Chapter Text
For maybe the first time in his short life, Yingxing was inwardly panicking. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. How had our plan come to this? This pain, this searing pain , was not part of their plan. Yingxing desperately wanted to find his beloved, the eternally beautiful Imbibitor Lunae, Dan Feng , his mind unhelpfully purred, because this pain was not part of their plan. He needed to warn him. Yingxing struggled to get up, one foot in front of the other, but after only 3 measly steps, his head throbbed and his vision blurred once more. Collapsing to the ground, Yingxing continues to waste his energy, struggling, praying to get to Dan Feng.
It was to no avail.
Yingxing could only scream as the pain took over his entire body.
His last thought, before he passed out, was hoping that Dan Feng would realize that their plan had failed, and find him. Surely, Dan Feng would not abandon him?
Unbeknownst to Yingxing, Dan Feng was arrested and later forced into rebirth.
Inside the Shackling Prison held the lonely form of a tragically beautiful Vidyadhara. Their blue, green roles that would remind someone of the sea were no longer pristine; rather, their beauty was suffocated by the isolation. This Vidyadhara prayed with crystal tears rolling down their face that their beloved wasn’t hurt but only remorse answered said prayer. Whispers of the fate of his beloved craftsman were not kind as they spoke of a terrible monster who only knew pain. It wasn’t possible. The Vidyadhara prayed that it wasn’t possible, that they were wrong.
Inside the cold, dark cell that restricted his power, the Vidyadhara’s only solace came in the form of the moon. Bright, full, and brimming with the memories of a promise. Of a secret engagement. Oh, how this Vidyadhara yearned for his beloved as he gazes at the moon every night. When will I see him again?
When the Vidyadhara was told that he was to be forced into rebirth, everything felt cold and he had never felt more alone. If his craftsman were to see the Vidyadhara’s eyes, he would surely despair as blue eyes dulled until not even a spark of light could be found within them.
The Vidyadhara prayed one last time for fate to show him one last glimmer of kindness and reunite him with his beloved in the next life. Oh my beloved Yingxing, please come to me; do not leave me here forever, they implored as they walked towards their death.
No tears were shed that time, but the Vidyadhara’s heart carried his sorrows.
From the shell of a new hatchling emerged a new child, born inside prison. With no memories of the past, the child grew up in a lonely, dark cell, seemingly forever imprisioned.
Oftentimes, the child would look outside of their cell towards the moon with the feeling that they were missing something. An unknown emotion was forever present, only growing stronger when looking at the moon, but if one were to describe it, they would say that emotion was yearning. The child, naive to their emotions, could only gaze at the moon from their dark, cold cell. Often, the child would feel a wetness streaking down their face and they would wonder, why am I crying? , yet their question was always unanswered.
The child slowly grew up into an adolescent body, feeling as though they were forever trapped in confinement.
Only when a long, white-haired man came, did they set foot outside many, many years later. This man, with his wild hair cut and who called himself his “friend”, set him free. He was never to return to what is known as the Xianzhou Luofu.
Setting foot outside, the young dragon can’t help but close his eyes and bask in the warmth of the sun. He had seen the sun from his cell, but never had it felt this welcoming and warm. Even the eyes filled with hatred that watched him within this city could not deter his positive mood. The streets weren’t crowded just yet, as the morning had just come. But the sweet songs of the morning birds, the glistening morning dew that decorated life, and the low murmur of the citizens were entirely new to him. Looking around himself, he finds a shiny surface that reflects his own image clear as day. The adolescent looks at himself for the first time; from long, black hair, blue eyes, to worn, flowing clothes. Dan Heng. He wonders why the name sounds so wrong, yet so right. Nonetheless, this body is his. It belongs to him; to the name Dan Heng.
When the last of his shackles are taken off of him, the newly free adult only glances back at the magnificent and grand spaceship once more, before finally turning his head away to where the stars shimmer dimly and an uncertain future lies.
Now exiled from his homeland, the young adult sets out into the universe.
And all there was, was silence.