he pouts a little at that, against all odds. push him to the brink and then jeopardize his choices, huh! the aches and residue of pain still linger at the edges of his memory, and automatically he seeks to catch his breath - if there's much point in that anymore? is he still alive in this illusion?
well, his consciousness is still here and so:]
I'd leave it to Hak and Yona.
The Thunder Beast and the Princess of Kouka - nothing more, nothing less.
You're the ones who removed General Joo-doh in that timeline! Picking a different general would create instability amidst the tribes as an act of favoritism, and cause an internal fracture within Kouka's borders.
This was the only sensible option.
[don't fucking argue with the disembodied voice you piece of shit]
[ that surely gets the reaction the white no face was looking for.
he has a relieved smile for hua cheng, at first, some of the tension disappearing off of his face as he comes to terms with the idea of solving the problem with hua cheng, and then --
it all happens so fast. he's being pushed - ] San Lang --
[ because even if he's a ghost, even if he's immortal, he shouldn't have to suffer. not for xie lian, he shouldn't have to hurt, not when xie lian can protect him from pain, because he deserves it. his face contorts, surprise, horror, and his hands are on hua cheng's back, as if he can pull him off and away from it, out of the way.
so he feels it the way his body starts to crumble, and xie lian's entire world falls apart at the seams. ]
San Lang! [ this time, it's a scream torn out of his throat, anguish and sorrow as another person dies for him. the people in the dream, his parents, wanting him to be free of their burden, the little girl from mt yu jun, more and more -
he can't look away as it's happening, panic and fear and confusion rising so fast it nearly takes him out. he drops to his knees with hua cheng as he's crumbling, trying to gather him in his arms as if he can hold his pieces together. xie lian has experienced so, so much loss in his life, and this is what he's always been afraid of. xie lian, you ominous star; the closer he got to someone, the more likely they were to end up like this. ] No -- no, no, San Lang, you can't - you promised, you can't --
[ and then.
nothing. shell shocked, he stays there on his knees, as the person he thought was invincible is gone. ]
[ Sure glad that Soo-won is arguing with a disembodied voice while Xie Lian's entire world is screaming for his not-husband.
To Soo-won, all is silent for a while, before he hears a distant response. ]
O Soo-won, short-lived Emperor of Kouka...
You, of all people, have no right to say that about that girl anymore.
[ Likewise, silence hangs in the air as Xie Lian collapses to his knees. Then, Bai Wuxiang speaks. ]
What a fool you are. I told you, did I not? You cannot protect anything. You never will.
[ And then he, too, disappears once more.
For both Soo-won and Xie Lian, their consciousness then fades. For the former, it's perhaps an expected, inevitable result of his death; for the latter, it may come more suddenly. Or, perhaps, the shock finally got to him. Who can say?
there are pieces of his memory that make it hard for him to grasp pervious events, that leave giant puzzle pieces missing, but none of it manage to touch the feeling of wrong every time he interacts with yona. he has no right to be by her side - even if he's not sure why that is.
but he knows it well, that someone as cursed as he, has no reason to be at the side of the one such as her. for all the kindness that she shows him, and the weakness she inspires -
he cannot go to her, and he cannot redeem himself.
even as his consciousness begins to fade, his emotions harden and he decides, firmly:
This is not over yet.
defiant to the last, still trying to take everything into his own hands.]
[ the bai wuxiang's voice is not the last thing xie lian hears, when his consciousness fades.
as blackness cordons off his vision, xie lian reaches upwards with a trembling hand, and finds the ring on a chain around his neck. his palm touches the cool metal, shaking fingers curling tight around it, until the edges prick into his palm, and it unbidden, two voices exchange in the back of his mind. the flippant one of a ghost, pretending to play a teenager, and a god, pretending to play a normal human being.
"there's a tradition in the ghost realm. in the case where that ghost has chosen a person, they would entrust their ashes into that person's hands."
"so, it turns out the ghost realm would have such a sentimental custom!"
"they do. but not many ghosts would dare to it."
his hand tightens around the ring.
...we aren't dead yet, he thinks, and everything goes black. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
he pouts a little at that, against all odds. push him to the brink and then jeopardize his choices, huh! the aches and residue of pain still linger at the edges of his memory, and automatically he seeks to catch his breath - if there's much point in that anymore? is he still alive in this illusion?
well, his consciousness is still here and so:]
I'd leave it to Hak and Yona.
The Thunder Beast and the Princess of Kouka - nothing more, nothing less.
You're the ones who removed General Joo-doh in that timeline! Picking a different general would create instability amidst the tribes as an act of favoritism, and cause an internal fracture within Kouka's borders.
This was the only sensible option.
[don't fucking argue with the disembodied voice you piece of shit]
no subject
he has a relieved smile for hua cheng, at first, some of the tension disappearing off of his face as he comes to terms with the idea of solving the problem with hua cheng, and then --
it all happens so fast. he's being pushed - ] San Lang --
[ because even if he's a ghost, even if he's immortal, he shouldn't have to suffer. not for xie lian, he shouldn't have to hurt, not when xie lian can protect him from pain, because he deserves it. his face contorts, surprise, horror, and his hands are on hua cheng's back, as if he can pull him off and away from it, out of the way.
so he feels it the way his body starts to crumble, and xie lian's entire world falls apart at the seams. ]
San Lang! [ this time, it's a scream torn out of his throat, anguish and sorrow as another person dies for him. the people in the dream, his parents, wanting him to be free of their burden, the little girl from mt yu jun, more and more -
he can't look away as it's happening, panic and fear and confusion rising so fast it nearly takes him out. he drops to his knees with hua cheng as he's crumbling, trying to gather him in his arms as if he can hold his pieces together. xie lian has experienced so, so much loss in his life, and this is what he's always been afraid of. xie lian, you ominous star; the closer he got to someone, the more likely they were to end up like this. ] No -- no, no, San Lang, you can't - you promised, you can't --
[ and then.
nothing. shell shocked, he stays there on his knees, as the person he thought was invincible is gone. ]
no subject
To Soo-won, all is silent for a while, before he hears a distant response. ]
O Soo-won, short-lived Emperor of Kouka...
You, of all people, have no right to say that about that girl anymore.
[ Likewise, silence hangs in the air as Xie Lian collapses to his knees. Then, Bai Wuxiang speaks. ]
What a fool you are. I told you, did I not? You cannot protect anything. You never will.
[ And then he, too, disappears once more.
For both Soo-won and Xie Lian, their consciousness then fades. For the former, it's perhaps an expected, inevitable result of his death; for the latter, it may come more suddenly. Or, perhaps, the shock finally got to him. Who can say?
But finally, they can know peace. ]
no subject
there are pieces of his memory that make it hard for him to grasp pervious events, that leave giant puzzle pieces missing, but none of it manage to touch the feeling of wrong every time he interacts with yona. he has no right to be by her side - even if he's not sure why that is.
but he knows it well, that someone as cursed as he, has no reason to be at the side of the one such as her. for all the kindness that she shows him, and the weakness she inspires -
he cannot go to her, and he cannot redeem himself.
even as his consciousness begins to fade, his emotions harden and he decides, firmly:
This is not over yet.
defiant to the last, still trying to take everything into his own hands.]
no subject
as blackness cordons off his vision, xie lian reaches upwards with a trembling hand, and finds the ring on a chain around his neck. his palm touches the cool metal, shaking fingers curling tight around it, until the edges prick into his palm, and it unbidden, two voices exchange in the back of his mind. the flippant one of a ghost, pretending to play a teenager, and a god, pretending to play a normal human being.
"there's a tradition in the ghost realm. in the case where that ghost has chosen a person, they would entrust their ashes into that person's hands."
"so, it turns out the ghost realm would have such a sentimental custom!"
"they do. but not many ghosts would dare to it."
his hand tightens around the ring.
...we aren't dead yet, he thinks, and everything goes black. ]