Chapter Text
The clang of blades rang out from the courtyard, loud enough for passersby to hear. Inside the yard, was the young lieutenant sparring with another cloud knight. The two broke apart, now on opposite sides. The knight lofted a standard issue glaive, while Yanqing held tightly onto the hilt of one of his many swords. It had no extra abilities, just a simple, well made weapon. The referee for the match called for them to continue and the two clashed once more. It took only five minutes for the match to end. While the new recruit could hold his own, it wasn’t enough to keep the General’s retainer at bay. The knight had gotten cocky, a grin on his face as he traded blows with the teen. And then Yanqing saw an opening. He quickly disarmed the knight, the glaive clattering a few feet behind him, now held at sword point. Said sword was quickly dropped and exchanged for a hand to shake. “That was a pretty good match, just make sure that next time you don’t get too proud, your overconfidence let me disarm you easily.”
The knight nodded quickly, and went to collect his weapon. As the cloud knights began to depart, the young lieutenant stayed behind, polishing his sword. He took great care in the process, pulling out a designated cloth and whetstone, gently but thoroughly removing any scratches or rolls. “You did good work today my friend, now it is time to rest.” Yanqing often talked to his swords, praising them for jobs well done, and comforted them (and himself) on the rare chance he lost.
Done with his task, he moved to get up and winced at the dull pain in his ribs. The General would scold him for it, but Yanqing would rather break his most treasured sword than not bind. The fear of being looked down on for his gender outweighed his fear of a scolding. He quickly moved back to his quarters, in hopes of getting home to change before his father General. He somehow managed, with meetings running late in the Sanctum. He didn’t want to worry the older man after all. Being a burden wasn’t acceptable. And so Yanqing returned home, ignoring Mimi’s distrustful glare and changed quickly into more comfortable, and more importantly, cleaner clothes for dinner.
Dinner was quick. A simple bowl of soup with bread. The pair were both exhausted from the long day, and went their separate ways for the night. Yanqing called out a hasty goodnight to his father, before retreating into the sanctity of his room. Gentle blue walls adorned with painted clouds greeted him, and a majority of the space held numerous swords. A plain navy blue bed with swallows decorating a quilt sat in the corner. On top was a worn lion plushie, a frayed red ribbon tied around its neck. The teen changed into sleeping clothes, and crawled under the blankets. Within a few minutes, sleep crawled into his senses, and pulled him under.
Yanqing opened his eyes to find himself floating in space. Another one of these dreams… He sighed and closed his eyes again, hoping that he would simply find himself in a different dream or the waking world. It had worked the past couple times he had dealt with this situation. Instead, he found himself stuck in the void. Except this time, he heard a strange noise, the sound of vines growing, similar to the sound when someone becomes marastruck. Accompanying it was the gentle jingle of bells. The void began to waver and distort, until he was face to face with who he could only assume was Yaoshi THEMSELF. The young lieutenant shuddered and tried to look to the side, hoping that he would simply wake up from this nightmare. But the aeon had other plans. THEY spoke with a melodic voice, gentle and soft, with an air of danger. The exact opposite of THEIR impact on the Luofu.
“Hello my little one… You must be curious about my presence, even disgusted… Such a shame…”
One of six hands came close enough to brush a stray strand of blond hair out of his face, a look of concern and pity was clear on the Aeon’s face. Yanqing wanted to scream, to threaten and pull out a sword in retaliation. But he was frozen, whether in fear or sleep paralysis, he didn’t fully know. He could only let tears escape the corners of his eyes. He would never admit it, but he was terrified. Was this the end for him? Would he wake up with no control over his mind or body? A slave to the Abundance? Watch his father cut him down out of mercy? He wouldn’t go down without a fight. It was a battle to even get the words out of his throat, but he somehow managed.
“I- I won’t turn into one of your mindless beasts! I won’t allow it!”
The Aeon laughed, a light sound, almost akin to the earlier bells. THEY frowned, brows creasing together into a face of both pity and concern. It was if THEY actually cared about him. Which couldn’t be true. He was a follower of Lan after all. He wanted Yaoshi dead. Awfully enough, Yanqing could almost see the same tenderness in THEIR gaze that the General had when looking after him. It was terrible. Another arm came around, attempting to pull him closer, and he tried to dodge, but his body was weighed down like lead in water. He found himself only a few meters away, close enough to smell the sickeningly sweet smell of flowers and rot. THEY chuckled at his fear.
“Oh little swallow… you have no clue do you?”
Not a moment was given for him to process his disgust at that nickname being used by THEM before a flood of images appeared around him. They were like movies, scenes so achingly familiar yet distant. A cave in a wartorn battlefield, shrouded in ice. A young child walking by a potted tree, its branches reaching for them. The Abundance, cradling a newborn with blond hair in THEIR six arms. Yanqing, after years of wondering where he had come from, had finally gotten his answer. Shock flooded his system. Was he just a pawn? He had been raised to go against the very thing that created him? Was he made to corrupt his very home from the inside out? Yaoshi, in their kindness, pulled him into a hug. He was a monster. An abomination. He sobbed, the first action of his that wasn’t like moving through mud.
“See my little one? You’re perfect. Just let me finish the job…”
By some unseen force, he was pulled back, his arms outstretched to his sides. Energy began to coil around him, Yaoshi attempting to put the finishing touches on THEIR trojan horse, giving no choice in the matter. Yanqing fought as best as he could, thrashing in the Aeon’s hold, as the very core of his soul began to warp. He could feel his mind slipping away, and he sobbed. He didn’t want to go. Not like this.
He thought of the twins, and their endless kindness towards him.
He thought of March 7th, his student and friend.
He thought of Dan Heng, a man who he had learned to trust, and was rewarded with a brotherly figure.
He thought of Bailu, and their escapades to get snacks from street vendors.
He thought of Yunli, and their bickerings about swords. Their friendship.
He thought of the General. No. His father, his Baba, who had cared for him endlessly, the man who taught him how to wield a sword, how to cook, how to use the secret alleyways that made for good exits when the press became too much.
Yanqing screamed, and ice began to form around him in a shield, keeping him from corruption. Yaoshi chuckled and ceased THEIR efforts.
“My little swallow, so strong and fiery. I am proud…”
Everything went black.