a great escape;

[loong]

[ this planet.. is a tranquil one. lonely, but peaceful. there are no intelligent species here, but that is, perhaps, for the best - dan feng's penance continues, after all. in escaping the luofu he was not attempting to escape general punishment, only the molting rebirth. fear of losing himself, of losing his memories, his sense of self..

perhaps it made him a coward, to flee, but warm memories are all he has now, and he could not bear to part with them just yet.

so here he waits, alone in his own beautiful purgatory, awaiting the end of his days, nursing his ailing mind, existing in torment and in bliss in equal measure. his hatching rebirth will come in time, and only then, perhaps, will he be free of his sin, or at the very least, free of his pain. the crime of the previous life must be atoned for in the next, but.. his memories of the quintet would vanish, save for in dreams, and his reincarnation could live on.

it's a lush, lovely planet, where he has escaped to, slowly orbiting the glowing deep of a black hole, where time, for him, runs more slowly, dragging out like a string of sticky molasses. there are thick forests and vast wetlands, eighty percent of this world is water, and there is no sign that intelligent life has ever existed here. no ruins. no scrawled paintings in caves. no hidden chambers beneath the seas. three hundred years he has spent combing the globe and found nothing to suggest that anyone but he has walked the earth here. only animals. insects. fish. they make decent company, but dan feng still keeps to himself, living out of a modest shelter built near the water's edge.

three hundred years, and he speaks to no one, says nothing, until the day the majestic luofu blots out the light of the diffracting black hole.

the sight of it stills his heart in his breast, and dan feng finds his throat running dry, but when the small starskiff lands he is standing quietly, watchful and calm, the tip of his tail swaying behind him as he watches jing yuan disembark, resplendent in his general's clothing. he takes a deep breath.. releases it. ]

.. you must have been very keen to find me, to brave the dangers of the black hole.

[ for time.. time is a precious thing, every hour he spends here could be a year on the luofu. ]

Comments

[marastricken]

[Blade grits his teeth, scarlet peering at Dan Feng and steeling himself so to make it through this conversation. Kafka wouldn't have just let Dan Feng here without reason. It's security to keep to the desired script.]

He probably hasn't told you... But Jingliu lives still. Marastruck and mad with revenge for the Abundance. And there is no cost does she will not pay to the see the Plague Authors downfall. With the help of a merchant they have procured the remains of the Propagation.

Kafka has worked hard to make sure the Xianzhou is on its current course. But it can easily stray to its original end. With Cloud Knights infected with Propagation and nothing more than mindless drones. And Jing Yuan will...

[When he first heard this future it was easy to feel nothing. Jing Yuan was a faint memory and their time together often erased from his mind due to Kafka's threads. But the Xianzhou is more prominent in his mind these days. They shift further to the surface and linger. It's harder not to feel blinding anger this time.]

Jing Yuan was nearly turned into a Void Ranger in one of the Loufu's recent struggles, pierced by three different paths. Destruction, the Hunt and Permanence... The script implies that with the taint of Destruction being inflicted with Propagation would turn him into the Eight Lord Raveger that Jingliu seeks to control in order to purge the world of Abundance.

That future cannot come to pass.

[loong]

[ blade speaks, and dan feng listens, though it's clear that he is becoming increasingly alarmed with every word, most especially when jing yuan is brought into it. his blood runs cold at the very idea. ]

No, it cannot.

[ he says sharply, his expression harder than it had been before, luminous eyes bright with focus. ]

I will not allow that to happen. Not while I still live.

[ his jing yuan. their jing yuan. dan feng would tear apart the stars themselves to keep him safe, even if it means being at odds with jingliu. to think that she would have designs on jing yuan, the boy that she all but raised.. truly, she is lost to them entirely, a thought that pains him deeply. ]

What must I do?

[marastricken]

[Kafka would be pleased, he thinks. Diligently making certain the script sees its preferred end. But what can Dan Feng do? There's a reason that he's here, no? A variable that could send the Xianzhou back on its path of destruction or keep it from it...

His eyes flutter, trying to think, but the look in Dan Feng's eyes helps ground him, curiously. The protective dragon that will do everything in his power to protect that which both of them cherish.]

The Xianzhou cannot stray from the Trailblaze. And there are forces determined to make them do just that... Dan Feng, none of us are as we were. You cannot hesitate in the face of Destruction. I don't know the details or the situation on the Loufu... But you at least can go there and observe. Make him be honest about the situation and guide him as you once did all those years ago.

[The old dragon would be a fine safety net should things go awry. If the Trailblaze makes a misstep leaving ample opportunity for the Xianzhou Alliance to become lost to their ends.]

If he's not alone I do not think he will make such foolish self sacrificing choices.

[That's the hope, anyway.]

[loong]

[ dan feng knows well that he is only one person against the tides of the universe, but he tore up the foundations of the luofu to protect baiheng, to return her to them.. he will do the same, for jing yuan, no matter what it takes. of that he has no doubt. if jing yuan is walking a knife's edge, then dan feng will carry him across. ]

I understand.

[ he will not allow jing yuan to stray. he will not allow jing yuan to lose himself, and become something terrible, even if it means having to go up against jingliu. sacrificing one another cannot be permitted. dan feng nods, laying a hand over one of blade's. ]

You have my word, I will watch over him.

[ and of that, blade should have no doubt. dan feng may have sinned terribly, but he did it for someone that he loved, and there's no denying that he would move heaven and earth to protect those dear to him. blade, too, is included in this. ]

I will go, then, before the mara consumes you once more.