"Put me down!" Yao Yao shrieked again, thrashing like a wet cat in a net. "I don't know you! You can't just hold people like luggage!"
Kaireth was entirely unbothered. He loosened his arms just enough to let her slide down to the mossy floor, steadying her gently when she nearly toppled.
"There," he said. "You're down."
Yao Yao stumbled one step back, caught herself, and straightened her spine like it had been intentional all along. "Great. Thank you. Animal man."
"Wolf," he corrected.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You transformed. You didn't tell me you could do that."
Kaireth gave a small shrug. "You didn't ask."
Yao Yao opened her mouth, already lining up a full retort about basic communication and shapeshifting etiquette—when a sigh cut across the clearing behind them.
It was a long exhale. She froze on instincts. Kaireth turned his head mildly, just as footsteps began approaching from behind.
Yao Yao spun around.
The Spirit King walked towards them, his gaze fixed on her. It was sharper than usual, stopping just a few paces away.
"She's leaving," he said.
Yao Yao's arms flailed slightly. "What? Wait—no, I just got here!"
"You trespassed," he said. "You shouldn't be here."
Yao Yao threw up both hands like a human stop sign. "No, wait! I want to be here," she blurted out. "I came to seal my contract, remember? That's why I came back!"
The Spirit King didn't answer her. His tone stayed perfectly flat as his gaze shifted to Kaireth. "So, are you forming a contract with her now?"
"No," Kaireth said, after a short pause.
The Spirit King looked back at Yao Yao, voice cool. "Then there's nothing more to discuss."
Yao Yao tensed. She took a half step back, already anticipating the worst. "Wait—hold on," she said, arms still lifted defensively. "Can you not eject me before we finish the conversation this time?"
But the Spirit King wasn't listening. He raised his hand as if the conversation had ended the moment it began. His only intention now was to throw her out for good.
But before he could reach her, Kaireth stepped in, gracefully placing himself between them, like he hadn't just cut off a strike from the most volatile being in the realm.
The Spirit King's hand hovered for a breath midair, then lowered without a word.
"You don't usually get this involved," Kaireth said.
The Spirit King didn't answer. His gaze stayed level, cold as the pool behind them.
"…So what exactly is going on here?" asked Kaireth, the edge beneath his tone no longer hidden.
"She broke spirit law," said the Spirit King. "She entered the realm. That alone is grounds for removal."
"Mm," Kaireth hummed. "And which law is that, again? The one written in your imagination?"
The Spirit King's gaze narrowed, but he didn't rise to the bait. Yao Yao looked between them, visibly wilting as the conversation veered away from her entirely.
She hesitated, then lifted a hand.
"Sorry," she said. "Hate to interrupt this very passive-aggressive standoff, but—"
She jabbed her thumb toward her chest. "Does anyone here actually want to contract me? Because I'm a go-getter, unusually motivated, and a very promising long-term investment."
There was a beat of silence. Neither of them looked at her, but at the exact same time, both men said:
"No."
Yao Yao could only stare at them, deeply offended. The air felt wound tight, like a breath held too long.
The Spirit King took a step forward towards Yao Yao.
She immediately took one back.
Another step.
She lifted both hands again. "Okay, okay, let's not—"
He ignored her completely. In a motion too fast to track, his arm shot out. Fingers caught the back of her collar, and once again, Yao Yao found herself dangling off the ground like a disgruntled housecat.
"Oh, come on!" she shrieked, legs kicking. "Why is this your go-to move?!"
"This is not the way to treat a child," Kaireth frowned.
The Spirit King didn't answer. His hand stayed raised, hovering at her back like he still meant to cast her out. But he wasn't going to do it here, not with his power still unstable and not while they had an audience.
"You've never cared about anything before. What are you not saying?" Kaireth's gaze narrowed.
Seeing the Spirit King remain silent, Kaireth stepped forward and reached for her, his hand closing around the fabric near Yao Yao's shoulder, as if to pull her gently toward him.
He didn't get the chance.
The Spirit King's grip shifted—fingers tightening as he yanked Yao Yao sharply back, away from Kaireth's reach,
Yao Yao let out a startled yelp as her body was flung sideways with the sudden pull, legs kicking, hair whipping—suspended midair like an airborne cat.
"AHH!" she wheezed, her hair flying into her mouth.
A flash of fire burst from the Spirit King's palm, lancing towards Kaireth's wrist. It struck with a sharp hiss, knocking the hand aside before it could make contact.
Kaireth's hand recoiled from the impact. He frowned, flexing his fingers once before rubbing his wrist—not in pain, but in irritation. More than anything, it annoyed him. When he lifted his gaze, his pale eyes had turned colder.
The ground beneath them gave a quiet shudder.
Behind him, the waterfall started to rise in volume, no longer calm or gentle. The sound thickened, crashing harder against the pool below. The water churned, thrashing wildly as if something deep under the surface had been kicked awake.
Kaireth's eyes flashed crimson as water from the pool surged upward, twisting and coiling as it rose—slow at first, then faster, higher, until it formed a towering vortex that loomed over the clearing.
The pressure was thick and heavy, hanging in the air, and Yao Yao could feel it vibrate through her bones as the spiral spun tighter and harder.
Light reflected off the vortex's surface, but little passed through. It spun in thick, tightly packed coils, its sheen glinting like tempered steel.
Yao Yao stared up, her eyes tracing the spiral as it climbed. Slowly. Very slowly.
The Spirit King's expression didn't change. One hand still gripped her collar. The other lifted, and dark red magic bloomed in his palm.
It glowed with blistering heat, the air warping as waves of dryness licked at Yao Yao like desert wind.
Yao Yao's face twitched.
Her gaze flicked to the rising water in front of her.
Then, to the burning pressure simmering right beside her head.
"…Umm," she said slowly. "I'm still—"
Kaireth dropped his one hand, magic snapping to his will.
No warning.
The towering water vortex behind him cracked like a whip, snapping its spiraling tip downward with vicious force. It came crashing toward them, a gleaming column of pressure and momentum, water spinning into a spiral that howled through the air.
Yao Yao let out a strangled shriek.
"I'm in the blast radius!! I repeat—I AM IN THE BLAST RADIUS!"
But before it could hit, the dark red energy in Spirit King's palm exploded outward, unfurling into a wide, furious ring of fire. The blast twisted into a spiraling vortex, red-gold with streaks of shadow, growing rapidly as it spun to meet the water head-on.
Both forces collided midair, instantly. A roar of steam erupted from the collision, flooding the clearing. White mist surged outward, thick and suffocating. Heat and water vapor clung to everything, heavy in the lungs.
Yao Yao coughed hard, hacking into the sleeve of her dress, barely able to breathe.
"I—cough—am going to die cough cough —!"
The steam finally began to thin. As the haze cleared, her vision returned—and with it, the terrifying image of Kaireth stepping calmly through the mist.
His blonde hair was damp, slicked back from his face, water still dripping from the ends. His expression stayed cold, but the subtle tilt of his head, paired with the faint red gleam in his eyes, made one thing clear—he was not in a good mood.
Around him, the steam hadn't entirely vanished—it hung thick in the air, heavy and damp. But some of it had begun to cool, condensing into droplets that didn't fall.
Instead, they hovered. Behind him, moisture gathered strand by strand, drawn into shape by something unseen.
Dozens of thin ribbons spiraled upward, water twisting with unnatural precision. Within seconds, they hardened midair—freezing into narrow, glinting spires of ice, each honed to a perfect needlepoint.
They hovered, silent and waiting. Every blade of ice aimed directly at the Spirit King.
And by extension—
Yao Yao.
She looked up.
Her face went dead white.
"CAN SOMEONE PUT ME DOWN?!" she screamed.
"I DON'T WANT TO BE REMEMBERED LIKE THIS!" she wailed, legs kicking weakly.
Each icicle in the air vibrated faintly, like a bowstring pulled taut. Yao Yao could see her reflection in a dozen spearpoints aimed right between her eyebrows.
The Spirit King didn't so much as twitch. He didn't lower her either—apparently seeing no need. If anything, the heat radiating from his hand only grew stronger.
The air around them warped again. Yao Yao could feel it—blistering waves too close to her cheek, hot enough that the edge of her hair began to singe.
"…Hot—you're burning me—!"
She barely got the words out before the icicles dropped.
They shot downward like a hail of arrows, sharp and perfectly coordinated. At that exact moment, fire surged from the Spirit King's hand—not shaped like a barrier, but spreading just as wide, wild and unrestrained as it devoured everything in its path.
It was a retaliation.
The blast tore through everything like a roaring column of fire, colliding with the falling ice. The impact shattered the frozen spires on contact, scattering them into a storm of glowing mist and splintered light.
Yao Yao choked on the heat, eyes stinging.
She couldn't even register what happened next—
Because through the thick, blinding haze, a hand reached out.
Pale. Elegant.
Its fingertips grazed her cheek, cold against her flushed skin.
Kaireth.
Her eyes widened, mouth parting—
But before his hand could reach her, the Spirit King moved.
A sharp flick of his wrist—
And Yao Yao shrieked as her body snapped sideways through the air, flung like a tossed rag.
Still dangling by the collar. Barely.
The Spirit King raised his other hand. A narrow jet of fire burst forward, sharp as a blade and headed straight for Kaireth.
Kaireth didn't dodge.
The fire came fast, but so did the water. His left hand rose, and the vapor in the air responded, condensing immediately. A thick wall of water formed, counterint the flames and snuffing out the heat with a hiss and a violent burst of steam.
Kaireth didn't hesitate. His other hand moved. Water gathered at his fingertips, sharper this time, solidifying mid-motion into a gleaming shard of ice that settled in his grip.
An ice dagger.
He drew the dagger close, then swept it forward in a clean, sideways jab—fast, controlled, aimed straight for the Spirit King's chest. The strike cut clean, passing just above Yao Yao's head.
Dead center—right above her.
Yao Yao looked up, too stunned to even scream. She could only stare, frozen mid-dangle, as that dagger streaked past, close enough she felt the cold rush of air.
Her body locked. Her thoughts were scattered. Everything in her just… stopped.
Above her, the Spirit King caught the blade with his bare hand. Steam burst from between his fingers as heat met ice. The dagger hissed, cracked, and began to melt, buckling under the sheer intensity of his grip.
But the strike wasn't over.
Kaireth moved like water—fast, exact, and unrelenting. Vapor formed into blades, each one sharper than the last. He stabbed forward again and again, an endless flurry of strikes, every one cutting toward the Spirit King and skimming past Yao Yao with intentional precision.
The Spirit King met them all with ruthless precision, his fire flaring hotter with each clash.
Yao Yao, still dangling from his other hand, had gone completely limp.
Her limbs hung loose. Her head lolled slightly to the side.
She was just… there.
In the crossfire.
Suspended in the middle of a magical knife fight she never signed up for.
And possibly hallucinating. A little. Maybe a lot.