THE FUCKING PRESENT YAY YOU DID IT THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE MWAH

Lan Yue's consciousness returned with the gentle grace of a dropped anvil. One moment, there was the familiar, crisp energy of the Azure Cloud Sect's training grounds, the scent of pine and polished stone. The next, there was… softness. A profound, deeply unsettling emptiness within her core. And a smell that was definitely not pine.

It was something rich and savory, with a hint of spice. It smelled… delicious. That was her first, deeply confusing thought.

Her eyes fluttered open. She was lying on a bed so luxuriously soft it felt like floating on a cloud. The ceiling above was a masterpiece of dark wood and mother of pearl inlay, depicting elegant foxes chasing glowing orbs. Sunlight actual, warm sunlight? streamed in through a large window, but the view was of a twilight sky filled with unfamiliar, violet hued stars.

This was not her austere cell at the sect.

Panic, cold and sharp, tried to lance through her. She instinctively reached for her spiritual power, the vast, celestial ocean that was her birthright.

And touched a void.

Where there should have been a roaring tide of energy, there was only a faint, sluggish trickle. It was like trying to breathe through a straw at the bottom of the sea. Her heart seized. She sat up, her movements slower, heavier without her cultivation to enhance them. Her gaze fell upon her own neck. There, resting against her collarbones, was a slender band of polished obsidian, etched with faint, silver runes that pulsed with a soft, suppressing light. It was cool and smooth against her skin, a beautiful, horrifying shackle.

It restrained her. Not completely she could still feel perhaps ten percent of her power, enough to maintain her health and longevity, to perhaps light a candle but it caged the awesome, divine might that made her the Azure Cloud Sect's prodigy. She was, for all intents and purposes, mortal.

The door creaked open.

Lan Yue scrambled back on the bed, a gesture that felt pathetic without her power to give it speed and grace. She was reduced to the basics of fear.

A demon servant shuffled in. But he wasn't a hulking, snarling beast. He was a small, nervous looking imp with big, bat like ears and a too large uniform. He was carrying a tray.

He jumped a foot in the air when he saw her awake and moving, nearly sending the tray flying. "Ah! Honored Guest! You're awake! Please, don't be alarmed! I'm just here with your welcome meal!" He scurried over and placed the tray on a nearby table with a clumsy clatter. On it was a steaming bowl of something that smelled incredible (that was the savory spicy smell!), a pot of tea, and a small plate of delicate pastries.

"Her Majesty thought you might be hungry after your… journey," the imp said, wringing his hands. "It's a new recipe from the Imperial Kitchen. 'Empress's Embrace Noodle Soup.' There's also some calming chrysanthemum tea. And the pastries are from the new Night Blooming Wheat the Empress had imported. Would you… like some?"

Lan Yue's hand flew to the collar at her throat. "What is this?" she demanded, her voice still cold, but now edged with a raw vulnerability she hated.

The imp's eyes went wide with fear. "O oh! The Respite Band! It's for your… comfort! Her Majesty said it's to help you… acclimate? To prevent any… accidental energetic feedbacks! Yes! Very considerate!" He clearly didn't believe a word of it and was just reciting a script.

Before she could respond, another figure appeared in the doorway. Empress Xue Lian leaned against the doorframe, looking infuriatingly casual.

"Ah, you're awake. Excellent." She glanced at the imp. "Gleeb, you can go. Soup scent is perfect today. Half day off."

Gleeb fled.

Xue Lian's amber eyes landed on the collar, then on Lan Yue's furious, humiliated face. "I see you've noticed your new jewelry. Lovely, isn't it? The obsidian is from the heart of the volcano. The runes are my own design. Restrains about ninety percent. Think of it as… training weights. Prevents you from doing anything drastic like, oh, leveling my palace because you got grumpy before trying the soup."

She said it so flippantly, as if she'd given her a decorative scarf, not neutered her celestial power.

"You dare " Lan Yue began, her voice trembling with a fury she couldn't back with power.

"I dare ensure my home doesn't get demolished before the new paint is dry, yes," Xue Lian interrupted, strolling further into the room. "I trust the accommodations are otherwise acceptable? I had the interior redesigned recently. The previous decor was a bit… 'murder hobo chic.' Not really my style."

Murder hobo chic? The absurdity of the phrase clashed violently with the reality of the suppression collar. Lan Yue felt dizzy.

"You speak of paint and soup while I wear this… this thing!" Lan Yue shot back, her fingers pressing against the unyielding band.

"Of course. The collar is a necessity. The soup is a courtesy. One doesn't negate the other." Xue Lian unfurled a scroll she was holding. It looked like a schedule. "Now, I've drafted a proposed itinerary. Mornings for independent cultivation though it'll be more 'meditation' now, I suppose. Afternoons for debates. Evenings for leisure. Your choice."

"I will not be participating," Lan Yue said, the words feeling hollow. How could she escape now? She was weak. She was caged.

"Of course you will try," Xue Lian said, nodding agreeably. "It'll be a good test of your ingenuity. Try the east corridor first. The wards are newer. Let me know what you think." She gave Lan Yue a wink.

A wink. While she wore a cultivation suppressing collar.

Xue Lian turned to leave. "Oh, and the collar also has a minor dampening effect on aggressive spiritual impulses. So, the whole 'smite the evil demon' thing is pretty much off the table. Which is good! Gleeb is terrified of you, and the cleaning staff just had the floors polished. Let's be civilized, hmm?"

And with that, she was gone.

Lan Yue was left alone, her hand still on the cool, hateful obsidian at her throat. The scent of the soup wafted over to her. Her stomach, traitorously, rumbled.

She was firm in her resolve. She was a disciple of the righteous path. She would not break.

But as she sat there, feeling more vulnerable and confused than she ever had in her life, she had to admit that being civilized was a much, much more terrifying prospect than a simple fight to the death.