Cinderella's Fate | 🤍 seongjoong 🤍

Chapter 62

Narrator's POV 

The dust hadn't even settled before Jongho and Hongjoong charged into the sealed chamber.

The silence didn't last.

Sparks of wild magic clung to the air like ash. Blood slicked the broken stones underfoot. The arena, once grand, was now a graveyard of shattered pillars and scorched summoning circles.

At its center stood San.

His body trembled from effort, one eye swollen shut, his jacket torn and soaked through with blood. A shattered blade hung in his grip, and with his other hand, he held up a cracking magical barrier, just enough to protect the motionless forms behind him.

Mingi lay unconscious, half-curled around Yunho's body.

Jongho's heart dropped. "San!"

San staggered as he turned. "Don't!"

Too late.

Across the ruined arena, she stood.

The villainess, draped in shadows and ancient power, smiled like a cat that had finally caught something worth devouring. Her eyes lit up the moment Hongjoong stepped through the breach.

"Now this," she purred, rising slowly, "is interesting."

Hongjoong's grip tightened on his sword.

Jongho moved fast, waving in medics and guards. "Secure them, now!"

And then the light in the chamber shifted.

The villainess floated into the air. Her cloak billowed unnaturally, her hair rising as though weightless. The pressure in the room shifted, crushing down on them like gravity collapsing inward.

Jongho, armoured and braced, could feel it. The weight of her magic pressed on his chest like an ocean trying to drown him.

Hongjoong shouted over the roar, "Jongho, hold the line! I'll engage. Get the others clear!"

Jongho nodded, sprinting toward the injured.

Hongjoong rushed to Yunho's side, grabbing the bundle of healing potions tucked into Mingi's belt pouch. He numbed the worst of Yunho's wounds with a spell, then forced one of the potions down his throat.

Yunho's eyes fluttered open.

The stench of blood. The crackle of failing wards. The roar of magic. And memories, memories coming back fast.

"Hongjoong!"

For years, Yunho had studied ancient texts, sealed scrolls, and abandoned rituals. He had buried himself in research after his sister disappeared.

"There's no time," Yunho rasped. "You remember the protocol?"

Hongjoong's eyes widened. "You're insane."

Yunho smiled faintly. "You've known that for years."

He pushed himself upright, still breathing hard. "The curse is waking, the blade remembers. My sister, she made me the vessel."

He stepped closer, his voice barely audible over the roar of power. "If we do it, right now, her power, your fire, our bond, it'll be enough."

Hongjoong didn't hesitate.

"Let's finish this."

They stood back to back. Two blades. Two souls. One purpose.

The runes carved into the floor ignited, ancient lines glowing with gold and violet fire.

Wind howled.

The villainess staggered midair, her field flickering.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

When the light cleared, they were no longer separate.

One form stood where they had been, burning with the light of legacy and ruin.

Eyes glowing. Armour reformed. A voice, layered, two speaking as one:

"We are the reckoning your sins prayed would never awaken."

The villainess screamed and charged.

This time, the fight was even.

When the final spell faded and the arena fell into silence, the villainess lay unconscious, bound by radiant chains that pulsed with ancestral fire.

The fusion had ended.

Yunho and Hongjoong collapsed to their knees, separated once more, breathing but whole.

Medics rushed to them, stabilizing their wounds with whispered spells and reverent awe.

They didn't rest.

Yunho pushed to his feet with effort, reaching for his sword, its glow dim now but still warm.

"We're not done," he said. "She kept him here. I know it."

They moved together through the collapsed chamber, deeper into the villainess's lair. The magic that had once shielded the inner sanctums had crumbled with her fall, leaving the stone corridors cold and exposed. Jongho led the way, sword drawn, flanked by guards who moved like ghosts, silent and solemn.

Twisting halls gave way to a locked corridor, each door marked with broken wards and cracked stone. Then, behind a rusted iron door sealed with three layers of broken warding, Yunho stopped.

"Here."

He pressed a hand against the final rune. It flickered once, then dimmed.

Jongho stepped forward and kicked the door open.

Inside, the chamber was small, circular, and dimly lit. Chains lay broken across the floor, and shattered runes still glowed faintly on the walls.

And in the centre, lying still was...

"Seonghwa," Hongjoong breathed.

He was curled on the ground, unconscious but breathing, wrapped in a tattered cloak. Cuts lined his arms, and bruises darkened his neck and wrists, but he was alive.

Hongjoong dropped to his knees beside him, cradling his face. "Hwa, it's me, I'm here."

Seonghwa stirred, eyes fluttering open. For a moment, confusion clouded his gaze.

Then, softly, "Hongjoong?"

A gasp, a sob, something caught between the two. Seonghwa lifted a shaking hand to Hongjoong's cheek.

"You found me."

Hongjoong's voice trembled. "I told you I would."