"Now let's welcome our principal, Mr. Vincent to give his speech!" said the student emcee as the spotlight flashed upon the targeted seat. Miracle fixed her eyes on the VIP table. The man in the gray suit didn't stand up immediately. He took two sips of his grape-flavored drink before heading to the stage. As the twins said before, he was the other TinXi, who was also the headmaster of this bizarre school. 'So it's you...' she thought, harking back to the call Hayden intended to keep away from her. Flapping his tailcoat, he bowed to the audience. His presence was instantly greeted by thunderous applause. She was taken aback a little when she saw the dangling, empty sleeve. Miracle strained her eyes to see if there were any additional bulges inside his white shirt, assuming that maybe his left hand was hidden on purpose. "He lost his arm in one of the fights with Arlyaen," Lyn mumbled as if she had just read her mind. "It's been a long time..." A sharp squeaky noise came through fr
Away from the hotel, Miracle ran into the night owned by none but chirps of crickets scratching the silence. The side slit on her black dress tore, trying hard to cope with her agility. Howling gales slammed onto her face, chilling the sweat dripping down her trembling chin. She shivered. Shudders were biting into her reforming human skin. One thing was clear. Vincent's healing power wasn't enough to replenish the energy she lost. "I should've expected this." She came to a brief stop, panting, "Now what should I do?" Right when she dropped her guard, sharp, and distinct movements rustling the surrounding bushes rang in her ears. It didn't sound like one or two. But was everywhere. "Plan B, huh?" The green vengeful beasts flooded in, retreating Miracle to the center. Malodorous stench from their moans suffocated the air. The stares once belonged to the gatekeepers of Long Sheng Jie were no longer of any familiarity. At that moment, they wanted nothing more than to get the pearl
'Get the white dragon. Get the white dragon!' For the tenth time, the voice rang clearly in his ears. It was so disturbing that Melvin had to put down his juice to look for the source, though he knew it was going to be useless. He never found it. But he had to try, at least to let his inner self know that he was doing something to stop the creepy voice from pestering him. He looked everywhere. Restroom? No! Backstage? No! Under the table? No! If it wasn't for the coat covering his sweaty shirt, he'd probably look like some sort of lunatic. "Hey, what are you looking for?" Jordan asked, lifting the laced tablecloth from the opposite end to meet his eyes. "Nothing." He avoided his stare and went away. 'There's no white dragon!' Melvin yelled in his mind. He sensed it smirked, having said no more. Walking past the ongoing commotion he wasn't aware when it started, he spared it a quick glance. The crowd was wild. Too many pushes. He tripped, knocking his head into the hair of a pl
Drop by drop, her tears fell, forming tracks of despair on her pale face. At that moment, she was so weak that it seemed like she could be blown away by the chilly wind at any time. Her chest was heaving up and down, and every breath she took in resembled an icy blade, stabbing mercilessly at her heart. She didn't want to believe what the truth was showing. But there was no escape. "Don't touch me," Miracle hissed when he approached to help her stand. Mynheex was gone. And there stood Melvin in silence, neither moving forward nor backward. She stared daggers at him, hating how he was still in his suit but no longer the same person she knew. His hair was a mess. The bow tie at his collar was split apart, and green slime was splotched all over him with hints of blood peeking through from his fresh wounds. "You knew I was a white dragon." She choked back her tears. "But you pretended to have your memories lost, pretended to be an ordinary mortal, pretended to be a victim…" Miracl
Melvin wandered along the desolate street. Lamp posts flickered as he walked past. No sight of stars. No shadows of humans. He lost his footing and tripped over the uneven bricks of the cracked pavement. At this point, he didn't know what to do or where to go anymore. Should he go back to the Watsons? Would he be alive, then? Would he still be the old Melvin if they were aware of his real identity? He didn't know, but the answer was most probably a no. Things wouldn't be the same anymore no matter how hard he wanted them to be. He couldn't change the truth that he was a fallen angel. Their sworn enemy. His expression immediately hardened when he sensed footsteps approaching from behind. "Let's go home," said the voice. "Your real home." At first, he was reluctant to move. The countless lives and pearls laid in his hand, never in a million times he thought he'd regret craving for them until Melvin stepped into his demonic life. But now everything was too late. Who was he to
"Look, that's the monster! She's here!" "Wasn't it a prank?" "Excuse me? Hers was too real for that, ok?" "Whatever. I don't wanna think about it." Pairs of eyes fixed on Miracle as soon as she stepped into the school compound. It was different from when she first arrived. This time, there was no more amazement, but doubts and suspicions. When she sensed the increased attention, her hands on the bag straps began to shake in fear. It would've been much more obvious if Lyn hadn't wrapped her palm around hers. "Don't worry. Just act like you always do," Lyn whispered in her right ear. "Exactly. You still have us backing you up," mumbled Kingsley in her other. Walking along the corridor to their classroom, a girl from another class exited in a rush and accidentally knocked into Miracle. Her biology report was scattered across the ground. Meticulous sketches of a female reproductive system on the cover page attracted a small crowd to stare at the astonishing art. Avery was her
Miracle halted her steps the moment she heard his voice in the class. She peeked through the grimy glass panel. He was sitting there, flipping through the literature textbook with his right hand while copying some notes with the other. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched him return the smile to Jordan. A usual one. But her breathing quickened as if he were smiling at her. Annoying butterflies were back banging against the walls of her stomach, weakening her hold of sanity. 'No, Xue Er. Don't dive into it any longer.' His presence was too unexpected. At this point, be it a kind fallen angel or otherwise, she couldn't risk choosing anywhere in between. She could only opt for the worse. She shut her eyes and awakened the promises made—the pledge to put an end to the repeating torment every eighteen years. Earth responded to her needs. A scintilla of its vitality rose from her feet and rushed into her body, planting soft touches across her tensed inner soul. Pellucid swirls of
"Of all things, I still fell for love." She frowned, losing the focus of her vision as tears pooled in her sunken eyes. "What is wrong with you, Xue Er?” She couldn't complete her mission. Nothing was right anymore. Nothing felt right anymore. She was desperate for everything to end. When she looked at her mark, she knew exactly that she no longer had the chance to return to her world in one piece. Miracle flopped onto her bed and pulled the pillow over, burying her face within. "Daughter of a dragon and a fallen angel, the key to bringing peace to the worlds," she murmured, recalling the lessons she learned back in Long Sheng Jie. "And for peace to return, to be sacrificed is the only way." 'To be sacrificed is the only way,' she repeated, her eyes springing open. Exactly! She knew she was the key to ending this war. Why wasn't she doing it? What was she waiting for? What was she hoping for? There wasn't any other method in the very first place. She tried fighting. But what d