The Dawn of the New World

After the 'explosion' all three of them were knocked out and thrown clear of the initial site. By some miracle the Grand Priestess managed to use her lifesaving treasure to protect herself at the last second otherwise she too would have been wiped out of existence along with an entire section of the forest.

When it was clear she went up to each one of them to see if they were alright. Both Ma Jiang and Princess Ceni were covered in thin golden barriers which disappeared within minutes but Hao Xuan's remained for a long while after.

She moved him to the only safe place she knew, within the mountain walls left behind from olden times. When his barrier finally vanished almost an hour later he woke up instantly but his mind was elsewhere.

The curse of the sisters of fate was not something he could easily break out from by himself.

The chaos leaked from his body creating the harsh environment Jin Wang saw 3 days later.

Meanwhile, both Ma Jing and Princess Ceni who were being kept in the same room within the city regained consciousness at the exact same time.

The moment they laid eyes on one another something clicked inside their heads. There was some kind of an unknown connection between them...as if they weren't strangers anymore.

The threads of destiny had connected them together and they could never be broken.

Ma Jiang was a shy person on her own but with Princess Ceni's overbearing presence and their age difference combined, she felt even smaller in front of her, unable to even make direct eye contact.

But Princess Ceni saw something else in her. She had felt her mana within the golden barrier which was not only powerful but almost endless. And since there wasn't any malice or hostility in her actions she didn't have anything against her but looking at her up close she couldn't help but feel irritated and annoyed for some reason.

Ma Jiang couldn't take any more of being stared at and decided to take her leave but Princess Ceni blocked the only way out.

"Why did you do that?" she asked coldly.

Ma Jiang stumbled back, "D-Do what?"

Princess Ceni noticed that she had unknowingly raised her hands in front of her chest defensively while slowly backing up. She could see the fear in her eyes, that look of innocence which the princess herself had lost a long time ago.

She took in a deep breath and regained her composure before speaking in a much more amicable tone.

"Why did you jump in that barrier earlier?"

Princess Ceni stared into her despite Ma Jiang trying her best to avert her gaze.

"I thought...you were going to hurt him..."

"But now you know I wouldn't right? Not really. In those last few seconds, you felt the same things as I did, isn't that right?"

Ma Jiang was like a deer caught in headlights. She couldn't hide her emotions if her life depended on it which was her saving grace this time around.

"I-I don't know what you're talking ab-" she tried to deny it but Princess Ceni closed the distance instantly and grabbed her by the shoulders.

Not enough to hurt her but more than enough to adequately relay the seriousness of the situation.

"Listen to me. I can be your best friend or your worst enemy but in the end, you have to choose which one you want. I know for a fact that we both could feel each other's true intentions in that final moment within the barrier when our flesh was stripped away."

"It was like touching another person's soul, no lies no deceit, just raw emotions. So I know clearly what you were feeling. I know you don't have any strong feelings for him and you know Hao Xuan doesn't harbor any such emotions for you. So all I ask is for you to not get in my way and maybe, just maybe, help if you feel like it. Can you do that?"

Ma Jiang's brow was painted with a frown that got deeper and deeper the more she listened to Princess Ceni.

"Is that really...what you felt?" she asked just to be sure and Princess Ceni nodded back without any hesitation, confirming her suspicion.

"There is no reason for me to lie."

Princess Ceni was right in saying that they could feel each other's emotion in the end but apparently, it wasn't exactly how she thought it was. Indeed she was right about Ma Jiang, that she didn't have any strong emotions for Hao Xuan but that wasn't the case for him.

Ma Jiang had felt Hao Xuan's heart and more importantly, felt how much he actually cared about her.

'It wasn't romantic but he was looking for me for a long time. I could tell he wanted to tell me something very important...'

The threads of destiny had left strange side effects in their wake by connecting these three in ways they would not clearly understand for a very long time.

"Okay, I will help you."

***