooned. "Your soul was promised. Your mother pledged it before she betrayed us."
Her mother.The affair.The forbidden pact.The curse that tainted Amelia since birth—…even across lifetimes.
She stepped back. "You're lying."
"Am I?" he whispered. "You carry the mark of her sin. The stain of her demonic bargain. You weren't meant to survive your first life—let alone get another."
A rustle of wind suddenly sliced the air.
A man appeared, emerging from the shadows like a storm given flesh. His long coat whipped behind him, his aura burning with ancient power.
A slayer.
The creature hissed. "You again."
"You've violated the divine laws long enough," the slayer said, voice cold. "She isn't yours."
He raised his palm. A crimson sigil flared—A symbol older than time.
The creature shrieked as its body shattered like glass, dissolving into smoke.
Silence fell.
Amelia staggered, breathing hard. The slayer turned toward her, eyes silver and impossibly sharp.
"You should not be alive," he said quietly. "Yet fate has forced you into existence again."
Her heart clenched.He knew.He understood.
Before she could speak, another presence landed behind him—a younger man, tall, lethal, aura vibrating with untamed power.
The disciple.
His black eyes locked onto Amelia instantly.
Too intensely.
As though he recognized her from another life.As though she belonged to him.
"Master," he murmured, "her soul energy… it's unstable. Rebirth has changed her."
"I know," the slayer said. "The curse in her bloodline is awakening."
Amelia stiffened. "Curse? Why are you—who are you people?"
The disciple stepped closer, voice low."Your mother bound herself to a demon. Her sins marked you. Even death couldn't remove it."
Amelia lifted her chin—noble, sharp, unyielding."I refuse to be a prisoner of someone else's choices."
Something flickered in the disciple's eyes—Hunger.Recognition.A dangerous pull he couldn't hide.
He reached out, fingers brushing hers.
A surge of energy blasted between them—Light bursting like a star.Leaves spiraling into the sky.
The master's eyes widened. "This connection is forbidden."
The disciple whispered, gaze locked on Amelia:
"Then why does it feel like fate is rewriting itself around her?"
Amelia's breath hitched.
And in that moment she understood:
Someone tried to kill her tonight.But something far more dangerous had just found her…