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The air in the BlueMoon Palace was still vibrating from the sudden displacement of Ryan and Jade's departure. Leo stood frozen, his eyes fixed on the empty space where Jade had been, his heart a hollow chamber of regret. The revelation of his demon heritage had shattered the fragile trust in Jade's eyes, and that loss burned more than any celestial fire.
Emily, who had witnessed the entire betrayal from the shadows of the doorway, didn't hesitate. She didn't care if Leo was a prince or a demon; she only knew that Jade was in peril. She lunged forward, grabbing Leo's hand just as his body began to shimmer into smoke.
"Bring me too!" she pleaded, her voice cracking. "Please... don't leave her alone with them!"
Leo looked at the mortal girl, her courage a sharp contrast to his own deception. He nodded once, a grim resolve hardening his features, and together they vanished into the void.
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The Gilded Cage of Heaven
In the Dark Cloud Punishment Zone, the atmosphere was suffocating. The sky was a bruised charcoal, heavy with the weight of ancient judgments. Jade found herself trapped within a towering golden cage, the bars humming with a lethal celestial frequency.
Surrounding her were the elite of the Heaven Realm: King Ren and Queen Lia, looking down with cold, detached divinity, alongside their daughters, Merin and Merida. Ryan stood at the forefront, his face twisted into a mocking sneer, while the Ancient Demon Zerath hovered nearby, his expression unreadable.
"How dare you escape from the Heaven Jail before?" Ryan whispered, his voice echoing against the gold bars.
Jade didn't shrink away. She gripped the bars, ignoring the sparks that bit into her palms. "Liar!" she spat, her eyes burning with a crimson fire. "You told me you would help me, but you only intended to cage me like an animal."
She lunged forward, her fingers miraculously passing through the energy to press against Ryan's throat. The royal family gasped in collective horror. "Were you the one?" Jade asked, her voice a chilling whisper. "Did you kill my family?"
Ryan's eyes flared. He snapped his fingers, and a massive surge of Heavenly Electricity surged through the cage. Jade was thrown back, her body hitting the floor as the golden bars screamed with light. She couldn't touch them now; the cage had become a furnace of holy pain.
"Start the ritual," Ryan ordered coldly.
Zerath raised his hands, and the sky split open. A thunderous roar shook the realm as the first Heavenly Strike descended. It hit Jade with the force of a falling mountain. She collapsed, coughing up blood, her vision blurring as the world turned to grey.
"Ren," Queen Lia whispered, her voice wavering. "She is so fragile. She doesn't look like the Devil Girl of the prophecy. She can't even withstand a single strike."
"The scrolls do not lie!" Zerath shouted over the thunder. "Her power is dormant, hidden. We must break the mortal shell to reveal the monster within."
"More strikes!" Ryan commanded. "Kill the devil before she wakes!"
"No!" Zerath countered, his voice like cracking stone. "If she dies before the power enacts, the devil energy will linger in the world forever, uncontained. We must draw it out first."
Zerath floated toward the cage, his eyes landing on the red stone chain around Jade's neck. He remembered placing it there himself when she was a mere infant—a seal to keep the darkness at bay. With a flick of his finger, the chain snapped and flew into his palm.
"Now," Zerath commanded, a single tear of regret escaping his ancient eyes. "Summon the final strike. I have to do this, my child... or you will destroy us all."
The second strike gathered in the clouds, a blinding pillar of white death. Jade looked up, her eyes dull. "Mom... Dad... Gloria..." she whispered, her voice fading. "I'm coming home."
The strike fell.
But the world didn't end in white. It exploded in orange.
A hand, wreathed in ancient foxfire, reached out and twisted the very fabric of the air. The golden cage shattered like cheap glass, the fragments dissolving into dust. Leo and Emily appeared in the wake of the explosion, Emily's scream of "JADE!" piercing the silence.
But it was the figure in the center of the storm that drew every eye. Justin stood in mid-air, his Nine-Tailed cloak billowing like a sea of blood. With a roar that shook the foundations of Heaven, he reached out and caught the thunder strike in his bare hand, crushing the lightning and throwing the remnants back at the heavenly assembly.
The royals scrambled, using their magic to vanish before the reflected strike could vaporize them. The entire Punishment Zone trembled as if an earthquake had taken hold of the clouds.
Justin descended, his eyes a terrifying, glowing red. He scooped Jade's broken body into his arms, pulling her against his chest with a possessive, aching tenderness.
"How dare you..." Justin's voice was a low, guttural snarl that vibrated through the realm. "How dare you harm my Queen?"
He looked up at the gathered gods, his face a mask of primal fury. "This Dark Cloud Zone has punished too many innocent souls. It ends today."
With a surge of his remaining power, he unleashed a wave of Foxfire that began to consume the very clouds of Heaven. The gods watched in horror as their sacred prison began to collapse.
Jade opened her eyes, seeing the sharp jawline and the familiar scent of cedar and smoke. A tiny, broken smile touched her lips. "Justin..."
"Don't worry," he whispered, his voice suddenly soft, solely for her. "I'm here."
Before Ryan could launch a counter-attack, Justin's eyes flicked to Emily. With a wave of his hand, he ensnared her in his teleportation web. In a flash of blinding orange light, Justin, Jade, and Emily vanished from the Heaven Realm, leaving Leo standing amidst the ruins and Ryan roaring in a futile, white-hot rage.
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The Fox's Ransom
The atmosphere of the Fox Realm was a stark contrast to the cold, sterile heights of Heaven. Here, the air was thick with the scent of damp earth, ancient cedar, and the pulsing, amber warmth of Justin's magic. He moved through his palace like a streak of vengeful lightning, his arms locked securely around Jade's fragile form until he reached the sanctuary of his private chambers.
Gently, almost reverently, Justin placed her upon his grand bed, the silken sheets cool against her bruised skin. As Jade tried to push herself up, her breath hitching in pain, Justin's hand pressed firmly but tenderly against her shoulder.
"Don't move," he commanded, his voice a low vibration. "You need to rest. Your body has endured what would have killed a hundred mortals."
Jade shook her head, a strange, newfound vitality flickering in her eyes. "I'm... I'm alright, Justin. The pain is fading faster than it should."
Justin's golden eyes narrowed, his mind racing with a dark realization. How? he wondered. She was struck by the lightning of the heavens. A mortal would be ash. He watched the way her skin seemed to shimmer with a faint, violet undertone. Zerath was right. The seal is broken. Her devil energy is beginning to enact... it is the only reason she has the strength to speak.
"I healed you," Justin lied smoothly, his face a mask of royal indifference. He couldn't let her know the truth—not yet. He couldn't let her know that the "Devil Girl" the heavens feared was waking up inside her. I must find out why they are so desperate to trigger her power, he thought. If they want a monster, I will give them a Queen instead.
Jade exhaled, a long, shaky breath of relief as she sat up against the velvet headboard. "Oh... I see. Thank you, Justin. Truly. For rescuing me from that place... I don't know how I could ever repay you for what you've done."
Justin didn't flinch. The air in the room grew heavy, charged with a sudden, suffocating intimacy. He stepped closer, the edge of the bed dipping under his weight as he leaned over her.
Jade felt her heart hammer against her ribs, a frantic rhythm that echoed the pulsing orange light of the Fox Realm. She instinctively bent back as he drew nearer, her hair spilling across the pillows like raw silk. Just as her back was about to hit the mattress, Justin's arm shot out, his hand locking around her waist to pull her back toward him.
He leaned in until their breaths mingled, his gaze so intense it felt like a brand upon her soul.
"Then marry me," he whispered, his voice a husky, predatory growl that sent shivers down her spine.
Before she could gasp, before she could find the words to protest or agree, Justin claimed her lips. It was a passionate, desperate kiss—a claim made in the wake of war. It tasted of salt, fire, and the possessive hunger of a king who had almost lost his greatest treasure.
Jade's eyes widened, her hands hovering uncertainly near his chest as the world tilted on its axis. When his lips finally parted from hers, he didn't pull away. He remained inches from her face, his stare unwavering, searching her eyes for a spark of the same fire.
The silence of the room was broken by Jade's sudden realization. "Emily!" she gasped, her voice thick with worry. "She was at the BlueMoon Kingdom... she saw everything. Leo... Justin"
Justin offered a ghost of a smirk, his eyes softening just a fraction. He straightened his back and made a sweeping gesture with his hand. A shimmer of golden foxfire erupted in the center of the room, and as the sparks faded, Emily stumbled forward, looking dazed and disheveled.
"Jade!" Emily's voice was a high-pitched sob of relief.
She didn't even look at the terrifying Fox Prince; she rushed to the bed, throwing her arms around Jade in a fierce embrace. Jade held her tightly, the familiar scent of her friend bringing the first real sense of safety she had felt in days.
"I'm glad you're safe," Emily cried into her shoulder. "I thought... I thought we were lost forever."
Jade looked over Emily's shoulder at Justin, who stood by the window, watching them with a dark, unreadable expression. She had escaped the heavens and the lies of the moon, but she was now bound to the fire of the fox—and the red stone around her neck was gone.
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To be Continued....
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