Dominion's End

Dominion's End V1C1: The Red Meteor Shower

Dominion's End Volume 1: Raining Stars at World's End

Original novel in Chinese by: 御 我 (Yu Wo)

Chapter 1: The Red Meteor Shower – translated by Elkin

So I really had died?

Sitting on the wheelchair, I looked at the complete stranger in the dressing mirror.

This is a fine-looking man, or perhaps I should say, boy?

He didn't look old, probably around seventeen or eighteen. Because he had been comatose for too long, he looked worn out and emaciated, but nevertheless retained his good looks. Thick eyebrows, large eyes, with facial features similar to that "Mèimei" but with the straight, tall nose reminiscent of the "Dàgē." They were unmistakably a trio of siblings.

"Èrgē, want me to take you on a walk around the house?"

The younger sister peeked in from behind the door. She was smiling, albeit a somewhat forced smile, as though she was worried that I'd reject her.

I kept silent, watching her smile grow more and more strained, until I couldn't take it anymore and asked, "Don't you need to go to school?"

"I'm taking a bit of leave." The younger sister saw that I was silent and quickly added, "Dàgē gave me permission to! Dàgē said I should stay at home, and that it's better if someone you're close to stays with you. So I took two weeks of vacation. And it's almost the summer holiday anyway, so it's not a big deal. It won't delay my schoolwork!"

With summer holidays just around the corner, doesn't that mean it's almost time for final exams? I smiled, choosing not to poke a hole in her lie.

"Sure, let's take a walk."

The younger sister breathed a sigh of relief and rushed over to push my wheelchair. Once out of the room, we passed through a short corridor on our way to the stairs. It was a mezzanine design, and you could see the dining room below had simple but tasteful furnishings. Only the cluster of black leather sofas looked somewhat more extravagant.

I opened my mouth to ask about things, but didn't know how to address her. It was very difficult to call her "Mèimei," so I was forced to ask, "What's your name?"

She looked taken aback, and replied in a hurt tone, "Jiang Shujun."

I was shocked to hear the word "Jun" and couldn't help but feel a little closer to this girl. I continued to ask, "What's Dàgē called?"

"Jiang Shutian."

I thought back to yesterday, and asked, "Then that older couple that day were our parents?"

"Um, no. That's Uncle and Auntie. We've been living with them since we were little."

I looked at her uncomprehendingly.

"Our parents passed away in a car accident." Shujun lowered her head, and said a little more quietly, "They passed away ten years ago."

Hearing that, I suddenly remembered something else important, and asked, "How old am I?"

"Eighteen. You've already gotten into university, Èrgē, your first choice even!"

Eighteen... I was a little at a loss for words. I was supposed to be turning thirty-five, so I guess this was the second coming of the springtime of youth for me.

"Originally, when Èrgē got into university, Dàgē wanted everyone to go traveling together to celebrate. We even got Uncle and Auntie to come back to go with us, but..."