Pov Author
The chamber was heavy with quiet. The flickering torchlight painted trembling shadows across the walls, but they did little to pierce the darkness that had settled in Anna's heart. She sat on the floor, knees drawn to her chest, hands clutching the fabric of her robe, as if she could hold herself together by sheer force. Her breath came in short, uneven sobs, each one cutting into the silence like a knife. The horrors of the past hours—the screams, the destruction, the sight of her world crumbling—had finally caught up with her.
Kiyoshi knelt beside her, a steady hand on her shoulder, his own face grim. His dark eyes were wide with concern, but he said nothing, letting her grief spill into the room uncontained. Sometimes silence was the only kind of comfort the heart could bear.
"I… I couldn't…" Anna whispered, her voice breaking. "I didn't mean… I didn't know… I didn't—"
"Shh," Kiyoshi murmured, squeezing her shoulder gently. "It's not your fault. None of this is your fault."
But Anna shook her head violently, tears streaming down her face. "It is! It's all my fault! If I hadn't gone… if I hadn't freed him… Tsukigawa would still stand… people wouldn't be dead!"
Kiyoshi's heart clenched. He had seen her courage, her kindness, her unwavering strength in the battlefield and beyond. But now, stripped of her composure, she was human—terribly human. "Anna," he said softly, "you did what you had to do. You only followed your mission… you couldn't have known the outcome. He—"
The door opened before he could finish, and a sudden chill swept through the room.
Shou Feng entered.
He moved like a shadow, silent and commanding. The aura around him wasn't just power—it was fury, restraint, and devastation distilled into a human form. Kiyoshi's blood ran cold at the sight. He had fought beside Shou Feng, had seen him crush armies and bend mountains, but this… this was different. There was no amusement, no calculated calm, no teasing arrogance. This was pure wrath, wrapped in the darkest aura imaginable.
Kiyoshi's eyes widened instinctively. Goosebumps erupted across his skin. His heart pounded so violently he was certain Shou Feng could feel it from across the room. Every instinct screamed at him to kneel, to look away, to not meet those eyes. His soul shivered. He's angry… so angry.
Anna, too, lifted her tear-streaked face. Her brown eyes, wide and trembling, met Shou Feng's. The room seemed to constrict around them, the air thickening into something almost tangible.
Her first thought was disbelief. Then fear. Then… an odd, creeping awe. The man before her—the godlike figure she had freed—was not just powerful. He was terrifying. And yet, something in the way his gaze softened ever so slightly when it landed on her pulled her attention from the danger, despite the dread curling in her stomach.
She sniffled, trying to form words. "Where… where have you been?" Her voice was small, fragile, and cautious, as if speaking too loudly might make him vanish—or worse, explode.
Shou Feng didn't answer. He didn't even blink.
Instead, he stepped closer, and in one slow, deliberate motion, lifted a hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. His long black hair fell around his face, glinting red-black in the torchlight, and his aura pulsed like a dark heartbeat.
Anna's chest tightened. She had wanted answers, explanations, maybe even an apology—but she knew, deep down, that none would come. He would not tell her about Shoto, about the slaughter in the courtyard. That knowledge would break her trust in him, and he could not allow it. Not her.
Kiyoshi watched silently, tense and wary. The subtle movement, the touch, the way Shou Feng's dark aura seemed to shield her rather than threaten her—it was the first time he had seen such restraint from the God of Destruction. He realized, with a chill creeping along his spine, that Shou Feng's fury was not aimed at Anna… it was because of her.
---
Shou Feng finally stepped back. The dark aura receded slightly, like a storm settling over a devastated land. He gave no words, no smile, no indication of the chaos that had unfolded just before. Anna's tears still fell, but she didn't move away. There was… safety here, in the middle of the terrifying storm.
Kiyoshi exhaled slowly, his mind racing. He had heard Mong and Yuvan joke about Shou Feng's obsession before, but he had never taken it seriously. They had said it for fun. Now… seeing him like this, seeing the weight in his steps and the almost unbearable intensity of his gaze… Kiyoshi understood. It wasn't a joke. Not even close.
For the first time, Kiyoshi could see it clearly: Shou Feng's feelings for Anna were real.
Not playful. Not casual. Not fleeting.
Obsessive. Absolute. Terrifyingly protective.
---
Shou Feng turned and left the room, moving silently down the hall. The echoes of his presence lingered long after he vanished. Anna slumped forward, exhausted, her sobs catching again. Kiyoshi placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. "He… he won't let anyone hurt you," he said quietly. The words were more for himself than for her.
Anna shook her head. "But… what if he's angry at me? What if…" Her voice trailed off, lost in the labyrinth of doubt and fear that had gripped her since the fall of Tsukigawa.
---
By the time Shou Feng reached his private bath, the weight of the day bore down on him like a mountain. The water was steaming, warm against his skin, and for a moment, he allowed himself to close his eyes. His muscles, tense from the fighting and the rage, finally relaxed under the heat. His long black hair clung wet against his back, the water dripping silently into the bath below.
But even here, even in the solitude and the warmth, his mind did not rest. Thoughts of Anna gnawed at him like fire on ice.
What if she finds out?
What if she hates me forever?
What if she can never forgive me?
What if…
The "what ifs" multiplied, relentless and vicious, forming a mental storm that even the bathwater could not calm. Shou Feng, the God of Destruction, whose presence alone could fell armies, was human in this: consumed with fear of losing her trust, of losing her entirely, even though she had never belonged to him .
End of the Chapter
*please read author note there is something you need to know*