Xin Yi stared at her wrist. Where the golden thread had vanished into her skin, a faint, pulsing mark now glowed. She could feel them. All of them. She could feel Sha Chen’s stoic resignation, Qing Lin’s protective surge, Hei Yan’s confused aggression, and Feng Huang’s...panic?
She looked up at the goddess floating on her golden throne.
"You..." Xin Yi’s voice started low, trembling with rage. "You linked our LIVES?!"
Mán Shū picked at a loose thread on her robe, looking anywhere but at Xin Yi. "Technically, it’s a symbiotic survival bond! It encourages cooperation! If one dies, everyone dies. Simple motivation!"
"SIMPLE?!" Xin Yi scread. The sound echoed off the golden barrier, making the Alphas flinch. "You selfish, petty, wicked little goddess! You kidnapped ! You dropped in a forest! You let almost get eaten by krakens TWICE! And now you’re turning us into a suicide squad?!"
[DING! (⊙_⊙)]
[HOST’S ANGER LEVELS: CRITICAL!]
[WARNING: HOST MAY EXPLODE BEFORE THE GODDESS DOES!]
Mán Shū flinched. Her golden glow dimd slightly. She floated down a few feet, looking suddenly very small. Very mortal.
"Xin Yi....I’m sorry again," she mumbled, kicking her feet against the air. "I’m a goddess. Sotis.....all this looks aningless. Life, death, bonding. It’s just numbers to my brother. I thought... I thought if you were all tied together, you would stop trying to kill each long enough to build sothing."
Xin Yi scoffed, tears of frustration pricking her eyes. "aningless? You think nearly drowning is aningless? You think being torn away from my ho is aningless?"
She stepped forward, ignoring the way Sha Chen reached out to grab her shoulder.
"You are selfish!" Xin Yi shouted, pointing a shaking finger at the throne. "You don’t care about us! You only care about winning your little argunt with your brother! We are just pieces on your board!"
Mán Shū rolled her eyes, but there was no heat in it. "You’re being dramatic, Xin Yi. I saved you from the difficulties of your old life! I gave you purpose!"
Purpose?!
"Was I being dramatic when you tried to drown with a kraken?!" Xin Yi shrieked. "Was that dramatic when I was clawing at the water while so tentacled monster dragged into the abyss?!"
The air in the courtyard froze.
Qing Lin, who had been standing stoically with his spear, flinched so hard his spear tip dug into the stone. His erald eyes widened, snapping to Xin Yi.
"Kraken?" Qing Lin’s voice was low. "What happened? When?"
Xin Yi clamped her mouth shut. She hadn’t ant to say that. Not yet.
"Xin Yi?" Qing Lin took a step toward her, his expression shifting from confusion to protective rage. "When were you attacked by a kraken?"
"Nothing!" Xin Yi said quickly, too quickly. "It was nothing! Just.....water stuff!"
"DID IT HURT YOU?" Qing Lin’s voice rose, his pupils shrinking to slits. He glared at Sha Chen. "Did this happen while she was in your territory? Did you let her face a kraken alone?!"
Sha Chen’s jaw clenched. "Don’t be foolish, snake. It is dead."
"YOU LET HER FIGHT A KRAKEN?!" Qing Lin roared, stepping toward the Wolf.
"BOYS!" Xin Yi snapped, whirling on them. "FOCUS! THE GODDESS IS TRYING TO LEAVE!"
[DING! (≧▽≦)]
[UH OH!]
[THE CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG!]
[QING LIN’S JEALOUSY PROTECTIVE INSTINCT: 200%!]
[SHA CHEN’S GUILT: ALSO 200%!]
[THIS IS GOING TO BE AWKWARD!]
Mán Shū swallowed visibly. She looked at the sky, where the purple clouds were starting to swirl faster.
"I have to go soon," she said, her voice rushing. "My brother can’t know I’ve been in contact with you for long. He tracks divine signatures. If he sees here...poof. No more Beast World. No more Xin Yi. No more.....cute pants."
The Alphas froze. They were still processing the kraken revelation, but the threat of deletion was terrible.
"So you’re just leaving?" Xin Yi demanded, her voice thick with emotion. "You link our lives, trap us in a cage, and then run away because your brother might get angry?"
"I’m not running!" Mán Shū puffed up indignantly. "I am... strategically retreating!"
"It is not even your business to link our lives!" Xin Yi argued, rubbing her wrist. "We were managing! Mostly!"
"Barely!" Mán Shū countered. "You were about to start a war over who gets to carry you back! This link ensures you talk before you stab."
"We do not stab!" Hei Yan protested. "Much."
"See?" Mán Shū pointed at him. " That is the problem."
Xin Yi gritted her teeth. She wanted to scream more. She wanted to demand the link be removed. But she knew she couldn’t fight a god. Not physically.
"Fine," Xin Yi spat. "But if I die because Sha Chen decides to brood too hard, I am haunting you."
Sha Chen looked offended. "I do not brood."
"You brood!" Xin Yi, Qing Lin, and Feng Huang said in unison.
[DING! (¬‿¬)]
[UNANIMOUS VOTE!]
[SHA CHEN IS OFFICIALLY A BROODER!]
[STATS UPDATED!]
Mán Shū giggled, but it was a tired sound. She looked at Xin Yi again.
"I am really sorry," Mán Shū said quietly. The sarcasm was gone. The pettiness was tucked away. "About the kraken. About the.....feelings. I will be more concerned about how you feel. Not just the score."
Xin Yi blinked. She hadn’t expected an apology. Not a real one.
"Hmm," Xin Yi said eloquently.
"Excellent!" Mán Shū clapped her hands, the mont of sincerity vanishing as quickly as it appeared. "Then we have an understanding! Build sowhere! A general place! Like.....a Neutral Zone!"
Xin Yi frowned. "I.....I actually planned that. Before I got swiped by the snakes. A civilization hub. Where all tribes can trade."
"YES!" Mán Shū pointed at her. "That! Exactly that! Make it happen! Prove to my brother that beastn can share without eating each other!"
She stood up on her throne. The golden light began to intensify, swirling around her like a vortex.
"Anyway! All of you must get along! Stop frustrating Xin Yi! Or the shock therapy returns!" She winked at Hei Yan, who instinctively covered his ears. "And Xin Yi.....try not to die. It would be very inconvenient to find a new Host."
"Get lost," Xin Yi muttered, but there was less heat in it.
"Bye!" Mán Shū waved.
Then, instead of vanishing in a dignified pillar of light, she hiccuped.
HIC.
A bubble of golden light shot out of her mouth, floated upward, and popped with a sound like a squeaky toy.
DING!
And then she was gone. The throne vanished. The purple clouds cleared instantly, leaving behind a bright, normal sky.
Silence returned to the courtyard.
The golden barrier remained, humming softly. The life link on their wrists pulsed once, then settled into a faint glow.
The Alphas stood there. Blinking.
"Did..." Feng Huang whispered, his voice trembling. "Did the goddess just...?"
"I think she did," Sha Chen said, his voice flat.
"And she linked our lives," Qing Lin added, staring at his wrist. "So if I die.....you all die."
"If I die," Hei Yan growled, looking at Qing Lin, "you better die too."
"Obviously," Qing Lin snapped.
Xin Yi rubbed her temples. The adrenaline was fading, leaving behind a massive headache. "Okay. Okay. Everyone.....just... breathe. We’re stuck. Together. We have to build the Neutral Zone."
"The Neutral Zone," Sha Chen repeated. "Here? In my fortress?"
"It’s the safest place," Xin Yi said. "And it’s already built. Mostly. Or we can build sowhere else too."
"And we must.....cohabit," Qing Lin said, the words tasting like poison.
"Hmm," Feng Huang agreed weakly. He was looking pale. Very pale. "With... life links. And a goddess who hiccups."
"It is fine," Xin Yi said, trying to sound confident, even though there was absolutely no reason to be.
She looked at them. Sha Chen, looking guilty and stoic. Qing Lin, looking protective and jealous. Hei Yan, looking confused but loyal. Feng Huang...
Feng Huang was swaying.
"Feng Huang?" Xin Yi asked. "What is wrong?"
"The stress..." Feng Huang whispered. He clutched his chest. "The... the life link... the goddes..."
His eyes rolled back into his head.
THUD.
The Tiger Alpha collapsed face-first into the dirt.
[DING! (≧▽≦)]
[ACHIEVENT UNLOCKED: FAINTING TIGER!]
[STRESS LEVELS: TOO HIGH FOR DRAMA KING!]
[HOST WINS BY DEFAULT!]
Xin Yi stared at his unconscious body. Then she looked at the other Alphas.
Sha Chen sighed, rubbing his face . "I will...drag him inside."
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