The sword slipped from Laurel’s hand and spun out of reach, striking the ground with a dull sound that lingered longer than it should have, as if it marked the mont her strength finally gave way, and for a brief second her fingers remained half-curled in the air as though she still believed she could reach it, yet her arm would not move no matter how much she willed it to.
Ling Xuan stepped forward with a slow pace, her blade cutting through the space between them before stopping just inches away from Laurel’s neck, close enough for the cold edge to press against her skin. An undeniable reminder of how easily everything could end if she chose to let it.
Laurel did not look at the sword, but she did not step back either.
Her breathing ca uneven and shallow, her chest rising and falling as the pain she had ignored spread through her body, her arms trembling faintly at her sides while blood continued to slip from her wounds, falling to the ground beneath her. Each drop fell slowly, as if her body was emptying itself piece by piece.
"Pick it up," Ling Xuan said.
Laurel did not move, her gaze remaining on Ling Xuan, unfocused for a brief mont. Her expression remained stubborn even now, even when her body had already begun to give in.
"I don’t need it," she said, her voice rough and quieter than before.
Ling Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, with a glint of disappointnt flashing through her eyes. "Is that your answer?"
She was surprised and impressed that she managed to touch her... but that impression disappeared as quickly as it ca.
Laurel drew in a deep breath, then she slowly rose to her feet before taking a step forward; not toward the sword she had lost, but toward Ling Xuan herself, her movent slow and unsteady as her body swayed under its own weight, each step heavier than the last.
"If this is all it takes to stop ," she said, her voice uneven as it broke between breaths, "then you were right about from the start."
’I don’t care, as long as I managed to draw your blood, I won. Fighting you again is like digging my grave, and I’m not stupid.’ she thought inwardly, as she stopped right in front of her.
Her hand lifted slowly, trembling as if her body was finally catching up to everything it had endured, and for a brief mont it hovered there before she reached out and grabbed onto Ling Xuan’s clothes. Her grip was weak yet unyielding, as though she needed sothing to hold onto before she fell.
Her head lowered, crashing against Ling Xuan’s shoulder.
"I’m not pathetic..." she said, her voice shaking now, softer but heavier.
Ling Xuan stiffened imdiately. "Let go." Her voice carried a chill that sent shivers through the air.
Laurel did not. Her fingers tightened instead, her shoulders trembling as her breath ca out uneven, her body leaning forward as if it could no longer support itself, as if the only thing keeping her standing was the hold she had on Ling Xuan.
"I’m not what you say I am..." she continued, her voice breaking despite herself. "You don’t get to decide that... you don’t get to stand there and act like you know everything about ..."
Her grip tightened slightly, as though the words themselves were holding her together.
"You think I’m weak because I don’t act like you," she said, her voice trembling, "because I don’t cut people down without thinking, because I don’t pretend it doesn’t hurt..."
Her breath hitched, her fingers tightening again as if sothing inside her was slipping.
"My parents died right in front of ," she said, her voice dropping, each word harder to push out than the last. "Do you know what that feels like..."
Ling Xuan’s gaze did not change. "People die every day," she said flatly.
Laurel’s grip tightened, her eyes brimming with tears. "So heartless..."
"... It was my birthday," she continued, as if she didn’t care about Ling Xuan’s words. Her voice was quieter now, uneven in a way she could no longer control.
"They were smiling... they told to close my eyes so they could surprise ... I thought when I opened them we would be at the cake shop or at the park... my dad said he got sothing I would like..."
Her breath faltered. "I even... complained before that," she added, her voice catching slightly. "I told them they were late... that they didn’t care enough...that I wanted to go to the famous rollercoaster ride, and that I wanted a strawberry cake instead of vanilla."
For a brief second, her fingers loosened before tightening again.
"We were in the car...and the next mont..."
Her voice broke completely.
"...they were gone."
Her shoulders trembled, her grip tightening as if she was trying to hold herself together through it.
"There was so much blood..." she said, her voice shaking as the mory surfaced without restraint. "I couldn’t... I couldn’t even move... I just stood there and watched..."
She swallowed, her breath uneven as the guilt pressed on her like a mountain.
"I kept thinking if I moved faster... if I didn’t close my eyes... if I didn’t complain..." her voice wavered before she forced it steady again, "maybe sothing would be different..."
Ling Xuan’s hand pressed harder into her shoulder.
"Regret doesn’t make you strong," she said coldly.
Laurel flinched slightly from the pressure, but she didn’t let go.
"But I’m still here," Laurel forced out, her voice breaking but stubborn. "I didn’t disappear... I didn’t lose myself... so don’t stand there and tell I’m weak like you understand what that ans..."
Her grip tightened again, weaker now, but more desperate.
"I’m not a jinx..." she whispered, her voice barely holding together. "I didn’t kill them... I didn’t..." She said as if she was trying to convince herself she wasn’t.
Ling Xuan pushed again but Laurel still did not move.
Her body leaned forward more, her strength finally slipping past the point she could control, yet her fingers refused to loosen, as if letting go would an falling apart completely.
For a mont, neither of them spoke, and the only sound left between them was Laurel’s uneven breathing and the faint, steady drip of blood hitting the ground beneath them.
Ling Xuan’s hand remained on her shoulder, firm at first, then gradually easing, the pressure loosening in a way that did not match her expression, as though she had made a decision she would not voice.
"...I regret not killing you the first ti we t," Ling Xuan muttered.
But she did not push her away.
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