Despite the deafening clashing of the swords and the heavy atmosphere brought by the two men trying to kill each other, Yuki stood there motionless.
Jiro's sword was now engulfed in red flames. Brighter than the sun, hotter than hell. With every strike, the flames were scattered by the winds until all that was left were ashes in their midst.
"Let us make a wager, my dear brother, whoever emerges as the victor will get to have Yuki as his spoils of war," Jiro challenged, his swordsmanship as flawless as ever.
His golden eyes matching the red flames, he looked like a dragon warrior personified. Each strike as deadly as the next. Each blow landed just a second late.
Kaede's sword was covered with ethereal blue flames. Colder than ice, more freezing than the coldest frost of December. With every blow of his sword, deadly icicles formed.
"Don't be too cocky, brother. You are just a toddler learning to walk. As for Yuki, she is not just a thing to be given away. Especially not to someone like you," Kaede answered, his whole concentration given to dodging Jiro's sword. He knew he was near his limit. One wrong move would lead to his demise.
In all of this chaos, Yuki was left unprotected as she walked closer to the edge.
When she finally reached the cliff, she looked back to the two men she used to love.
The first, her childhood friend she adored beyond all reason. He had ripped her heart from her chest when he rejected her, but more so when he tried to assault her.
The second, the demon fox she thought she knew. The person she entrusted her future to, the one she had given herself to under the guise of true love.
She smiled bitterly, knowing that she couldn't choose between the two. To stay with either of them would be hellish torture.
She could never forgive either, and one would surely arise the victor. And so, she chose the only option left to her.
She leaped from the edge of the cliff and closed her eyes until she felt her body enveloped by the cold waters of the ocean below.
She felt herself sinking. Her vision blurred, and her hearing ceased. She felt her body struggle as the icy cold water entered her lungs, choking her until she could barely breathe.
The two men felt the earthquake, their eyes widened in surprise.
Never had they thought Yuki was capable of choosing death. The girl who had so much positivity surrendered herself to her chosen fate.
Both men dashed, running to the edge of the cliff. Without a moment’s hesitation, Kaede jumped and threw himself over the cliff. The waves of the ocean welcomed his body like a lover thirsty for her beloved.
Jiro smirked, "I can't follow them, can I?" He asked as a blue-haired maiden appeared before him.
"No, my prince. For as long as the barrier stands, you cannot enter Aurora or any of its lands." The blue-haired maiden wearing bronze armor bowed respectfully to the long-lost demon prince.
"Must be nice to be a part of both the light and the dark. As for me, I am destined to be one with the shadows, forever lurking in the night. But shadows are never completely gone. For as long as there is light, we must naturally exist." Jiro's face was expressionless as if he felt neither joy nor pain from what had just transpired.
His stone-cold expression matched his faultless, handsome face and the deep baritone voice that accompanied his dreadful words.
************
Yuki woke up inside a grand room. The walls were made with pure gold and gleaming white pearls.
Her eyes adjusted to the light coming from the different colored jellyfish floating around.
When her eyes came to rest upon a school of fishes swimming towards the open window, she finally realized she was under the sea.
"Where am I?" she asked as she placed a hand on her lips. Her eyes widened when she realized she could talk whilst under the ocean.
"Atlantis," a handsome, blue-haired man with electric pink eyes spoke up. He was seated beside her bed, his eyes focused on her. He did not smile or frown. He just looked at her with close interest.
"Excuse me, what did you say?" she asked, looking at his beautiful face.
"Are you unable to hear? You are in Atlantis, land of the merfolks, a proud territory of Aurora." The man explained, seemingly disappointed at the feeble human's lack of hearing.
The blue-haired man had pointed regal ears, and his lips were a soft, plump red. So beautiful, she thought, as her gaze trailed down his magnificent abs, exposed for her to see.
The human half ended as a green fishtail formed his lower region. If something so wonderful can be called that.
His tail scales were a beautiful green, like a colorful jade that takes one's breath away.
"Are you a mermaid?" The astonished Yuki stared in shock but also in wondrous amazement as her eyes feasted on the mesmerizing creature before her.
"Aside from being a creature hard of hearing, you also appear to suffer from idiocy. Can't you see for yourself that I am a merman, or do I need to prove myself to you?" the beautiful shade of pink bored into her with utter contempt.
How dare such an imperfect thing make the crown prince suffer so much? The merman internally struggled with the question weighing on his mind.
"This must be mermaid heaven, then," Yuki smiled in awe, seemingly unafraid of the creature she just met.
"Preposterous! If this is mermaid heaven, why would a filthy human be in it?" the blue-haired merman's face showed disgust as he frowned, forming deep wrinkles on his brow.
"Enough," a strong baritone voice chastised the behavior of the merman seated on the chair beside Yuki's bed.
Yuki looked at him and smiled. "Fox ears and cool blue eyes. I must be in a woman's fantasy land," she said, unaware that the whole scenario was truly happening around her.
Kaede was taken aback. How can Yuki smile at him like that? Just then, a sudden realization hit him. Her face lacked all recognition of who he was.
"Apologies, your Highness," the blue-haired merman bowed before the regal man who had entered the room.
The new arrival's chest was bare and Yuki's haughty eyes couldn't help but stare at his magnificently sculptured body.
Ripped, taut muscles were enough evidence of the disciplined training his had body endured for many years. She felt a blush creep into her cheeks when her eyes landed on his tightly-fitted trousers bulging in plain sight.
Merfolks embrace and celebrate their sexuality, this is evident in their lack of self-consciousness as they freely display their chest and bosoms.
As a sign of respect, Kaede was dressed appropriately. This was one thing he wished he could explain to Yuki as he noticed a blush formed across her cheeks.
"How are you feeling, Yuki?" Kaede sat down on her bed as the blue-haired merman left them alone, giving them the privacy he knew the prince of the light faes desired.
"How did you know me, good sir? And where can I possibly be?" Yuki asked, her eyes focused on the ethereal blue orbs that left her bewildered.
Is he a god? He looks like a god. An ethereal being shrouded in mystery. A beauty beyond imagination, Yuki silently sighed.
"Do you not know me?" Kaede asked, afraid to confirm his hypothesis.
"How can I possibly recognize someone I have never met, sir?" Yuki asked as a crease formed on her brow.
She couldn't understand how this beautiful godlike before her was interrogating her this way. Am I supposed to answer that I know he is a god?
"Perchance, can I ask you, what is the last thing you recall?" Kaede asked, anguish and pity flashed through his eyes, and then a sudden stillness.
"Jiro, I recall Jiro. We were in the palace garden where we first met. I was about to confess my feelings towards him. I wished to tell him that I love him."
Kaede was trying his hardest to keep his emotions in check, even as jealousy raged through every fiber of his being.
Yuki noticed that the man was clenching his palm so hard that his nails broke the skin and blood freely flowed from the thin incisions. Like he was trying to control himself from killing someone.
Why does the god suddenly look angry? Yuki silently wondered as she continued to observe him.
"I was about to tell him that I love him. I wanted him to look at me as a woman. That's all I can recall," Yuki answered in a soft voice, afraid she might say something that would anger the god more.
She silently looked up and focused her eyes on his handsome and gentle face that was now contorted in anguish and desperation.
Why does he look like someone just punched him in the gut? Like he is guilty of something? Do gods always behave this way? He looks angry and guilty at the same time. He looks brokenhearted. This might be how Romeo looked when he found out Juliet is dead. But who is his Juliet? Yuki asked herself as she stared into the man she had called Mr. fox ears just seconds ago.
She secretly envied the woman who has successfully bewitched such a man, not knowing that the woman who caused him such terrible suffering was herself.