Night breathed through twisted branches like a living thing.
Yu Zhen stood barefoot on a stone circle etched with runic symbols older than language itself. Black witchfire danced in shallow bowls at the cardinal points, illuminating blood-red thorns braided into the altar vines around him.
In this life, he was the Thornbound Witch, a spellcaster whose power burnt his lifespan away every time he called on true magic.
Every spell shortened his future.
Every protection charm cost him breath.
And yet, he felt no fear.
From the moment he had awakened in this realm, he'd known:
This world existed to teach sacrifice.
[WORLD 7 INITIALIZED: WITCH REALM]
[USER ROLE: THORNBOUND WITCH]
[MEMORY FRAGMENT 7: DORMANT]
[SOUL THREAD: ACTIVE] The Cursed Knight
Steel scraped stone beyond the circle.
Yu Zhen turned and saw him.
Lian Xuan stepped from the treeline in battered silver armour darkened by shadow-sickness. Corruption sigils crawled up his throat like veins of black ink, the mark of an ancient curse.
Eyes that once burnt gold now glowed faint ember-red.
"A witch," Lian Xuan rasped.
"You shouldn't be here."
Yu Zhen studied him quietly.
"I should be exactly where I am."
The knight's blade lifted weakly in warning, but his arm trembled.
"You touch my curse, and you die."
Yu Zhen didn't flinch.
"And if I don't?"
"Then I die."
Their gazes locked.
The soul-thread tugged beneath broken memory, recognition without clarity.
Neither knew why it hurt to look at the other.
The Curse
Lian Xuan collapsed mid-sentence.
Yu Zhen caught him.
Cold armour pressed against warm skin, the pulse beneath Lian Xuan's wrist dangerously faint.
Purple-black corruption crawled across his veins.
[CURSE TYPE: SHADOW BIND]
[PROGNOSIS: DEATH WITHIN DAYS]
Yu Zhen swallowed.
"You walked straight to me," he murmured.
"And I walked straight into you."
There were no coincidences between souls like theirs.
The Forbidden Pact
Yu Zhen dragged Lian Xuan to the inner ritual hall, where spellbooks chained to stone stood forbidden for mortal use.
He opened the codex anyway.
One ritual remained:
The Covenant of Thorns
A soul-binding oath that allowed a witch to absorb another's curse, but the poison would devour the witch's remaining lifespan in exchange.
Yu Zhen hesitated for exactly one heartbeat.
Then he incised his palm and traced the sigils.
Blood flared silver.
[WARNING: COST OF RITUAL: IRREVERSIBLE]
[LIFESPAN REDUCTION ESTIMATED: SEVERE] Soul Binding
He pressed his bleeding palm to the knight's chest.
Thorns surged from the stone floor and wrapped around both bodies, binding them together at wrists and ankles.
Magic screamed.
The curse tore free from Lian Xuan's veins and burrowed straight into Yu Zhen's heart.
Yu Zhen cried out as time burnt off his soul like frost under fire.
[MEMORY FRAGMENT 7: ACTIVATION SPIKE]
[SOUL THREAD OVERLOAD] Moment of Recognition
Lian Xuan woke screaming.
His curse was gone.
Blood soaked the witch's robes beneath him.
"Zhen!" he gasped—speaking the name before knowing where it came from.
Yu Zhen managed a tired smile.
"You always remember my name before you remember everything."
Lian Xuan froze.
"What did you say?"
Yu Zhen brushed his thumb gently across the knight's cheek—intimate despite exhaustion.
"Don't worry," he whispered.
"You'll remember the rest soon."
The Bond Deepens
Lian Xuan lifted him carefully and carried him to the hearth chamber.
He wrapped Yu Zhen in blankets and held him close through the night.
They didn't talk.
They didn't need to.
Yu Zhen slept curled against Lian Xuan's chest, listening to the heartbeat he had traded years of his own life to save.
Lian Xuan didn't let go for a moment.
[AFFINITY LEVEL: 89%]
[MEMORY FRAGMENT 7: STABLE 34%] A New Role
In this world:
Yu Zhen is no longer immortal.
He bleeds.
He aches.
And for the first time, he can die.
Which makes their bond feel more terrifying and more precious than ever before.
Lian Xuan realises slowly:
This witch chose him.
Over life.
Overpower.
Over fear.
Yu Zhen stirred in his arms.
"Xuan," he whispered.
"Yes?"
"Promise me something."
"Anything."
"Live long enough for me to make the trade worth it."
Lian Xuan kissed his trembling forehead.
"With or without eternity," he vowed.
"I will live wherever you exist."