~†~ Prologue ~†~

May We Meet In Every Life

Five Years Ago

~ Chrysanthium Azdae Emerson ~

There were few things more terrifying than watching the man I loved smile in the face of death.Kazuhiro flashed me that reckless, beautiful grin as his arm slipped from around me. A solar flare ignited around him, launching him straight toward the demon trying to kill us.

He descended like a shooting star, lightning crackling around him as Cerulean Qi gathered beneath his boots. The moment he struck the ground, power detonated through the clearing, rattling the skeletal trees that made up the deadwood.

Kazuhiro’s blade flashed gold beneath the rising suns, its edge blazing white. A heartbeat later, the demon’s head struck a tree with a sickening crack, blood smearing the bark.

He landed on the balls of his feet and rolled clear as the body crumpled into the mud, twitched once, then stilled.

Demonic Qi bled from the corpse in ribbons of black smoke as Kazuhiro rose, flicking black ichor from his ornamental blade.

Then my prince looked at me.

He was alive. Bloodstained, maybe, but just as beautiful as always. Relief sank its claws into my heart so viciously it almost hurt.

Unfortunately, because the Heavens seemingly despised seeing me happy, I had exactly one second to enjoy it.

It happened too fast: Kazuhiro’s head snapped left as the half-serpent demon we’d left for dead lunged from where she lay, claws flashing toward his throat.

He couldn’t move in time; I could.

“Don’t be reckless-”Lady Yin, my counterpart, warned inside my head.

Too late.

“NO!” I threw myself between them and slammed both hands into the demon, driving her back.

Agony ripped through my side as claws tore through flesh and scraped bone. My breath vanished. My vision flashed white.

“Adelaide!” Kazuhiro caught me as I stumbled back.

I screamed and surged forward, drawing on everything my father had taught me. Glacial flames tore through my spiritual veins as midnight-blue and silver fire erupted from my hands, hurling her through the air.

Her flesh blistered, split, and peeled from bone in burning ribbons. Muscle blackened beneath it, tendons snapping as the inferno tore deeper. Her abdomen ruptured, spilling charred viscera that shriveled to cinders before they hit the ground. Within seconds, only a silver-white skeleton remained suspended in the flames.

Bone splintered into incandescent fragments, crumbling to dust that fell like snow.

Kazuhiro and I both froze as cyan flames burst from the disappearing specks, scattering through the clearing like galaxies. They danced between the branches before drifting upward, dissolving into the cerulean sky.

Beautiful.I thought absently.

Somehow, the world had begun to drift away from me. Sound dulled beneath a strange, distant ringing, and the clearing blurred at the edges as though I were staring through fog.

I looked down almost curiously at the blood soaking through the pale blue fabric of my dress, slow to understand that it was mine.

“Adelaide?!”AnYing, my second counterpart, panicked- Then screeched as blood trickled from my lips.

Kazuhiro’s eyes snapped to mine, and he reached for me- Then something struck the back of his skull with a sickening crack that echoed off the cliffs.

He twisted with the blow instead of dropping, his weapon whipping toward his attacker on instinct- But his balance betrayed him; The sword sliced through empty air, and Kazuhiro crashed hard into the mud.

“Kazu!” I cried, rushing toward him.

“No!”Lady Yin gasped.

Chains whispered through the mud as a figure dressed in black stepped over Kazuhiro’s stunned form, an intricate silver mask obscuring the upper half of his face.

“If he lays another hand on either of them...” AnYing’s voice dropped into a vicious hiss.

“I’ll peck his eyes out myself.”

“Threaten him later,” Lady Yin snapped. “Something’s wrong. Adelaide, stay away from him!”

“St...” I managed, blood coating my tongue as I backed away. “Stay back.”

Kazuhiro growled, his arms trembling as he clawed at the mud. He was completely out of it. For now, I was on my own.

Dante laughed as I summoned what remained of my Qi and aimed it at him. He knocked my wrist aside before the flames could even form.

“I was beginning to wonder how much blood I’d have to drain before the claws came out,” His fingers closed around my arm.

“Come closer and find out,” I hissed, driving my knee toward his stomach.

Dante twisted aside, but my heel caught his shin hard enough to wipe the amusement from his face.

“Adelaide, conserve your strength,”Lady Yin urged.“You need to get Kazuhiro and run.”

“No,”AnYing’s voice dropped into a lethal growl.“End him.”

Dante seized me by the throat. Pain exploded through me as he hauled me upright, my boots dragging through the mud.

“Defiant little thing, aren’t you?” He murmured. “I wonder how long that’ll last once I start breaking pieces off.”

“Longer than you’ll live,” I spat, spraying crimson across his face.

He didn’t so much as flinch.

Behind him, metal scraped against stone as Kazuhiro finally dragged himself upright. Blood streamed from his temple, his sword still clenched in one hand as indigo lightning crackled violently along the blade.

“Take...” His voice was low and ragged, eyes glowing molten gold. “Your hands. Off her.”

Dante glanced over his shoulder, unimpressed.

“Enough.” All amusement vanished from his voice. “I have no patience for things that refuse to behave.”

“Then you picked the wrong fucking woman,” I slammed my forehead into his mask.

Bone cracked against silver. Dante cursed, his grip loosening.

“That’s my girl!”AnYing crowed.

“Adelaide, left!” Kazuhiro shouted.

I twisted, but Dante recovered first. His hand caught my face and wrenched me back against his chest, pain shooting through my neck. He dragged me into Kazuhiro’s path, and the blade stopped a breath from my chest.

Kazuhiro snarled and pulled back, narrowed eyes searching for another opening.

“Orders are orders, Emmerenne,” Dante produced a small glass vial from his sleeve and pressed it to my lips. “Drink.”

“Don’t you dare,” Kazuhiro snarled.

I clenched my teeth.

“No?” Dante murmured. His fingers dug into my jaw, forcing it open. “But I want to see what happens.”

Bitter liquid flooded my mouth, burning everything it touched.

Kazuhiro lunged for his exposed side, but Dante caught his blade with his own one-handed. His other palm clamped over my mouth before his fingers pinched my nose shut.

I thrashed against him, clawing at his wrist and wrenching my head from side to side. His hold only tightened. My lungs burned. Panic clawed through my chest as every instinct screamed for air, but I refused to swallow.

My body betrayed me first: I choked down half the liquid just as Kazuhiro slammed into Dante and I with a savage roar. My captor’s grip broke as Kazuhiro threw him, and I hit the ground hard, violent coughs tearing through me.

“Spit out everything you can!”Lady Yin ordered.“Vomit. Now.”

I shoved my fingers down my throat and retched into the mud.

“That’s it,”AnYing urged.“Don’t give the bastard the satisfaction.”

“What did you give her?!” Kazuhiro hissed.

He stalked toward Dante, his sword trembling with barely restrained rage. I would’ve liked to know that myself- Preferably before whatever I’d swallowed dissolved my organs.

“Just a little gift from Zalam,” Dante rose slowly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. “Don’t concern yourself with what it does, yet.”

“Of course it’s a gift!”AnYing complained as I forced myself to vomit again.“Villains never give you anything nice. It’s always poison, curses, or some ancient horror that eats souls.”His feathers bristled.“Terrible gift-givers. All of them.”

“Whatever you’ve done,” Kazuhiro snapped. “You will answer for it in blood.”

“How predictable.” Dante drew his blade with a soft hiss. “You still think you can protect her.”

The chains whispered, and he vanished. Kazuhiro tensed, sword raised between me and the empty clearing as he backed toward me.

Silver flashed to his left. He pivoted just in time. Their blades collided with a deafening crash, Qi bursting from the impact before Dante sprang away- And disappeared again.

“You’ll have to kill him twice,” AnYing grumbled. “The first time only annoys him.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I mumbled, tearing a strip from my skirt.

“Ignore him. Handle your wound,” Lady Yin ordered.

“Fine, but you’re answering later,” I cinched the fabric around my abdomen and nearly blacked out as pain tore through me all over again.

“Behind you!” I gasped as Dante took shape again.

Kazuhiro spun too late. The world tilted violently beneath me, and I toppled sideways as Dante drove an elbow into his ribs, sending him crashing into a tree.

He hit hard but immediately tried to rise, one hand gripping his sword while the other clutched his side.

“Run... Adelaide,” He choked.

“Fuck no,” I dragged myself onto my stomach. “I’m not leaving you!”

“Such touching devotion, truly,” Dante sneered. “And it’s exactly why you always fail; You are each other’s greatest weakness.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Lady Yin snapped furiously.

Solar flares ignited along Kazuhiro’s blade as he attacked, each strike faster than the last. Dante parried them all with disturbing ease.

Icy dread settled in my stomach as I realized he wasn’t anticipating Kazuhiro’s attacks; He knew them.

Kazuhiro broke his rhythm, reversed his grip, and lunged. Dante still caught his wrist, wrenched his arm aside, and drove him face-first into the mud. His boot crashed between Kazuhiro’s shoulder blades.

“Get off him!” I hurled a weak burst of galactic flame.

Dante twisted aside.

“Again,”Lady Yin urged.

I thrust out my hand. Nothing came.

“Adi...”AnYing warned.

I snarled and forced myself to stand anyway.

“I... I’ll-” Kazuhiro’s words broke off as Dante seized his hair and wrenched him onto his knees.

“You’ll what, Zadkiel?” Dante tilted his head, silver catching along his mask. “Save her? Look at you. You can barely save yourself.”

I made it three steps before my knees buckled, sending me back into the mud. A broken, frustrated growl tore from my throat as I hauled myself upright again.

“Touch her again,” Kazuhiro snarled. “And not even hell will put enough distance between us to save you.”

Dante laughed.

“You really are pathetic,” His grin twisted into a sneer. “For us, death is just a part of the never-ending cycle.”

Rage burned through me as I fought to stay on my feet, my legs shaking violently beneath me. Dante released Kazuhiro and raised his blade.

He was going to kill him.

“Stay where you are!”Lady Yin surged beneath my ribs, locking our body in place.“You cannot save him by dying!”

I tore through her hold and lunged anyway- Because if this story demanded a sacrifice, it wasn’t taking him...Not my Prince Charming.

I crashed into Kazuhiro just as Dante swung. Heat ripped across my back in a blinding flash- Then everything went silent.

I was falling... I was going to die... But Kazuhiro was alive.

Good.The thought was the only thing that truly registered. That was all that mattered.

I hit the ground with iron flooding my mouth, too thick to breathe through. Kazuhiro’s yell reached me from somewhere far away as he pulled me against his chest. His trembling hand cupped my face, but I couldn’t hear him over the roar in my ears.

“Fool,”AnYing choked.“You really couldn’t let him take the hit, could you?”

“No,”Lady Yin murmured.“She chose love. Has that ever truly changed in any cycle?”

Funny. I’d always thought dying would feel bigger... Instead, there was only him: His arms around me. His warmth against my skin. His face above mine.

I’m glad...My fingers brushed Kazuhiro’s face, smearing crimson across his pale skin.I’m so thankful...... I could save you this time.

My lashes fluttered as pressure met my ribs. His sunflower eyes found mine, and I knew I was fading fast... But there was still one thing I needed to tell him- Just once more.

“Kazu...” My lips barely formed his name before the darkness stole the rest of my strength.

As the world slipped away, the final thought that held me was as simple as it was certain;

I love you, Kazuhiro. Just as we vowed beneath the world tree... No matter where fate drags us...... In this life... Or the next......... I will always... Find my way back to you.........

~†~ Author’s Note ~†~

This is only the beginning.

The Forgotten Chroniclesis part of a much larger story we’re creating together, with our books, characters, histories, and worlds intertwining in ways that may not always be obvious at first. Some connections will reveal themselves quickly. Others are buried a little deeper, waiting for the right moment to surface.

As The Legends Of Starfall Abyss unfold, you may recognize familiar faces, shared histories, overlapping mysteries, and moments that suddenly mean something entirely different when seen from another perspective.

So keep an eye out. Pay attention to the little things.

There’s much more to come. ;)