𝐁𝐔𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐊 - ★彡[ᴢʜᴏɴɢʟɪ]彡★

𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐄 - 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕰𝖓𝖉 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖄𝖆𝖐𝖘𝖍𝖆𝖘

Several centuries after Zhongli and the fourth yaksha were wed, the collapse of the yakshas befell, tearing them apart in what would later be accounted as 'Yèchā de Zhōngjié' or 'The End of the Yakshas.'

After all, a purely joyful eternity in itself cannot last forever.

"HYAAGH!" I let out a raucous cry as I parried Xiao's attack with my sword.

    His formally emotionless eyes were now filled with indescribable bloodlust and insanity as he madly thrust forth his spear. He had the intelligence of a wild animal on the hunt, causing his moves to be sloppy and sporadic, but his sole advantage was in the severe amount of stamina he had gained from losing his mind. It seemed as if his body was no longer willing to accept the restrictions that a normal one might.

    "DIE, DIE!" Xiao snarled as he continued to viciously attack me. We had been at this for a couple days and I could tell that even as a yaksha, my stamina was steadily depleting.

    I was mostly stuck on the defensive, and he had the advantage of a longer weapon that was more useful in his current state. In short, the only way that this battle could be won is if I took a hit to trade for one on him.

    The sun began to set over the mountaintops, casting the clearing we were battling in a citrus orange. Shit, I–!

    It was time.

    Perhaps I had been stalling it out of fear, but this was the opportunity I had been waiting for. In between his messy strikes, Xiao pulled back and prepared for his next thrust– in which I dove my sword straight through his chest. Of course, in turn, his polearm stabbed through my abdomen.

    "AAAAAAGH!" he let out an agonizing scream akin to that of a dying animal. He fell to the ground as scarlet seeped around him, convulsing on the ground in his dying moments.

    The primordial jade-winged spear he had wielded with such pride in the past was sunk deep into my stomach.

    I collapsed beside him, the adrenaline wearing off and the soreness coming in. He let out one final cry before he fell still, never to move again.

    "Hah..." I felt a breath come out of my mouth as I stared at the blood around us. We had torn each other up in the days-long battle and there was no way that I was going to be able to come out of this alive. At least, that's what I believed.

    I yanked the spear out of my stomach, hissing in agony as it fell to the ground beside the deceased yaksha. I pressed my hands over the wound, ripping off a piece of fabric from my clothing and tying it around my abdomen.

    I need to get back home. But what of Zhongli?

    He had surely been watching...

    The light of the moon shone down upon me. I stood in this cruel blood-soaked field, breathing hard as anguish and sorrow filled my veins.

    This was the fate that had been laid upon us, ever since our fellow yakshas had killed each other. In the end, we would all go insane. In the end, we would all die.

    I had known, and yet...!

    He's here. I felt the presence of the man whom I had spent so much of my life with. His familiar presence came into my consciousness–no, perhaps it had already been there for a while.

    "Zhongli," I smiled softly and called out into the night, "I know you're there. Come out."

    Appearing in the moonlight was none other than the man I loved so dearly, his frame outlined in sheer serene white. I felt my knees shake as I failed to hold myself upright through the excruciating pain.