Bab 30: Forbidden Love Dies Young

*Things like sexism and racism are purely for worldbuilding and to make it more realistic. Thank you for your understanding.*

Two years ago. Year 91,854 of the 34th Seed.

...

The night was peaceful and the water was undisturbed as it shimmered gently.

Four moons were reflected on the surface of the gold-tinged water that covered the whole of the planet. Each was a different colour as they shone down with a guiding light.

The Red Moon contained a relaxing hue unbefitting of the destructive colour that normally brought disaster in its wake. The Blue Moon made one introspective as they pondered the mysteries of their own mind. The White Moon welled up a feeling of emptiness and sorrow as the hollow shade transformed everything into bleak and stark forms of themselves. And lastly: the Black Moon. It shone down with a black light that made one sink into a different and distant frame of mind; one that was absentmindedly cruel and callous.

The four lights that seemed to represent the mysteries of the heart graced the lonely planet with their presence as life was devoid of any corner of it.

Silence was all that roamed the thousands of kilometres except for the ethereal blow of the wind that sent waves along the gold water.

However, at this moment, life seemed to grace itself on the planet that was almost sad without it.

A deafening sound that echoed through the skies like a thunderous drum pierced the planet as the atmosphere was brutally torn through like paper. And with it, screams of wind reminiscent of banshees haunted the planet.

The screeching wind was horrifying as it almost sounded like a human crying for solace from the pits of Hell.

The thick clouds above the planet were instantly parted for as far as the eye could see as a figure flew high above the ground. However, instead of the graceful flying one would normally see from powerful cultivators, the figure in the sky wavered.

In the reflection of the gold water, one would see the figure shaking in the sky, desperate to stay above the ground. However, after no more than ten seconds of steady descent, the figure broke away from the clouds and fell to the gold sea at a terrifying speed.

The enormous weight of cultivators only made them fall harder. It was strangely poetic how the beings that had abandoned their earthly shackles only fell faster toward it when their power was stripped from them.

The skies cried with echoes of horror as the figure fell from the sky, almost as if a God had fallen from heaven.

Free falling for no more than a minute, the figure smacked the surface of the gold sea with a force of unimaginable scale. The water parted in waves thousands of meters high as they almost fled in all directions from where the figure had fallen.

The gargantuan waves spread to every corner of the planet and back before falling themselves and creating a rough and stormy sea that no mortal could ever survive in. Gold water churned and tided as waves broke and formed constantly, with the capacity to deafen even cultivators.

The parted clouds exposes the night sky which contained millions of stars as well as a blue star that seemed to be moving.

Amidst the waves larger than cities and a thunderous applause from them, a shadow shot up from the sea and burst into the sky with immense speed. It floated but meters above the surface while looking around constantly with eyes that formed into small hurricanes of wind.

Suddenly, a worrisome feeling could be felt through the eyes of the cultivator that could pierce even the air. It was a worry that had the power to move the heavens to reinforce it.

And before the water itself could even react, the cultivator had plunged deep into it once again.

A strange period of interlude graced the surface. Being the only life on the planet, it felt as though the eyes of the planet itself were solely focused on the cultivator. A feeling none would notice, not even Immortals.

All the while, a certain blue star moved ever closer.

...

Darkness.

Darkness was all that Huoyan Mei could feel.

As she drifted deeper and deeper into the abyss of hate, sadness and malice; she felt its suffocating grip start to feel comfortable.

She wanted to stay strong through everything, to act like nothing would faze her. She wanted to be impartial to the things that could hurt her and she tried as hard as she could.

However, when she thought about him and the anguish he must be in...

A silent tear fell from her eye and was swallowed into the abyss, feeding it and making it stronger. Its grip on her body was only increasing as she felt herself sinking deeper.

She couldn't do it and she hated herself for it. She couldn't be so cold, so ingratuitous, so shrewd as to throw away the things she cared about. She didn't feel that it was because she was too caring or loving, however, she attributed it to weakness.

Her overbearing weakness that ate at her every day. Her eroding weakness that put "him" in the position he was in now.

It was all her fault.

Thinking this, Huoyan Mei wanted to scream out; to tell the Heavens of her pain. But no words came out.

Instead, she felt breathlessness. She couldn't breathe and the abyss was crawling into her mouth, taking her over from the inside. Her eyes went bloodshot and slim lines of tears fell away into the all-encompassing darkness as she started to get tired.

She knew that if she fell asleep now, she would never wake back up again.

She thought of him, but when she did, she closed her eyes and accepted it. All the pain she'd caused him...she knew that he'd be better off, be a stronger person, without her.

She wanted to float away, to be forgotten about; to disappear. She just wanted everyone she'd ever loved to realise that she was only a stain on their lives. Especially him.

The abyss was squeezing her body with enough force to crush all of her thoughts and bring them to only pain. However, a smile was worn on her face.

It wasn't a smile of satisfaction nor acceptance; it was a smile of sadness. No matter how much she wanted to ignore these things, the fact that her existence had only made everyone's lives harder, she felt more alone than she had ever done.

However, just as the darkness was about to swallow her, she saw a light within the darkness. It was a light so bright and warm that she wanted to just gaze at it in childish fantasy. Her bleak eyes landed on it and she felt her worries selfishly fade away.

The dark abyss around her was pushed away and the light came to embrace her. She held onto it. She held onto it so tightly as she was afraid it was too late to leave the clutches of this dark place.

No matter how much she thought she deserved damnation, she still desired salvation from the true Gods of this plane, whoever they may be.

It was this selfish and hedonistic desire for comfort as well as her primordial fear of death that let her escape the steel vice of her resolve to die alone. Although she was hating herself in her mind for so readily betraying her resolve, for being so weak; she just wanted to feel safe.

Was it too much to ask to just feel completely safe? Was the world truly so cruel, so impartial, that pain was all that awaited people like her?

But what she didn't realise was that even more pain awaited those who wanted to gain the power to make themselves comfortable.

But she was ignorant so she embraced the light with all the strength she could, waiting for it to take her away from here.

And it did.

...

The golden water surface, basking in the light of four moons was breached once again. The shuddering waves wept in distress that they couldn't be left in peace and the stars in the sky only watched with empty gazes.

Huoyan Mei was dragged out of the abyss trying to swallow her and swept into the sky. The cool breeze dried her face of the water with a warm kiss as she started in appreciation at the sky, for she had the chance to see the stars again.

In the arms of the light that saved her, she buried her face into his robes and held on for dear life. The familiar scent of dust and burning candles warmed her heart so much that she felt she was in that same old study room where she first met him.

However, it was at this moment that something felt wrong...

The one she was embracing suddenly let out a weak grunt before both of them fell to the water surface once again. As they were falling, Huoyan Mei still clung to him tightly and felt his powerless body spasm from time to time.

The air bashed both of their bodies and made their robes thrash around haphazardly, however, they were not high above the water surface like before. They were not in any danger as cultivators.

A disbelieving look emerged in Huoyan Mei's eyes and she suddenly shoved away the man that she was embracing, his body turning in the air without any strength.

If Huoyan Mei was looking right now, she would see the robes that produced the dusty candle smell she was so familiar with horrendously burnt and damaged. His body powerlessly fell to the water, however, his eyes were not closed.

Huoyan Mei watched his body fall away to the ground much faster and harder than hers. However, she didn't spare him another glance. She couldn't understand him, the person she thought she knew best, in this moment.

Huoyan Mei soon smacked the water with little force. She had used her cultivation to nullify the impact as well as stand on the water using quasi-flight.

She knelt down on the water, gasping for breath. Large waves from the impact of the man were moving her up and down as she stood on the water surface, the golden glow highlighting her as the four lights from the moons dimly lit the area.

'Why is he here?! He should have left right now! Is he doing this to torture me..?' Huoyan Mei's eyes shone with a resentful glint as she looked on toward a shadow that was emerging from the watery mist that the impacts had made.

"Why are you still here?! Leave! Now!" Huoyan Mei screamed toward the figure. However, the shadow of the man in the mist didn't react and was still steadily approaching with a limp that was growing more noticeable the closer he came.

'Why is he doing this to me?! Why won't he leave?!' Huoyan Mei almost felt like crying from the sheer frustration and torture she was going through. She even considered saying some terrible things just to get him to leave. In fact, that was now her plan.

However, before she could spit poison, the figure emerged from the mist and she choked on her words.

Stood no more than ten meters away from her was the man she loved, however, she didn't recognise him.

The soft linen robes that she had spent many evenings in the arms of were burnt into pieces, revealing a toned and somewhat thin body that she should've recognised, but she didn't. It was burnt, scarred and disgusting.

And his face... The kind and warm smile that once adorned that beautiful face...it was gone. What replaced it was a face disfigured on only one side by burnt skin and scarred blemishes. The beautiful long black hair that she used to envy was burnt off to the scalp on the same side of his face where the burns were.

His eyes were trying to give a reassuring feeling but the pain within was all that Huoyan Mei could see. And she hated it.

The man before her was like a disturbing piece of art with one side of his body being the man she remembered and spent many nights with. However, the other side displayed the pain underneath and all the harrowing sorrow that consumed his soul. But what made her want to cry were his eyes.

They were symmetrical with pain on both sides.

His lips that were blistered and destroyed on one side but soft and supple on the other moved, saying words that Huoyan Mei never wanted to hear.

"Mei... I don't have the strength...I can't escape."

His voice was like the spring orchestra of heavenly birds echoing through the wind, clinging onto his former self and rejecting the disfigured and beaten man that he was now.

'What..?'

"What..?" Huoyan Mei stupidly muttered.

"My body is shutting down...failing from the inside. I don't have the strength to fly, let alone pierce the atmosphere. I'm afraid...I can't escape." The voice was still carried on the spring breeze which made the words he spoke all the more disorientating for Huoyan Mei.

"What are you talking about..? The plan was to flee to a planet and leave me here as a distraction while you escape... What do you mean you can't escape?" Huoyan Mei said with absolute confidence, or maybe she was in denial at the prospect she didn't even dare to imagine.

"I should've been able to, but... It was those flames. They're destroying my human essence as we speak and I've already lost control of my Laws. There is no way I can leave this place before your father arrives."

Hearing that person mentioned, Huoyan Mei shook her head, disregarding him. "Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about? Flames shouldn't be able to do that...right?" She spoke desperately and with yearning. She just hoped that what he was saying would turn out to just be a minor setback that they would laugh about in the future.

"Listen to me, Mei." She looked away, unwilling to listen to what she didn't want to hear. "Mei, hey. Mei!" He shouted; urging, pleading, for her to listen to him. "I can't stop it."

She burst out. "No, no, no! Don't say that, just try! Why won't you just try?! You're a genius, right?! Rising star of the Qing Clan, huh?! The youngest elder in history, right?! Just get through this! I just need you to get through this!" She begged and pleaded as she cried profusely.

Hearing what she was saying, a helpless look arose on Qing Changshou's face. She wanted him to be stronger, to be the man that she needed. However, he knew he couldn't be that man, and he hated himself for it. For the strength that he should have had. That he needed to have.

He walked over to her and embraced her, ignoring the pain that came with her clutching onto his wounds with a smile. He hugged her head as she nestled it into his chest, searching for his scent that she loved. But all she found was the smell of burning.

He wrapped his arms around her neck and placed his lips near her ear.

"I can't do it."

Within his embrace, Huoyan Mei's eyes shrunk to pin-size before she erupted in anger and sadness. "Why are you doing this to me?! Why won't you even try?! Do you want to die in front of me?! Do you want to torture me?!" She wept as she pushed him away, nearly making his frail and weak body fall over.

Qing Changshou's eyes nearly shed tears. She was just asking him to be too strong. Stronger than he could manage.

"Just leave...just leave me..." Huoyan Mei whispered. And as sad as it was, he was happy to oblige.

Taking steps away from his love, Qing Changshou looked into the sky and saw the blue star that followed him like an angel of death, always hanging over his head and reminding him of his impending doom. Realising how small he was in the face of death, he let out a sigh that almost wobbled into a cry.

Hearing his helpless sigh, she looked up. And there, she saw him. Stood there with a beaten and lonely back that was still trying to stay broad, and looking up at the source of all their pain.

That blue star.

Qing Changshou felt a hand on his shoulder. It was a small hand that was nowhere near strong enough to support him, but just the action made his heart warm and stray away from the sadness within.

He heard a small voice behind him. "I'm sorry... If it wasn't for me...for us...then you would've had a better life..."

Turning around to face the origin of that small voice, he looked down into her eyes with slowly falling tears and hugged her tightly. "Please don't say that. Please...please don't say that... You don't know how much it hurts me to see you have to say that..."

Within the embrace of his beaten and bruised arms, Huoyan Mei slowly teared up. What she had said made her want to cry for a thousand years too. Because of her, the man before her had to die here. It was all her fault. However, within all of that hurt, she was relieved that he didn't want to hear her say that.

"Youngest ever elder of the Qing Clan, rising star, rare genius...none of it matters more to me than you ever could. Even thinking that it might makes me want to kill myself a hundred times." He said as he buried his face into her hair, selfishly nuzzling his head into her soft hair that smelt of fresh flowers.

Even within his loving embrace as he showed how much he loved her, Huoyan Mei's face still distorted as she thought about the words she was about to say.

"But... You're still going to die here!" She exclaimed as she burst into tears and clutched his robes. Her words made Qing Changshou snap out of his reverie and open his eyes with an empty gaze that was afraid to die.

"Don't leave me. I only want to stay with you. Why can't I stay with you?! I just want to be here! I just want to be here..." She cried as his eyes slowly became dimmer and lost hope as he thought about his impending doom. Just the fact that it was unavoidable made him think it was pointless to cling to what he still had in the plane of the living.

But he knew that his final moments should be well spent with the small woman in his arms before he left her forever.

"I have to leave. There's no stopping it." He said stalely. Hearing this, she cried even harder and clung to him desperately, as though if she held onto him tight enough, he would stay here. However, the world was cruel. Sooner or later, he would be ripped from her grasp, never to return.

Just the thought made Huoyan Mei hate the Heavens for taking so much from her. She didn't care whether her hate was unsolicited or not, she just let her overwhelming sadness breed hate.

"No..no!! I want to go with you, I want to go with you. I only want to stay with you. He won't let me stay with you but we can still be together." Grasping the intent within her last sentence, Qing Changshou's eyes widened with dried tears still hanging from them.

Before he could object, a pair of supple and salty tear-covered lips landed on his own. Huoyan Mei kissed Qing Changshou passionately and desperately, clinging to him with all her might. It was almost as if she was trying to convince him by conveying her undying love through this kiss.

However, Qing Changshou firmly grasped her with what fleeting strength he still had and managed to tear her from him.

They locked eyes, one pair serious and the other resolute. "I can't let you do that. I have to go alone." He said sternly. As much as he wanted to be accompanied in death, he wanted her to live on. She had to.

"I want to stay together, let's just stay together, let's just stay together..." His eyes wavered as the red-eyed pleading love of his life wept the words passionately.

He said nothing but only hugged her. The hug was long and warm. Although, Huoyan Mei could not rest within it as she desperately waited for an answer from her love. If he said no, her heart would be broken.

"Okay. Let's leave this place and be together forever."

The words echoed out along the empty planet of golden water and Huoyan Mei's joyous cries were heard in tandem.

And not long later, the planet was silent once again. Only crashing water and the lonely wind could be heard. And within the golden-hued water, two corpses that were embracing each other sunk back into the abyss, swallowed by it.

In the sky, a blue star that had grown immensely large hung over the planet like the sun was crashing down to the earth.

The blue sun reduced the atmosphere to fleeting gas and the clouds were vacuumed out into space with dreadful speed that would make one's heart stop. The air rose to thousands of degrees Celsius and the golden ocean boiled.

The light finally crashed into the planet with immense force and violently evaporated all of the water to reveal two corpses hugging each other on the sea bed in defiance of whoever wanted to stop them from loving each other.

The male corpse suddenly burst into bright blue flames and turned into ashes mercilessly. However, a man that was revealed to be in the light didn't spare even a scornful glance and only looked at his daughter's corpse desperately.

The angelic body floated before him and he savoured the visage of his daughter longingly with denial and sorrow before her corpse melted away before his eyes under the heat.

And with a terrible shout, the entire planet was instantly reduced to a dispersing mass of ashes in space under the blue flames of the man's sorrowful wrath.

*3,762/3,000 words*