The night sky was pitch black, thick, dark clouds like a giant shroud covering the city, so gloomy that not a single star could be seen. Outside, the heat was scorching, a dry heat that made one feel as if their chest was being squeezed with every breath.

However, stepping through the thick steel door of the interrogation room, that heat was suddenly stopped, giving way to a bone-chilling cold.

The murmurs of the soldiers outside were faint, low and intermittent, like radio interference. In the center of that oppressive silence, she sat there, her hands bound tightly to the iron chair, the ropes digging into her skin until it turned purple. Yet, there was not a trace of fear in her eyes. She gazed straight ahead with unwavering determination, her eyes like a blazing fire in the dark night, burning with intense resentment.

Opposite her, he—the young Major General in his impeccably neat uniform—slept comfortably back in his chair. The light shone down on his sharp features, highlighting his eyes as cold as millennia-old ice. He looked at me, his gaze so deep it seemed to pierce my very soul, and a slight, arrogant smile curled at the corners of his lips. It was the smile of someone holding the power of life and death, a cruel delight at seeing their prey, whom they had hunted for so long, struggling in vain.

The coldness emanating from him, meeting the fire of hatred in me, made the air in the room thicken into a powder keg, waiting for a single word to explode.

"You won my freedom, but you never won my soul."

He chuckled softly, a dry, cold laugh devoid of warmth, then suddenly his hand, which had been lifting her chin, tightened into a gentle but menacing grip. He forced her to tilt her head back, letting the flickering light illuminate the burning rage in her eyes.

"Stubborn," he whispered, his voice low and sharp like the wind whistling through a crack in the door. "I like things that are hard to tame. It makes my victory more valuable."

She spat a mouthful of clotted blood onto the stone floor, right next to his gleaming military boots. Her gaze remained unwavering, her unwavering resolve like a rock standing firm against the icy storm raging from him.

"You will never tame me, General. You can bind my body, but my loyalty is not in your hands."

Hearing the word "loyalty," the smile on his lips froze. His eyes darkened, a fleeting, frenzied possessiveness vanishing beneath the icy exterior. He pressed his face close to hers, so close she could smell the scent of sandalwood mixed with the distinctive smell of gunpowder on him.

"Loyalty?" he repeated, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Let's see how much your loyalty is worth when faced with survival."

He turned toward the door, ordering in a cold voice, "Get out. Tonight, I will personally 'interrogate' this traitor."

The murmurs outside ceased instantly. The footsteps of his subordinates faded, giving way to a deathly silence. Now only the two of them remained in the room, the stifling heat of summer seemingly swallowed up by his icy demeanor.

He slowly removed his black leather gloves, revealing long, slender fingers that held a terrifying strength. He looked at her, a gaze that seemed both to break and to protect, then whispered:

"Now... it's just you and me. Let's see how long your hatred can withstand my hand."

"When the door closes, the boundary between enemy and possession is but a breath."

In the cold interrogation room, the murmurs of the subordinates suddenly choked in their throats. A humiliating "hiss" echoed.

She defiantly lifted her head, spitting a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva directly onto the handsome, arrogant face of the Major General. A dark red streak of blood ran down his cheek, like a crack in an eternal ice sculpture.

The entire room fell into a deathly silence. The guards turned pale, bowing their heads in unison, silently praying for the most painless death for her. No one dared believe anyone would dare insult the "Lion of the Government" like this.

The arrogant expression on his face vanished, replaced by a dark rage. He no longer maintained his feigned composure. His hand reached out, gripping her chin so tightly that her jawbone cracked.

"Do you think death is the only way out?" he roared, his voice hoarse with anger. "Swear at me! Use your mouth to curse me. But remember, the ten children I rescued are in my hands. With just a frown from me, they'll be annihilated!"

She glared at him, tears mixing with her resentment. She cursed him with the most venomous words, calling him a traitor, a devil who had murdered both their families and the person they both loved. He said nothing more, only coldly ordered: "Knock them unconscious and take them to my private villa!"

....

Fragments of Memory: The Vow Under the Reed Field

It was a breezy autumn afternoon ten years ago, when you and I were still teenagers with souls as pure as a spring. You held my hand, standing before the fiery horizon, and solemnly swore: "When we grow up, we will be the sword and shield of this country. I will protect justice, you will protect faith."

At that time, you were my best friend, my older brother, the whole world of righteousness in my eyes.

But little did I know, behind the gentle smiles of our parents were blood-stained contracts. I overheard a cruel negotiation in a closed room: Your parents and my parents were colluding with foreign powers. They were not only plotting to raise taxes to exploit the poor, but even more cruelly—they had set a date to "sell" you as a political commodity, a pawn to consolidate their corrupt power.

He chose a path of no return. To protect her from the filth of his own family, he stained his hands with blood, overturned everything, and accepted the label of traitor to eradicate the seeds of evil from within. He'd rather she hate him to the bone than know that the people she loved most valued her soul in monetary terms.

The Awakening in a Glass Cage

She woke up with a start, her breath coming in short gasps. Her first sensation was a heaviness in her ankles—the cold, clanging sound of iron chains. She found herself no longer in her tattered, blood-stained clothes, but in a silk garment, eerily soft.

The luxurious but gloomy villa room was so silent that she could hear her own heartbeat. And there, right beside the bed, he sat.

The soft yellow light of the bedside lamp illuminated his face, softening the sharp features of the ruthless General from moments before. Seeing her sobbing in her sleep, his hand trembled slightly as he reached out to gently touch her cheek, awkwardly wiping away her hot tears.

"Are you awake?" – His voice was hoarse, devoid of any authority, only filled with weariness.

She looked at him, her eyes still burning with hatred, yet his hand was strangely gentle. She didn't know that those ten children were the only remaining lives he was trying to save from the old regime, and her imprisonment was his only way of keeping her safe from the guns of the remnants of the regime who were hunting her down.

"Don't look at me like that..." – He whispered, a hint of brokenness in his eyes – "At least for now, let me think we're still friends."

"The truth is sometimes a poison, and I'd rather you live in the pain of hatred than die in that cruel truth."

He sat there, his weary eyes watching her in the dim light. On the table was a tray of steaming hot porridge, the steam rising in wisps, but she still turned her face away, that silent resistance like a knife cutting into his heart. He stifled a sigh, trying to suppress the anger welling up inside him because of her stubbornness.

Knock, knock.

A dry knock echoed. He stood up, straightened his uniform, and left the tray of food and a small note on the table: "Eat. Don't let the children see you wasting away like this."

As the lock clicked and his footsteps faded away, Rei—the teenager consumed by hatred—finally succumbed to his gnawing hunger. He picked up his spoon, eating with tears in his eyes; the porridge tasted sweet, but his heart was filled with bitterness.

The Encounter in the Corridor of Power

Outside, he strode with his close aide toward the supreme conference room. In the gleaming marble hallway, he came face-to-face with Calla Lily—the powerful General with her ever-present sharp smile.

He stopped, bowing in military fashion: "General Lily."

Lily looked at him, her gaze sweeping over the weariness hidden in the young Major General's eyes. She smiled faintly, her voice soft but weighty: "The Major General seems overly concerned with the 'toy' in the villa, doesn't he? Don't let those extraneous matters shake the overall situation. The government doesn't like pawns with weaknesses."

He looked up, responding in a cold tone: "Thank you for the reminder, General. But I know how to control my own 'weaknesses.' You should be more concerned about the unstable eastern region."

Lily chuckled, her eyes suddenly becoming as sharp as razor blades: "Well done. Keep that momentum going. After today's meeting, we'll be colleagues in the same district. Congratulations, future General."

The meeting was tense. Military maps were laid out, new tax policies and plans to purge the remnants of the old regime were ruthlessly passed. He sat there, his face expressionless, signing documents that would change the fate of the nation, all just to maintain the throne high enough to protect Rei alone.

The Silence After the Storm

When the meeting ended, he returned to the mansion well past midnight. Entering the room, he saw the empty food tray, a rare warmth creeping into his heart, though his face remained as cold as ice.

Rei was asleep. After five months of captivity, his body seemed to have begun to adapt to reality. He lay curled up, his shackled legs now bearing faint scars, his breathing steady in his deep sleep.

He approached, gazing at the face of his former best friend—the only one left in his ruined world. He gently adjusted the blanket, his hand lightly stroking Rei's hair, muttering to himself:

"As long as you're still alive here, even if you hate me to the core... all this betrayal is worth it."

"The years have worn away the sharpness of the chains, but they have only thickened the wall separating two hearts that once beat as one."