The girl’s expression shifted slowly, the brightness in her face dimming and the joy in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by sothing far and distant, "Evereth, as you know is— I an, was a creature that called as the firstkind," she said quietly, almost as if speaking to herself.
"And he had lived for a very, very long ti, feared by many and worshiped by so, regardless, he had been alone for a long ti...I can only imagine how lonely he must be, then again, Evereth might not have known what lonely was untill he t ..."
Her voice faltered for a mont, the weight of mory creeping into her tone. "He found to be precise. I must’ve been seven or eight at the ti, I don’t rember much, but I rember my father had died in a hunting accident and my mother... she fell ill and passed not long after, perhaps she was brokenhearted, doesn’t matter, in the end I was left alone."
She looked down at her hands, fidgeting with the fabric of her sleeve.
"You know... people back then weren’t like they are today," she said quietly. "Maybe it was the world we lived in. The land was harsher. The danger was everywhere. It hardened people’s hearts, made them colder... crueler."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the sleeve, as if she were holding on to sothing slipping away. "In a world where survival was a daily battle, kindness felt like a luxury most couldn’t afford. And overti... cruelty beca the norm."
The girl sighed, her shoulders slumping under the weight of mory. "In my tribe... if you couldn’t contribute, you were considered a burden," she said quietly. "After I lost my parents, there was no one left to look after . And I was too young to offer anything of real value to the tribe..."
She drew in a shaky breath, eyes fixed on so distant point only she could see. "It didn’t take long before people started to look at differently. Like I was a liability. A leech, draining their strength, their resources... their lives."
She paused, eyes distant now, as though she were seeing sothing far beyond the distance, sothing she had buried long ago, "So they abandoned ," she said simply. "Left behind."
There was a long silence before she continued, her voice softer now, but steadier. "The world was different back then. It was wild, dangerous, and savage. The lands were filled with beasts that road freely. Giants still wandered the outer lands. No place is safe, and for a child, being left alone in that kind of world... it was the sa as a death sentence." She gave a short, bitter laugh, not mocking, but worn.
"I wandered through that wilderness for a week. Just , and the silence, and the cold. No food. No shelter. Every sound could have been the end of . Every shadow looked like teeth. I rember being hungry, scared, cold... but more than that, I rember as if I’m alone in the world."
Her hands trembled faintly, but she smiled through it, a smile filled with both sorrow and strength. "But when you think about it now, for soone my age to survive that long out there... it was nothing short of a miracle."
Zhao Li Xin remained silent. He didn’t interrupt, didn’t offer comforting words. He simply listened. His eyes held no pity, just a calm, steady presence. And sohow, that made her feel lighter. She breathed a little easier.
Her voice grew brighter, the warmth of the mory slowly returning to her expression. "I was half-dead when Evereth found . I don’t even rember what happened. One mont I was lying on the ground, too weak to move, and then suddenly... he was there staring at . He was bigger than any beast I ever saw, very intimidating yet utterly beautiful, his scales sparkle like gems, and his eyes sparkle like stars. I should’ve been afraid. But I wasn’t, maybe I don’t mind being feasted by sothing so beautiful." She tilted her head, as if marveling at the mystery of it even now.
"Evereth just stared at ," she said, her voice softening as a hint of warmth crept into her tone. "And before I knew it, he reached down, picked up in his claws, and carried away."
She gave a faint, wistful smile.
"Honestly, I was terrified... but also strangely excited. I an, who cared? I just let myself enjoy that rare mont of happiness, I thought I’m gonna be dead, anyway."
She paused, eyes shining with the flicker of an old, unexpected mory. "But to my surprise... he didn’t hurt . Not even a scratch. On the contrary, he gave food, a raw at that is, but that’s for another story." She waves her hands and continues. "He also gave fruit and water. He even used his dragon breath to warm up the cave so I wouldn’t freeze."
She exhaled slowly, her voice laced with quiet wonder. "He was a dragon... ancient, powerful... but in that mont, he was gentler than any human had ever been to , isn’t that ironic?"
The girl looked up and smiled widely. "And from that mont on...he will always be with ." She gave a soft laugh.
"The truth is, I don’t know why he saved . Maybe he was tired of being alone. Maybe he saw sothing in . Or maybe it was just a whim, a strange, fleeting choice he made." She blinked her eyes, and her eyes glistened, not from tears, but from the weight of gratitude.
"But whatever the reason was, I owe him my life. Because of him, I found the safety that I thought it died with my parents, because of him, I never feel afraid anymore, and most of all, I never feel lonely anymore."
She opened her arms wide, as though embracing the invisible bond that tied them together. "And from that day, I decided, no matter what, we would always be together. Through storms and fire. Through joy and sorrow, we promise to beco a family."
Her smile blossod, it was soft and radiant, like sunlight that chased away the shadows that still lingered in her voice.
"So... when did it turn bad?" Zhao Li Xin asked, his voice calm, almost casual, with a note of certainty that ca from experience.
The little girl shrank her head, "How did you know?"
"Because," Zhao Li Xin replied with quiet confidence, "That’s usually how it goes."
She let out a bitter laugh, and sadness filled her eyes. "Well... just like you expected," she murmured, "Nothing more deadly than human greed."
Her eyes dropped to the ground, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Years after that, I don’t know how, the chief of my tribe eventually learned about my relationship with Evereth. At first, they were amazed, curious. Then... they beca greedy. They wanted to use Evereth’s power to dominate other tribes, to ta the beasts, to conquer the wilds. They begin to dream of ruling the world... with Evereth as their weapon."
She raised her chin, defiance flashing across her young face. "But I refused. I would never let anyone use my evereth, my family, like that!"
Zhao Li Xin nodded slowly. "And I’m guessing... they didn’t take that very well."
"They didn’t," she said, pursing her lips. "At first, they tried to be sweet. They told I owed them; they said that because my parents were from the tribe, I was still one of them. They said how much they regretted abandoning . Said they had searched for the mont after they left ."
"It’s a lie, of course." Her voice grew hard."Because I rember. I had waited in the sa place they left for nearly a full day, but no one ca! Eventually, a beast ca and I had no choice but to run."
She took a breath, steadying herself as she wrestled down the storm of emotion. After a mont, she continued. "And then... when kind words didn’t work, they turned to threats. Not too much, of course, they were still afraid of provoking Evereth’s wrath. But they were relentless. Maybe they thought if they pushed long enough, I’d break. That I’d give in."
She lifted her chin slightly, a flicker of pride flashing in her eyes. "But I didn’t. I held my ground. I’m stubborn like that. I an... what did they expect for a girl who survived a week alone in the wilderness? If I weren’t stubborn, do they think I would hold on long enough untill Evereth found ? RIDICULOUS!"
She let out a sharp snort, almost scoffing, but then her voice shifted, softening into sothing heavier. Somber. "But then..." she paused, her breath catching in her throat, "I don’t know who ca up with this stupid, yet cruel idea. Who knows who planted that stupid thought in their head?" She clenched her fists, her voice beginning to crack with anger and frustration. "They thought Evereth stayed with because he liked having a human child around. So... why not find another one to replace ?"
Her little jaw tightened. "So those idiots begin to search for soone like , sa hair, the sa mannerism, even almost a similar voice. The only difference is the girl is obedient, and they thought their plan was perfect."
Zhao Li Xin let out a cold, humorless chuckle, not at her tragic story, but at the painfully familiar pattern. He wasn’t surprised by their shalessness; he had seen it far too many tis before.
Ever since he beca the leader of the Hei Shen Sect, people had lined up at his door, each one desperate for his favor, eager to use him for their own gain.
They ca from all walks of life, different genders, ages, and backgrounds, yet they all shared one thing in common: they wanted his power. For a long ti, Zhao Li Xin believed that was simply human nature. Everything, in the end, ca down to gain or loss, benefit or cost. Eventually, he stopped questioning it. He accepted it as the way of the world.
Until he t Lory.
Her expression crumbled, the weight of mory pressing down on her like a storm cloud. She clasped her hands tightly as if trying to hold herself together.
"One day... they used a girl who used to be my friend." Her voice trembled. "Can you believe that?"
She let out a bitter, self-deprecating laugh, the kind that held no humor. "She ca to , all wide-eyed and urgent, saying she needed to talk about sothing important. She said the chief was planning sothing terrible that might hurt Evereth. She told I had to co right away."
A flicker of pain passed through her eyes."But then... she reminded not to bring Evereth. Said she was afraid of him, that this matter might make Evereth sad and upset, so I agree." She shook her head slowly, her voice barely audible, trembling beneath the weight of betrayal.
"That night, I went. Alone. I trusted her. I rember, at that ti, she was the only one who cried when they left behind. The only one who looked back at , so I thought she was still that sa girl, the one who used to play with , laugh with ."Her voice cracked, and she gave a shaky breath. "I forgot... how shallow, how fickle the human heart can be."
She paused, eyes glazed, staring into the mory as if it were unfolding before her again. "They lured deep into the woods. I didn’t realize sothing was wrong until it was too late. By the ti I sensed it, I was already surrounded... ten grown n, waiting."
Tears slid down her cheeks, one after another, silent and unrelenting. "They beat a thirteen-year-old girl with sticks... again and again... until she was unrecognizable." Her voice was hollow now, as though detached from her own words. "Then they threw her broken body off a cliff... like garbage... to be devoured by beasts."
She didn’t sob. Her grief was quieter than that; it was deeper, restrained, and far more haunting. "But they forgot the beast sensed is sharp, and for the first kind, it was even sharper. Evereth slled my blood, he heard my pleading voice, but when he ca, I had already thrown off the cliff, but sohow, Evereth managed to clutch my lifeless body before I hit the ground."
She paused, her breath catching. "Evereth then place my broken and lifeless body to the ground, he nudged his giant claws to my body to see if I was still alive...but, I’m already dead"
She wiped the tears from her cheeks, then she drew a long, steady breath. "And that’s when hell breaks loose."
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