...…
Crystalline may have been slightly mad at Azmond, but that didn't mean that she would give up her rightful place on top of him...
"..." Azmond felt her voluptuous body press up against him, and he couldn't help but think that this silly woman was the cutest thing to ever grace the face of this planet...
Although calling a woman with a sinful body like hers 'cute', had to be a war crime...
......
Nonetheless, Azmond proceeded to rub her silky black hair gently while her face was buried within his long white robe.
It was an action that Crystalline was starting to enjoy very much... She didn't know why she enjoyed such a simple thing so much... She just did...
It was almost like she could feel his love for her within every head pat he gave her... It was a warm, cozy feeling that Crystalline never wanted to give up.
.....
Half an hour passed, and the two lovebirds didn't move an inch from their positions. One standing up and the other clinging to him like a small black cat who just found her person...
"You heard what I said before, didn't you?" Azmond asked with a warm smile.
"Hwaat~?" Crystalline responded with a small head tilt after being woken up from her blissful moment.
She locked eyes with him with a questioning look on her face.
'It felt so good~ Why did you interrupt my moment~!' She thought to herself with an angry pout while glaring at Azmond with a look that said, 'This better be important, *humph*!'.
"..." Azmond felt like teasing her some more, but decided not to for now. After all, he really did have something important to say...
....
"You are my woman, Crystalline," he announced with an earnest tone and a loving expression.
"!!!" An equally loving look almost formed on Crystalline's face, but before it could, she responded with a sad frown, marring her beautiful features. "M-My sect won't allow it, Azmond..."
After getting out those words, small tears started to form in her eyes.
However, it seemed like her proclamation was not enough to deter Azmond, as he said, "There are no 'buts' Crystalline. You are my woman from this day until the end of days. I couldn't care less about what your sect thinks."
"..." Crystalline felt that warm feeling arise within her again, a feeling that made her eyes lighten and darken at the same time as she stared up at him.
But that feeling quickly conflicted with her worry and concern over Azmond's safety...
She wanted to be with him; she wanted that to be her reality so badly!
But she knew... she knew that her sect would never allow her to be with a random man she found outside the sect...
Her future husband had probably already been decided for her by her sect...
If they ever found out about the type of relationship that she and Azmond have, then...
Not to mention that he had already taken her first time, Crystalline knew without a doubt in her mind that they would kill him without a second thought...
That was just how this world functioned. The strong rule over the weak, and the weak have no right to question the decisions of the strong...
Even marriages, 99% of the time, were predetermined before you were even born.
That was even more the case if you were born into a sect, kingdom, or clan, as your future was more often than not already decided for you.
......
"I can't, Azmond..." Crystalline mumbled in a disheartened tone as her gaze never left his bright blue eyes.
Big, bright blue eyes that started to violently shake after Azmond heard what she said...
"...Why?" He asked after a moment of silence.
"Do you not feel the same way about me that I feel about you...?" His shaky voice was on the verge of collapse as an expression of devastation formed on his usually cheerful face.
*Drip Drip*
Tears started to fall down Crystalline's smooth face when she saw the distraught look of Azmond's expression—a look that would make one think that he had just lost a piece of himself in that moment... A piece of himself that he had just discovered he had.
....
"I do love you, Azmond, I love you more than anything in this world!" Crystalline began with a strained tone before she cupped her hands over her mouth and said, "T-That is why I can't be with you..."
"...Then, why...? Is it because of that sect of yours?..."
Azmond's inquiries were followed by his face morphing terribly as a look scarier than even the demons in hell emerged from his expression.
His eyes went from their usual shining blue to pitch black—not like the kind of obsessive black he has when he looks at Crystalline, but a different kind of black. A more terrifying kind...
.....
"..." Crystalline knew what he was thinking when his face started to change, and she was happy that he was willing to go to such lengths for her, but... She wouldn't allow it...
"No, Azmond! You can't!" She abruptly slapped Azmond across the face to wake him up from his dark thoughts.
*Smack!*
"...What?..." He snapped back to reality and felt the stinging pain in his right cheek as he looked down at the black-haired beauty who was still clinging to him.
"If your sect is the problem, then I will just eradicate it," Azmond said with a straight face as his eyes began to dangerously crease once more, but before they could.
"You will die if you do that..." Crystalline mumbled.
She didn't want to think about a future where he was not alive, but she had to tell him the truth. She didn't want him to die a useless death because of her...
....
"Hmm? What do you mean?..." Confusion filled Azmond's heart as he looked to Crystalline for answers.
"..." Her eyes darted to the side as she responded, "M-My sect has people in it who are far stronger than the Nascent Soul Realm, Azmond..."
After catching her breath for a moment, she continued, "Far, far stronger... You are strong, and I love that part of you as well, but..."
She didn't want to say this right to Azmond's face, but she had no choice...
She wouldn't allow the man she fell in love with to leave her alone in this world.
.......
"You will die if you try to go against them as you are now. You will die without even getting the chance to fight back..."
*Drip Drip*
Crystalline's tears never stopped falling as she continued to speak.
"I-I don't want that, Azmond. I don't want you to die! I want to be with you until the end of time, but..." Her voice became shaky as she took one of her hands and covered her mouth while practically on the verge of a mental breakdown. "I-I d-don't want you to d-die!!... I love you- I Love You!- I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!"
"I-" Azmond was about to respond with the same loving smile on his face, but before he could… Crystalline began to speak with a face that shattered his heart…
"But... that isn't enough to stop you from dying..."
Her big, beautiful green eyes lost their usual glow as never-ending tears painted her face with extreme anguish…