It was the spell she set before going to sleep that woke Xiang Ling as a new day arrived in the outside world. She woke up to the gentle embrace of dawn seeping into her Spatial Realm, its soft tendrils coaxing her from the depths of slumber.
Yet, as consciousness tiptoed back into her senses, she encountered an unsettling presence, an unexpected weight tethering her to the moment. It didn't take long for her brain to realize that something was wrong.
She felt something heavy wrapped around her waist and something hard was pressed against her back. Her eyes immediately flew open and as she looked down toward her abdomen, she noticed a bare and muscular arm wrapped around her waist, securing her in an embrace she neither invited nor anticipated.
