Yang Xing's POV:
"You are a naïve loser! You're a slow-witted, cowardly, weak-willed, self-centered, dumbass with a capital 'D', but worst of all, you're a failure, both as a person, and as a man! You embody nearly every trait I hate, and I will never EVER understand how, or why, but for whatever reason, YOU are the ONLY man my mom ever loved! That's the main reason why I'm still here! Putting up with all your shit! So, stop crying you overgrown baby, and grow the fuck up!"
"HAHAHA! YOU ACTUALLY CAME YOU MORON!"
"YOU are the ONLY man my mom ever loved!"
"WHO WOULD WANT TO MARRY A FOOL LIKE YOU!"
"YOU are the ONLY man my mom ever loved!"
"YOUR CLAN IS AN EYESORE! YOU WERE NOTHING MORE THAN A TOOL I USED TO DESTROY IT!"
"Loved!"
"I NEVER LOVED YOU!"
"Loved!"
"NEVER!"
"Loved!"
"SHUT UP! SHUT! UP!" I screamed as I woke up in a cold sweat.
It has been like this ever since Nox left. Whenever I fall asleep, I have these nightmares where I hear Nox's words while reliving that moment of betrayal. I will never forget those mocking cyan eyes looking down on me, and that malicious smile on her face when my cultivation was crippled.
After recomposing myself, I wiped the sweat of my forehead.
*sniff**sniff*
"Is something burning?"
"She loved you until her very last breath!" A raspy voice said.
Looking at the side of my bed, I saw Nox, but something was wrong. She had shrunk again, but this time she was covered in dirty rags and bloody bandages, but the most noticeable thing of all were the sunken in eyes with a single small blue flame flickering inside each eye socket. I tried to speak, but for some reason my mouth wouldn't open.
*Thud*
I tried to get out of bed, but my legs went limp the moment my feet touched the floor and I fell. When I looked up, I was no longer in my room. I was in a dirty looking plaza looking up at Chrystalla. She was in a dirty nightgown stained red from the blood running out of her various gaping wounds. She had been tied to a wooden stake on top of a pile of firewood.
Suddenly, from out of the darkness, we were surrounded by an angry mob. I could see them. I could see every single one of them, with disturbing detail. I could see what expression they were making, the clothes they were wearing, the naked bodies underneath and even the flesh and bone underneath their skin. Every twitching finger, every blink of the eyes, every breath they took. I could hear it. I could feel it. Even when I looked away, when I closed my eyes, and even the people standing where I should not be able to see in the first place, I saw them. I couldn't not see them even if I wanted to, as the images kept flowing into my head against my will, and they all had the same insane look of hate in their eyes. All except one. The well-dressed man in foreign clothes that sat atop a podium, smiling ear to ear as he looked down on me with those mocking eyes.
"KILL THAT BITCH!"
Suddenly, they started speaking in a language I had never heard before, but for some reason, I comprehended every single word.
"NOT EVEN MONSTERS KILL THEIR OWN CHILDREN!"
"THAT WITCH KILLED MY SON!"
"MAKE HER PAY!"
"SHE DOESN'T DESERVE TO LIVE!"
I could feel it, the overwhelming hate coming from each and every person. The fury and resentment grew like wildfire, growing in size and intensity for every person who spoke, and I could feel it. I could feel their hate, and it terrified me. Then I heard it.
"Never…forgot! The love we share! For you my love, I will not despair!♪"
A weak voice singing a gentle lullaby. It was Chrystalla. She was looking right at me with eyes filled with kindness, and I could feel the hate and resentment being tuned out by this warm loving feeling.
"The nox is nigh! So, rest your eyes! For I will always be by your side!♪"
*Crackle*
*Sizzle*
*Angry shouting*
When the song ended, Chrystalla burst into flames as the love vanished, while the hate returned.
"NO! STOP!" I screamed as I ran towards the burning flames.
*Thud*
Before I could reach her, someone pinned me to the ground. He was an armored guard, looking down on me with that same look of mockery as he smashed my head into the pavement so hard my head started bleeding.
"Ugh! NO! LET ME GO! PLEASE!" I desperately begged as I struggled to look up towards Chrystalla, or what was left of her.
She was now just a charred skeleton with two blue eyes that suddenly turned to look at me, before they rolled out of their sockets and into the red flames. Soon after the flames turned blue. I screamed and cried as I struggled to escape the guards grip. All I wanted was to jump into that very fire after her, but they wouldn't let me. I could see the angry looks all turn into joy as they looked at her corpse, and it made my stomach churn, but before I threw up they all disappeared. The angry mob, the guard, the fire, even the man holding me down. I was all alone in the middle of the plaza, looking down on the ground I saw my reflection in a puddle of my own blood. I had no skin. I could see the muscles and teeth that should have been covered up, being fully exposed to the world. My nose was just a hole and my eyes. My eyes, even when reflected in a puddle of red blood, they shone like sapphires. I looked away only to be met with the charred skeleton of Chrystalla. It was only inches away from my skinless face. It's eyes that had fallen out earlier had rolled back in from the dark abyss that was its empty eye sockets. They started looking in every which direction independently like a chameleon before suddenly focusing on me, and as our eyes met her pupils shrank before it all went dark. The last thing I heard was a faint whisper.
"I love you, Xing!"
I woke up with a jolt, while sweating buckets.
"Huh!"
For a moment I thought I saw something moving in the corner of my eye, and so I frantically looked around the room, half expecting to see Nox or Chrystalla's charred skeleton, but there was no one. Seeing that I was alone, my racing heart finally started calming down.
"What was that!"
I have had realistic dreams and hallucinations in the past, but never, not once have I ever experienced something so vivid. The detail, the overwhelming emotions, and even the pain, it all felt too real to be a dream.
From that day onward, my dreams began to change. No longer did I re-live that night of betrayal, but instead I would see some horrific vision. In one dream I am betrayed by friends and thrown into a pit filled with living balls of acid, and in another I am climbing a cliff using my own intestines as rope, and the next I am fighting giants while missing half my limbs, and in each and every one of these dreams I see her, looking at me. Chrystalla's skeleton is always somewhere in the background. Her sapphire eyes following my every move. What's worse is that I think I am starting to see her outside of my nightmares to now. At first I thought maybe I had been poisoned again, so I have been procuring my own meals and water ever since, but no matter how much time passed, the visions didn't stop, in fact they only became more frequent. Now she is constantly watching me, whether I am awake or not, she is always in the corner of my eye. I eventually swallowed my pride and asked to see Nox about this, but apparently she had disappeared somewhere after Feng destroyed some sort of shop she had set up in town. At a loss for what to do I continued to grow more and more exhausted from feeling her eyes on me 24/7.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!" I shouted.
After weeks of nightmares and putting up with the uncomfortable feeling I got from her gaze, I snapped at her.
"WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME! WAS BREAKING MY HEART AND RUINING MY FAMILY NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU?! NOW YOU HAVE TO TAKE MY SANITY TO!!!"
"…"
But just like always, there was no response, but what else should I have expected. Other than following the edges of my peripheral vision, she never moves or makes a sound.
"Just leave me alone. Please."
"…"
*Drip*
"I"
Suddenly hearing her speak for the first time since she started haunting me, I reflexively turned to look at her. Up until now, whether I was looking away or actively trying to look at her, she always stayed at the edge of my vision, but now, for some reason she was standing right in front of my eyes.
"I…Love…You!"
*Drip*
"STOP LYING!"
"I…Love…You!"
"Shut up!"
"I, Love, You!"
"SHUT UP!"
"I love you!"
"SHUT UP, SHUT UP! SHUT! UP!"
*Drip*
"Ugh!"
All of a sudden, I felt a massive headache, which is when I noticed all the blood running out of my eyes and nose. Before I could respond to the sudden blood, I felt someone grabbing my shoulders.
"I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!..."
It was Chrystalla, she had suddenly moved up to me and started shouting the same words over and over. Eventually she started spewing out blue fire from her skeletal mouth while repeating the same words, covering me in sapphire flames. You would have thought it'd hurt to be engulfed in fire, but I felt fine, better than fine even. Rather than the excruciating pain of being burned alive, it felt so comfortable. Rather than being skin meltingly hot, the fires would alternate between being soothingly cold and comfortably warm. It was so relaxing, I could feel my mind begin to drift as a sense of safety and mild euphoria washed over me as my vision faded to black.
I suddenly found myself lying on the ground, looking up at the stars in the night sky.
"Where am I now?" I muttered as I stood up.
Looking around, I found I was currently standing on a small hill, covered in white lilies.
"Inside a dream!" A familiar voice spoke.
Turning around to look, I expected to find a charred skeleton with eyeballs, glaring at me. However, to my surprise, instead of being a burned skeleton, I saw a completely unblemished Chrystalla standing there.
"Wha-!"
Before I could say anything more, she closed the distance between us in an instant and covered my mouth with her own as she embraced me. I just stood there, to shocked to move as I didn't know how to respond. Finally, when the kiss was over, she let go of me as she took a step back.
"Why?" I asked.
"Why what?" She asked, showing no change in expression as she tilted her head in confusion.
"Why are you here?"
"Because I love you!" She replied while making a heart symbol with her hands.
"LIER! DO YOU THINK I FORGOT WHAT YOU DID! THE THINGS YOU SAID! YOU CAN'T JUST PRETEND LIKE IT NEVER HAPPENED!!!" I screamed out, as tears filled my eyes.
I know this is just a dream, and none of this is real, but it's just so damn realistic. Everything here feels and looks more vivid than real life, and on top of it all, this version of Chrystalla was exactly like the one I remembered from before the war. From her emotionless face to her descriptive body language. It was just so much like I remembered. That paired with weeks of stress and anxiety, caused me to start screaming out my pent up emotions.
"You are such an idiot you know that!"
"Huh?"
"That woman who betrayed you back then, wasn't me!"
"She looked exactly like you! Who else could it be?!"
"You are wrong! You would know that if only you looked a little closer!" She said, as another Chrystalla appeared next to her.
They both stared at me, one with a blank face and one with a mocking expression.
"What are you trying to do?!"
"You have been staring at the truth for weeks now and still haven't realized it!"
"What are you babbling about! I don't understand!"
"*sigh* Even after looking through all those memories, you haven't learned a thing!"
"Memories?"
"The other dreams you've had so far! They weren't really dreams! They were our daughter's memories!"
"Memories? Who are you?"
"I am me! The real me!"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I am the real Chrystalla!"
"No, this is a dream! You're not real!"
"This is a dream, but I am real!"
"That doesn't make sense!"
"Yes, it does!"
"Oh really? Then explain it to me!"
"My soul was transferred into your subconscious, letting me talk to you in your dreams!"
"How would that even?"
"Our daughter is the greatest expert on the matters of the soul, but deep down she is still pretty childish! She was still upset at you when I transferred over and subconsciously interfered when I tried to hop over from her soul to yours, causing me to get stuck in your subconscious making it difficult for me to properly communicate with you!"
"Figures! This is Nox's doing! What does she want from me?"
Besides Chrystalla, there was one other person I would occasionally see in my nightmares, and that person was Nox. She would often times be covered in bloody rags and bandages, but those bandages and glowing blue eyes were unmistakably her. I hate it, but if apologizing to that girl will put an end to this torture, then I'll swallow my pride and do it.
"Nothing!"
"What?"
"I am the one who wanted to talk. I am not entirely certain she knows I am here, right now!"
"Fine, then what do you want from me?"
"I want for you to stop being stupid and be a proper father to Alice!"
"Who are you calling stupid?!"
"You!"
"Pft!"
I tried to hold it in, but I just couldn't help letting it slip through. She has a perfect poker face, but her body language gives it all away, on top of how blunt she is about everything. Talking to her, is starting to bring back memories of all the fun we used to have together.
"What's so funny!"
"Shut up! I'm still mad at you!"
"Then why are you smiling?"
"NO, I'M NOT! YOU ARE!"
"Hm? Anyways, have you figured it out yet?"
"Figured out what?"
She said nothing, but her body language told me she was starting to get angry. She then hinted with her eyes for me to look over at the Chrystalla copy next to her.
"Uh! Did you get a new haircut?" I asked, as I had no idea what she was getting upset over.
"I am starting to take this personally, so I'll give you a hint! Look at the eyes!"
"Huh? I don't-!"
"XING! XING, WAKE UP!"
All of a sudden, I was woken up by the concerned shouts of my father. Apparently, I had suddenly started screaming hysterically while bleeding out of my eyes and nose until I collapsed on the floor. The physicians said I had been poisoned. Apparently, the incense in my room was releasing a toxic gas that could have killed me had I not been treated in time. They are still trying to figure out who had tried to kill me.
As soon as I was allowed out of my room I went for a walk around the garden to clear my head. I nearly died, but all I can think about was the last thing Chrystalla said in my dreams.
"Look at the eyes?" I muttered as I looked at the skeleton haunting me.
I didn't think much about it given how strange the whole thing was to begin with, but it is a little weird to see a burned skeleton with two fully functional eyes.
"Ugh! What is! Ouch!"
Suddenly, my head started hurting again as I stared into those deep blue eyes.
"Wait! Blue? Ugh!"
*Thud*
I fell to my knees as it felt like my skull was about to crack open from the pain. Was there still some poison left in my system?
*Drip*
"It can't be!"
The tears started flowing uncontrollably when I finally realized the truth that has literally been staring me in the face for who knows how long.
"Those cyan eyes! They were the wrong color! Haha! THEY WERE THE WRONG CO-!"
*Bang*
*Thud*
Just as I was about to exclaim with joy over what I discovered after all these years, I felt something hit the back of my head and it all went dark.
"Why are you back already?"
"I don't know! Hey, have your eyes always been that shade of blue?"
"…"
She just quietly looked at me while raising one of her hands to her forehead and making an 'L'.
"You're thinking I'm an idiot for even asking, aren't you?"
"How did you know that?"
"Lucky guess!"
"Hmph! How come you can read me like an open book, but you needed me to practically spell it out for you before you realized that she wasn't me!" She complained as she pointed at the Chrystalla lookalike.
"Well, to be fair there was a lot going on back then and I wasn't exactly in my right mind after that night! Plus, you look just like her!"
"Hmph!"
"Hey, let's talk about something else! Uh! Like, uh! Nox! Let's talk about Nox instead!" I said, wanting to avoid the subject before she got any angrier.
"Okay, then let's talk about this then!" She said, snapping her fingers.
Suddenly, the world distorted and I saw a memory. It was right after I had regained my sanity. I was sitting in my bedroom, when a tiny Nox suddenly entered the room dressed in a teddy bear onesie.
"Okay, so how many-!"
"GET OUT! GO AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK YOU MONSTER!"
"So, I assume you're still hallucinating a bit! How many people do you see right now?"
"YOU DON'T BELONG HERE! SO, WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE!" I screamed at her.
"Crap, someone roofied you again, didn't they? Okay, let's get this over with!" She said before she tried to approach me.
*Swoosh*
"JUST LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE, BEFORE YOU RUIN THEM TOO!" I screamed after throwing my pillow at her.
"Hm? Too much energy for just being high! Still, I should probably up the security! Anyways, I need you to take off your shirt and lay down on your stomach!"
"IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK GAME TO YOU! YOU ARE NO DAUGHTER OF MINE, YOU DEMON!"
"Huh? So, could you-?"
*Swoosh*
I threw another pillow at her head, cutting off her sentence.
"Forgot how to roll over! Good thing I have something for that!" She said before swapping out her mask for a green one with a long nose and pointy ears before pulling out the pain stick.
"IT'S WAPPING TIME!!!"
And that is where the memory ended. After that day, whenever I didn't do as she said, she would pull out that stick and smack me around until she felt satisfied.
"I wonder! What did you mean when you said our precious daughter was a monster?"
"Uh!"
"Oh, that's right! You said she wasn't your daughter, and right to her face no less!"
"Hey, so who is that stranger over there?" I said, desperately trying to change the subject back, as this is possibly the first time, I have witnessed her face matching her emotions.
As my broken heart seemed to finally begin to heal, I was in no hurry to break it with my own two hands by continuing down this dark path, and so. I choose the lesser of two evils.
"Hmph! Fine, I'll tell you, but don't think for a second you are off the hook mister 'I have no child'!" She said, foreshadowing my demise.
"*sigh* That is my twin sister, Crystal!" She said, pointing at her cyan eyed sister