Archive of Our Own ^beta

Lin Ling was a commoner.

Like many others, he was just a tiny, replaceable, part of the population that kept the nobles rich and fed and the poor starving and miserable.

He, never in his life, would have imagined himself in fancy clothes or eating extravagant foods. Dream of it? Sure. Everyone did. But those dreams were just that. Fantasies that would get squashed the moment you were able to hold a farming tool in your tiny hands.

And yet, somehow, here he was. Donned in clothes that fit perfectly in some places, sagged a little in others. But that didn't matter when only a little bit of magic was needed for him to become the white haired, blue eyed and blessed by the gods themselves, hero Nice. Who left on a mission to finally slay the Demon King and never returned, leaving his betrothed, the princess Xiao Yueqing, behind.

And poor Lin Ling, chosen for his slight resemblance to the hero, got snatched from his humble home and declared dead, sent off to finish what the other started with the promise that he could take Xiao Yueqing hand instead.

Not that he was going to. As much as he loved the princess, like many others did, she wasn't an object to be passed around. He did try to argue, but the king wasn't very eager to listen.

Was he surprised? Of course not. The king ordered to kidnap a peasant boy and make him wear the skin of a dead man (probably). Trading the life of an innocent woman would almost look like yesterday's news.

And that's how he found himself walking on the forest path towards the very dark and scary castle that always looked to be resting at the edge of the horizon, protected by rock formations that made it so horses and soldiers alike could not pass through easily.

How was he supposed to reach such a far place? He had no magic to fly nor fighting skills to defend himself. The powerful artifacts that he had been given –with no instructions on how to use them mind you–, might have as well been useless decorations.

"This day is terrible. Life is terrible! Fuck you Nice! It's all your fault!"

He screamed. Kicking an innocent pebble in his anger, it bouncing off a poor tree and getting lost in a bush with a loud thawk!

"Ow—!"

Lin Ling stopped. Did magical, sentient, pain receptive bushes exist now?

He kicked another rock, this time earning an annoyed "Hey!"

No, of course not, Lin Ling deadpanned, moving a stray white strand from his face. How did Nice deal with this hairstyle, anyways?

The talking bush turned out to be just an homeless looking guy, popping out like he was ready to spring three questions at Lin Ling to see if he was worthy to continue his journey.

He did vaguely look like a mage, though. If the loose robes and silver framed glasses that only those who could afford it possessed said anything.

"Jeez kid… ah… Nice? Didn't you pass by here already?"

This homeless mage knew Nice too. Amazing.

"I forgot something at home."

"Did you really, now?"

"Yeah… it was my… spare cleaning cloth. Can't have my sword be dirty when I, uhh… slay the demon king. I guess."

Lin Ling said while gritting his teeth. Everyone and their horses knew about the chosen hero's obsession with perfection, which included cleanliness.

The mage didn't look convinced, or maybe he just didn't care.

"You know… Even if you look like him, you could at least put some effort into the performance."

At least, Lin Ling mused, the guy was smart.

"I'm not even here by my own volition. Give me a break."

"Fair. I assume you need to reach the dark castle, right?"

"Yeah…? Are you going to give me your magic broom or something?"

"Of course not, that would be too slow and boring. I can get you there even faster, and in return you tell that boy to stop using me as his own personal traveling portal. He knows I hate overtime."

"Who—"

The sound of a Snap! was all he could hear, his vision surrounded by a myriad of colors, shapes and things Lin Ling could not put a name to. A familiar figure dressed in white, with hair slicked back and orange tinted glasses, waved at him with a smirk. The strange man being the last thing Lin Ling sees before returning to the normal world, perplexed and sprawled on the ground in front of a dark gate, no guard in sight.

There's no way… that was the great magician X, was it?

X, who no king or queen could reign, who was on par with the gods despite walking amongst mortals.

Lin Ling could only hope.

Entering the castle was easy, too easy. Seriously, who in their right mind leaves the front door open?

Either an overconfident idiot, or someone really strong. And the Demon King was always described to be strong, scary, with an infinite amount of soldiers under his command and many more slumbering in the darkest depths where fear resided. Despite that, though, all Lin Ling could see were empty rooms and abandoned hallways. Roots claiming the place as their own.

Could this be an illusion? A mistake on the magician part?

It must be, because he knew that the Demon King was real, with dark armor as if to mock Nice white one. A jagged, heavy looking greatsword that looked to be made of obsidian having the power to shoot beams of destruction that set back years of farmers' work in seconds.

Surely, that couldn't be all fake—

"It's not."

A voice said. One Lin Ling recognized.

He turned around, and there Nice was, alive and well. Too well. Strangely not at all put off by Lin Ling copycat appearance. Instead his expression was more… peeved. Like Lin Ling's presence was an inconvenience.

"I didn't think they would do something like this and yet, that king never fails to surprise me in the worst ways. Hey, let me see if they got everything ri—"

Lin Ling, whose anger was rising the more the other talked, discarded his sword, tackling the other to the ground. Nice, who did not expect to be attacked so suddenly, could only pitifully defend his face.

"Whoa! Hey! Stop hitting me! And— Ow! Pulling my hair!"

"No! it's your fault I'm in this stupid situation! Suffer the consequences!"

They kept trashing and kicking and pulling at each other, curses exchanged between each other, mainly by Lin Ling, until heavy footsteps reached them.

"Nice what's taking— what the fuck."

Was what the new person, whom Lin Ling recognized as the Demon King, said.

"Wreck! Save me from this maniac!"

But a glare from Lin Ling was all it took for the Demon King to just slowly step back away and watch from the sidelines, Nice betrayed shouts silenced by Lin Ling headbutting him unconscious.

Lin Ling looked at the Demon King again.

"So, are you going to explain?"

Long story short, the Demon King had been dead for centuries, and all the monarchs of the kingdom had the divine duty of keeping the legend alive, in every and whatever way they could. 

When Nice was born twenty-five years ago, bringing rain after months of drought, he had been labeled as the chosen hero, cherry picked by the gods, when instead he was only a normal man just like any other, his strengths enhanced by the same items Lin Ling was given.

"So that's why you weren't able to push me off."

"Let's be clear, I let you beat me just because I felt a little guilty."

"Sure, Mr. Unconscious."

"You— Wreck you should defend me, not laugh!"

"Pff— yeah, alright, sorry sorry."

He didn't sound sorry at all, the Demon King, or Wreck, who just like Nice was but an unfortunate soul chosen to play the part until he wasn't needed anymore. Or even worse, killed.

That was… sad. Unfair. Why were the gods so intent on keeping up this farce? What did they gain from all of this?

"Control."

Wreck had told him while Nice was still unconscious, mask laying on the bedside table. Letting Lin Ling gaze into those deep violet eyes full of anger and remorse. Black strands of hair framing his face in a way that made him look particularly handsome in Lin Ling's eye.

"If the masses fear the Demon King, they will be forced to rely on the kingdom for protection, which means following the divide and not straying from the path they want us to take."

"Does Xiao Yueqing know?"

"… Yes. Like us she's just a pawn. A 'reward' for the hero in this twisted story."

The silence afterwards stayed until Nice decided to wake, who took little time to throw a tantrum about his aching forehead and scratched armor. Totally unlike the gentlemanly persona he always played out in public.

"And is there no way of fixing this…?"

Lin Ling asked Nice, because there must be a reason why he disappeared so suddenly. A plan to overthrow the king— or anything that would get them out of this situation.

"I hoped to have enough time to concoct a plan, but I didn't think they would find a replacement so quickly. Where did you even come from?"

"My mother's—"

"Please don't say such crass things with my face."

Nice deadpanned. Wreck snorted.

"So what now?"

"They probably expect you to do a quick job, chop the Demon King’s head and bring it to them on a silver patter. This means that with the three days it takes to travel from the kingdom to here… we have around six days to make a plan. Our equipment is useless against them. It would only need a a snap of the king fingers to disable the magical enhancement—"

Lin Ling tuned the chatter out. Snap… snap…

"Oh! Why not just ask X?"

"What?

"You know, that old guy in the forest? The one that knows you? He was X right? Why wouldn’t you ask him for a way to end all this? He’s the most powerful magician in the land, even the kings and queens have to bow to him."

"You mean the hermit I use in lieu of a horse?”

Lin Ling stammered alongside Wreck.

“You didn't realize it was X?!”

"Should i have…?"

And so their plan was set. Search for X at the magic tower, and save the day. 

Hopefully.

The six days that followed were… something.

"We're also going to get him to fix your appearance, Lin Ling."

"Why? Not handsome enough for you?"

"On the contrary, you're too handsome. We gotta tone that down a notch."

Lin Ling turned to Wreck, whose mask was back on and so not giving out any emotions.

"Is he always like this?"

"Consider yourself lucky that you didn't grow up with him."

—

"Lin Ling, can you get some wood to start a fire?"

"Sure… Actually, before that, I wanted to ask. How can you differentiate me and Nice so easily?"

"You're tamer compared to him."

"Tamer?"

"Yes. Softer than Nice. The way you move, your expressions. They are free of any of the absurd rules that wretched King tried to engrave into Nice since he was a kid."

"His— and yours too, childhood must've been harsh. I feel bad for taking it out on him the other day."

"Don't be. I'm certain he doesn't feel anything by it. Probably expected it."

"Still…"

"Look, if you want to apologize I won't stop you, but be ready to either have him rub it in your face, or never leave your side. Ever."

Wreck seemed to speak from experience, so Lin Ling felt more than compelled to just discard the thought.

"Yeah… No thanks."

"Good thinking."

—

By day five, the three ended up huddled together for warmth anyways, Nice eager to dig his nose in Lin Ling's chest and swing a leg over Wreck's, essentially trapping the both of them.

Lin Ling was the first to wake, staring at the deep blue of the night sky merge with the yellow of the rising sun. They were near the magic tower. Just another day away, so dangerously close to their deadline.

"Not sleepin'?"

Nice muffled voice asked. So he finally awoke too. That made Lin Ling feel a little better.

"No. Not tired."

"Anxious?"

Lin Ling bit his lip. It didn’t feel adequate to figuratively vomit his feelings out at the ass crack of dawn, but he might as well if there was a chance he could die soon. Leave all regrets behind, or something like that.

"Honestly… Yeah. I'm scared of what's going to happen after this. If we make it out alive. There's so many variables that could make this go wrong and I— I don't know. What are you going to do after this?"

Nice hummed, shifting a little bit so his voice wasn’t muffled anymore.

"Retire forever, probably. Me and Wreck always talked about moving somewhere far, building a little house in the middle of the woods or a beach and just… live. If you don't know where to go you could join us."

"Am I really allowed to?"

"Why not?"

"I haven't really known you guys for that long."

"And yet, it feels like we did for years. It would be sad to say goodbye."

Nice moved more towards his designated spot in the middle, making sure to not awake Wreck, and put a hand on Lin Ling's cheek, moving his head so they were staring at each other.

"And don't worry about ifs or buts, one way or another we'll make it through this."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I… think I have a way to convince X to help. Trust me on this."

Nice eyes looked so determined, so sure despite the subtle tremble of his hand, that Lin Ling could not refuse him. Moving his own hand to hold the hero’s.

"I trust you."

"No."

X said. Clear cut and with no hesitation.

"I told you I hate overtime. My day is already busy enough avoiding assassins left and right, I can't deal with a whole kingdom."

But you can let a random hero use you as a travel horse…? Lin Ling did not voice the thought, though. Having decided to stay in the back of the messy office with Wreck while Nice handled the discussion.

(That did not mean that his anxiety lessened, but at least Wreck let Lin Ling hold onto his hand as support, which was… nice. ha.)

"If you have nothing else to say—"

"Smile."

Was all Nice needed to utter, essentially shutting  X up. Lin Ling thinks he recognized the name.

"I know one of the reasons you can't interfere is because they keep him hostage, threatening to turn him into a monster of fear. For years I studied the castle layout, so I’m confident that I can free him. I do that and you help us with the king. Deal?"

“But aren’t you the reason why he’s there in the first place?”

That seemed to cut deep something in Nice. Lin Ling could cut the tension with a knife.

“You’re right. And I live with that guilt everyday, which is why I want to make things right. Please help us. You’re our last hope.”

Nice offered an opened hand. X sighed, exasperated, accepting Nice handshake.

"Ahh, you brats. Always making things hard for me… Fine."

"And fix Lin Ling's appearance."

"What else? A coffee, maybe? Lunch?"

X was sarcastic, but Nice didn't let that bother him, the relief making him act a little cocky.

"If you're offering, why not? Might as well pay us back for all the trouble we went through to get to you."

X just shooed them off to a random room with his iconic Snap! and shortly after s dog with a… human body? came by to give them some spare clothes. Ahu, the young apprentice with a big smile, Xinya, who came to give them food later called him.

Finally, the three were left with their thoughts.

"You know,"

Nice said after everyone had taken a much deserved shower to clean the dirt and grime they got from sleeping in the forest.

"Maybe we shouldn've kept you looking like me, Lin Ling. You're way more handsome than I anticipated."

Lin Ling shoved him.

"Shut up, you’re not funny."

"He's not lying."

Wreck unhelpfully added.

"You two… I'm just going to ask for another spare room if you keep bullying me. Actually— why did they give us a joint room?"

The tower was pretty big. Too big. Surely, X could've spared three extra rooms.

"We just look that much like a team! surely you don't want to get rid of us now, A-Ling?"

"And leave Wreck alone to keep you in check? I'm not that mean."

This time, he was the one shoved around.

Thanks to Nice knowledge of the castle passages, and X acting as a distraction, it was easy to free the renowned smiling knight who was said to be lost to the darkness. The king unable to do anything but pray to the gods that will never answer to those that disappointed them.

Tearful reunions, happy reconciliation and angry encounters that shattered Lin Ling’s perception of life — A.K.A Xiao Yueqing true personality reveal, episode that Nice still laughs hysterically about —, all culminated to everyone's common goal.

Freedom.

"Feels good, right?"

Nice said long since the fact, head in Lin Ling's lap and enjoying the shade of the tree they were staying under. Wreck was inside, cooking, having banned the other two from the kitchen not even a day in after moving together.

"Yeah, and you deserve all of it and more, Nice."

Lin Ling didn't know when this feeling started, but he hoped it never ended, and soon realized never will as he leaned down to press his lips to Nice ones. Warm, just like those nights in front of the fire, or when he woke up surrounded by those he grew to love dearly.

Lin Ling was a commoner, once. He believed he would live and die alone. He believed becoming Nice was a curse, and instead it ended up being the biggest blessing of all.