My life has always been a rollercoaster. There was not a moment where I could just live and breathe peacefully.
That evening when I was quietly stitching some silver thread into Lu Jinghao's new collection, a beautiful fabric that welcomed one like dawn did, I felt a ripple.
The thread in my hand suddenly twitched but it was not a gentle twitch. I felt the thread coil around my finger like it was alive. It suddenly tightened until a drop of my blood stained the beautiful gold.
'Host, external interference detected. There is unidentified energy surrounding you.'
I froze in surprise. "External interference? From who?"
'I am running a check and tracking it host. The location seems unstable but it is derived from threadcraft. The forbidden one.'
My pulse skipped. Threadcraft only existed in some of my mother's journals, and it was the kind of power that mortals were not supposed to access.
"To put it simply, someone somewhere is trying to curse me, right?" I whispered, pausing everything I was doing.
'Correction host. Someone is trying to unravel you and access your world.'
"That's even worse."
Across the beautiful city, under the flicker of lights, Wei Han burned my picture. He was chanting something he himself didn't even understand.
In the midst of it, his blood started dripping onto silk as the air bent wrong. Eery shadows twisted, as they were drawn in by his words and blood.
This forbidden ritual was supposed to steal my success and transfer it to him. Thread by thread, he was supposed to own my fortune after he was done.
But he forgot one thing. Such magic is like cheap dye and a hundred percent stains the one who pours it.
By midnight, my whole studio was trembling, the fabrics that usually hummed beautifully with warmth now hissing like disturbed serpents.
I could feel something, more than one actually, trying to drag the edges of my luck, just like invisible hands trying to pull me apart.
I held onto my design table, bracing myself.
'It is time to initiate counter thread measures host.'
"Show me how I should do it." I swallowed hard.
'You don't need to host. The fabric knows and remembers you.'
I sighed hard and the silver silk under my hand pulsed, brightening up like sunlight.
Without needing to be told, my hands started weaving, the pattern created itself , coming out raw and instinctive. The lines spiraled, intersecting like veins, while my heartbeat synced with my creation.
The curse that was about to snatch my glory met my counter thread halfway through.
The studio suddenly filled with wind and I got a whiff of smoke that wasn't mine. As if to confirm, a scream rang, far away, but carried through static.
'Host, the source is collapsing at a bad rate.'
"Good. Let it collapse."
Later, hours later, I was sitting on the floor of my studio when a knock came, followed by the door being opened. I didn't even bother looking up because I knew it was Lu Jinghao.
"Rui." His voice was low, steady and filled with concern. His eyes shortly scanned the room as he stepped in. The lights slightly flickered before going back to normal.
"You are still working?"
I turned to him, smoothly hiding my trembling hands. "I was working on your collection."
He crouched beside me and his cologne immediately went into soothing mode. I observed him and couldn't help but nod in approval inwardly. Even in casual clothes he still carried the nobility that made rooms hush anytime he entered.
His gaze softened when it met mine. "Must have been a lot of work because you look pale."
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
His eyes flickered around the studio and I knew he could notice some abnormalities but chose not to say a word. Instead, he lifted his hand and reached out to me, gently patting my forehead.
"You should rest before you burn yourself out again."
For a moment, I forgot the lingering echo of the curse because his hand was warm, his cologne calming and his presence reassuring.
'Oh host. Heart rate rise detected. If you don't want to be emotionally connected to him I recommend stepping back.'
I nearly laughed out loud. Nova was really... something else.
Lu Jinghao titled his head, confused by the sudden amusement on my face. "Why are you holding back a laugh?"
"Nothing really," I lied quickly, afraid he will probe me further. "Just...thinking of how art can be sometimes funny."
He gave me one final look before standing up. "Have it your way but if you dare collapse again, I am kidnapping you to my office."
"Yes sir. Duly noted."
When he finally left, my composure cracked as I let out a sigh. My fingers were still trembling as my veins burned gold.
'Host, the curse rebound is finally complete.'
It really took that long to finalize. I hope whoever messed with me was strong enough to withstand all that pain.
"I want to see. Show me."
A holographic appeared before me and I saw a distorted figure of Wei Han on the ground, clutching his face as horrendous veins crawled beneath his skin. His reflection was half twisted, with one eye swollen and the other bleeding.
'He panicked when you retaliated and attempted to reverse his curse but unfortunately the intensity was catastrophic.'
"I see. Is he perhaps..."
"Alive? Unfortunately."
"Even better. Let him live with the ugliness he created with his own hands."
'Sigh! Do these people even realize how they make your work easier when they set themselves up? Anyway, congratulations to him.'
My lips couldn't help but cruelly curve with a small but meaningful smile.
"Why do I feel like you have been waiting to say that?"
'i think four hours is a pretty long period host.'
The studio fell quiet again and I couldn't believe it. I had just discovered more about my mother and someone was set on stealing my fortune? How crazy were things??
A day later, the tablets were shaking with exploding news of Wei Han's scandal.
Wei Han who was once the darling of fashion was caught in a bizarre situation.
The rumours spreading suggested that he had experimented with dark arts, causing the Wei Fashion headquarters to be evacuated after suspicious and unexplainable fires.
No one would believe the supernatural part of it of course. After all, they had just seen the photos of his face half twisted in pain, unexplainable madness clouding his eyes.
Nova was gleefully streaming the news to me.
'Never knew the term dead meat could actually refer to real dead meat. Hehe...'
"Nova... that's not nice you know..."
'That thing tried to hex you host. I am very much allowed to rejoice.'
Well, that's a fair point.
Despite my win, I couldn't shake off the feeling of dread that still lingered in the air. The house of Nexus was around, just operating on the low. Nothing else could explain how the forbidden threadcraft could be found in the first place.
I could barely sleep that night. Despite the buzzing and shimmering city outside, my studio was in a restless mode.
I decided to pull out one of my mother's journals. Her beautiful handwriting looped with graceful precision as beneath a half completed sketch of a sigil lay her words.
"And when envy awakens, bind it in Gold."
I traced the old ink with my thumb as it dawned on me. My mother was familiar with this curse. Maybe...she had once fought it.
I watched the sudden rain outside clean the city pavements, the water droplets streaking against my window. Keenly looking at the window, I caught my reflection but it was the sight of my own eyes that drew me in. They were burning with the same gold as my mother's...not so surprised but I knew something inside me was shifting.
By midday, Lu Jinghao had informed me that he needed me in his office in the afternoon. I didn't mind the call since I wasn't planning on doing anything big during the afternoon.
By the time I arrived at his office, I had convinced myself over and over again that I looked fine. That was until I saw his expression.
He was standing by the window, answering an email on his phone but the moment his gaze landed on me, his jaw tightened. "Rui, you are still pale."
"I am functional. That is good enough."
"It isn't."
His answer caused me to blink.
" Huh? Since when do you care so much about..."
"Since the very first night I ever saw you." He replied quietly.
My heart did a traitorous skip. He wasn't supposed to remember some things.
Our conversation didn't continue but he gestured to the seat. "I want you to drink this. Sit."
It was warm ginger tea. The fragrance was grounding me but I didn't say a word. I politely obeyed him and sat, taking a sip.
"Is there a time you stop worrying?" I broke the silence, asking softly.
"No," he said. "Not when it comes to people I trust and treasure."
Something inside me flickered at his words. "You...did you just say you trust me?"
He met my eyes, all steady and clear. " Yes. You have earned my trust."
'Your heart rate is spiking host, you...'
"Nova," I muttered under my breath, "not now please."
"What did you say?" Lu Jinghao asked.
"Nothing. Just some internal talk."
He smiled faintly, clearly not believing me.
For a moment, thick silence stretched between us but it somehow turned into a comfortable one. His eyes lingered on me enough to make my pulse jump, but then he looked away.
I didn't know how I ended up asleep on his sofa but I slept the whole afternoon without any disturbance.
When I finally returned to my studio that night, the air was calm and collected once again.
I set a new piece of fabric on the design table and everything flowed easily, that for the first time in weeks, I felt like I was creating beauty instead of a shield.
As the pattern was starting to take shape, it resembled sunlight breaking through clouds. Just like my current situation. I had tied that curse shut and broken through the stormy clouds.
Still, deep within me, my mothers writing echoed. If envy awakens, bind it in Gold.
'I am proud of you Rui.' Arin suddenly spoke, breaking the silence.
"Thank you Nova."
'Anytime host. Just try not to attract lunatics next time.'
"Noted silly."
I ended up making a few pieces because I was in a good mood, accidentally working until morning came. I watched as dawn stretched across the skyline, painting my studio beautifully.
A small smile appeared on my face because Wei Han's curse had failed and Retribution caught up with him, while I was still standing unbroken and undefeated.