《From Ice to Ashes (a forbidden enemies-to-lovers, romantic fantasy)》
1. The Poison of Love
Is loving her a poison destined to lead him to ruin?
In ancient times, when the high faerie lords tried to conquer all realms and demand worship as ''gods'', they faced resistance from Astara, the demon realm.
A prophecy foretold the creation of two souls: one with accurate insight and compassion, the other with overwhelming strength and immortality. These souls, bound by duty, would inhabit an Astaran man and woman, and together, they would put the high faerie lords and their entire foundation to ruin, ending the era of the faeries.
To avoid that prophecy, the leader of the faeries sent the girl with the power of insight to another world through a portal as a baby. But to his surprise, his son entered the portal, landing in that world with her.
Darkness emanating from him mirrored the abyss of night and starlight, yet his heart never enlightened as it did now.
Alone, floating among shadows, black energy swirled around and dissipated until it unveiled the pale skin of a young man. Hair as dark as midnight reached his thighs, resting against the silver pattern of a long black robe. The armor hugging his waist blended with the environment, tracing the line of his broad torso.
Long lashes fluttered, revealing eyes like those of a siren. The stars reflected in his pale green irises like a shimmering pond admiring the obsidian sky, branding their glow onto his gaze.
His chiseled neck stretched, exposing the smooth line of bare collarbone. He surveyed the area¡ªa place so dark and empty, with nothing but stars and the aurora borealis. Yet a scoff escaped before the whispers, "I''m still here."
The rise and fall of his chest. The lack of rhythm in trembling hands. Gritting teeth. Sneer. The volume of a deep, smooth voice increased with each word.
"Am I truly unable to return to my realm? Am I supposed to believe that this... is beyond me? That the throne is out of my reach, when it''s just one portal away? No... No, this isn''t how this ends. Not like this." Doubt wriggled up his spine like a serpent, wrapping around his neck. "If I fail to go back to Parishahr, my goal will slip through my fingers."
Gaze lifting, fist clenching beneath the armor of sapphire and silver molded into a pool of onyx¡ªyet a smirk twisted on his full lips.
"One that will bring the demons to their knees... And when I take what''s rightfully mine, I''ll make them kneel before my kind¡ªfaces in the dirt, day and night¡ªand make them suffer the same mockery I was forced to watch while I could do nothing¡ªtrapped in here while everything happened."
A memory pierced his thoughts¡ªthe image of demons breaching the palace, the final view of his home before darkness swallowed him whole, severing the last link between him and his world afterward.
It was all... gone.
In a chill of loss, the pit of his stomach sank, pulling down the strings of his heart.
''But what if my powers do return fully, and I succeed in going back... but find nothing there? My realm, my throne... gone... What if I lose everything I have now... by returning? What then?'' It hit like a hammer to the chest. Jaw clenching, a sharp exhale through the nose. "But if I give up on the throne, I''ll lose everything I am. Just like they failed to¡ª"
Hollow in his chest filled up as if with bricks, stuffing his heart, but beneath it, something far darker and fiercer burned¡ªslow and steady.
He refused to let go. He had to understand. Had to know why he endured the pain of humiliation¡ªwhy his people, the Paries, considered the superior race, had failed to crush these... pests called the Astarans. If they died, then maybe they deserved to be wiped out. Or perhaps death was better than staying a joke, a laughingstock among the living. The very word ''weakness'' made his skin crawl, especially when it came to his tribe.
How he longed for the day of his return and retaliation¡ªlike a desert yearning for rain.
How he wished his last memory of his home had been something other than humiliating¡ªsomething that showed his people, who represented him in some way, as invincible. But no, the most painful memory was not the invasion itself. Alas, it was something far more dreadful. Something personal.
He recalled the words¡ªthose haunting words of a man from his world, a long time ago, all while trapped in the abyss, with only a spheric metaphysical window between them, the man''s eyes staring back into his own:
"For far too long, I have awaited your return since you were little, and once you do, Astara will pay. You are the strongest in the realms of the living, Ningshun, but do not let this blind you to what may cause your downfall. Beware of your weakness."
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''Weakness... How laughable, coming from my father''s right-hand man.'' Ningshun let out a low scoff as he shook the thought away. ''It will never be triggered in the first place. Ever.'' But the man''s voice continued to nag at him, drilling into his mind.
"Never fall in love with someone other than a Pari. It will consume you, tear down your defenses, and weaken you until you are left with nothing¡ªcompletely powerless and an easy target for the Astarans. You cannot reclaim the throne and carry forth your legacy if you are... dead."
The memory hit him bitter, like a punch in the gut. The nerve.
Ningshun still had not determined whether this was the joke of the century or if the man had deluded himself into underestimating him. The idea that the only person their people counted on to return and demolish their enemies could truly fall for something as stupid as not only falling in love, but also with someone other than his kind... Talk about doubling the absurdity of that statement.
"Poor bastard was so paranoid and afraid that I''d fall for it." Dark, amused smile twisted his lips, followed by deep, smooth chuckles. "Guess starving for a woman''s attention... must''ve driven him mad."
Low growls and distant howls reached his ears, but he did not bother looking¡ªunworthy of thought.
"Love... is for anyone who can''t keep their useless desires in check. Not for someone like me: someone with a true vision." He raised his hand, staring at it as if deep in thought. "And besides..."
Without blinking, turquoise shimmers unfurled from his palms, rising like starlight coming to life, conjuring two long blades in each hand.
A gigantic, monstrous creature charged at him with a vicious roar, its claws aiming for his throat. Its skin covered in thick, blackened scales, and those eyes¡ªthe haunting red eyes of a predator. The beast, its twisted horns curling inward and jutting from its skull, opened its mouth, baring rough, saw-like teeth, ready to rip its prey apart.
Ningshun did not flinch. It was beneath him¡ªnothing more than an insect to crush beneath his heel.
Eyes glowing, a black line formed around Ningshun''s eyelids, tracing the shape of his eyes and the sharp angles at the outer corners. His upper canines grew into two sharp fangs, touched by the breeze from his mouth.
Swift, without hesitation, the left sword pierced the creature''s chest. The monster twitched. Then, spinning in a full circle with grace, the sword in his right hand slashed the beast in half¡ªfrom top to bottom¡ªsilencing the shrieks of the collapsing beast. Vaporized.
The glowing eyes narrowed into a threatening stare before returning to their normal state, followed by the drop of his gaze¡ªcold, distant, and almost... bored. "Nothing, no one, can make me lose focus¡ªespecially not... that," he continued.
With a single arch of his fingers, the swords vanished into nothingness, except for the aura, radiating teal shimmers from within and around him like a waterfall defying gravity.
"Since I can''t go back to my world now, I might as well return to the mortal realm."
Sighing in a lying position and stretching arms, Ningshun stared into the distance. Mind wandering... until it hit. Something clicked.
A name crossed his thoughts: someone who had piqued his interest in the mortal realm. He tilted his head slightly with a flash of amusement in his eyes as he replayed the moment he first saw her in-game. Her skill was intriguing¡ªthere was something more to her.
The corners of his mouth lifted in amusement¡ªmischievous and knowing. "Matian Meilin... This should be interesting." Grinning wider, he replayed the day of testing each candidate on his secret account for the new Jungler position on the Esports team. ''Either Meilin is ridiculously lucky, or she''s got something to hide. No way she''s reading her opponents like that every single time.'' He chuckled. ''Doesn''t matter. I''ll meet her tomorrow anyway... But why wait?''
His aquamarine aura formed ethereal avian wings, like the union of darkness and moonlight. See-through feathers moved and rippled, as though the world bent around him to his command, even as he barely moved. Black wings, yet their tips shone in a turquoise hue, like iridescent blue-green. Magnetic, like the moon, as if darkness would reel you in while the light blinded you in the process.
A hurricane of shimmering shadows surrounded him, and he vanished, teleported out of the abyss with a single thought:
''I''ll figure out this rookie for myself.''
From darkness, he emerged into the light.
The small town sprawled below him, with people walking the streets unaware of Ningshun''s arrival¡ªshadows spreading their wings around him before vanishing. He gazed down at the world moving beneath him, invisible, above the apartment where Meilin lived. Yet the horizon beckoned him, enticing his gaze as if it longed to capture the dreamy eyes of a long-lost lover... with a piercing glare.
Ningshun hissed. The blinding, setting sun cast a warm glow over the icy hue of his green irises, forcing him to squint and raise an arm to shield them before dropping his gaze¡ªblinking at a strange yet familiar sight.
Below, a faint blue light arced in a dome around the apartment, the buzzing almost impossible to hear.
Eyes flew open as if something had ripped them apart from within, the intensity of his focus piercing. "That''s..."
The closer he got, the louder the buzzing became.
"My power... in the mortal realm?" Ningshun dropped to a low whisper, his aura flaring from within like swirling slivers of blue. "But how? Unless..."
Electricity crackled around the surface as he came so close that he almost sensed the response.
But just as quickly, the dome shrank, collapsing into a single, bright room within the building¡ªMeilin''s residence.
His gaze darkened. Could his assumption be true?
"Interesting." Ningshun closed his eyes, lips curling into a taunting smirk. "But stolen power never obeys a thief... and neither do I."
In the blink of an eye, his vortex whisked him away again.
He could feel it¡ªthe rush flowing through his veins after searching for the rest of his powers for so long. Faster, faster¡ªfaster. It was close, so close, almost within his grasp, as if his power called to him, yearning for him to claim it as his.
''What the¡ª'' Ningshun stopped dead. His breath caught, and a dry, rasping sound escaped his throat. Speechless¡ªfor what he witnessed had changed everything.
"Ah, finally," she groaned as she pulled her shirt over her head. "Stupid, stupid bra!"
In the next chapter, Ningshun faces a difficult decision due to a dilemma. What conflicts will disrupt his comfort zone?
2. Ningshuns Personal Hell
This story is renamed to "From Ice to Ashes" because I separated Feng Deming''s subplot and will continue Deming''s plot in "Demon King''s Love". FITA is Ningshun-focused, whereas DKL is Deming-focused.
''What the¡ª'' Ningshun stopped dead. His breath caught, and a dry, rasping sound escaped his throat. Speechless¡ªfor what he witnessed had changed everything.
"Ah, finally," Meilin groaned as she pulled her shirt over her head. "Stupid, stupid bra!"
His power, the very essence of his spirit, shrank as if becoming one with the girl, dwindling in her heart space. He needed to act fast, or else¡ª
''Wait. Did she¡ªmention a bra?''
Her tank top underneath the shirt attracted his gaze, and she moved as though he were a mere shadow in the room.
Turning around, he faced a pink wall that mocked his gaze. "Zayn..." he murmured as if it pulled out his insides. Yet, he held on, since the alternative was to witness what was happening behind him.
Images of a half-naked man plastered the wall, a muscular man¡ªno, a fictional man¡ªstaring back at him. That smoldering gaze dared him to look longer, the cocky smirk that practically screamed ''her dirty little secret'' in the most obnoxious way imaginable.
"What the hell." He blinked. "Is this... this thing why she plays the game?"
"Ahh¡ª"
Ningshun''s spine snapped straight.
The sound was... breathy. Soft. Indulgent.
Another rustle of fabric. A slow, drawn-out sigh. "Mmm... oh, that''s so much better..."
He stopped breathing, every muscle in his body locking up. This was fine. He could endure this. As a master of control, he would be damned if this distraction¡ªwhatever it was¡ªthrew him off course. Yet here he was, in the same room with Meilin while she...
The soft click of the clasp, a faint rustling, the quiet sliding of straps over skin, and the whisper of tension releasing came from her direction¡ªunfiltered, raw.
''This wasn''t part of the plan.'' A muscle in his jaw ticked, letting out a heavy sigh. ''Patience.''
The fabric shifting. The rustling. The clothes hitting the floor.
She sighed. "Ah, yes... Yes, this is... what heaven feels like."
Ningshun was going to kill something. Himself, probably. That would be the fastest way out of this hell.
Meilin let out a slow, deep moan.
''What is she... doing?'' His breathing turned uneven¡ªshaky, sharp, and barely restrained¡ªas it pushed through his nose. He needed to get out. Now.
No! Not until he took what was rightfully his first. The problem was that she would be his teammate and live with him. Making a reckless move now could jeopardize his plan. So, he moved his hands to his ears, attempting to block out the sounds.
"God, I swear this thing shrunk in the wash... No wonder it suffocated me all day."
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His thoughts went blank as her muffled voice still reached him.
Wrecked. Fingers curled at his sides, nails digging into his palms. Pierced. Pain flared through his skin. Good. He needed pain. He needed something to anchor him.
Standing stiff as a statue, with eyes squeezed shut¡ªher sighs of relief continued to wrap around him, invade his mind, and creep under his skin...
Closing them did not help at all.
Eyes snapped open. "I dealt with torture with more dignity than this," the whispers ended with a scoff. "Never have I been tested like this... I''ve survived forces beyond mortal comprehension and outsmarted enemies while drenched in blood... I''m a strategist. I have mastered myself!"
And yet, this was going to kill him.
"I swear, they''re like half my body weight," Meilin groaned.
Ningshun choked on absolutely nothing. ''What!?''
Blinking and frowning, he let out a sharp exhale as if his ears were offended, his brows twitching.
"Perhaps leaving isn''t such a terrible idea... for a few minutes." With pressed lips, his fingers rested beneath his chin. "She seems clueless about my power''s presence, which means she may not have stolen it. If she had... I would kill her." Smirking, he chuckled. ''My skills are limited now, but five minutes should be enough to put her to sleep. That way, I can extract my power from her once I''m back.''
With a swirling gesture of his wrist, a violet mist spread through the room, transforming into a dense haze as it curled in the air, blurring the walls and furniture while dimming the lights.
"Wh-What is this!?" She shrieked.
With a roll of his eyes, he stepped back and barely lifted a hand. ''She''ll probably dismiss it as a dream once she wakes up anyway.'' The body started to dissolve into the black and blue mist¡ª
A flare of light erupted behind him from Meilin''s direction, blinding and vibrant blue, creating streaks through the purple haze.
Before he could turn, it moved¡ªno, attacked, lunging toward him with unnatural speed and slamming into his chest. A shockwave tore through his body.
Ningshun gasped.
The blue light, no longer faint but now a white beam, whirled around him like a tornado. His breath hitched as the light chained around his limbs. His mint-green eyes widened, overtaken by a blinding white light emanating from them. His aura¡ªonce blue¡ªnow a whirlwind of white against his will, obscuring his form like frost creeping over glass.
''No.'' His jaw clenched, muscles rigid as the light refused to yield. It tightened around him, crushing, suffocating, drowning him. He snarled, his aura bursting outward, but it was like trying to fight the ocean with bare hands.
The force latched onto him, dragging him deeper into its grasp, swallowing him whole until he stopped moving. Then, no trace of him remained¡ªjust the blinding light.
Ningshun opened his eyes to a luminous sphere dissolving around him, scattering glimmers.
Gasps¡ªsharp, ragged breaths filling his lungs as if surfacing from deep waters. Jerking forward, unsteady, he placed a hand on his ribcage to assess its condition. He seemed fine. No unusual white light. Nothing that made him feel like... No, everything was okay now. Slowly, his breaths steadied, drawing in the scent of... damp earth?
He had been in Meilin''s apartment. He had been inches from uncovering the truth. And now he was here.
''Where am I?'' He leaned his head back. This was no apartment. Not even a cottage.
A faint buzzing echoed from behind. His senses heightened as he turned toward the two willow trees in the distance.
Their golden leaves withered, suspended in time like lost lovers bending toward one another¡ªyet remaining out of reach, never to unite in their embrace, with only the sounds flowing through their midst.
Something tugged at his soul as he marched down the path, mist curling at his feet as if to mimic his mood.
Positioned between the willow trees, Ningshun pushed aside the leaves and stepped inside, slow and elegant, while his eyes¡ªsharp and calculating¡ªabsorbed the new surroundings.
Was it... inside a building? White walls, a white floor. Everything was white, even the... book covers? This was a huge library. He could have sworn he did not step into a building. Was that an illusion, or had he walked through a portal?
"Did I die?" he whispered. And to think that Meilin could be responsible for all this. "Hmph." A bitter aftertaste lingered at the back of his mouth.
Then, he spotted two ghostly, round discs positioned vertically.
Lips parted, sharp gaze glued onto the one to the left. "That''s... the throne of Parishahr." An ivory sculpture adorned with jewels, resembling shards that emitted the light of dawn.
He shifted his gaze to the right and lingered. The familiar sight of his power, in the form of a sphere¡ªso close, yet untouchable.
They resembled windows, but from the side, they appeared like tunnels, one of which had darkness at the end: the right one.
Was this a trick? After all, everything he desired was there for the taking... But would it really bring him home? Must he make a choice? What if he could have both?
''I''ll return to Parishahr right after that by using my left hand as a link.''
As he brought his hands to both, electric forces jolted, stopping them. Gritting his teeth, he repeated the action but failed again.
"You''ve got to be..." Ningshun let out a slow breath. Surely, there had to be a reason for all this. Every absurdity he endured, every step that led him here¡ªwas it all meant to force him to choose?
The throne, or his power.