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『 𝔣𝔯𝔞𝔠𝔱𝔲𝔯𝔞 』 your sins into me
fragment type: memory || regained in: youkai
"Some say he was a young soldier who died fighting for his country, and still harbors regrets."
When Hua Cheng was a young boy of about 14 or so, he participated in the Xian Le and YongAn war, a time of true strife for a once peaceful, beautiful nation. He had done his best to fight in the name of the Flower Crown Martial God he was devoted to - had even fought by his side, and protected him at one of his most vulnerable moments, until one of his attendants had sent him away from his side (due to his age; Hua Cheng believes otherwise, even 800 years later).
One of his origin stories that many rumor to possibly be true is that of his death on the battlefield of that war. It's a milestone marker for him, as he was a fearsome, capable soldier despite his age, all the way to his final moments. But he had died alone and unrecognized on that battlefield, just one more body and nameless orphan.
It was his first sacrifice, in the name of helping Xie Lian.
✦ fragment: doom forged in selfless sacrifice, part i
fragment type: memory || regained in: youkai
"The scimitar E-Ming. It is a cursed blade, a blade of misfortune. An evil weapon such as that would need a terrifyingly cruel sacrifice and a bloody determination before it could be forged. Do not touch it, and do not let it injure you either, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable."
After Hua Cheng's greatest sacrifice for Xie Lian as the ghost Wuming, he and many other ghosts, spirits, and monstrous fiends found themselves traveling to the ominous Mt. Tong'lu. This place was the home of a destroyed kingdom, a volcano having wiped out the people and leaving only a path of destruction and resentment. In the heart of that volcano is the Kiln - a place where ghosts are drawn to fight tooth and nail to emerge as a Supreme, the most powerful rank a ghost can achieve.
Soul shattered and barely held together by the constant mantra of I won't leave, I won't leave, Hua Cheng was one such ghost. But this place is only for ghosts and monsters, dangerous beings that would sooner devour a human whole for the sustenance that they would provide them. Any wayward mortal that found themselves wandering into this warpath would be joining the dead sooner than anticipated. One such group of humans nearly met their end, until they were taken in by Hua Cheng, and he went from trying to survive so that he could get back to Xie Lian to protecting these people.
In the end, he almost used them as sacrifice to forge a weapon when there was no hope of survival, nearly driven to madness in the sea of millions of ghosts that surrounded them at every turn.
Instead, he ripped out his own red, right eye to forge the scimitar E-Ming so that he could save them. The Heavens deemed this sacrifice so worthy that they sent a calamity to usher him into ascension, to become a god himself. His refusal was immediate: Hua Cheng rejected the gods to return to the humans he'd made the sacrifice for, and to ascend as a Supreme instead.
✦ fragment: doom forged in selfless sacrifice, part ii
fragment type: item || regained in: youkai
Xie Lian didn't believe it before, but after seeing with his own eyes, he threw away the awful hearsays to the back burner, into the 'not believable' pile of trash. An evil, bloody ritual would not forge a spirit this clever and cute.
The sword itself, whose name means "doom." This scimitar is of an incomparable sharpness, with a demonic, red eye that can open and close on the hilt, capable of seeing and moving of its own volition. Unfortunately, it can also inflict terrible damage on Hua Cheng's opponents: the wound may heal, but whenever he fancies, Hua Cheng is capable of causing the wound to reopen as it was when it was first inflicted. It can also be controlled with spiritual energy, allowing its master to wield it when his hands are full. Neat!
It also acts like a puppy when around Xie Lian, rattling and enjoying being pet and praised. Of course it's very clever and very cute.
✧ fragment: a white calamity plagues the heavens
fragment type: memory || regained in: --
"Then, San Lang, what do you think of the Prince of Xian Le..?" "I think... that Jun Wu must truly despise him."
White No-Face. The White-Clothed Calamity. Crown Prince of Wuyong. Jun Wu. Each of these names belongs to one person, and one person only: the Heavenly Emperor, the first Supreme Ghost, and the source of the human face disease. Both a plague on Xie Lian's long-lived life from the day they met and a mentor figure for the Flower Crown Martial God, this is a man - an entity - that Hua Cheng hasn't trusted from day one.
The Heavens turned their back on Xie Lian, and Jun Wu gave him a so-called gift of immortality when all he wanted at his lowest point of banishment was death. He forged a path to force Xie Lian down, so that this young prince - so much like him, in his youth - would fall to the same fate that he did. Hua Cheng has spent much of his time collecting information about him, and tried to keep Xie Lian away from him.
But what theories and suspicions he has about him being the White No-Face are no more.
✦ a ghost's life held by a ghost's heart
fragment type: item || regained in: prom(?)
"There's a tradition in the Ghost Realm. In the case where a ghost has chosen their person, they would entrust their ashes into that person's hands."
Like any other ghost, Hua Cheng's true death is guaranteed if his original body's ashes are destroyed. In his case, he forged them into a crystal clear glass ring. It isn't worn on the hand, and is instead threaded on a very thin but very sturdy chain. Where he previously hid it is unknown, but it certainly found its place around Xie Lian's neck.
What better place for the connection to his veritable immortality than with his beloved Dianxia, who just so happens to be unlucky and considered a God of Misfortune - but is also effectively indestructable, himself?
He's already put his life in Xie LIan's hands more than once, anyways.
crimson rain sought flower
original || professor
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam tempor sollicitudin quam, in fringilla purus consectetur nec. Duis sed enim nec lorem fermentum porttitor. Donec et tempus tortor, bibendum tristique orci. Aliquam gravida justo aliquam, pulvinar lectus vel, vulputate nunc.
✦ world 4: youkai
remixed || huli jing - ryokan owner
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✧ world 5 : ---
remixed/original || job
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✧ world 6 : ???
remixed/original || job
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crimson rain sought flower
fragment spoilers: doom forged in selfless sacrifice
"Your scimitar, was it forged by that missing eye of yours?"
It was obvious Hua Cheng had no interest in responding, but Xie Lian's heart jumped violently.
From the first time he saw E-Ming, he knew that this scimitar must be unusual, but he had only half-guessed that perhaps it was forged from the eye Hua Cheng lost. White No Face's voice was so confident, could that really be true.
Guoshi's brows knitted, and after a moment, he suddenly spoke up, "Oh, I remember now."
"What do you remember?" Xie Lian asked.
"I remember that they've told me of an incident," Guoshi said, "Many hundreds of years ago, a vicious ghost had come to Mt. Tong'lu."
"I'm sure there's at least a million vicious ghosts that have paid a visit to Mt. Tong'lu." Mu Qing said.
"DON'T INTERRUPT!" Guoshi exclaimed, " - That vicious ghost, the time it took to form was very short, very young, and when it had come, it was almost ready to dissipate completely, yet for some reason it held on and drifted here."
For some reason, Xie Lian's heart was thumping like mad, "Almost dissipated completely? How come?"
"It seemed to have suffered a great damage." Guoshi replied, "Its soul was pretty much all scattered, and it wasn't very conscient either, but it sitll floated along, repeating again and again that it wouldn't leave, it wouldn't leave. Probably because his wish hadn't been fulfilled. Anyway, that year when Mt. Tong'lu opened, an accident happened."
When Xie Lian heard it wouldn't leave, his heart softened for some reason, but also squeezed at the same time. He then immediately asked, "What accident?"
"Within Mt. Tong'lu, not only did millions of ghosts gather, a group of live mortals who had accidentally intruded were also locked inside."
"What!?"
"There are nothing but monsters and demons inside Tong'lu, the common people can't break out at all, and could only suffer the fate of becoming nutrients. However, for whatever reason, that vicious ghost, in its state of muddledness, took that large group of live mortals under its wing and fled for days. In the end, they were still surrounded by millions of ghosts, trapped in a dead end, and it was going to be eaten along with those humans."
Xie Lian knew that this lonesome, drifting feral ghost must have been Hua Cheng!
"And then?" he pushed, "Was there a way to break away to safety?"
"Yes," Guoshi replied, "Forge a blood weapon, and kill to break the siege."
Mu Qing still couldn't help but chip in, "Then wouldn't the easiest sacrifice be..."
Wouldn't it be those humans that fell into the state of devastation!
Feng Xin and Mu Qing looked to White No Face and Hua Cheng, who were completely focused in their vicious battle, "Did... did he..."
Xie Lian also held his breath. Gusho said, "En. He made a move."
Feng Xin and Mu Qing's expressions all became unreadable. Xie Lian however, didn't move a muscle, and only waited for Guoshi to continue. Sure enough, Guoshi answered his anticipation, "He made a move. In a fit of madness, he dug out one of his own eyes."
"..."
Guoshi continued, "That vicious ghost almost made a move against those humans, but for some reason, in the end it didn't, and instead used one of its own eyes as the price to forge a blood weapon. That vicious ghost was forcibly hanging on with a last breath, and after digging out its eye it should've broken apart completely. Yet somehow something had shocked it, and it instead woke to its senses completely. Who knows what kind of wicked device it forged that actually carried it through that battle. And, there was another curious incident."
Xie Lian tried to force himself to calm, "W-what incident?"
"Apparently, after that battle, the heavens sent forth a heavenly calamity, and it struck straight into Mt. Tong'lu." Guoshi said, "Do you understand what that means?"
Was there any need to explain what it meant?
To have a heavenly calamity be sent forth, it meant, the heavens believed there as someone who was worthy to ascend within Mt. Tong'lu.
Xie Lian grabbed Guoshi, "Who was it? Who ascended??"
"This is all hearsay." Guoshi said, "But, there wasn't any heavenly officials in the Upper Court that came from Mt. Tong'lu. Either what I heard was purely fabricated, or..."
The one who ascended jumped back down, and rejected the heavenly realm!
Mu Qing couldn't accept this at all, and was perplexed, "To ascend as a ghost? There's such a thing? And it refused its ascension and jumped back down?? It can't be him, can it? He only just entered Mt. Tong'lu then, he hadn't even reached the rank of Supreme!! Jumping down just like that... he didn't even know if he'd survive! Why did he do this??"
Why had he gone to such extremes??
Suddenly, Xie Lian heard White No Face sigh, "Xian Le, you have a very faithful believer."