[Blade nods. He's only dancing over that part for now, but he'll come back to it.]
The High Cloud Quintet became something like folk heroes to the Xianzhou. They had many great victories in a short amount of time. But Yingxing grew older, and it was plain to him and his lover that their fate was to be a sad one. Still, they resolved to live every moment like their last.
[In. Out. In. Out. He can feel the emotion rising. The... anger. The betrayal. The grief. The love and hatred... it's more powerful than he is. He has to be careful not to awaken it again.]
But there is no escaping the cost of war, which is as eternal as the Xianzhou people. Having lost nearly everything, Yingxing and Imbibitor Lunae worked in secret toward a solution that could break the cycle. During that final act of defiance, Yingxing was killed by one of their own while defending Imbibitor Lunae.
[His crimson eyes settle on Dan Heng.]
That ought to be where that story ends, but the book went on.
The power that granted immortality to the Xianzhou people also flowed into Yingxing. He was twisted from a human into an abomination. He came back wrong.
[He finishes his drink and sets the cup down.]
... His killer took his life. Over and over... until he lost his mind. Until he forgot everything but the sensation of death. She abandoned him eventually, and he wandered without a name. He floated in and out of his memories. He longed for his lover and his friends, and could not be reunited with them.
He remembered both the joy and the sorrow, the love and the hatred. His dear one did this to him, but it was a sin they committed together. They both had to pay for it... His killer, too, had sins to repay. So he resolved to find them, no matter how far he had to go.
One day, he felt his love's hand in his.
That day, the chase began.
[Blade rolls up his right sleeve to show the bracer tied around it. He undoes the bindings and sets it on the table in front of Dan Heng, and he says nothing.]
no subject
The High Cloud Quintet became something like folk heroes to the Xianzhou. They had many great victories in a short amount of time. But Yingxing grew older, and it was plain to him and his lover that their fate was to be a sad one. Still, they resolved to live every moment like their last.
[In. Out. In. Out. He can feel the emotion rising. The... anger. The betrayal. The grief. The love and hatred... it's more powerful than he is. He has to be careful not to awaken it again.]
But there is no escaping the cost of war, which is as eternal as the Xianzhou people. Having lost nearly everything, Yingxing and Imbibitor Lunae worked in secret toward a solution that could break the cycle. During that final act of defiance, Yingxing was killed by one of their own while defending Imbibitor Lunae.
[His crimson eyes settle on Dan Heng.]
That ought to be where that story ends, but the book went on.
The power that granted immortality to the Xianzhou people also flowed into Yingxing. He was twisted from a human into an abomination. He came back wrong.
[He finishes his drink and sets the cup down.]
... His killer took his life. Over and over... until he lost his mind. Until he forgot everything but the sensation of death. She abandoned him eventually, and he wandered without a name. He floated in and out of his memories. He longed for his lover and his friends, and could not be reunited with them.
He remembered both the joy and the sorrow, the love and the hatred. His dear one did this to him, but it was a sin they committed together. They both had to pay for it... His killer, too, had sins to repay. So he resolved to find them, no matter how far he had to go.
One day, he felt his love's hand in his.
That day, the chase began.
[Blade rolls up his right sleeve to show the bracer tied around it. He undoes the bindings and sets it on the table in front of Dan Heng, and he says nothing.]