ZHU YAN/ZHUO YI CHEN
Zhao Yuan Zhou didn't know what to expect after catching up to Zhuo Yi Chen and trying to free him, but no matter what he might have imagined, it certainly wasn't what he saw at that moment. As far as he could see, there was only a vast land of rocks and darkness, with a few embers of fire falling here and there, and a blood-colored storm with red lightning occasionally illuminating the desolate place in the distance. He turned around, searching for the one who should also be in the dimension where they had been trapped, perhaps for life, but he saw no one, which drove him even closer to panic.
"Yi Chen! Zhuo Yi Chen! Xiao Zhuo!! Where are you?!" The great demon cried out as he ran looking for him, but his cries were useless, for no matter how much he ran and shouted his name, there was no trace of him anywhere.
"Please... please, let me at least be with him in this desolation! You can keep me here as long as you want, but let me be with him one more time!" Zhu Yan pleaded with the ancient beast that had trapped their minds there and, almost as if obeying his plea out of pity or understanding, he heard a soft groan behind a nearby rock that brought tears of relief to his eyes. With the heart in his throat, Zhu Yan ran to him, finding his beloved demon hunter lying on the ground, with traces of blood on his jaw and lips, which was a worrying sign that he was even more injured.
"Xiao Zhuo! Xiao Zhuo!" He took him in his arms and gently wiped the blood with his fingers. The action made Zhuo Yi Chen groan once more and Zhu Yan hugged him harder to try to give him some of his warmth, when he felt Yi Chen was as cold as ice on his arms.
"Everything will be alright... we're together now," Zhu Yan whispered, tenderly hugging him and placing a soft kiss on the top of his head.
"Idiot... you shouldn't be here with me," Zhuo Yi Chen whispered as he slowly opened his eyes and looked around.
"That was mean, Xiao Zhuo... without you I have no place to be."
"Liar... you have a place with Wen Xiao and the duty to help her protect the Wilderness." Zhuo Yi Chen whispered before closing his eyes again and letting his head rest on the great demon's chest.
"It's true that I have a duty to protect the Wilderness, but it is not love that binds me to her." Replied Zhu Yan as he gently stroked Zhuo Yi Chen's long black hair.
"Then what is it that binds us, Zhu Yan?" Zhuo Yi Chen asked and felt soft lips kiss him briefly, too briefly for his liking.
"It's love and guilt, pain and happiness, despair and salvation, as well as a curse that has made us begin our journey with hatred, but end it with longing and desire. Does that sound right to you, Xiao Zhuo, or am I wrong?" He asked the man in his arms, who smiled slightly.
"No. We're surrounded by so many emotions that sometimes it's hard to name just one," He whispered wearily.
"I'm sorry... Xiao Zhuo. I'm sorry for hurting you when I couldn't help it, completely lost in the malicious energy I was born with, and for when I could have spared you further suffering and asked you to take my life when you were most vulnerable and unwilling to do so." Zhu Yan murmured against the top of Yi Chen's head before resting his own over it.
"It doesn't matter now, Zhu Yan, because first, you free me from my oath, and second, we're trapped here in this dark and barren world for eternity. I guess our plan went down in flames because we found neither answers nor salvation." Zhuo Yi Chen sighed.
"I think it's too soon to give up, Xiao Zhuo. I'm still a great demon, remember?" Zhu Yan did his best to cheer him up.
"No, you're the shadow of a great demon, with your senses sealed even now. In fact, we're both in bad shape, completely unprepared to face dangers greater than we could bear. My ancestor was too mean to a dying descendant like me..."
"No mean, but bored to death..." Zhu Yan corrected and Zhuo Yi Chen smiled.
"What is this place anyways? It's as if there's no life here, too dark and oppressive, not to mention silent and cold," Zhuo Yi Chen said, trembling, as Zhu Yan hugged him tighter.
"I suppose this is the primordial world, the ancient world where your ancestor Bing Yi lived and fought. This is the world before the stars started to shine int the night, before Ying Long sacrificed himself to give it more life. The funny thing is, somehow, deep down, this place makes me want to become a star too..." Zhu Yan admitted and Zhuo Yi Chen slapped his chest in disapproval.
"You and your desire to die. I suppose it can't be helped, since you were him in another life, right?"
"Yes, but that's Ying Long, not Bing Yi... so why do I feel like Bing Yi's presence isn't completely here... it's more like..."
"Ying Long only?"
"Yes. I can't put my finger on it, but there are lingering feelings here; sadness, loneliness, longing, loss, and sacrifice. I may be wrong, but this dimension isn't what I expected from a great dragon like Bing Yi, much less when you don't seem to be comfortable here."
"But if this place is Ying Long's creation, why is it in Bing Yi's forbidden area? I know they were soulmates, but... Oh... I see..." Zhuo Yi Chen gasped in surprise, thinking of something.
"What?"
"Help me up, Zhu Yan."
"Do you know anything about this?" The great demon asked, lifting his beloved easily, but without letting go completely, in case he was too weak to stand for long.
"Bing Yi was too much in love to let go of Ying Long altogether. He used a spell to keep a small part of Ying Long's soul inside what was left of him..."
"Oh? So, at the top of the stairs... those bones preserved there, are not from Bing Yi but from Ying Long?" Asked Zhu Yan as understanding dawned on him.
"The Cloud Light Sword came from Ying Long's bones and what was left of those bones would certainly be a treasure that he would keep as well as the precious soul he could not retain in his lifetime."
"So that's how the legend of a treasure born and for which so many demons risked their lives."
"Yes. The bones and soul of Ying Long. Just as Nuwa preserved Bing Yi blood, so did he with the person he loved."
"But Bing Yi became mortal and could no longer stay here after that."
"That's why this place feels so lonely and oppressive. Just like you said before, it's longing... no wonder he wanted company as desperately as even a dying man and his idiot death lover mate will do, to pass the time. He... he was also left behind..." Said Zhuo Yi Chen with sadness as he looked around more closely.
That should have been a special place where two souls could bond for eternity, but instead they ended up alone. It was heartbreaking to say the least, but earlier, when Bing Yi's blood entered his body, he felt the same thing from Bing Yi, the same loneliness and unfairness. Those two... and them were so alike, it was uncanny.
Seeing Zhuo Yi Chen so affected by the emotions in the place, Zhao Yuan Zhou gently turned Zhuo Yi Chen so they could stare at each other. After cupping his pale but beautiful face, he kissed him tenderly, meeting no resistance this time.
"Whatever happens, we won't end up like them," Zhu Yan tried to reassure him as he kissed again, though there was nothing to be assured of when they were trapped forever.
"Any idea how we can escape from this place? I'm worried about what might still happen to Wen Xiao and Pei Si Jing. I also wonder if they were told how to repair the sword. We still need to save Bai Jiu from Li Lun and find out if nothing really happened to Ying Lei. I know I volunteered to be here, and I was going to comply, but since you came uninvited and left them alone, I can't give up so easily and give up their protection," Zhuo Yi Chen said as he broke away from the kiss.
"This is a domain, and a very powerful one if it's still standing after so many centuries. With the power of creation, this domain can only be destroyed by a god or by whoever created it in the first place," Zhu Yan explained, and Yi Chen placed his hand over his heart as a sudden pain assailed him.
"Xiao Zhuo!"
"If this is truly Ying Long's domain, then we can't do anything, since your connection with him hasn't been established yet. But what about Bing Yi? Can my connection with him break it?" Zhuo Yi Chen asked weakly and Zhu Yan, sensing his condition worsening, picked him up and placed him on a large rock so he would sit and rest.
"You're in no condition to push yourself any further than you already have. You said I have a death wish, but you're no different from me. How could you ask to be frozen in a forbidden cave when you were already dying?"
"That's exactly why."
"Xiao Zhuo, being too noble isn't a virtue, but a curse that will one day kill you, as is happening right now."
"I had no choice, right? Would you rather I chose Wen Xiao or Pei Si Jing?"
"Not them, me!"
"Ah, why this again? When am I going to get it through your mind that I don't want you to die? Yes, you killed my brother and father, whom I love with all my being and part of me hates you with a passion for it, but in the end, it was the malicious energy that killed them, and I understand that now! Please, stop that... it hurts too much, so don't make it worse!" Zhuo Yi Chen cried out in pain, and Zhu Yan hugged him with a heavy heart. While there was undeniable love between, there was also pain, a kind of pain that may never heal.
"I'm sorry... I won't do it again. I'm sorry... calm down, Xiao Zhuo... please calm down..." He whispered to the man who was now hugging him as if his life depended on it, sobbing into his chest, completely exhausted in mind and body.
"We have to leave..." Zhuo Yi Chen whispered as he tried to control himself.
"I'll think about it. Don't worry... there must be something we can use. Maybe I can try my one-word spell and see if it works." Zhu Yan suggested and Yi Chen sighed.
"I'll ask Bing Yi..."
"No, you're too weak..."
"Zhu Yan..."
"Xiao Zhuo, if my death is off limits, then so is yours," Zhu Yan whispered as he gently pulled him in for another kiss, hoping to distract him enough to give up the idea.
"I wish we could have what you two have achieved, even after so much pain and struggles. It's not that I didn't love Bing Yi enough, but because if I deepened our relationship, our separation would be harder to accept and overcome. By not acting on my feelings for him, I was considerate of what would be less painful to his heart." Someone else said behind him and Zhu Yan immediately stood up and place himself in front of Zhuo Yi Chen, ready to use the one-word spell at any given second.
"You're so protective of him, I love that." Ying Long told them both, and beside him, Bing Yi snorted.
"It's rude to interrupt others' intimate moment, you know? Be ashamed of yourself Ying Long." Bing Yi complained as he glared at his beloved yet cruel soulmate.
"Oh, my apologies. It's just that, well... watching from afar is also rude Bing Yi, are you ashamed of yourself then?" Ying Long smiled in turn at his beloved dragon. The kind of smile that melted all the ice Bing Yi had erected to protect himself from the endless pain of his loss.
"Never mind that, what you did is still wrong. The child's health is precarious at best, and you make it worse by freezing him to the bone just to test his resolve. I could have told you how worthy they are if you'd only asked. You knew I was inside the child from the moment you saw my mark on his neck." Bing Yi complained as two other stunned demons watched them argue in disbelief.
"Sure, sure, but who left me alone in a cold cave with no one to talk to for centuries?"
"You left me long before I did, and it wasn't because I wanted to. I couldn't stay there anymore."
"Well, don't be angry. Shouldn't you run up to me after so long without seen each other and do something like what your child did to my reincarnation and hug me tight and then kiss me? We can be less boring this time around." He joked, infuriating Bing Yi even more.
"You've lost your mind over the centuries, haven't you?" Bing Yi refuted, and Ying Long laughed even harder.
"Of course not! Relax... I'm not bullying your child anymore; I just thought he needed a little push to get things moving, and you saw how well that worked out."
"Really? You forced him to this point and he can't even stand right now."
"Ah, don't worry, I'll make it up to him with an extra special gift for the same price."
"Do it then."
"Hmm... What the hell is going on?" Zhuo Yi Chen finally asked, still sitting on the rock.
"You did it again, don't ask in such an authoritarian way," Zhu Yan scolded.
"This is ridiculous. I think we're both dead and in hell," Zhuo Yi Chen said in frustration as he rubbed his forehead.
"You're right, this is really ridiculous, Ying Long. Please explain to them how the curse started and if it can be broken," Bing Yi suggested, and Ying Long braced himself for a long explanation that would hopefully end with the happy ending he couldn't give his Bing Yi.
"Let me resume it for you first. The one who started this curse was the remnants of the god-turned-demon Chaos and it was already too late when I realize and warned your Clan of the destiny all Cloud Light Sword masters will face."
"Great, we are so dead..." Zhu Yan mutter under his breath and Yi Chen stared up at him.
"Shut up." He commanded, and Zhu Yan sealed his lips in absolute obedience. Seeing them, Bing Yi smiled fondly, promising himself that he would make this young man, still a child to him, grow up to be so powerful that no one could take anything from him or harm him.
He had begun to appreciate the family Yi Chen had formed, and from the mountain god who had already more than proven his worth, the young doctor Zhuo Yi Chen wanted to save, the goddess he wanted to protect, the huntress who was his shield and strength, to the demon he had fallen in love with, he would make sure to keep them all by his side until they had their happy ending and beyond and he was sure that Ying Long, couldn't agree more.
AN: Thanks for reading, this chapter have two versions, but I was kind of afraid that I got a little overboard with the other version been theory extreme, so I end up with this one which was softer. I hope it works and that you enjoy the reincarnation square presented here. Until next time, hopefully, take care.