The night was silent.
Too silent.
Shen Yueyin's hands shook violently around the hilt of the blade. Cold metal bit into her palms. Her chest heaved so hard she thought her ribs might crack.
She should have stopped.
She should have left.
Heaven had watched, waited, pushed her here. Pushed her to this moment.
But the moment had come.
Yin Beichen knelt before her, not bound, not pleading, just still. Chains hung from his wrists like forgotten promises. His eyes were dark and sharp, unyielding, and yet… there was something soft flickering there. Recognition? Fear? Or something she had no right to feel?
Her legs wobbled, but she forced herself forward.
The first step.
Then the second.
Her blade rose. Steel glittered in the torchlight, trembling like her own pulse.
"You… you don't have to do this," he said quietly. Calm. Terrifyingly calm.
Her breath hitched. "I do," she whispered. Her voice broke. "I… I have to stop you before it's too late. Before Heaven…"
She choked on the words. Not Heaven. Not yet.
But herself.
Heaven was gone for now. It had stepped back, letting her act, measuring whether she would obey or break.
Her chest ached. Blood pounded in her ears. Every instinct screamed at her: Stop. Do not kill him. Do not cross this line.
But another part, older, deeper, was screaming louder: He is the world. He is mine. You cannot.
She raised the blade.
Closer.
Closer.
The tip hovered above his throat. Warmth radiated from him, soft and alive, so human it made her tremble violently.
"You don't have to do this," he said again, softer this time. A shadow of a smile touched his lips. "Do you want to?"
Her breath froze.
He could read her. Always.
Always.
Her hands shook. Her vision blurred. Blood, or was it tears?, stung her eyes.
"I…" she stammered. Words failed her. Logic failed her. Her heart, her soul, her entire being screamed against Heaven's order.
"I…"
The blade dipped slightly. Her body betrayed her. She had no control.
Yin Beichen's hand reached up. Just a fingertip.
The world seemed to stop.
Touching him, she wanted to flee. She wanted to pull away. She wanted to sink the blade into him.
And yet, her body leaned into that tiny touch, trembling violently, heart hammering so loud she could hear it in her ears.
"Stop," he whispered.
She froze.
The tip of the blade hovered a hair's breadth from his skin. Every second stretched into an eternity.
Pain. Desire. Fear. Love. Desperation.
All crashing into her chest like a tidal wave.
The world tilted.
The air hummed.
The slightest shimmer appeared around them.
Heaven had noticed.
It will be pressed down, cold and relentless. Orders screamed in the air, invisible but suffocating: Kill. Obey. End him before he awakens.
Shen Yueyin's knees buckled. Her hands shook so violently she couldn't hold the blade steady.
"I…."
Yin Beichen's other hand moved, steadying hers without breaking contact. Warmth. Solid. Real.
"I trust you," he said quietly.
The words were so soft, so small, but they tore through her entirely.
Her vision blurred. Tears streaked across her face.
She couldn't. She wouldn't.
Not yet.
Not now.
The blade trembled, quivering above his throat. She lowered it slowly, inch by inch, until it hovered uselessly in the air.
Her chest heaved. Every breath screamed pain.
Yin Beichen's gaze met hers. Piercing, unreadable, full of weight she could not name.
"You've chosen," he said. "Even against Heaven."
Her hands fell away from the blade entirely. The metal clattered softly against the stone floor.
She collapsed forward, burying her face in her hands, trembling uncontrollably.
The warmth of his hand lingered against hers. Not touching now, just… close enough to burn into her memory.
She had been sent to kill him.
And she had failed.
Not because she lacked strength. Not because Heaven interfered.
Because she had remembered.
And she had chosen.
For the first time, she realized the truth of every lifetime: Heaven could send her back. Fate could bind her. Death could wait for her.
But nothing could stop her from loving him.
Yin Beichen reached down and gently tilted her chin up. His eyes held her with quiet intensity.
"Do you know what you've done?" he asked.
Shen Yueyin's lips trembled. "I… I almost…"
"You almost," he interrupted softly, "…stopped the world and yet chose me anyway."
Her body shook. Her chest ached. Every nerve in her body was screaming, yet she could not run. She could not move. She could only stare at him, raw and broken and alive.
Heaven had sent her to kill him.
And yet… here she was.
Still. Breathing. Still in love.
Still human enough to hope.
Still mortal enough to fail.
And in that moment, Shen Yueyin realized:
She would fail every time Heaven sent her back.
Because she could never, ever kill him.
Even if it meant the world burned.