The Tamed

Duality

"I am not from this world."

Lan Wangji's word echoed in Wei Wuxian's mind as he eyed Lan Wangji up and down, taking in the serious and stoic expression on the man's face for a good minute. "Prove it then." He dared, despite his instinct was telling him that the other man was telling the truth. His heart began to beat faster as anxiety started to grow within him.

Lan Wangji was silent for a moment, thinking of the best way to prove himself to Wei Wuxian. He had no sword to showcase his swordsmanship and there was no Guqin that he could play to demonstrate his proficiency. Eventually, he settled with an undeniable advantage that he possessed and said, "Forgive me for doing this."

"Huh? Forgive you? Wha-" Wei Wuxian did not even finish when he found his lips were sealed shut and he couldn't say anything else. His eyes widened significantly, staring at Lan Wangji as though seeing him for the first time. He recognized this spell. He had experienced multiple times before and he still remembered how it felt. It was no doubt that this was the very same kind. He gestured wildly with his hand to let him speak.

Lan Wangji released his silencing charm and apologized, "Sorry. That was the only way I knew how to prove myself."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Wei Wuxian yelled in frustration as soon as he was able to talk again. He closed his eyes momentarily to hurl all kind of expletives that he could think of internally. Once he was done, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes again. "That... That was Gusu silence charm, right?" He asked for confirmation again, just in case that Wang Yibo had figured out a very elaborative prank which involved learning some kind of silencing spell that was almost undistinguishable from the one of Lan clan.

"Mn." Lan Wangji confirmed.

Wei Wuxian swallowed thickly, his breath hitching in his throat for a fraction of a second before he got up, pacing quickly around the room. He kept glancing at Lan Wangji with wide eyes, not sure of what exactly to do next. His hand went through his hair, "You are... uh... Lan Zhan?" He started tentatively. "I mean Gusu Lan's Lan Wangji?"

Lan Wangji nodded slightly in acknowledgment. "Mn."

Wei Wuxian continued gawking blankly at him for several seconds. "...How are you here? How did you end up here?" He asked exasperatedly.

Lan Wangji wondered the same too. "I don't know." He answered.

"Ahhh!! I should have known that something went awry when the Empathy session turned out that way." Wei Wuxian muttered to himself, thinking about how this happened as he continued pacing around.

Surely the gods hated him. Surely there was some god out there laughing at this situation or maybe even pulled the strings that caused this. And to think that he was just getting comfortable living in this modern world!

"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian prompted after a while of awkward silence between them. "Why don't we try Empathy again? You are here because of it and maybe we can reverse this situation through it."

"Okay." Lan Wangji agreed immediately, following after Wei Wuxian as he walked back over to the bed.

Wei Wuxian sat down on the bed and waited until Lan Wangji laid back flat on the mattress. "Close your eyes." He said with a heavy sigh as he lay down beside Lan Wangji and put his left palm on the other's chest right above his heart and began to chant softly. However, before he could even do a deep dive into Lan Wangji's consciousness, the magnitude of their spiritual connection grew rapidly overwhelming that he was thrown off by it. It was so powerful that he felt like he was sucked into a vortex, being spun inside it violently. In short, the world was spinning too fast for him and he was feeling disoriented from both the dizziness and extreme sensitivity of all the sensory input. It was too much. Too much for his core-less self. This backlash was not one that his body could handle. He could taste metallic on his tongue and his head rung as if it was about to explode. He had to pull back but he was losing his consciousness.