Eve of Sea God's Fate

Dusk was like indigo pigment dissolved in warm water, slowly spreading across the entire Sea God Lake. A thin veil of night mist floated over the water, while pale blue soul-conduit streetlamps lined the shore. Their halos were softened by the moisture, falling in scattered, gentle fragments upon the slender branches of the weeping willows.

Tomorrow was the Sea God's Fate matchmaking event. The whole of Sea God's Island was steeped in the anxious yet sweet anticipation of young men and women, while the atmosphere around the bluestone table where the five members of Class Zero sat was gradually turning cold.

Xie Xie shifted uneasily from side to side on the chilly stone bench, his legs lightly rising and falling as his toes tapped out a faint, restless rhythm against the ground.

His body was turned sideways, one arm heavily draped over Tang Wulin's right shoulder. His other hand was raised, fingers spread as he repeatedly combed through the stray hair the night breeze had tousled across his forehead. Even the tips of his ears were flushed with uncontrollable red.

He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice, though he could not conceal his excitement and panic. "Wulin, you have to keep an eye out for me tomorrow! I went back to the dorm today and ironed my soul-conduit school uniform three whole times. There isn't even a single wrinkle left. I even used a styling soul device to set my hair. Do you think... Yuanen Yehui might look at me a little more tomorrow?"

Tang Wulin's shoulder tilted slightly from the shaking, yet he did not raise a hand to push him away as usual. His eyes were lowered, his thick, long lashes casting a faint shadow beneath them. His fingertips unconsciously kept rubbing the hem of his uniform, his knuckles turning slightly pale from the force.

Though his gaze rested on the rippling glimmers across the lake, his thoughts had long since drifted uncontrollably toward the familiar figure beneath the willow tree nearby. His heartbeat was as chaotic as an out-of-control soul-conduit pulse. His Adam's apple bobbed gently, and his voice was hoarse and soft, carrying the particular unease of a young man. "She will... You put so much thought into it. She'll definitely notice you."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Tang Wulin paused slightly. Gu Yue's cool yet gentle profile flashed through his mind without warning. He hurriedly looked away, and a thin blush spread across his ears at a visible speed.

Xu Xiaoyan sat upright across the stone table, both elbows steadily braced against the cool surface. Her round, fair hands lightly supported her chin, her curved fingertips resting against either side of her cheeks.

The evening breeze gently lifted the hem of her skirt into a soft arc. Her slender calves hung naturally, her toes slowly swaying back and forth over the ground, while her bright eyes curved into sweet crescent moons.

She gazed at the hazy lights over the lake, her voice soft and sweet, full of a young girl's longing. "I'm really looking forward to Sea God's Fate tomorrow. I heard that a starlit bridge stretching across both shores will rise in the middle of Sea God Lake, and there'll be soul-conduit fireflies flying everywhere. Standing on it must feel like stepping among the stars... I hope that tomorrow, I can walk to the end of that bridge with the person I care about most." As she spoke, her fingertips gently twirled a lock of hair hanging before her chest round and round, a faint rosy glow rising to her cheeks.

Yue Zhengyu sat beside Xu Xiaoyan with the posture of a straight pine tree, perfectly upright, his back and waist taut without the slightest relaxation. His hands were naturally folded over his knees, his thumb lightly rubbing against the joint of his index finger, revealing that his heart was far from calm.

He raised his eyes slightly and calmly swept his gaze over everyone present. Then he lifted a hand and adjusted the Shrek Academy badge on his chest with his fingertips. His tone was steady and solemn, though it carried an almost imperceptible tension. "Sea God's Fate is a grand event passed down by Shrek Academy for ten thousand years. No matter where one's feelings lie, one must face it with the utmost propriety and sincerity. One must be neither frivolous nor cowardly."

In the shadow of a weeping willow not far from the bluestone table, Gu Yue stood alone in silence.

She had merely been quietly watching the lake, but in the very next instant, an icy, heavy roar suddenly exploded from the depths of her soul.

The Silver Dragon King's memories swept through all her consciousness like world-ending waves—the glory of the dragon race's creation, the brutality of the God Realm's betrayal, the wails of countless clansmen dying, the solitude of sleeping alone for hundreds of millions of years, the heavy destiny of reviving the soul beast lineage... Every scene smashed viciously into her heart, instantly drowning the budding affection she had just developed for Tang Wulin in piercing cold.

She was Gu Yue, but she was also the Silver Dragon King.

She could not love, could not be moved, could not be weak, and even less could she develop even the slightest forbidden feelings for a human carrying the Golden Dragon King's power.

She had approached him for the sake of her mission, yet she had truly fallen for him.

To her, these feelings were a sin, a betrayal, a weakness enough to doom her beyond redemption.

Agonizing pain stabbed into the deepest part of her heart like countless icy needles.

But she could not cry, could not hurt, could not reveal even the slightest reluctance to part.

Gu Yue's fingers clenched sharply at her sides, her nails digging deeply into her soft palms. Even as they pierced her skin and blood seeped out, she felt nothing. She bit her lower lip hard, her teeth whitening from the force, forcibly pressing all her surging grief, bitterness, reluctance, and tenderness into the deepest depths of her heart. Even if it left her drenched in blood, she would not allow the slightest trace of it to show on her face.

Her chest rose and fell faintly, her breathing light and rapid, but she forcibly steadied its rhythm. The eyes that had once softened whenever they looked upon Tang Wulin slowly froze into bottomless pools of cold.

At that very moment, Tang Wulin looked up, and his gaze collided directly with Gu Yue's eyes.

With that one look, his heart sank sharply, as if gripped tightly by an icy hand.

The Gu Yue of the past, even when she was cool and distant, had always hidden a tenderness and concern reserved for him alone in her eyes. Yet now, those eyes contained only unfamiliar detachment, indifference, and a trembling she was desperately concealing, one he could not understand at all.

Almost instinctively, Tang Wulin rose from the stone bench. The bench scraped lightly against the ground. He took an uncontrollable step toward Gu Yue, leaning forward slightly, obvious panic and tremor in his voice. "Gu Yue... what's wrong? You look terrible."

With every inch he came closer, the agony in Gu Yue's chest worsened.

She nearly lost control and reached out to touch his worried brows and eyes.

But in the next moment, the Silver Dragon King's destiny viciously stabbed through her consciousness once again.

Gu Yue forcibly took a small step back, her heel touching down so softly it was almost soundless. Yet it was like an invisible wall reaching ten thousand feet high, instantly cutting off all closeness and warmth between them.

She did not look at Tang Wulin. Her gaze fell coldly upon the wavering glimmers on the lake, her lashes lowered tightly to conceal every surging emotion in her eyes. Her voice was utterly flat, each word seeming to grind over a blade as she suppressed the choking heat in her throat. "I'm fine."

Tang Wulin froze where he stood, his half-extended arm suspended in midair, his fingertips trembling slightly. The air seemed to solidify at that instant. His brows drew together faintly, his voice full of helpless concern. "Something is obviously wrong with you. Are you feeling unwell somewhere? I can go with you to the infirmary..."

At last, Gu Yue slowly raised her eyes and looked steadily at him.

She looked at the young man who had moved her heart, made her ache, and nearly made her abandon every destiny she carried. Overwhelming grief and reluctance surged in the depths of her eyes, the bitterness nearly bursting through them. Yet her face showed no expression at all, cold as eternal ice that would never melt.

She bit down hard on her lower lip and swallowed every word of concern, tenderness, and confession that was about to spill from her mouth. She swallowed until her throat was bitter with the taste of blood before speaking, word by word, in the coldest, most distant, most unfamiliar tone possible:

"Tang Wulin, I said I'm fine."

"At Sea God's Fate tomorrow, you don't need to care about me, and you don't need to look for me."

"Between us, we're only classmates. Nothing more."

The instant she spoke those final four words, Gu Yue felt as though her heart had been torn apart alive. The pain nearly made her unable to remain standing.

Yet she still straightened her slender back. She did not even furrow her brow, nor would she let him see the slightest tremble.

All the pain, all the tears, all the struggle and reluctance were forcibly held inside her chest. Even when her eyes had turned red, she still forced back every tear on the verge of falling.

Tang Wulin's face instantly turned deathly pale. He stood there blankly, as though struck by a bolt of lightning, every drop of blood in his body seeming to freeze solid at that moment.

"Only classmates..."

Those four words landed lightly beside his ears, yet they were like a massive boulder that mercilessly crushed all his expectations and fluttering hopes.

Xie Xie instantly stopped all his teasing. His arm slid from Tang Wulin's shoulder, his mouth parting slightly as he stared at the two of them in stunned disbelief. Even his breathing grew quieter.

Xu Xiaoyan's hands slowly fell from beneath her chin. Her eyes widened slightly, the smile at the corners of her lips gradually fading as she watched Tang Wulin's back with concern. Yue Zhengyu's brows furrowed faintly, and the movement of his rubbing fingertips abruptly stopped. He silently watched the sudden deadlock before him without saying a word.

Gu Yue did not dare look at Tang Wulin again.

She was afraid that if she lingered for even one more second, she would be unable to stop herself from throwing herself into his arms and confessing every destiny, every pain, and every bit of love she carried.

She abruptly turned around, her pale white sleeve fiercely swept up by the evening breeze, drawing a resolute yet slender arc. Step by step, she walked toward the girls' residence. Her steps were straight and firm, each one seeming to tread upon the tip of her own heart. The pain reached its limit, yet she never once looked back.

No one saw that, at the instant she turned and faced away from everyone, her tightly shut lashes trembled slightly,

A tear she had held back countless times finally fell soundlessly onto the grass at her feet, instantly swallowed by the night.

The lake breeze remained gentle, and the lights remained hazy. That night,

The young man stood where he was, his heart turning cold, lost and helpless.

The young woman faced away from the crowd, suppressing her grief, her heart breaking with every step.

The blade of destiny had severed that unspoken love before it could ever be confessed.