Three ex-husbands and a marriage

Attack

The boundary between dreams and reality blurred, and my body felt the physical pain of being drawn to Man Chiu. The invisible forces that pull me to him and pain me when I am away from him. The same one that seems to grow ever stronger in this life. I had drifted into the dream once again, but I knew that a man was waiting outside for me. My gut tells me that there is unfinished business that will be illuminated once the dreams show me what I need to know.

The ache in my chest deepened as the Demon King's lips curved into a smile, an enigmatic expression that tugged at the strings of my strained emotions. His smile, slanted and laced with both mischief and malevolence, left me unsettled.

"Why do you smile like this?" I asked. Instead of an answer, he drew me into his arms, a move so unexpected that I found myself resting against his firm chest. Blinking away the surprise, my heart pounded, and an unbidden smile curled my lips. A warmth emanated from my chest, dispersing the pain as if it were a mirage.

"We're under attack," his whispered words extinguished the warmth that had enveloped my heart. I felt my heart drop a beat and a roaring wind rushed in my ears. "Attack?" I mumbled, uncertain about its meaning. The plan was for the demon realm to instigate the battle. There is no reason for the celestial army to attack first.

He smiled. His eyes scanned the sky whilst his hands covered my ears. "It is loud," he replied to my questioning gaze. I sensed the powerful forces hurtling past me, its pressure surely would reduce the buildings its touches to rubble. "They are too hasty," he remarked.

Stepping away from his protective hold, I observed the city ablaze, mesmerized by the destructive beauty. "Just stay behind me and be there when I need you. Leave the rest to me," he instructed, his broad shoulders shielding me from the inferno.

"I am not scared. Remember, I offered the partnership, and it is I who provides what you need to win," I asserted.

In response, the Demon King's laughter resonated through his realm, a potent force that silenced the explosions, smoldering the flames and smoke. The meteorite onslaught collided with an invisible barrier he had conjured, burning on impact without touching the city below. "That is wasteful," I muttered.

"Just a drop in the ocean."

"The ocean can dry when against the eternal scorching heat of the sun," I countered. I couldn't help but grumble at the wasted efforts just for him to use frivolously.

"In that case, you just need to be by my side for eternity," he said those words so simply and matter of fact. "I don't want to be a tool for eternity," I replied. My intense gaze bore into his back, furious at his careless words and yet the same unexplainable warmth unfurled within my heart at his words. A giver and a taker, a fallen celestial and a demon, bound by an eternity beside him.

"Never a tool. A partner." He smiled wickedly. Perhaps I have been in his realm too long, but my lips couldn't help but lift into an unbidden smile. A partner for eternity does not sound so bad. If not for him holding the humans captive in their false worlds, I would have forgotten about their demonic nature. In the time I have spent with him, I have not seen the undue violence or cruelty that demons are known for.

"I want freedom, for me and them. That is the deal."

"I will honour the deal. You will have freedom and so will they," he replied. His intense gaze filled unspoken words suddenly made me feel self-conscious. My cheeks burned.

The ground beneath us began to tremble as the horde of demons came closer. Millions of them, all ready for the battle that had started again. "How many did you lose last time?" I asked, trying to visualize the battle that happened before time. The Sun Emperor against the Demon King. The clash between the gods over the human realm.