Lan Zhan's POV

Location: Earth. 69th Dimension.

It was cold. Cold and lonely. The sky had turned dark, and my life, with it. It was only right; the one who shone the brightest was gone.

I looked at the lifeless body cradled in my arms. The dead could feel cold, at least, till their souls hadn't reached the underworld. Did you know that?

Wei Ying loved the sun. He loved how warm it made him feel. Glancing up, I prayed for lightning to strike and claim me too. It hadn't been long since we had gotten our happily ever after. Not long at all.

The heavens had done me wrong; the world had done us wrong.

My fingers fisted in the dark fabric covering what was left of Wei Ying's robes. "Wei Ying, you never held back. You should have. You should have waited. Why didn't you?"

I waited for an answer I knew would never come. "Was it worth it, Wei Ying?"

I loved calling his name.

Wei Ying, who will I call now?

'Lan Zhan, stop calling my name so often, or you will wear it out!'

'Wei Ying.'

'What?'

'Wei Ying.'

'Whaaaaat!'

'Wei Ying.'

'Stop it!'

'Or what, Wei Ying?'

'If you don't, I will kiss you senseless here and now.'

'We are in the school's courtyard!'

'So?'

'That's no way for educators to behave.'

'Lan Zhan, they know we are together.'

'Still.'

'Come here, Lan Er gege!'

'Stop it, Wei Ying.'

'Sorry, you brought it upon yourself, Light-bearer.'

A feeling of loneliness gripped me, and my pristine white robes, in stark contrast to Wei Ying's burnt-up visage, shamed me.

Where were you, Light-bearer? Where were you when the love of your life was sacrificing himself?

I was called Light-bearer. Ironic, wasn't it, now that my light was gone.

"Wei Ying, forgive me."

"Are you angry, Light-bearer?" Someone mocked me from the shadows to my left. The familiar stench of sulfur tinted the air.

'An ancient evil,' The fighter in me warned; I ignored it. Nothing mattered anymore. What was the most it could do?

Dying would be a blessing, for living was a curse.

I had had enough of this curse.

"Have you gone deaf, or are you trying to ignore me?" The voice drifted closer.

I had had it with him, "Either do what you came here to do or get lost."

The vile thing chuckled, "Alright." and floated towards me, keeping to the shadows of the now-destroyed residences. The residents had fled without thinking about the fate of the one who had risked his life for them.

It stopped just before its primordial form came into contact with my robes.

The stench became more defined.

The Lan clan, my family, prided itself on many things, but our library was the most prized. I was the second most learned man in the lands...the most learned man now that Wei Ying was gone.

"Light-bearer," My name as it rolled off his tongue made bile rise to my throat. Suppressing the urge to retch, I pulled my soulmate closer and met the yellow orbs.

"I will get straight to the point," Its rotting flesh, thinning hair, and pointy ears exposed its identity as it stared at me.

"What?" I demanded curtly, eager to return my attention to Wei Ying. "If you are waiting for a reaction, it's not coming. I could smell you a mile away."

"I see. The rumors have some truth to them, how luckyyy," It dragged and ended with a toothless smile, "-for me."

"Spill or leave." I lowered my eyes, bringing them towards my sword, Bichen. Its soul was bound to me. No one could unsheath it except me...and Wei Ying.

"I have a proposition for you." It hissed and drew closer till we were face to face. "What would you offer me in return for bringing the dead man in your arms back to life?"

I reigned in the rage washing over me in waves. The gods had already made a mockery of our love. What made it think I would let it get away with it!?

"There is something I need you to do. A test of sorts. You already know who I am, Light-bearer. Whatever you know about me is true." It raised its tentacles towards my dead lover, "It has been only a few hours since his soul left his body. It hasn't reached the underworld yet. You know of this, don't you?"

Hope building in my heart, I nodded and decided to give it a chance to explain itself. If I so wished, I could kill it at a moment's notice.

"Of course, there is a price you need to pay for it. I won't do it for free." Its serpent-like body swayed, pride oozing out of its every pore.

If it had offered anything other than what it had, I would either have dismissed it or gotten rid of it, but this was all I needed; it was all I would ever need. Wei Ying.

Despite my instincts begging me to turn it away, I entertained it. Just for a little bit. "Don't talk in riddles."

It tilted its head, emulating the customary sign of bowing. It must have heard of me. "Light-bearer, the deal is simple: you follow the rules and do as told. No questions asked. It can be anything. Anything at all." It warned. "Even a life."

I reached for Bichen and unsheathed it. "Whose life? Mine?" I demanded, bringing it to my throat. It resisted but failed. I was its master, and it would always bend to my will.

A slimy, nauseating sound left the creature's chest. "Of course not."

"Then whose?"

"It's all hypothetical at the moment. I haven't decided. But let's say for convenience's sake that it's a man. One who doesn't want to live anymore. A man who wishes for death every day but is too much of a coward to end his life." It stalled, talking in riddles despite my warning as if it was waiting for something as if it had a death wish. All I needed to do to end its existence was stab its core and bleed it dry. The downside, I would die with it, or so my books in the Lan library speculated.

"I can't give you any more details, at least not before you agree to follow through."

I contemplate for a moment. Then, "Will you return Wei Ying to me just like he was before... " I trailed off, not wanting to put words to my thoughts. It hurt to do so.

"Yes," The creature hissed, "It will be like today never happened, and it never will." A moment's hesitation later, it added, "Ah, one more thing, you will not be doing this alone. There will be a man who will walk this path with you."

"Where will I find this man?"

"You won't have to. I will take you there." The creature called Kamloon replied.

Even legends shied away from speaking of it. Those unlucky to have encountered it had abandoned their mortal forms soon after. We knew it walked among Gods once upon a time but had fallen from grace thousands of years ago. It had sacrificed its body for demonic knowledge and power and was attracted to souls like mine: wrought with despair and resentment. I was not surprised that it had sought me out.

That was where my knowledge about it ended, for my library had failed to shed light on the creature's desires or what it fed on to keep living endlessly.

"And then what?"

"I told you, I can't tell you anything else till-"

"I will do it. I give you my word." I promise, "Now tell me what I need to do."

"Yes!" Kamloon sounded as if it was choking, but its expression said otherwise, "Welcome aboard, Light bearerrrrr." He dragged, turning into smoke, green and dense, right in front of my eyes.

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Chapter Word Count: 1339
Word Count so far: 4609