˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

Yue leaned her head on the Weeping Willow's trunk, looking at the moon's dim brightness in the clouded night sky. She just woke up from a deep slumber and yet again, everything felt so real as though she was entirely inside her dreams.

She could still feel the rough ground where she fell, the smell of the blood, the mud... "the mythical stone," she mumbled. "I can use it to bring my family back to life, right? The warrior I met in my dreams revealed that the stone grants three wishes; two have already been used, that leaves me to one."

The cold wind blew and feathered her long hair in the air.  "I must have it," Yue clenched her hands, turned to her heels, and stopped when she came face to face with a woman dressed in white hanfu, wearing a white distorted mask. 

Gale fanned the colorful shrubs in the meadows they are standing on, making the atmosphere a little eerie between the two.

Just by looking at the long, white staff she's holding, which resemble's the Grim Reaper's Scythe, Yue already knew it's Fēn: Guardian of the Lost Souls.

"Where are you heading, Yue?" Fēn asked; her voice sounded like a whisper, mayhap, a conscience. It can't be heard so clearly, but you'll know what it's trying to say.

"What makes you so interested with my business all of the sudden?" Yue answered calmly and walked pass by Fēn, but halted a few steps behind her when she spoke.

"I know the Dream Guardian showed you the bloodstone," Fēn faced her. "Do you actually think a mere stone could bring the dead back to life without any sacrifices?"

Yue turned halfway, just enough for Fēn to see her face. "How do you think I became a guardian? A lonely guardian, that is. I should have lived, but I wasted the sacrifices of the people who gave their lives for me."

For a moment, Fēn fell into silence, before finding the right words to say. "You met with Yixing, didn't you?!" For the first time, her voice became clear. "You could have placed yourself in danger! Travelling through time and knowing your past is extremely prohibited. Do you really want to be sealed away by the gods?!"

Yue's lips thinned. "If it means I could bring my family back, I won't mind. You don't know what loneliness could bring, Fēn. You won't understand. So, if you wanna relay my transgressions to the gods, you're free to do so. Either way, I'd eventually leave this world someday."

Fēn, a biddable creature and loyal to the gods, suddenly wavered. "Defying the gods' rules bear several consequences other than just being sealed," her voice drew back into its normal tone. "Just so you know, I don't want to escort you to the underworld, Yue."

Yue looked at her for a split second and shifted her eyes forward. "I appreciate your concern, Fēn. Nevertheless, I believe the Dream Guardian revealed the bloodstone to me for reasons I'd probably figure out when I get myself in Mount Penglai."

Be there nothing else that she could do, Fēn nodded and watched Yue getting surrounded by a body of wind which gently lifted her in the air, carrying her towards Mount Penglai's direction.

Mount Penglai was the preternatural island of the afterlife located somewhere beyond the horizon which didn't took so long for Yue to find. She expected to see what she exactly saw in her dreams; however, she failed to remember the part that Mount Penglai was a battle ground, thus, dead bodies are lying everywhere.

Hovering, Yue watched every warrior in distress. She didn't have the idea what could have happened, not until her eyes captured a man, in red hanfu, sitting on top of a hill--no--a pile of dead bodies!

"You really came," the man grinned, fixing the eyepatch on his right eye, before standing up. "I've been waiting for you, Yang Ying Yue."

Yue froze; she loses concentration that the wind that was carrying her, diminished, and she fell on her knees down the muddy ground, stained with blood. 

Memories started flashing in her mind. Although it's still clouded, the face she was seeing drew familiarity.

Yue swallowed. Trembling, she raised her head. She didn't know how to react as the man in front of her, the Dream Guardian--the man whom everyone referred to as Yi Fan--holds the face of their eldest brother, Ling.

"They're right, you indeed look like me and it's making me furious," he jeered.

Yue pressed her lips together and rose. "I-I came for the bloodstone. Perhaps, do you have it?"

"No, it has been hidden underneath this island. The mythical stone which caused the death of these people... greed, really. Unfortunately for them, the gates, to where the stone was sealed, can only be opened by someone who could bend the four elements. You're the Nature Guardian, you could do it."

Yue's brows slowly met. "You're using me and then use the stone's last wish for your own, is that it?"

"If there's a better way that I could say it, I would, but I don't really care. I need that stone, so I could remember! I need to know what happened to me otherwise, I might go mad. You understand right?! You wanted the same, right--"

Ling gasped when Yue suddenly flew in front of him and gave him a warm and gentle hug. 

"I do," Yue whispered. "This time, I'll be the one to save you."

Even though Ling is confused to what's happening, the way Yue embraces him calmed him down and, somehow, it made him feel... "Home" he muttered.

𝐀/𝐍: 𝐌𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨, 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝, 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐈𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮.