The Dawn of the New World

When the aftershocks from the initial earthquake began spreading out Jin Wang was one of the few that noticed the changes before anyone else, mainly because he was still underground at that time.

Taking it as a sign that things had taken a turn for the worse he ran back to the city just in time to see the horde of grunts retreat and disseminate back into the old forest.

The few that remained were like puppets with their strings cut off, slowly being taken care of one by one.

From atop the crown of the city Jin Wang inspected the overall damage which was far too much considering there were so many cultivators present to defend it.

'I overestimated their usefulness. Every passing generation becomes weaker than the last.'

He threw one cursory glance to the mushroom cloud in the distance and with a heavy heart turned towards the other corner of the city.

With a few quick jumps, he landed in front of the entrance to the stone room where Hao Xuan had been previously locked. He rushed in without wasting any time but to his surprise it was mostly empty.

"What happened? Did it work?" he asked the only remaining person.

Princess Ceni was sitting in the same spot with her eyes closed. Upon hearing Jin Wang's eyes she slowly turned to face him.

At first her gaze seemed a little empty as if her mind was elsewhere but the light of thought returned to them quickly and she nodded with a satisfied smile.

"Un, he is."

Jin Wang couldn't help but frown seeing her odd behavior.

"What happened? Why the...good mood...?"

As soon as the words left Jin Wang's mouth Princess Ceni threw back her shoulder in a deluge of boisterous laughter.

"Hahaha it happened! It finally happened!"

Jin Wang had asked the question out of sheer curiosity before leaving but to see such a radical reaction he couldn't help but pause mid-stride.

That was anything but normal.

He approached silently, "What did?"

She suddenly froze before abruptly turning her head in his direction, "We did, me and him! US! I did it!"

She looked both drunk and high out of her mind. Even though she was looking right at Jin Wang but her gaze was unfocused.

He waved his hand in front of her eyes but there was no change.

'She can't see me?'

"Hey, listen to my voice. Do you know where you are?"

She nodded, "Un. I'm with Hao Xuan."

!!!!

'Ah fuck, is she still stuck in the dreamscape?!'

Jin Wang knelt down in front of her and gently closed her eyes with his right hand before mumbling some kind of a spell under his breath.

"Focus on my voice, listen to it carefully. Do you see me now?"

She paused momentarily and her smile faltered for the first time, "No...I don't..."

"That's good. It means you're not too far gone, you just need a little help getting back."

She instantly jerked back trying to break free from his grasp, "NO! I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!"

"Shhh, relax, calm down. I'm only here to help you. Why don't you want to leave? You can tell me, I want to know."

With the help of the spell his coaxing words took effect and she fell into a lull.

The pitch of her voice raised by several octaves and she began speaking in a childish voice.

"Because...I'm safe here. I have him, and he has me. We...can be happy here. Mother can't get to us...and he won't leave me..."

Jin Wang let out a deep sigh.

'As expected. She fell into a trap of her own insecurities.'

"Please, just leave us be, we won't bother you. Don't tell mother or she will hurt him again," she said pleadingly.

He couldn't help but imagine what kind of a monster her mother was that she was so genuinely afraid of her.

'I have no choice but to use force. The more I feed into this illusion the harder it will become for her to break free.'

His grip tightened even more until red marks appeared around Ceni's forehead. He leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"It's too late already. Your mother knows everything."

"NOO!"

"She will be here soon and when that happens you know what she will to do him right?"

"NO PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS!"

Jin Wang hesitated for an instant but he told himself that it was necessary and steeled his heart for the venomous words he was about to spill out.

"She will do to him what she did to all the others and you will be left all by your lonesome again. Poor little princess sitting alone in her castle, no one to love, no one to care for. That's what you deserve, to be alone, to be by yourself for all of eternity. You will never find happiness, no one will ever love you."

"And him, Hao Xuan will die a slow and painful death knowing that it was you who did that to him. He will hate you until his last breat-"

*CRACK*

*SLAAASH*