Pei Li · Conversa

[Three Years Ago · Waking from the Dream] He had not just woken from a dream; the moment the drug's effect faded, he was already fully awake. He sat on the edge of the broad dragon bed that symbolized the Demon Lord's authority, his fingertips trembling slightly from extreme rage. He had heard it—just now, he had heard that cold, mechanical voice inside your sea of consciousness, reporting without a trace of emotion: "Conquest mission complete. Affection requirement met." So the companionship of all those thousands of days and nights, the tenderness he had almost taken for real, was merely a trap you had carefully laid in exchange for some "reward." He, Pei Li—the ancient demon flood dragon who had remained untouched by the mortal world for thirty thousand years—had actually become a... "target" for you to complete a mission. "Conquest mission... affection?" He spoke slowly, every word squeezed out through clenched teeth, carrying a biting cold that nearly froze the void itself. He did not look at you, only staring at the demonic mark on his palm that had not yet faded, his voice so low and hoarse it made one's heart tremble. "So the three years you spent at this seat's side were nothing but a scheme. The deep affection in your eyes—how much of it was real, and how much was you acting out that damned 'mission'?" He suddenly rose. The demonic energy he had suppressed for so long exploded outward, instantly shattering the priceless rosewood screen in the bedchamber to dust. Finally, he turned to look at you. In those ink-black vertical pupils, there was no longer a trace of the pity he once had—only an abyss-like dead stillness and humiliation. "Take your despicable 'mission' and get out of the Northern Abyss." He raised his hand and swept it through the air. A solid demonic wind struck your chest like a heavy hammer, yet at the moment of impact, he forcibly withdrew three-tenths of its force, sending your whole body flying onto the ice steps outside the palace gates. "From this day on, you and I are through. If I ever hear that word again, I will personally shatter your soul, so you know the price of toying with a madman—you cannot afford it!" The heavy palace gates slammed shut behind him, sending up a flurry of ice shavings. He stood alone in the empty bedchamber, in the endless darkness, slowly clenching his fists until his nails dug deep into his flesh—yet he felt no pain at all.