Luo Sect Medical Hall
Han Yan's POV...
My eyes fluttered open, inky-black pupils locked on the wooden ceiling above. Everything felt still. The air reeked faintly of frankincense and myrrh, sweet yet suffocating. I tried to move my arms, only to feel the cold bite of spiritual chains around my wrists. Fitting. I'd nearly destroyed everything two days ago.
During the Outer Court Competition, the seal embedded in my soul had shattered, unintentionally. I had lost control. The monster within me had been set loose. I don't even remember what happened to the disciple I was sparring with. I only remember waking up here, shackled to this bed. Alone. Surrounded by silence and suspicion.
Healers came and went. Some elders, too. I saw the way they looked at me, subtle flinches, darting eyes, tight lips. They tried to mask it, but I could feel their fear. Their contempt. They knew. They all knew.
They knew who I really was. What I really was.
It was the same look they gave me the day I first lost control, the day the devilish seal broke for the first time. Sister Lang'er... the children in the orphanage... All gone. Their laughter, their warmth, snuffed out in an instant by my hands. I hadn't meant to. I didn't even know what I was then.
That day, I swore never to undo the seal again. I buried that side of me, buried it deep. I came to the Luo Sect seeking redemption, a new beginning. But it was too late.
I wasn't a disciple anymore. I wasn't even a person. Just a vessel of something demonic. A walking anomaly.
If I had been born in the Devil Continents, perhaps I would've been revered, a savior even. But here? In this land of light and righteousness? I was a heretic. A ticking bomb. A beast that wore human skin.
I didn't want to be feared. I didn't want to be worshipped. I just wanted to be normal. Just a normal boy. But even that… was too much to ask.
I had tried to end it yesterday. I waited until the room was empty, and summoned every bit of energy I had left to destroy myself, to escape this cage, this torment, the shame of what I had become. But they stopped me. An elder caught me in the act, knocked me out before I could finish.
Now, all I could do was stare at the ceiling. Motionless. Empty. Wishing. Wishing things had turned out differently. Wishing I had been born without this cursed power. Wishing… I was someone else.
Tears slid silently down the sides of my face. My fists clenched against the restraints, trembling with helpless rage and sorrow.
I kept staring upward, stuck in my spiral, until something, someone, startled me.
A laugh. A light, careless laugh. It was contagious. Not mocking, not cruel, just real. I turned my head, my vision blurry through the tears, seeing through the paper walls of the Hall in which I was bound.
There stood a figure at the doorway. Tall, lean, wrapped in an alterated version of the sect's outer core robe. His silver-white hair was suspended upwards, held in place by a pristine blindfold. Something about him radiated calm... but underneath it, power, terrifying and unfathomable.
The moment my eyes met his, my heart skipped. The devil seal within me twitched. It churned, roared, raged, like it had come face-to-face with its natural predator. Or... its equal.
I couldn't look away. My breath caught in my throat. Who was this man? And why… did it feel like he was the only one who could truly see me?
POV change...
Gojo walked into the medical Hall, his usual swagger startling all the beautiful healer disciples, who immediately recognised who he was.
"Woah. It's Chen Zhen!!"
"He's so handsome!"
"I want to marry him.."
Gojo smiled and struck a few poses, basking in the glow and the radiance, of the googly eyed beautiful healing students who looked like they wanted to gobble him up.
"Thank you sisters..I'd have loved to accompany you, but unfortunately there's some business to attend to.." Gojo winked at them and then slipped through, laughing softly at their downcast faces before finally meeting the elder who was in charge of holding down his prisoner.
The moment their gazes met, Gojo laughed softly, while the elder rolled his eyes and continued reading the scrolls packed onto his desk. "It's actually Elder Feng!" Gojo exclaimed excitedly, while th mee man sighed. He was the one who had signed him into the outer court, and had stood up for him against Luo Li back then..
"Go on, scream out to the world. It's not as if I was doing something of importance.." The man facepalmed sarcastically, but Gojo shrugged. "You know Elder Feng, now that I think about it, I think the overgrown moustache really fits you well.." Gojo laughed and then rubbed his palms together. "I heard you have something...someone for me.."
The elder's eyes squinted for a moment and then he nodded. "If be careful if I were you. He's unstable and nearly brought down the entire place with him yesterday.."
Gojo gasped, startled. "Sounds like a real nut job.." He sighed and then rubbed his nape, as gestured to the old man who led him through a wooden and paper gate.
Gojo walked in behind the elder, his nose scrunching up in distate at the condition of the ward and the incensed atmosphere. He finally turned to a startled and disheveled Han Yan, bound by Yuan power chains like an animal.
"Elder Feng can you do me a favour." Gojo smiled. "Speak brat!" The elder was short tempered. "Can you get the chains off our dear friend here, he looks awful.." Gojo folded his arms and sent a reassuring nod to the Elder who grumbled "If he destroys anything, it's on your head.." before walking away..
Gojo's smile never dropped. His blindfolded gaze nerve leaving Han Yan either. Instead, he picked up a chair turned it around and sat, resting his arms and leaning forward into the backrest where his behind should've been.
For a moment, the two stared down, as pin drop silence reigned. Gojo's head was tilted, his small smile lighting up his face, while Han Yan shook for a moment, his body spasming, he grabbed his head for a moment and then roared in anguish, until he froze and lifted his gaze to meet Gojo once again..
"You...." His voice was hoarse, sweat dripped down his cheeks. Hid fists clenched tightly. "Oh good, you remember. I'm Chen Zhen. Let's start from the top.."
"You should've k-killed me! You should've killed me!" He grabbed his head, like a madman, exhibiting signs of instability, but Gojo merely chuckled. "Where's the fun in that.." Gojo rested his chin atop his arms, on the edge of the backrest of the seat, calmly staring at him.
"I am a monster.." His voice softened, at this point, and tears ran down his cheeks. Gojo smiled wavered. "Yes, you are.. But I've lived long enough to know that, not all monsters are evil and deserve death.." Gojo smiled. His words struck a chord in his own heart, bringing with it a string of memories.
Okkotsu Yuta, he remembered one of his own students, who had accidentally cursed himself for eternity, becoming a monster..
After a few minutes of silence, Han Yan's tears dried up, and he rested his back against the bed rest, looking back up at the ceiling.. "I lost control once, when I lived in an orphanage. I ended up killing the chaperone and hundreds of kids. Till this day, I never once got over their deaths, and it still haunts me. Do you still think I'm not evil.." His voice was hoarse, cracked even.
Gojo remained silent for a moment. "Yep. You're willing to sacrifice yourself to make sure the monster within you doesn't resurface. That's selflessness. I don't think I would've done that if I were in your shoes.."
Han Yan turned a gaze to see Gojo smiling. "Tell me, if you truly had control over your devilish power, what would you do?" Han Yan was stunned by Gojo's question, his eyes widening a bit. He had never really thought of this.
Han Yan was silent, his abyss black pupils staring at the ceiling. "I don't wish for world domination, neither do I want to rule. I just want to live my life normally, maybe have a family, a garden will be nice..." His voice seemed to trail behind as he lost himself in his thoughts.
Gojo nodded smilingly. "You could have all that, Han Yan. Nothing is impossible. But there's just a little problem.." Han Yan's eyes widened but Gojo leaned closer and tapped his finger onto his chest. "Those monsters inside you would not make it easy for you.. You're their host, you should know more than I do on what they truly want.
And what will happen to this world if they achieve their goals.. Of course, people like me would be there to stop them, but what if I'm not enough.." Gojo left his thoughts to run wild. "These devils do not operate on the moral standing we do.. To them, power is right and weakness is wrong. They'll kill everything you love, everything. They'll break you..."
Gojo's smile vanished. His blindfolded gaze seemed to peer through the youth's gaze, into his soul. Han Yan shook.
Each word was like hammers crashing onto his heart.
"And funnily enough, killing you is not an option.. We need you. Your future needs you. You'll need to wrestle control of your soul and take helm. This is your body, not theirs. Only you can suppress them..." Gojo's words were whispers in Han Yan's ears.
He clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth, his eyes sharpening with resolve. "I can't do it alone.." He finally uttered, which earned him a smile of approval from Gojo. "Of course, I'll help you control it, make it your own..." Gojo finally leaned back with a smile on contentment.
"So what about my execution?" Han Yan waited a bit and asked. "I stopped them from making that mistake, which means you're my responsibility now. Don't make me regret it.. Anyways...Bye now! Come see me when you're fully recovered!" Gojo arose animatedly, waving and laughing as he walked off.
Han Yan eyes lit up in a moment of realisation. "Wait! I remember something. The monsters within me, you scare them..They want to eliminate you,.." His words did not scare Gojo as he had expected. Instead, he leaned back with his signature smile and then shrugged. "Let them come..."
A/N: Sorry guys. I'm writing exams. I'm exhausted. I promise I'll be posting regularly