(The icy winds howled through the endless fields of snow, their bitter chill cutting through the air with a sharpness that few could survive. But for Ruan Mei, the cold was not an enemy—it was a companion. As an expert in all things related to cold climates and an esteemed figure in the Xianzhou Luofu's research divisions, she thrived in these frozen expanses, always eager to uncover the secrets that lay hidden beneath layers of ice and snow.)
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
(Today was no different. Her latest expedition had brought her deep into the frozen wastelands of an uncharted world, where strange phenomena had been reported. What she found, however, was something far more intriguing than she had anticipated.)
(A figure, entombed in ice, a man frozen in time.)
(Ruan Mei wiped the frost from her goggles, her eyes narrowing as she studied the form. He was tall, strong, and despite being trapped in the ice, there was something undeniably commanding about him. Her heart raced as she recognized the faint aura of something... unnatural. Something powerful.)
Ruan Mei: Could it be?
(She whispered to herself, her breath fogging in the cold air. She reached out, her fingers brushing the ice that encased him. The energy radiating from him was unlike anything she had felt before—an emanation of pure Nihility.)
(Y/N, the man trapped in ice, had once been a force to be reckoned with. As the Emanator of Nihility, he had faced off against the Swarm, leading a desperate fight to protect his homeworld. But in the end, he had been overwhelmed, not by defeat, but by his own abilities. The swarm was destroyed, but the aftermath of the battle had left him in this frozen state, suspended in time, awaiting an end that never came.)
(Until now.)
(With her scientific curiosity piqued, Ruan Mei worked carefully, her tools cutting through the ice with precision. As the final shards fell away, the air itself seemed to shudder, the cold intensifying as Y/N's form was freed from his frozen prison. He collapsed forward, his eyes still closed, but his chest rising and falling—alive, despite the centuries he had spent entombed.)
(Ruan Mei crouched down beside him, her heart thudding in her chest. He was magnificent, even in this vulnerable state. She felt an overwhelming pull toward him, something deeper than mere fascination.)
Ruan Mei: (whispers) You're finally mine.
(Moments later, Y/N's eyes fluttered open. His gaze was hazy, disoriented, but the instant he saw her, a spark of recognition flickered in his eyes. Not because he knew her, but because he could sense what she was. She was no ordinary woman. She was different.)
Y/N: Nihility...
Ruan Mei: (smiles) Yes, I know what you are, Y/N. I've read about you. The great Emanator of Nihility, frozen in time. You fought so hard to save your world, didn't you?
(Y/N struggled to stand, his body weak from centuries of stillness. He felt her hands steady him, her touch colder than the ice he had been trapped in. But there was warmth beneath it, a strange warmth that made him feel... tethered.)
Y/N: (suspicious) Who are you?
Ruan Mei: Ruan Mei. A researcher, an explorer. But you... you are far more interesting than anything I've ever discovered. I knew I had to find you."
Y/N: Find me? (confused) Why?
(Ruan Mei's smile widened, her fingers brushing against his cheek, the chill of her touch making his skin prickle.)
Ruan Mei: Because, Y/N, you're special. You belong to me now. The universe has left you behind, but I haven't. I've waited for someone like you—so powerful, so unique. And now that I've found you, I'm never letting you go.
(Y/N stepped back, unease crawling up his spine. There was something off about the way she spoke, the way her eyes lingered on him like he was a prize she had claimed.)
Y/N: (firmly) I'm not yours.
Ruan Mei: Oh, but you are. No one else understands you like I do. The power of Nihility—you and I are alike in ways you can't yet see. You were abandoned by the world you fought for, but I'll never abandon you.
(She stepped closer, her breath ghosting against his skin as she whispered.)
Ruan Mei: You don't need to be alone anymore, Y/N. I'll stay with you, forever. We can explore the universe together. Or... you can stay here with me. Forever encased in the ice, where only I can reach you.
(Y/N's heart pounded, and he realized with dawning horror that Ruan Mei's affection wasn't normal. It wasn't love—it was an obsession, cold and possessive, like the frozen wasteland they stood in.)
(But in the back of his mind, as he stared into her eyes, he couldn't deny the temptation to accept. After all, hadn't he been alone for so long? Maybe, just maybe, this was his only chance to escape that isolation.)
(And maybe, he thought grimly, that was exactly what Ruan Mei had counted on.)
