Morning sunlight spilled through the hospital curtains, brushing Amelia's eyelashes with a soft gold warmth.She stirred, groggy, her mind still tangled in the fragments of last night—
The demon's claws.The man's silver eyes.The wall rebuilding itself as if time obeyed him alone.
None of it felt real.But the faint ache in her bones, the lingering chill in her veins… that was real enough.
Amelia sat up slowly.
Today she would return to the Gao household.
And every instinct in her reborn soul told her danger waited for her there.
She took a long, steady breath."I can't be weak," she whispered. "Not this time."
Outside, on the hospital rooftop
Kai stood with his arms folded, watching her window.
He had been there all night—not because his master ordered it, but because something about the girl pulled at him.
Not romantically.Not yet.
It was something deeper.Her aura.
It was unlike anything he had ever sensed in the human realm—soft, luminous, wounded… yet threaded with something ancient that throbbed beneath her skin.
A power sealed.A destiny stolen.
The wind shifted, carrying her scent—faint lotus, sunlight, and something undefinable.
Kai exhaled quietly."Master was right."
He stepped back as a ripple of dark mist appeared behind him.
Zen—the master—emerged, long coat sweeping the rooftop like it owned the sky.
"You watched her the entire night," Zen said, not looking at him.
Kai stiffened. "As you commanded."
Zen smirked."I didn't command you to stare at her like a lovestruck mortal."
Kai's ears reddened. "I wasn't—Master, please."
Zen gave a low, amused hum and turned his eyes toward Amelia's room.
"She'll leave the hospital today."
Kai nodded. "Should we escort her?"
Zen shook his head. "Not yet. Her path must unfold naturally. If we interfere too soon, the curse may shift."
Kai frowned. "Shift how?"
Zen's eyes darkened."Onto you."
Kai swallowed hard.
He had seen the curse once—the moment they found the trace of the dark woman tied to Amelia's fate. The power had felt venomous, ancient, vindictive.
Kai had no desire to inherit it.
"What exactly is she destined for?" he murmured.
Zen answered calmly:
"To die young,""unless she kills the one who cursed her bloodline,""or binds her fate to someone stronger than the curse."
Kai stilled."…Bind? As in a contract?"
Zen gave him a cold, dangerous smile.
"Or a marriage."
Kai nearly choked on his own breath."M-Marriage?! I barely know her!"
"You won't have to worry," Zen said dryly. "She hates you already."
Kai blinked. "She doesn't even know I exist!"
Zen tilted his head thoughtfully."True. But she'll hate you soon enough."
"Why?!"
"Because you will be the one forced to train her."Zen's silver eyes glinted."And she'll despise every second of it."
Kai groaned internally.
Down in her hospital room
Amelia had just finished changing into her clothes when she sensed it—
A presence.A faint pulse of spiritual energy brushing against her senses like a fingertip tracing her spine.
She spun around, heart racing.
No one was there.
But she felt watched.Again.
"Stop imagining things," she muttered, trying to steady herself.
But she wasn't imagining anything.
Two supernatural men were standing on the rooftop above her, arguing over who would eventually marry her to break a curse she didn't even know existed.
And neither planned to let her go.
Later – Outside the hospital
Amelia stepped out into the sunlight just as a sleek black car pulled up.Her father's.
Her pulse tightened.
The Gao family mansion awaited her—a place filled with cruelty, manipulation, and the woman who should've protected her… but didn't.
She squared her shoulders.
But just as she walked toward the car, she felt it again—
A pair of eyeswatching herfrom somewhere high above.
She glanced up.
Nothing.The rooftop looked empty.
Still… her heart thudded.
"Someone… is following me."
Not with malice.But with intent.
Protective.Possessive.Ancient.
She didn't know his name yet.
But he knew hers.
And as she slid into the car, she whispered to herself:
"I will uncover everything."
Far above, Zen's eyes burned silver.
"And I will make sure you survive long enough to try."