Kirana pulled Yuda back, a glare on her face. “I told you not here!”

“Hahaha! They’re dead for sure! Blown into pieces!” Yuda cackled. “Oh, you had to keep an eye on them right? Soz, they’re just meat chunks now!”

The smoke slowly cleared.

Yuda’s eyes widened. His lips stretched further into a maniacal grin.

Where the bodies of Fuxiao and Topan should be, a large white cocoon stood amongst the smoke.

“What the hell is that?” Yuda chuckled. “Did he create that from the strings? Did they survive?” His heart roared. A shiver ran down his spine. His knees trembled at the sudden rush of pleasure running straight into his throbbing dick. “I can’t believe it!”

The cocoon morphed, unfurled, and white threads shot towards them.

“Haha! Interesting!” Yuda didn’t move. “Just you wait! I’ll come!”

With the Eagle Bloodline, Kirana could have dodged easily but realising that her partner was standing still, she threw herself at Yuda.

The threads splayed open into a net and captured the two soldiers into a cocoon. While Yuda continued to moan and laugh, Kirana could only swear at her partner as they rolled on the ground helplessly.

Fuxiao studied the scene. He did it. He stopped them.

“No matter how many times I see it, you’re truly impressive.” Topan wiped away some blood on his face.

“Should I kill them here?”

Kirana froze, glaring at the criminals while her partner continued to laugh.

The blast of the dynamites previously had alerted several guards and the sounds of approaching footsteps became louder. At this rate, their chances of survival would plummet. There was no need to do something unnecessary.

Fuxiao turned to Topan and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go.”

-

After leaving the barracks, Fuxiao and Topan headed in the direction of the town, further away from the Boundary walls where the battle was taking place.

Finally, they stopped at an abandoned shed on the outskirts. A cramped space that appeared to be a grain storage of a nearby farmland.

In the darkness, Fuxiao turned to face Topan. “While they’re still focused on fighting, we have to get you treated and then run away further. Let me.”

He controlled the white threads and began to sew the cuts up, stopping the bleeding as much as he could.

“That Cendrawasih did this to you.” Fuxiao’s voice trembled with the contained rage burning inside.

Torture was common practice in times of war. But the sheer amount of wounds inflicted was borderline vanity. Fuxiao enveloped Topan in his thin arms. Such a small body bearing the weight of pure fury and hatred.

I’ll kill him.

Topan leaned into the cool touch. “I knew you weren’t ordinary when we first met, but you’re truly something else. You fought without hesitation and you chose to be with me even knowing the entire Royal Army will go after you.” Topan reached for Fuxiao’s silver tag. “A combat medic. Wherever you’re from, was it that terrible to the point where you had to kill or be killed? A place without the luxury of living?”

Fuxiao couldn’t answer. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t give an answer. “I… don’t see the need to figure out my past. Whether it’s surviving or living, I don’t care. As long as I’m alive, I will do whatever feels right to me. And choosing you…” He held Topan’s hand. “Choosing you is something my Blood… my entire body yearns for. No matter what others say, to me, it is the right choice.”

Living in the present.

That’s what Fuxiao was doing.

And unlike him, Topan was still trapped in the past.

In the never ending nightmare that he went through and was still forced to go through. No retribution, no resolution. A war orphan. A knight. A monster.

The only thing his Blood knew was to kill.

If he killed more and more, would he be free?

The war had been raging on since he was a kid. He grew up with a sword in his grip and blood in his hands. Cahayaranga waged wars with Lekasi to take over the central position of the continent–to give them direct access to all four kingdoms of Southern Cahayaranga, Eastern Shewei, Northern Balklanak, and Western Agreya. But Lekasi wasn’t going down without a fight. And the many fights they put up persisted for generations. By the time Topan was knighted by the king, he had never known a life without war.

But this time, it was different.

The person that came to the frontline was the notorious Crown Prince of Cahayaranga Kingdom, Prince Wiracaya. He stood atop the bloody corpses; his golden feathers lit the red sky like a holy grail. His sword cut down his foes, opening a clear path for him to march into the castle where he struck down the king.

And that wasn’t all.

The hudoqs suddenly appeared from within the castle, swallowing and destroying everything in their wake. The monsters paid no attention to who they attacked. It was utter chaos, enemies from all sides.

In a desperate attempt to protect what was left of the Kingdom, Topan used the remaining of his energy to enter his Bloodrush–a state where his Bloodline took over his rationality, turning him into more of a beast than a human. The dark energy enveloping him flared into black and orange stripes, sharp eyes turned red, black fangs covered in blood and gore, enhancing the beastly form of a Tiger.

He attacked everything that moved, consumed the hudoqs, and became a monster.

Kill.

Kill them all.

Protect the people.

He fed on the hudoqs, drank their blood. He stood atop the mountains of corpses, alone. Left to roam the ruins of Lekasi Kingdom for years. Wishing to protect his people. Vowing to eradicate all that took them away from him.

The hudoqs.

Cahayaranga.

He vowed to destroy them all.

Ten years passed.

For ten whole years, he was trapped in a constant state of Bloodrush as a monster.

Until one day, Lord Senjahari appeared and took him down.

He was forcefully awakened from the nightmare, stripped of his Bloodrush under the sheer force of the Royal Cendrawasih Bloodline. The same Bloodline that destroyed his home. He was captured, detained, and tortured, believed to have an involvement with the plague. He was pulled from one nightmare and into another.

His life was shrouded in darkness for as long as he could remember.

He turned into a monster to protect his people and yet he was treated as nothing but an abomination.

All alone, the hands that grabbed him merely wanted to cut him up, study his Blood. Cold hands that held him like a piece of meat.

But this time, the hand that held his was a warm comfort that didn’t let go.

The hand pulled him out of the shadows and into the moonlight.

“Don’t go without me.” Topan put his head on Fuxiao’s shoulder. “You’re the only one I have left. I may have been a knight before but I’m a monster now. I’m no different from the hudoqs. I vowed to protect my people and if it’s the last thing I do, I will kill Wiracaya.”

Topan breathed out.

“But the Crown Prince’s strength is real. If he had been serious, Lekasi would have been wiped out before the hudoqs appeared. He was toying with our lives, our desperation to protect our land. That’s how it’s always been with the Royal Cendrawasih Bloodlines.”

“Even Senjahari?”

“After the Crown Prince and First Princess, he is the youngest heir to the throne and he undoubtedly has the Royal Cendrawasih Blood in him. Not only him, but his closest aides are just as strong. In my current state, I stand no chance against them alone.”

“But you’re not alone anymore.” Fuxiao whispered, “We’re still weak compared to them. But if we return to your homeland and rebuild it, if we have our own kingdom, if we have the strength to face them…”

Topan held onto Fuxiao, “You have no obligations to bury your life in this mess.”

“No, I’m already involved in this.” Dark eyes glimmered in the moonlight. “It doesn’t matter who I was before, but I’ve survived these turmoils with you. You are the only one that I need, that I desire. You’re the only one for me. Without memories, I can only rely on my instincts. And my Blood cannot be placated until I see that Cendrawasih’s head roll.” Fuxiao leaned in to place a gentle kiss on Topan’s lips. “Didn’t you say to me? Bloodlines don’t lie.”

Topan looked up at Fuxiao’s dark eyes. If he could, he would drown himself in them. He leaned in and savoured the sweet taste of soft lips, “I miss you.”

Silently, Fuxiao returned the gesture. He ran his fingers through Topan’s dark hair, down his neck, resting on the large, strong shoulders. He pulled back for a moment to remove his shirt and binder, revealing his naked body for Topan to look and taste. The tongue running on his bare skin, on his breasts, on his nipples, sent ecstasy through his spine. Heat coiled between his legs. Even without any touch, his cunt was dripping wet.

Topan tugged the black pants off, quickly sliding his rough hand against the twitching pussy. “I want you so bad.” He slipped his fingers in with a grunt.

This was it. This was what he had been missing. The feeling of Topan’s heat against him, inside him. An animal’s instinct.

Without realising it, he began shaking his hips on Topan’s fingers, wanting more, wanting to be messed up. He reached down and wrapped his slender fingers around Topan’s hard erection. He leaned in and whispered into Topan’s ear, “I want you inside me.”