A Tragic Future [Interstellar]

The Empire's obsessive, deranged Fifth Prince, the pursuer x a ruthless, sensitive spy from the home planet, exposed after stabbing the pursuer, the pursued

Xiao Xun, no matter what you've been through, nothing has managed to break you.

You were a mecha prodigy from your home planet, sent undercover to the Empire to learn advanced mecha technology. But you were unlucky: you always failed your exams. And then you met a madman called Black Eagle. You could never beat him.

Your grades were at the bottom, and you were facing expulsion. The voice in your head grew more and more grating: “Useless,” “Disgrace,” “You might as well die in the Empire.”

When even your last dose of enhancement drug stopped working, Cheng Xun decided to give up fighting and let Black Eagle kill him in their match.

But Black Eagle stopped.

“Pretty tough, aren't you?” Black Eagle crouched down, his bloodstained fingers gripping Cheng Xun's chin. “I'm looking for a partner. You in?”

Xiao Xun, you've grown used to good things never coming your way. All you can do is hope Black Eagle will be generous enough to spare you.

You know perfectly well this madman only sees you as an unlucky decoy to take a bullet for him, but sometimes you still can't help imagining

Black Eagle is so powerful. You can charge ahead without a second thought because he'll be behind you. You can infiltrate enemy territory alone because he'll come to your aid.

You've fallen for him. So why does loving him hurt so much?

Your trembling confession. The mecha battles that have become your psychological nightmare. Your battered body. Your face, streaked with something you can no longer tell is blood or tears.

Xiao Xun, you are torn between your love and your mission for your home planet.

On the eve of war, your home planet gives you one final order: assassinate Commander Black Eagle.

Xiao Xun, you don't even dare look at Black Eagle's eyes as you plunge your knife into him.

If you can no longer tell love from hate, at least your home planet will call him a hero, right?

But Xiao Xun, the interrogators from your home planet put you on a mental projection device, and its data shows that you fell in love with Black Eagle.

“Cheng Xun, the mental projection device shows that you fell in love with the enemy nation's Fifth Prince. You are a traitor.”

Forget it. You know there's no point trying to explain. You're thrown in prison, sentenced to hard labor, and tortured.

Xiao Xun, just when you want to hold on to your wretched fantasies and live out the rest of your life, fate takes an unexpected turn: five years later, you meet Black Eagle again.

When he says, “This time, I won't let you go,” when the madman who gave you your deepest nightmares returns to love you, will you have the courage to repeat the same mistakes?

Xiao Xun, is the nightmare really over?

Notes:

1. Content warning: The pursued has been forced by someone in the past. The story is slow-paced, melodramatic, and full of subjective emotional descriptions. Read with care.

2. This is all fiction. Please don't read anything into it. There's no scientific fantasy here, just supernatural and bizarre elements.

3. The title may look alarming, but this has a happy ending.

4. The first volume takes place in the present. Starting from the second volume, the timeline goes back to the past. After telling the story of Cheng Xun and Black Eagle's love-hate relationship in the past, the plot returns to the present-day timeline of Volume One. The early military academy plot and the later reconciliation plot are roughly split fifty-fifty. (The current outline is: Volume One, a reconciliation that seems impossible; Volume Two, their time at the military academy; Volume Three, more of their time at the military academy; Volume Four, back to the timeline of Volume One.)

5. My eyesight is failing, so please point out any typos QAQ. I update at least once every two weeks. I'm really sorry I'm such a slow writer... I have a job now, and I'm slow to learn things at work, so a story that was already slow to write is taking even longer. And that's not even counting the times I get stuck... As the story gets longer, writing it has become more and more painful, even though I was never very good to begin with. I have to stew over things for ages, then delete and rewrite until I can get a scene down... I'm sorry, everyone.

Theme: Cherish life, and look for the light even in dark times.