Fated | Fangs Of Fortune [ZhuYi]

Chapter 29 : The Inevitable

The air shimmered with a haunting, crimson glow. It felt alive, creeping over the landscape and swallowing everything in its path. Zhuo YiChen's breaths came fast and shallow as he sprinted toward the courtyard, his heart pounding like war drums. The scene eight years ago burned vividly in his mind—a crimson world, and the devastation it heralded. He could only hope this wasn't real, that he wasn't about to face the nightmare again.

Not this soon. Not now.

As he reached the courtyard, his feet skidded to a halt. The snow beneath him, pure moments ago, now gleamed like a blood-streaked mirror, reflecting the malevolent light of the crimson moon. The sight before him tore the breath from his lungs.

Wen Xiao lay on the ground, her head resting against Pei Si Jing's trembling arms. Traces of blood stained her lips. A few paces away, Ying Lei and Pei Si Heng battled the encroaching demons with desperate ferocity, their movements a chaotic dance of survival.

And then, in the center of it all, YiChen's eyes found him.

Zhu Yan

His form was a harrowing silhouette against the crimson sky. Tendrils of scarlet and pitch-black energy coiled around him like a living storm.

His eyes, once mischievous and full of hidden depths, now burned a vivid scarlet, devoid of recognition or warmth. The black tattoos that had scarred YiChen's memory from that fateful night spread across Zhu Yan's face, stark and jagged like fractures in his very soul. His mouth twisted into a cruel smirk, one that YiChen couldn't reconcile with the man he had come to know.

The Zhu Yan he had known was gone. Again.

YiChen's grip tightened around the Cloud Light Sword as it trembled in his hand. The hilt's crystal, an azure light burning brighter.

"Zhu Yan" YiChen called out, his voice low but steady, his chest aching with the weight of the moment.

The figure before him turned, his scarlet eyes locking onto YiChen's. For a fleeting moment, a pang of hope sparked in YiChen's heart. But there was no recognition in those eyes. Only malice.

"Please" YiChen whispered, his voice cracking. A tear slipped down his face, disappearing into the snow at his feet.

Zhu Yan's attention shifted to Wen Xiao and Pei Si Jing, who were defenseless against the chaos around them. With a sharp inhale, YiChen charged forward.

YiChen's legs moved on instinct, closing the distance. His first strike was swift, but Zhu Yan deflected it with a casual swipe, the energy around him dismissing the blow as though it were nothing. YiChen gritted his teeth and struck again. And again. Each attack was met with the same ease, Zhu Yan batting them away as if swatting at a fly.

The power that radiated from him was suffocating. This was no longer the great demon Zhu Yan, this was something else entirely, a vessel of pure malicious energy.

Every clash of their weapons sent shockwaves through the air, but YiChen was losing ground.

Or maybe, he realized, in the deepest parts of his heart, that he wasn't truly fighting.

Could he bring himself to strike the final blow? To end this torment once and for all? The thought gripped his heart like a vice. The nightmare that had haunted him for years, the anguish of his family's deaths, all of it could end here, with one decisive strike. Yet his heart refused to obey.

"Snap out of it, damn it!" YiChen shouted, the words echoed in the crimson night, a desperate plea that fell on deaf ears.

Zhu Yan's expression remained unchanged, his movements mechanical and ruthless. Each attack YiChen launched was countered effortlessly. And with each failed blow, YiChen's resolve wavered further.

The scene before him blurred with memories—Zhu Yan standing amidst the corpses of his father and his brother, the same hateful smirk on his face, the same crimson glow that marked the end of everything YiChen had loved.

The Cloud Light Sword flared in his hand, pulling him back to the present. Its azure light burned, urging him onward, even as his heart screamed for him to stop.

For a brief second, he saw it.

Beneath the storm of malicious energy, beneath the tattoos and the scarlet glow, a flicker of something familiar passed across Zhu Yan's face.

A plea. A plea to kill him.

"Zhao Yuan Zhou..." YiChen's voice cracked, His grip on the Cloud Light Sword trembled, but his resolve hardened as he took a deep breath. Snow swirled around him, gathering in the air as if responding to his unyielding will.

The ground beneath him shifted, the snow rising like countless shimmering blades, poised to strike. His eyes glowed a birght azure, their intensity mirrored in the hilt crystal of the Cloud Light Sword. With deliberate precision, YiChen dragged the blade across his palm. Blood seeped onto the steel, igniting it with a brilliant, pulsating azure light.

"I hope you won't disappoint my teachings, Zhuo Daren"

A voice whispered in his mind, faint yet resolute.

"I won't."

He closed his eyes briefly, allowing a faint smile to cross his lips before it disappeared behind his mask of determination.

"Let's end this, Zhao Yuan Zhou."

With that final declaration, the frozen spikes erupted forward, hurtling toward Zhu Yan. The first wave barely fazed him, the scarlet and pitch-black aura around him absorbing their impact. But as YiChen pushed harder, the assault became relentless, forcing Zhu Yan to stagger back under their force. For a brief moment, an opening appeared.

YiChen didn't hesitate. With a swift, fluid motion, he closed the distance between them, his blade raised high.

As the Cloud Light Sword arced downward, Zhu Yan's scarlet eyes locked onto YiChen's. His lips parted, forming a single, damning word.

"Die."

The ripple of scarlet energy surged outward, racing toward YiChen like a tidal wave of malice. Time seemed to slow as the energy engulfed him, its overwhelming force threatening to snuff out his existence.

YiChen braced himself, convinced it was the end.

But... it wasn't.

The energy dissipated like smoke in the wind, leaving him standing in stunned silence. For a heartbeat, neither moved.

And then, with trembling hands, YiChen drove the azure blade into Zhu Yan's body.

Both men froze.

"No!" Wen Xiao's anguished scream tore through the night.

Zhu Yan's hand, trembling but deliberate, reached for the blade embedded in his body. Blood trickled down his palm as he gripped the glowing steel, ignoring the pain as his gaze met YiChen's.

Zhu Yan's scarlet eyes gleamed, their fiery glow dimming with each passing second.

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