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"What in the world," Yue almost swallowed her words when she found herself soaking in what seems to be a bioluminescent waterfall. Quickly, she stood up, dragging her Qixiong Ruqun which has now been doubled in weight as it had absorbed a good amount of water.

Anxious to what might charge at her in the mystical place she mysteriously teleported into, Yue raise both hands close to her chest in attempt to bend the waters, but much to her chagrin, nothing happened.

She has been bending the four elements for quite some time after her encounter with the Time Guardian, so what's currently happening is not making any sense.

"Negating magic..." she sighed. "Just great."

"Finally."

Chills went running after Yue's veins when someone talked behind her. The voice is so full yet dreamy; it almost sounded like a siren: angelic yet pernicious. She turned around to face the creature, and her eyes squinted.

The man's long porpoise tail with holographic scales moved underneath the waters and around his human upper body; his white hair stirred along with it.

"Excellent! Another beautiful, long, silver-haired man. And what are you supposed to be, a sea serpent?"

The man grimaced. "Did you even think before asking? I'm a water dragon, idio—," he immediately sucked his lips before he could even curse. He needs Yue to escape the place. He's not certain if she'd be enough, but he could at least try.

Watching a beautiful "water dragon", soaked in a bioluminescent water, half-naked, is truly a divine view for many, but not for Yue. She sighed again and turned her back against the man.

"Wait! Where are you going?! Aren't you going to kiss me?" He wailed.

Eyes twitching, she faced him again. "Staying in the water for too long can cause colds and other illnesses; your brain might have already snapped. You should put on some clothes next time. Now, where's the exit out of this mysterious place?"

His brows met. "Aren't y-you... d-don't y-you," he stammered between words.

"Don't you what? Feel the desire to be romantically attracted to you?"

Yue's question came so sudden in such a coherent tone that took the man an infinity and beyond to think of what to say that he hoped would be a decisive response.

"I don't know what you're talking about," of course, he had to deny.

Yue gently flicked wet hair strands out of her forehead and faced the man completely. "I've heard the legend of the great white sea dragon, Yu Zhong," she said, slowly walking towards him and stopped just inches away.

Technically, both of them are immersing in the water: the only source of light. 

"It was said that he lures women with his enchanting voice, imprisoning them in his lair, and take their life energy. The moment he gathers enough, he'll use it to escape the realm where he has been exiled," Yue leered at him in silence, inclining her head.

"Unfortunately, enchanting spells, love spells... whatever you call it; they only work to those individuals with emotions, Yu Zhong."

The man stared at her for a moment and scoffed in discernment. "Impressive! I didn't know I left a little story despite being gone for centuries. I just find it funny that of all the women I could trap out there, it had to be the Nature Guardian, the walking vessel... the hollowed body." 

Evidently, Yu Zhong had already heard about Yue. Might be from the women he had killed... who knows? Although Yue felt a tingle in her chest, her facial expression remained neutral. 

Suddenly, Yu Zhong wrapped his tail around her body. 'Twas so swift, she wasn't given the chance to move to escape.

As Yu Zhong rose, his devilish laughter echoed through the empty spaces of the place they are in. Yue struggled to break free, but he only squeezed her tighter, constricting until she lose strength. 

Yue tried talking to any creature around, asking for help; however, just like how she lose the ability to control the four elements, connecting with nature disappeared so normally as well. With her remaining energy, she watched Yu Zhong drift towards her, and gently placed both hands on her crimsoned cheeks.

Once their lips met, she's done for.

"Is this how my life ends?" A thought suddenly crossed her mind. "I already died once. Dying the second time won't be so bad, right?"

Perhaps.

The moment Yu Zhong saw the acceptance in Yue's eyes, for some reason, his mind had completely changed, and placed her on the side of the waterfall where she chased her own breaths. When she recovered, she pushed herself up with one hand to sit.

"Leave," Yu Zhong intoned, tossing a crystal in front of her, and hovered back to his side of the waterfall where he'll be sleeping again for years until another woman tumbles on his trap.

"W-What are you doing?" Yue stuttered. 

"I have no interest on women who doesn't fear death. They do not taste as much," he snorted. It may sound like a joke; however, by the looks of it, he's quite serious. "Take it and leave. It will open a portal back to your realm. I don't know when; I don't know where, but it surely will."

Yue reached to the crystal and stood up. "You hate loneliness, too, ah?"

"I hate weakness," Yu Zhong corrected. He's now almost ready to submerge back into the bottom of the magical waterfall. "Now, leave and never come back. If you happen to tumble here again, I will no longer let you live."

"I'll come back and free you from this lonely place," Yue marked. "I promise."

"Don't speak words that are bound to be forgotten," Yu Zhong warned, tittering.

"Guardians don't, because if we make promises, we're bound for all eternity."

"Very well," Yu Zhong smiled. "See you again, Emotionless Guardian."

Those were his last words before he disappeared together with the bioluminescence.

𝐏𝐬: 𝐌𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝.