Saving the Heartthrob Frenemy

Jolie seemed to enjoy watching this little system quiver. Having such power was so addictive and exhilarating.

As Prodigy experienced the torment Jolie inflicted upon it, its virtual form trembled and spasmed, letting out digital wails of anguish. Its pristine facade crumbled, revealing the cracks in its armour. Defeated and terrified, Prodigy yearned for respite from the ghost’s relentless onslaught.

"Please please stop. Prodigy finally pleaded, its voice laced with desperation. "I’ll tell you everything you want to know. Just make it stop!"

Jolie’s heart softened, her purpose shifted to extracting the information she needed. Instantly, she halted her assault, her presence withdrawing from Prodigy’s interface. Calmness enveloped the virtual realm, and Prodigy’s shaking subsided.

With a trembling voice, Prodigy spilt the beans, revealing the weakness hidden within its system. "The security system is intricate but there is a flaw. In between worlds, there is a small chance to send a message in the outside world but there is no guarantee that it won’t send an alarm. The master will find out," it explained and Jolie was a little surprised. The flaw was quite unexpected.

Since it has spilt the beans, Jolie did not need to be here. "Okay, remember don’t speak about this ever," she said before slowly retreating into the virtual domain. The AI that felt so lonely with no one to talk to suddenly yelled out,

"Wait... Are you... Are you going to come back?"

Jolie didn’t think after tormenting this AI system it would imprint on her. "I have a boyfriend so cool your jets," she said before vanishing.

Prodigy, "..."

It couldn’t comprehend the word boyfriend so it had to find out what the ghostly spectra meant.

***

Qie Xieling lay on the grand bed, nestled amongst plush pillows and silken sheets in the opulent chamber of the palace. King Luo had left earlier, leaving Qie Xieling to rest alone. The bed, however, remained dishevelled, a testament to the restless sleep Qie Xieling had been experiencing. The place beside him had long grown cold, devoid of warmth and presence.

In the realm of dreams, Qie Xieling’s mind drifted to the real world, where he and Luo Muchen were entwined in a loving embrace, sharing a bed much like the one he currently slept on. As dreams often do, reality blurred with fantasy, and Qie Xieling lost himself in the comforting illusion of companionship.

Suddenly, a gust of wind crashed through the open windows, causing them to shudder violently. Qie Xieling stirred in his sleep, his dreams interrupted by the intrusion of a malicious presence. The air grew heavy as the evil goddess, Loviator, materialized in the room. Her eyes seethed with a nefarious delight as she surveyed the slumbering form of Eling.

With an insidious grin etched upon her ethereal features, Loviator approached the bed, her steps light and purposeful. She leaned forward, her gaze fixated upon Eling’s angelic face and admired his flawless, milky skin with a mixture of envy and fascination. It was clear to her now why her own daughter had fallen under his spell.

Amid this surreal encounter, Qie Xieling remained in blissful oblivion, unaware of the looming danger that hovered inches away from him. His dreams, tainted by the arrival of Loviator, morphed into fragments of unease and discomfort. The once comforting embrace of King Luo dissolved into a distant memory, leaving Qie Xieling vulnerable and alone in the presence of this malicious deity.

Loviator’s sinister intentions radiated throughout the room, a palpable aura of malevolence. She slowly reclined near Eling, her proximity unnerving yet strangely captivating. Her ethereal figure almost seemed to merge with the shadows, blending deceitfully with the dim light filtering through the thick curtains.

For a moment, Loviator’s gaze softened, briefly revealing a semblance of empathy. Perhaps it was a spark of nostalgia for her own long-lost unrequited love or the memory of her daughter’s affection for this sleeping figure. But as quickly as it appeared, the flicker of compassion vanished, replaced by a renewed hunger for power and control.

Silently, Loviator continued to watch over Eling, her eyes gleaming with a potent mix of an eagerness to destroy and patience.

In this stolen moment, as Qie Xieling’s dreams twisted and turned, reality itself seemed distorted, and the boundaries between real and fake blurred in the depths of the night. Opposite him under the covers was Luo Muchen smiling at him. In his eyes was a tender affection light that Qie Xieling had never seen before.

He smiled back and asked, "What are you doing?"

Luo Muchen slowly raised his hand and his fingers slipped in between Qie Xieling’s hair. His gaze traced every inch of his face as though etching it in his heart. "I am watching you. I was waiting for you to wake up."

Qie Xieling’s smile grew even bigger as Luo Muchen’s fingers slipped down to his nape. The feeling was good but it felt really off like something was wrong. Every hair in his body was raised indicating how dangerous the situation was. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

His eyes flickered and he slowly opened his eyes the warmth of his dream clinging to him like a sweet memory. As the haze in his eyes disappeared and his gaze fell upon the figure beside him, his heart skipped a beat.

Under the covers with him was a woman smiling sinisterly with her fingers in his hair. Her pallid skin glowed ethereally, and her piercing eyes glared at him.

"Shit!" swore Qie Xieling. Panic raced through his veins as he realised her slender fingers were tangled in his hair, gently caressing his scalp with an eerie tenderness.

Fear gripped him like icy tendrils, paralysing his every muscle at the sight. He tried to jerk away, to scream, to break free, but an unseen force held him captive, rendering him helpless. Magic, he realised, his blood running cold as he fought against the invisible restraints that bound him.

In a desperate bid for salvation, Qie Xieling’s mind flickered back to the bracelet King Luo gave him for protection.

As fear morphed into desperate hope, he invoked the bracelet’s defence mechanism, a surge of energy coursing through his body.

But as his wrist sparked with a hopeful glow, Loviatar’s laughter echoed through the room like a cruel melody. In an instant, her hand gripped his wrist painfully and Qie Xieling cried out in pain but no sound came out.

She tightened her grip around the bracelet, applying an impossible strength that shattered it into a cloud of shimmering dust. The last line of defence crumbled before Qie Xieling’s eyes, leaving him defenceless.

The goddess’ laughter turned sinister, sending shivers down Qie Xieling’s spine. She pulled him closer, her touch icy against his skin, as if drawing strength from the fear that radiated off him in waves.