Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What happens after death?

Do we go to the afterlife, judged on whatever action we took in life, or do we see nothing but black, lost in an empty void, alone. Maybe we are just in a video game, and we load in a new game, or maybe-

Whack.

“Dang it. If I knew I’d be chained to a man for the rest of my life, I would have at least tried to be a better person!”

Whack.

“Wake up! How long do you intend to-”

The voice stopped. Maybe it felt bad for the poor man he was beating half to death.

“Get up. I can see you moving.”

Nevermind. Dan Feng let out a small sigh, finally opening his eyes to see who was yelling at him so early in the..morning? Or was it the afternoon? No matter. It wasn’t the weather that stunned him, rather, the man stood over him, holding a suitcase high up, as if ready to hit him again. Who was he? He had long white hair cascading down his back. Was that a school uniform?

“Well? Are you done gawking at me?”

How old was he? Well, Dan Feng couldn’t fault him. If he wanted to, he would have worn that uniform every day of his life as well. Well, black was one way to describe it. It was as if there was no splash of colour, save for the gold patterns all over his sleeves and his blazer. Wait..gold?

“How old are you?”

Dan Feng’s voice was shaky. Why was it shaky? It can’t be because he was chained to a random man he never knew for the rest of his life. No, no. It wasn’t because of the suitcase chained between them either, of course. Who would hate sharing a suitcase with a possible old man for the rest of their lives.

The strange man seemed offended.

“My age? You dare ask me my age? How old do you even think I am?! Why, I am the great- the..great..”

The stranger paused, as if the realisation of their predicament dawned on him. He raised his hand slightly, looking at the suitcase. On the wood was a long, white placard, with the words ‘Property of Dan Feng and Ying Xing’ written on it with fancy letterings, complete with two mini drawings of two men after each name, looking strangely similar to them.

“Well, I’m Ying Xing, it seems.”

Getting up from the sandy beach, Dan Feng let out a sigh, yanking on the chain slightly.

“H- Hey! I’m still connected to the suitcase, you know?”

Just how much energy did this ‘Ying Xing’ have?

“Quiet. Unless you want to stay chained together forever.”

That seemed to shut him up. Letting his arm fall back down next to him, he then directed his gaze to the large, blue sky above them, only to be met with a large, towering cliff, with a large building on it.

“Over there. Maybe someone knows how to help us.”

Ying Xing seemed to make no argument against that. Dan Feng took his silence as approval, taking a step forwards, only to be yanked back by the chain. It seemed as if Ying Xing was not as enthusiastic as he had hoped.

“Hold it.”

Slowly, but surely, Ying Xing made his way over to Dan Feng, grabbing his chin with his free hand and examining his face.

“You have blood on your face.”

Was he serious? Dan Feng couldn’t believe it.

“Oh, yeah? And who’s fault is that? Surely not the one who almost bashed my face in with a suitcase!”

Raising his voice slightly, Dan Feng shot Ying Xing a sharp glare, which didn’t relieve his pain. He would rather die than admit it though, he was too prideful for that. His face, which was once clear of any blemishes, was now slightly bruised, especially his nose, which seemed slightly broken, based on how much blood was trickling down his face. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to wake someone up by bashing their face in with a suitcase.

“Hey! Don’t blame me for this! If you had just woken up normally, I wouldn’t have had to, alright?”

God they sucked at being friends. Who knew it was this difficult to be friends? At this rate, they may never even make it up the cliff without tearing each other’s throats out. His expression softening slightly at the realisation, Dan Feng let out a small hum of acknowledgement.

“Alright, fine. I know I’m right, but at this point, we won’t be able to make it up there and get help. It’s almost as if you want to be chained to me for the rest of eternity.”

“Pfft, as if!”

With that bold declaration, it was now Ying Xing’s time to lead. He pushed past Dan Feng, basically dragging him up the long, winding path towards the building atop the hill.

—--------------------------------

Atop the hill, sat on the large roof of the school was a pair of twins, watching as the two small figures made their way up the hill.

“Interesting.”

The boy muttered, staring into the small puddle of water on the large roof.

“Staring into the puddle won’t do much good. You know that, right?”

“Shut it, Stelle. Playing that game won’t do you good either.”

Stelle huffed, ignoring her twin’s words completely, directing her attention back to the phone in her hands, seemingly unfazed by his remark. After a short pause, she continued on.

“I don’t see what you see in them, Cae. Sure, they are an..interesting pair, but chaining them together?”

Caelus huffed, finally tearing his gaze away from the two, his view blocked by the leaves on a few unfortunately tall trees.

“Would you have wanted me to give him an empty suitcase? He doesn't have anything. Giving him an empty suitcase is just mean.”

She set her phone down as a ‘Low Battery’ notification appeared.

“Really, when have you ever cared about being mean?”

“Just..”

Caelus sighed.

“Let me do things my way.”

Chapter Text

“If someone has sex with a sick person, do you think they’d get sick as well?”

“What?”

“I’m serious! You’re the smarter one, aren’t you, Dan Feng?”

He sighs.

“Well, I guess..”

With that answer, Ying Xing left, probably going to look for someone else to ask. Probably..

Probably B̴̛̰̟͗̓̀́̈͒̑̌a̴̬̦͚͇̽͒̍̈́i̵̡̻͙̹̺̲̖͚̿͐̏͋̔̿ ̶̗̪̠̔͗̾̀̀̀̈́͌͊͜͝H̶͎̩͚̏̊͆̏̿͗̂̒͘̕ͅe̶͇̰̬͌̋̓n̵͕̳͇̝̉͑͆̓̀̎̈́̎g̴̭̤̊̏͐̀ his mentor.

—------------------------------------------------------------

“-demerits for hurting a fellow student.”

“This is bullshit! What do you mean by demerits?! Dan Feng, you aren’t hurt, are you? Tell them!”

Dan Feng blinked. It was dark. Since when had they arrived at the building? Or was it a school?

“Huh?”

He was confused. Ying Xing wasn’t. He seemed almost annoyed. Ying Xing was staring- no, glaring at him. What had he even done?

“Dan Feng! You aren’t hurt, are you?”

Was he serious? Did Ying Xing really think he was alright after getting his face bashed in? Maybe he should whack him over the head a few times to- 

“Ying Xing, you hurt a student, that’s all that matters. What will we do if he files a lawsuit?”

A voice. Female-sounding. Dan Feng snapped out of his daze and looked around. Twins, who apparently decided to be as against each other as much as possible. The girl, with shoulder-length grey hair, had on a white button-up, a black vest, and black slacks. Meanwhile, the boy, with short grey hair barely reaching his shoulders, had on the exact same outfit, but his button-up black, and everything else white. The man sighed.

“Stelle, stop it. You’ll scare them off.”

“Pfft. As if.”

With that, the female went back to their phone, probably playing some game.

“Where are we? Who are you two?!” 

Ying Xing seemed annoyed. Though it was to be expected, after all, they did wake up in the middle of nowhere, chained together for possibly the rest of their life.

“Impertinence, five demerits.”

The male said.

“There’s a proper way to ask.”

The female chimed in.

“But regardless, I’m Stelle, and he’s Caelus. We’re the deans at Nevermore Academy. This will be your new home! Well, for now, at least.”

Despite the fact that the female was still on her phone, probably still playing the same game, she seemed excited, delighted, even. Ying Xing wasn’t pleased, though.

“Charmed, I’m sure. But what the devil are we doing here?!”

The twins seemed disappointed.

“Discourteous tone, five demerits.”

Caelus took Stelle’s phone away, displeased. He kept the phone in his pocket. Stelle seemed annoyed. She crossed her arms, leaning back as if sitting on a chair. Well, it wasn’t wrong to say she was, though. As she sat down, a blue cloud appeared below her, translucent, with black on the edges, and a pale blue in the middle. She snapped her fingers, and the chains connecting them to the suitcase disappeared.

“Leave it. The wisps will take care of the suitcase.”

A small flame sparked, black on the edges and blue in the middle, just like the cloud Stelle was sitting on. It engulfed the suitcase, leaving nothing behind. Before Ying Xing could cause another ruckus, Dan Feng chimed into the conversation.

“What are we doing here?”

The twins seemed almost..intrigued. The cloud under Stelle flickered, before regaining its original shape. A small smile, almost degrading, tugged on the edge of Stelle’s lips. She laughs, looking over at her twin.

“Oh? They still haven’t realised.”

Caelus was much calmer, his expression the same neutral one, his voice monotone.

“I’m sorry to say this, but..”

He paused, lowering his voice, which was now barely louder than a whisper.

“You’re both dead. This Academy..you’re here for a second chance at life.”

Ying Xing stopped, his face pale, almost as if he had seen a ghost.

“D..dead?”

His mean demeanor was gone now, replaced by fear, and horror. Dan Feng didn’t know how to respond. He grit his teeth, frustrated.

Dead. They were dead. This was the afterlife. They were away from home, wherever home was, and they were now in some sort of school, competing for a second chance, a second chance at life.

The twins didn’t seem fazed. In fact, they were almost amused.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get over it soon enough. Now, time for your first class.”

Caelus pulled on one of the large double doors in the school, revealing a large lecture hall, full of students, with a ‘teacher’ standing in front of the room. Sensing the two, the teacher, a pretty woman with long red hair, stopped, clasping her hands together.

“Stelle! Caelus! Welcome. It’s been so long since you visited my class, I deserve a raise, don’t I?”

She chuckled, the sound light and airy. Caelus didn’t seem amused. However, Stelle did. She snapped her fingers, and the cloud disappeared under her. She stood up, dusting her clothes off.

“Miss Himeko. Sorry..we’ve been a little busy. M- the wisp has been a little, well, busy.”

Himeko seemed to understand. Finally, she notices the two men behind the twins.

“Ah, are these the new students?”

She came closer to the twins, trying to inspect the new students. The other students in the lecture hall turned to stare at the group. They all seemed..well, weird. In the front seat were two tall men, one with black hair and yellow eyes, and the other with white hair and blue eyes. Behind them was a girl with grey-silver hair, seemingly uninterested, focused on her gaming console. Caelus was unimpressed.

“Silver Wolf, don’t play games during class. Five demerits.”

‘Silver Wolf’ didn’t seem to care, rolling her eyes before going back to her game. Caelus sighed. Stelle, on the other hand, laughed, stepping aside to introduce the two.

“This is Dan Feng and Ying Xing. They just arrived!”

Himeko studied the two, carefully, probably a little too carefully. After a few long, agonising moments, she stood up straight, a big smile on her face.

“Delightful!”

She grabbed Ying Xing’s arm, dragging him over to the back of the class, forcing him down into a seat, right next to a boy, with short white hair and pale blue eyes.

“This seems like a good place for you.”

Caelus then grabbed Dan Feng by the arm, bringing him over to a seat two rows in front of Ying Xing, setting him down next to a woman, with long bluish-white hair, and dull, red eyes. Satisfied, Himeko went back to the front of the class, the twins following after her. On the way, though, Caelus snatched the gaming console out of Silver Wolf’s hand, putting it away. Silver Wolf huffed, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat.

“Students, all of you are very lucky indeed!”

Himeko exclaimed, her voice holding a hint of excitement.

“These are our deans!”

She gestures to Stelle.

“This is Stelle.”

She then turns to gesture towards Caelus.

“And this is Caelus! They are my children.”

The twins seemed offended. Caelus’s face turned a bright shade of red, while Stelle’s eyes narrowed. The two spoke at the same time, their tone full of annoyance.

“Miss Himeko.”

Sensing their hostility, Himeko laughed.

“Sorry, sorry. You two are just so cute when I tease you.”

Finally, Himeko turned back to the chalkboard, which had a..hamburger? No, a diagram on it. The top part of the board had the words ‘Land of the living’ in a semicircle. Below that, were the words ‘Nevermore’ in a small cloud-like shape. Lastly, there were the words, ‘Land of the dead’ in a ghost-like circle.

“As I was saying! Nevermore, a waypoint between the land of the living and the land of the dead!”

Himeko turned back to the students.

“You may be wondering, ‘Miss Himeko, am I dead or alive?’ Well, the answer is, both!”

Turning back to the board, Himeko used the pointer in her hands to gesture at a few more diagrams.

“Don’t worry, being half-dead has its perks. In your present form, you look as you did when alive. You need to eat, drink, and sleep. You can smell and hear, you can get injured!”

She suddenly turned the chalkboard around, showing a few more diagrams, much more complicated, of ghosts.

“This is your ghost form, or, a spectre! They come with new abilities, based on the type, but they also take a lot of time to maintain. Don’t worry, as you learn and grow in class, you'll learn to use them as you wish!”

The white-haired male in the front seat raised his hand, and Himeko looked at him, as if to gesture for him to speak.

“Miss Himeko, are you saying that..we can become ghosts?”

The black-haired male next to him rolled his eyes.

“Lu Guang, didn’t you listen? I can’t believe Qiao Ling thought of you as responsible.”

Lu Guang seemed to want to argue. Before he could, though, Himeko cut in.

“Of course, it may seem shocking now, but-”

Caelus interrupted, seeming displeased at being unable to deliver demerits. Regardless, he tried not to think about it.

“What about we just show them?”

Stelle seemed elated at the idea. She hums, looking around the lecture hall, before pointing at a girl with long whitish-blue hair and red eyes.

“Jingliu! Come up here, won’t you?”

Dan Feng watched as the girl looked up, leaning back in her chair. A ‘portal’ opened up beneath the girl, and she was transported to the front of the room. Stelle went closer to her, cupping her ear. She lowers her voice to a barely audible whisper, and Jingliu shuts her eyes, her expression neutral, and calm. Suddenly, she turned into a puff of smoke.

Ying Xing’s eyes widened slightly, clenching his fists intuitively. Just then, Jingliu, or whatever her name was, emerged from the smoke, a set of black armour on her body, and a..horse? Was that a horse? Anyways, she was sitting on a horse, flames replacing where her head was. Her head, though, was under her arm. Could it even be called a head? Well, it was a skull, at least.

Chapter Text

A sudden blast of strong heat soon came, and everyone went quiet. Jingliu, as they had called it, seemed indifferent, though she was looking down at herself in silence. She slowly, but carefully, got off the horse. Himeko and the twins looked overjoyed.

“How lovely!”

Himeko called out, clapping her hands together.

“This is a dullahan. They often help-”

Just then, Jingliu looked up, staring right at Ying Xing. She unsheathed the sword from beside her, gripping it tight in her ‘hand’.

“You..”

She growled, her voice low, almost monstrous. Before anyone could react, she dashed forward, sword gripped tight in her right hand, the skull under her left. She raised her sword, ready to strike. All of a sudden, a bright light flashed through the room, blinding everyone, almost. As Ying Xing opened his eyes, he saw..a girl? The girl had short pink hair, barely touching her shoulder, and large, purple-blue eyes. 

As if noticing him, the girl looked back at him with a small smile, before disappearing into a puff of smoke, leaving behind nothing but an unconscious Jingliu, turned back to normal. Stelle rushed forward, checking on Jingliu, before looking back at her twin, who was looking away. She seemed ready to argue, but Himeko cut in, trying to keep some semblance of order.

“W- well, it seems as if it is too late to calm everyone down..”

She paused, as if thinking about her next move carefully. Finally, she continued.

“Class dismissed!”

With that, the twins disappeared in the same puff of smoke the girl did, bringing along Jingliu. Before he knew it, Ying Xing was back with Dan Feng, walking towards their dorm, or rather, being guided to it by a small cloud, with the same black edges and blue middle. Once they entered their shared dorm, the cloud moved slightly, as if to wave goodbye, before disappearing, and the door shut behind them.

Dan Feng looked back at the door.

“Wait..”

Ying Xing’s voice sounded from next to him.

“No. No, no, no, no, no!”

Dan Feng looked at the person, or well, thing, that Ying Xing was staring at. It was a bed, definitely not fit for a dorm room. It was a large queen-size bed, with their suitcase on the blanket, nestled comfortably on the soft linen. Well, that didn’t matter. All that mattered was that he had to sleep right next to some..some stranger!

“Is this the right dorm?”

Dan Feng called out, turning to look for anyone he could question. There wasn’t. Ying Xing gripped his teeth, clenching his fists at his side. He seemed ready to argue, though he stopped himself. Instead, he went over to the suitcase on the bed, opening it up.

“What the hell?!”

Dan Feng hums, moving over to where Ying Xing was. Before he could look inside the suitcase, Ying Xing shut it just as quickly.

“Sleep on the floor. I don’t need you next to me.”

Without another word, Ying Xing hid the suitcase under the bed, sparing Dan Feng one more glance, probably out of hatred, before climbing onto the large bed, making himself under the covers. Dan Feng was annoyed.

“You can’t be serious!”

Ying Xing didn’t look back at him, instead choosing to hide under the covers like a spoiled child. With no other way to argue, Dan Feng decided to just lay down on the ground. After a small moment of silence, a pillow came flying at him, hitting him in the head. He looked up, only to find Ying Xing leaning against the pillows on the bed, his arms crossed.

“It’s cold.”

Dan Feng narrowed his eyes

“What do you want me to do about it?”

Ying Xing went silent, then mumbled a few inaudible words.

“What was that?”

Annoyed, Ying Xing chose not to repeat himself. Instead, he moved slightly to the left, patting the right side of the bed, his face flushed red with embarrassment. Dan Feng looked away.

“Heck no.”

Ying Xing huffed, laying back down under the covers.

“Fine. Be cold then.”

Dan Feng paused. The bed did seem like a good source of warmth. After a moment of hesitation, he finally got up, climbing into bed next to Ying Xing. As he laid down, Ying Xing smirked, grabbing the pillow from him.

“Great. Now go away and don’t touch me.”

He used the pillow as a barrier between the two of them. The bed was much more comfortable than it looked, and soon, Dan Feng found himself drifting off to a deep sleep.

—----------------------------------------------

“Dan Feng, look, look!”

Ying Xing was excited, pointing at someone, no, something, eagerly. It was..a vidyadhara. The previous Imbibitor Lunae. Was Ying Xing reading a book? Since when could he read?

“Yes, I see it.”

Dan Feng hums, unbothered. Ying Xing’s smile turned mischievous, and he leaned in closer.

“It’s your favourite, isn’t it?”

Dan Feng paused.

“What?”

He took the bait. Before he could stop Ying Xing, he huffed, shutting the book. It seemed heavy, well, he predicted it would be. It was large, red in colour, with the words ‘History of the Xianzhou Luofu’ on it.

“I mean..you’re a vidyadhara, and all.”

Dan Feng sighed.

“Fuck you.”

Ying Xing wasn’t fazed. In fact, Dan Feng knew that he didn’t even care. Instead, he just picked the book up, running off before Dan Feng could chase him.

“B̴̛̰̟͗̓̀́̈͒̑̌a̴̬̦͚͇̽͒̍̈́i̵̡̻͙̹̺̲̖͚̿͐̏͋̔̿ ̶̗̪̠̔͗̾̀̀̀̈́͌͊͜͝H̶͎̩͚̏̊͆̏̿͗̂̒͘̕ͅe̶͇̰̬͌̋̓n̵͕̳͇̝̉͑͆̓̀̎̈́̎g? Where are you?”

Wait. Who’s B̴̛̰̟͗̓̀́̈͒̑̌a̴̬̦͚͇̽͒̍̈́i̵̡̻͙̹̺̲̖͚̿͐̏͋̔̿ ̶̗̪̠̔͗̾̀̀̀̈́͌͊͜͝H̶͎̩͚̏̊͆̏̿͗̂̒͘̕ͅe̶͇̰̬͌̋̓n̵͕̳͇̝̉͑͆̓̀̎̈́̎g?

—----------------------------------------------

“March? March 7th? My love, where did you go?”

Stelle called out, with Caelus trailing after her, silent. She was pissed, to say the least. How could Caelus do that to her? Making her look like a monster in front of all the students. Not to mention, March 7th was gone. Poofed, disappeared, even when she asked for help with getting tea. She had probably been the one shielding that..that Ying Xing. This was why she was here now, in Dreamland, with Caelus following after her like a petulant child

“Stelle?”

A shaky voice called out from a nearby room. March. There she was. Almost immediately, a smile formed on Stelle’s face.

“March!”

She opened the door. The poor girl was curled up on the ground, the blue-black flames around her body flickering, as if threatening to disappear. No harm would come to March if they really did disappear, but what was worrying was the bright golden light emitting from her chest. She seemed to be on the verge of freaking out.

“St- Stelle? Caelus? What’s- what’s happening?”

Stelle cringed, looking back at Caelus. Caelus, unfazed, just looked away, crossing his arms. Unimpressed, Stelle wiped the uncomfortable look on her face, now glaring at her twin brother. With a sigh, Caelus uncrossed his arms, going over to March, placing one hand on her shoulder, kneeling down to meet her gaze.

“I have..a favour to ask from you.”

Chapter Text

Knock knock

“Hello? Is anyone there?’

A warm, cheerful voice sounded from the door. It was so cheerful that it almost made Dan Feng forget the man next to him. Almost.

“Go away..”

Ying Xing’s voice was soft, slightly raspy, and he sounded exhausted. Wanting to go back to sleep, he nuzzled into the shoulder of the man on the bed next to him, clinging to him tightly.

Wait. Man?

Ying Xing’s eyes shot open and he looked up, only to be met with Dan Feng’s face. The other man was looking down at him, almost stunned, though he was too half-asleep to respond to the shock of them suddenly being so close to each other. The pillow that was previously in between the two of them was now sandwiched between their bodies.

“Don’t..kill me?”

Was all Dan Feng could say before the white-haired man pushed him off, sending him towards the falling ground with a loud ‘thud’. The person from the other side of the door seemed to still be there. There was a louder, more insistent knock on the door.

“Are- are you alright? What happened?”

There was then a loud ‘bang!’ and the door was torn off the hinges, literally. The door, which used to be nicely fit in the doorframe was now on the ground, somehow still intact. The thing, or person, that was behind the door, or “was door”, seemed to have kicked it down. The girl stood back up straight, an embarrassed look on her face. She had short shoulder-length pink hair, large purple-blue eyes, and seemed to already be dressed in her uniform, impossibly neat and weirdly ironed out. What kind of freak is ready for school at 6 in the morning? What kind of weirdo bashes into someone else’s dorm room?

“You-!”

Before Ying Xing could continue on whatever tirade he was going to start, the girl immediately shushed him with a small look. God, Dan Feng didn’t even know her name and he already loved her. The girl turned back to the two, clearing her throat, crossing her arms over her chest. She seemed proud.

“Greetings! Fellow classmates! My name is March 7th! Now get out of bed and come to the hedge maze.”

She gave Ying Xing one final, cheeky smile, before snapping her fingers and disappearing in a puff of smoke, leaving the two men alone with a broken door on the ground. Before Dan Feng could relax, he was met with a pillow to the face.

-------------------------------------------------

[06:55 A.M, 5 hours before it]

Exhausted, Cheng Xiaoshi let out a loud yawn, trailing after Lu Guang and the landla- Qiao Ling. He loved being tall, who wouldn’t? But it just seemed like the world was out to get him. The past week has been a pain in the ASS. First he was teleported to some unknown area in the middle of fucking nowhere, his uniform was too small, and Lu Guang and the landlady had been bugging him the whole week to wake up early, go to school, and actually do work. God, he couldn’t imagine anything more dreadful. To think that he would still have to attend school even after dying, when Uni was already bad enough!

As if sensing his mental stress, Lu Guang turned back to look at him, deliberately slowing down to match his pace, letting Qiao Ling lead them both towards the hedge maze. Some girl had woken them up two hours prior by almost breaking their door down, at least, until Qiao Ling came over to shoo her away, muttering something about the girl breaking down every door in sight.

Lu Guang let out a small sigh, causing Cheng Xiaoshi to turn and look at him.

“Hmn? What’s wrong now?”

Silent, Lu Guang just turned to look at him, his expression hardening just slightly.

“Cheng Xiaoshi, stay awake. It’s just a meet-up, it’s not like there’s going to be an exam occuring.”

Letting out a small huff, Cheng Xiaoshi rolled his eyes, just continuing to follow after the landlady.

—----------------------------------------------

[07:55 A.M, 4 hours̴͚̺͓̮̜͈̹̟̹̠̣̳̆͆̍͒̓͐͛̀̒̎̚ ̶̢̝̳̟̝̜͇̪͖̖̅͗̓̍̂̇̔͘͠ḃ̷̢̟͙͚̻͙͓̥͈̥̝́ē̷̹̘̯͎̰̰͚̘̰̣̰̗̓̄͛̎̋͆͗͊̑̀̈́͘͘f̴̗̣̫̞̹͕̦̣͕̝̩̙̖̰́̈́͌̈́̀͐̎̅̇̇̈̆̕͝͝ǒ̶͚̲̰̼̜̖̫̬͓͇̳̬̯̄́̾̊̈́̆r̸̛͎̿̾̀̈́̇͒́͘͝͝e̸̡̪̩̦͖̹͓͔͈̦̟͓̪͙̔̽̒i̴͉̱͍̥̮̹̻̟̱̩͓̤͉̗̊́͋͜t̷̠̯̜͙̱̹̅̈́͝ ̷̹̣͙̫͚̻̼͇̇͛̇̍̿]

“This Miss Himeko is insane. Who even wakes up at 4 in the morning nowadays.”

Cheng Xiaoshi let out a groan, having to drag himself off the stump he was sitting on to go get ready with Lu Guang. He wasn’t really listening. All he caught was something about some entrance exam, and they had to go through the maze. God, having a spectre sure would come in handy. He should have asked that..Jing Liu for help..

Would that even work?

That girl had gone into the maze a few minutes earlier, escaping right before Miss Himeko could pester her about having a partner.

Lu Guang ignored Cheng Xiaoshi’s comment, instead grabbing his wrist and dragging him in. Qiao Ling was elsewhere, paired up with another girl—probably Li Tianxi.

The moment they stepped into the maze, the large gate behind them slammed shut. Cheng Xiaoshi turned back to look at it, frozen in place. He yanked his hand away from Lu Guang, marching over to the large gate and peering through it just to find..

Nothing. A whole load of nothing. They were in the sky now, high above the clouds. It was dark, but Cheng Xiaoshi could have sworn it was only 7, no, 8 in the morning. If he weren’t already dead, the heart attack he received from this experience would kill him. He turned to look at Lu Guang, who had been relatively calm this whole ordeal.

“Lu Guang! What do we-”

“We get out of this.”

Well, no shit sherlock. Before Cheng Xiaoshi could argue more, Lu Guang just turned and went down a path of the hedge maze. Letting out a small huff of annoyance, Cheng Xiaoshi just followed, quickening his pace to catch up.

—----------------------------------------------

[9:55 A.M, 3̴̢̜̖̹̙̙̩̣͛̇͂͋͘͝͝ ̶̨̘͕͇̩̪̥̟̀̄͌̅̽͜͝ͅḩ̷͓͎͈̖͕͍͓͉̥͎̰͓̥̍̅̈̎̈̊̉̿̏̚ô̶̻͋͂̀̏̀̕͘ú̶͎̮̻̪͍̊̓̔͗͛͌͌̋̒͆͐̓͋r̴̡̧̡͈͉͚̺̓͌̅̒̊̆̀̔̇̈́̐͠͝͝͝s̷̪̻̯̞͔̻̭̻͚͒͗̄̐͜͝ ̷̢̤͚̘̗̳̖̤̻͓̭̬͆͌͝ḅ̷͉̙̘̜̺͖̌̌͌̿̂̑̓͝e̵̢̩̤͎̭͇̰̲̬̖̺̤͖̪̜͆͘͘f̸̰͙̋̾̔̏͌͛͊̿̓͆͠õ̶̡̳̺͋̌͊̀́͌̀́͊͌̕r̵̟̂̏̚͘ͅȩ̷͖̬͈̞̳͇̲̬̬́͐̀̊͊̿̔̈́̒͘͜͝͝ ̴͔̺͌̋͑̈́͛̍͐̐̈́̿͝ȉ̴̢̢̮̠̖̘͉̙̞̏t̵̢̡͇̩̥̣̥̩͎̋̍̏̍̈́̿̌̈́͗̕̚ͅͅ]

Fuck. Shit. They were so dead. The monster was going to find them, and Lu Guang clearly wasn’t doing so well.

“Lu Guang! Hurry up!”

Cheng Xiaoshi yelled, his grip tight on the white-haired man’s hand as they ran through the corridors of some lavish castle. The thing- monster- entity was chasing after them, as if wanting to decapitate them and mount their heads on some display. It looked like a lion, but..glitchier. The fur was red, blood red, the eyes were red, and was it- DID HE JUST SEE ITS JAW DISLOCATE ITSELF?!

“Cheng Xiaoshi! Right!”

Just as the entity opened its mouth, ready to devour them both whole, Cheng Xiaoshi made a sharp right, practically dragging a heaving Lu Guang over to the large gate. They both ran through it, and the gate slammed shut with a loud ‘bang!’ Exhausted, Cheng Xiaoshi let go of Lu Guang’s wrist, collapsing on the ground, panting and heaving. God, how much more of this torture did they have to go through. To make matters worse, neither of them manifested their spectres yet.

Lu Guang didn’t seem to have it easy either. He slumped to the ground, leaning on the gate for support. His usual aloof demeanor was broken, but Cheng Xiaoshi couldn’t bring himself to care. Fuck. How long more was there until dinner?

After a moment or two of collecting themselves, Cheng Xiaoshi let out a loud, exaggerated sigh, slowly getting up once again. He turned back to Lu Guang.

“We should..we should go now.”

He mutters, barely able to speak well. With a small sigh, Lu Guang shook his head, his expression one of exhaustion, as if he wanted nothing more than to go back to the dorms.

“One- one minute..”

“The deadline is by dinner, we don’t have a minute.”

Lu Guang shot Cheng Xiaoshi a small glare, shutting the man up immediately. He hums in response, sitting down next to him on the ground.

“What was that supposed to be?”

Lu Guang let out a hum of acknowledgement, but he didn’t seem to care enough to answer the question.

“I don’t know. Did you look at the pedestal while you were dragging me in?”

“Lu Guaaang..”

Cheng Xiaoshi groaned, frustrated.

“How would I know we would be running from some lion-monster-demon?”

“Idiot.”

Offended, Cheng Xiaoshi immediately whipped his head around to look at him.

“What did you say?!”

“Nothing.”

—----------------------------------------------

[11:55 A.M, s̴̡̨̛̳͓̖̺̗̮̪̫̻̖̰͆̄́͌̔̆̂͘̚̕͠͝ą̸̨̭͓̲̫̦̦̖̪̦͕̙̌v̴̛̤̬̗̬̈́̑͑͂̄̍̽̊͠e̶̩̚ ̷̧̞͇̻͖̳̺̦̉̑̄̏̂̈̉̇̕͝͠m̴̧̡̛̛̛̫̞̩̺̟͉̱̝̪͆̊̃̀̏̓̓̆͑̀͐͘e̵̳̠̖̫̜̞͕͇͑̿͌̄͛͊̊̒́̊̎̊]

“Lu Guang? Lu Guang!”

Cheng Xiaoshi was irritated, annoyed, even. Ever since an hour ago, Lu Guang wasn’t doing well. He was more spaced out, and was constantly checking his watch.

“Guangguang! Come on!”

At the sound of Qiao Ling’s voice, Lu Guang immediately perked up, earning him a small glare from Cheng Xiaoshi. The two had run into the girl a while ago, having bumped into her after almost drowning. However, like the social butterfly she was, she had brought three others along. Two males who seemed ready to kill each other at any moment, and a girl.

“Lu Guang! Dan Feng found a way out.”

Cheng Xiaoshi seemed dismissive, as if he didn’t like the idea of their two-person party being turned into a six-person one. It didn’t help that he and ‘Ying Xing’ had been shooting glares at each other since they met. Qiao Ling and that ‘March 7th’ girl didn’t seem to care—they were too busy being friendly.

“A way out? Already?”

Lu Guang’s expression hardened. This was different. New. They weren’t supposed to be out of the maze yet. He-

“I did.”

Dan Feng answered, breaking Lu Guang’s train of thought. He went over to a large gate.

“The Last Trial. Use all you’ve learned, to prove your spot is earned.”

Well, no, they were definitely at the end. Lu Guang turned to the rest, then at the gate again. Something was..off, different. He looked down, expecting to see- wait. Where was it? The vines were..gone? They weren’t gone before. He knew it. He could remember it! He turned to look at Cheng Xiaoshi, his heart stuck in his throat.

History was changing. And it wasn’t his fault. Overjoyed, Qiao Ling clapped her hands together, hurrying over to the gate.

“The Last Trial? This must mean we’re close, right?”

“Yes..i̷͖̳̲̭̮͆̕t̶̡̨̳̗̼̳͕̗̟̘̯̲̯͌̉̒̄̾̓͋́͐̔̍̒̃͆͂ ̶̧͍͔̊̈́d̷͚̟̠͈̥̟̪̭̜̼̤̾̐̀͌͋̔̉̾̃͝o̷̧̞͘ẽ̴̢͚̻̥̭͓̿̋̇̂͒͂̄ş̶̦̞̹̞̬̝͓̼̝̄̽͆̊”

“Huh? M-”

“Qiao Ling! Dodge!”

Almost instinctively, Qiao Ling looked back, only to be met with the sight of March 7th, her body half-visible, the vines shrinking back behind her. She raised her hand, directing it at Qiao Ling.

“D̷̮̹̼̰̬̺͔̭͔̉̀̏͆̑̀̾̿͜͜͝͝í̵̢̢͚͈͓͚̦̗̫̬̠̂ẽ̶͔̘͚̱͇̜͛͊͒̒.”

A small puff of smoke came from her hand, and it flew towards Qiao Ling. Frozen in place, she could only watch as the smoke came barreling towards- 

“Qiao Ling!”

A sudden force hit her in the side. Cheng Xiaoshi. He had basically tackled her in order to get her out the way. The puff of smoke hit the gate, causing sparks to fly out and..wait. Did the gate just get dented?!

Almost immediately, ‘March’ turned to look at Cheng Xiaoshi. She gave him a large, crooked smile, and her body suddenly disappeared. Before Cheng Xiaoshi could do anything else, he was dragged off the ground, into the air. There was smoke around his neck, holding him against the bars of the gate. ‘March’ reappeared again, suspiciously glitched out.

“This..is your punishment for changing the past.”

No way.

‘March’ disappeared completely, and a red-haired guy appeared in his place. The smoke disappeared, only to be replaced with spears, all aimed at Cheng Xiaoshi. With a small smirk, Vein snapped his fingers, and he disappeared, but the spears didn’t. As soon as he disappeared, the spears started shooting, not literally. What they did do was drive themselves into Cheng Xiaoshi’s body.

“Hrk!”

Lu Guang stopped, watching as Cheng Xiaoshi’s expression turned to one of pain. The spears, having done their job, disappeared as well, leading to Cheng Xiaoshi falling, landing on the ground with a loud ‘thump’.

“Cheng Xiaoshi!”

Lu Guang was up. He ran over to the black-haired man, crouching down next to him, gently turning him over. He was still alive, barely. His clothes were ruined, his abdomen full of holes. There was blood everywhere. Everyone else looked shocked. Qiao Ling seemed the most terrified of the group.

“Lu..Guang..”

No.

“S..ave..”

Don’t do this.

“Th..em. Save..them..”

Please, Cheng Xiaoshi.

“All of..”

He grabbed Lu Guang’s hand, squeezing it as hard as he could, which wasn’t hard at all. He raised his hand shakily, pointing towards the other three.

“Them..”

Please..I beg you.

“I’m..s..orry..”

Shut up!

“I’m..”

…

“I’m sorry..”

The yellow light in his eyes disappeared, and he gave Lu Guang a smile, the last one he could before everything turned black.

“Cheng Xiao..”

Lu Guang couldn’t hold it back. He just started crying. For the first time in weeks, he started crying, and he didn’t hold back. He cried until his chest hurt, until his voice turned hoarse, until his body refused to take anymore and he shut down.

Chapter Text

He awoke in a bed, unlike the one in the dorm room. It was dark, dreary, barely lit up, thanks to a small candle on the nightstand next to every bed. Lu Guang slowly sat up, shutting his eyes and burying his head in his hands. What happened? Where was he? Had he failed? Well, he wouldn’t mind if he did fail. He could go to the Land of the Dead with Cheng Xiaoshi. His Cheng Xiaoshi. Or he could..”

He paused, opening his eyes up again, bringing his hands down from his head. That would work.

He looked at his watch, then felt around his clothes, finally pulling out a small picture, one of the scenery from his and Cheng Xiaoshi’s dorm room. Great. He still had it. This might just work. He put the picture down on the bed in front of him, making his palms face each other.

Wait. No.

He paused. That man.. Vein . Was it worth it?

Click

The door opened slowly, and a girl peeked in. The deans dean. Stelle. Probably here to inform him of his failure. After a moment or two, Stelle shuffled forward, inching towards the bed. She picked up the picture, putting it away.

“You’re lucky, you know? It’s not everyday someone drags their classmate out.”

Lu Guang paused, setting his hands down again. Darn it. Qiao Ling was probably the one who refused to leave him. The girl continued.

“You passed, but that partner of yours..”

She went quiet. Lu Guang watched her every move, how her gaze shifted away, going over to the empty space in the room instead of at him, how she hesitated before taking a deep breath, her hands in her pockets.

“ So ..”

Clearing her throat, Stelle let out a shaky sigh, finally looking back at the white-haireed man in front of her. She opened her mouth, as if about to speak, before shutting it once more. Lu Guang just stared, speechless. After a moment of awkward silence, he finally spoke.

“Cheng Xiaoshi.”

He paused, trying his best to recollect whatever he had learnt in that.. class .

“He’s in..the Land of the Dead, isn’t he?”

At that, Stelle stiffened slightly, averting her gaze. She cleared her throat, a small sheepish smile on her face.

“Uhm..worse?”

Lu Guang narrowed his eyes, but he stayed calm, at least, he was trying to.

“What does worse mean?”

Before he could continue, a few greyish-blue clouds appeared around his wrists, as if chaining him to the bed. Stelle noticed, of course she did. She smiled, finally looking back at Lu Guang.

“Right. Sorry about chaining you. It’s just..”

She paused, taking one step back, just as an extra precaution.

“ Technically , he is supposed to be on his way to the Land of the Dead, but uhm..”

Lu Guang interrupted her.

“Supposed? What does supposed mean?”

Raising up one hand, Stelle let out a huff of irritation.

“So impatient, all of you.”

As quickly as her annoyance appeared, it disappeared, and Stelle let out a small, quiet, hum of acknowledgement. Her earlier nervousness was now replaced with a thoughtful expression.

“Well, if you really want to know, Cheng Xiaoshi is dead. As in, dead dead ..dead.”

She shrugs. Before Lu Guang could process her words, she continued, shrugging her shoulders.

“Cae somehow managed to mess with the system and instead of sending him to the land of the dead, he’s well.. somewhere .”

Before the girl could continue, the white-haired boy narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth together.

“What do you mean.. somewhere ?”

Stelle sighed, fixing up her vest.

“Well, he’s in a void. That’s all Cae told me.”

With that, she let out a small laugh, waving him goodbye before snapping her fingers. There was a sudden ‘poof!’ and she disappeared, along with the clouds. Lu Guang was stunned. Oh, that Caelus boy was fucked if he saw him again.

—------------------------------------------------------------

“Dan Feng, we need to find a way out.”

Dan Feng looked up from the book in his hands, confused. Escape? What for? Was it because of the incident in the hedge maze? Annoyed, Ying XIng rolled his eyes, placing his hands on his hips and letting out a small sigh.

“You heard me. That..exam thing, it’s..”

He paused, his gaze darting away, fixing on the window in their shared dorm room.

“Well, regardless. Getting out of here is important, you know? The people here are..not right in the head .”

A moment of awkward silence passed between them, with Ying Xing looking at the Vidyadhara expectantly. After a moment or two more of silence, Dan Feng closed the book, putting it away, next to him on the otherwise empty bed. Ying Xing was pacing around, or had been. He seemed shaken up, but Dan Feng was sure he’d go back to normal in a while.

“I mean..those twins assured us it was a mistake. What more is there to worry about? We’re already dead anyways, it’s not like we can die again, right?

A small huff sounded from the white-haired man, and he glared at Dan Feng, crossing his arms. He went over to his side of the bed, sitting down with his back turned to the other man. He looked more like a petulant child than a man. In Dan Feng’s opinion, he looked so cute annoying.

—------------------------------------------------------------

“Caelus, what the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Dreamland was a mess. The furniture was overturned, March 7th was standing at the side awkwardly, Himeko was trying to calm everyone down, and Caelus was hiding from a very angry Stelle. No, angry couldn’t cut it. Stelle was raging. The two had gotten into a fight a while ago, when they had returned from bringing all the students who failed to the Land of the Dead. 

“Woah, woah, Stelle! We both agreed to this!”

Caelus yelled, dodging just in them as Stelle flung a lamp past his head.

“I agreed to giving that guy March’s form! I didn’t agree to killing a student !”

Knock knock .

All of a sudden, everyone stopped. The twins turned to stare at each other, the remnants of the argument fading. Stelle turned to look at March, but the other girl was quicker. WIth a small ‘poof’, hundreds of small wisps appeared, arranging everything back to where it was. Finally getting out of his hiding place, Caelus went over to the door, opening it, only to be met with a gun to the face.