Work Text:
He only remembers the forest, the huge tree and the kids. They were screaming..about something? Or at him? He has no clue. His memories are foggy. He doesn’t remember his name. He only knows his purpose.
He kept walking. He notices his feet are bare but he couldn’t care less.
The flower in the palace
Fears the shadow in the night
The flower, right, that’s what he is looking for. The flower has evaded him. He needs to find him again. Find him so that he can fulfill his goal.
The black veil might hide you
But can it save you?
The man in black, he thinks he can hide him. Another cursed one it seems. But nothing is more cursed than him. He is a willing crossbow stretched too tight. If the arrow isn’t shot, he might snap. He might break and then…and then there will be no one to save him.
Who? He tries to remember.
A wholesome bowl of warmth
A smile like a thousand suns
The sun! He was like the sun. He saves him from his miserable mind, just with a smile. So bright, so true, so big, like a duvet too soft, embraces him, loves him.
Too much
Too deep
His feet are leaving bloody footprints on the muddy forest bed. The unfortunate patches of grass that cross him are left dead and trampled. His head is full of fluid, black, thick, tar-like, engulfing his senses and making him shake his head every now and then. He is congested; sick, floating in miasma that is poisoning his veins.
You can’t outrun the curse
Little flower, you were always mine.
The man in black is lying on the ground. He comes closer and sits down, admiring the piece of work done by one of his peers. Oh, what a magnificent specimen he is. A creature of the dark, thinks he is still human. Poor boy, never unleashes his full potential because he is too fond of this world, too fond of the flowers.
He spies a bump on the back of his head when he was admiring him. A smile makes its way on his face. Little flower was always too proud.
“ Don’t touch him.”, he hears the voice, too proud like he said. It irks him how unafraid he is. He has bloomed but he doesn’t unravel. He is hardened, enough that he is talking back to him.
Did you forget the black curtains?
Did you forget the tangible fright?
Did you finally realize that it’s meaningless
To juxtapose me with a moonless night
“ Why? He does not belong to you. He is promised to one of mine, just like you are to me.”, he doesn’t want to say this, but the words come out on their own. He wants to think deeper, to understand but the fog won’t let him. All he knows that the flower needs to wilt today. He is glad that he knocked out the man in black himself. He didn’t want to dent such a pretty work of art.
“ You make it sound so romantic.”, the flower swayed a little. Oh right, he bashed his head with a stone pretty hard.
“ Are you ready then?”, he approached the flower with slow steps. He leaned with his back to a large tree, oak, not one of his favorites but it will do. He cannot give him another chance to escape.
“ Only if you leave the kids and Xiazi alone. And if..”, he finally lets go and sits down, head bleeding and eyes closed as he inhales sharply, clearly in pain. He can’t wait to feed on it, to taste all that accumulated, foamy, richness that would satiate him for a century.
“ Say it, I have always been generous when it came to you.”, he says and the flower chuckles, white teeth visible and eyes half open.
“ If you make him forget what he did. Make all of them forget.”, he said.
“ You ask too much of me. They are still screaming far away. Do you know how exhilarating it is?”, he says as he sneaks a little touch, fascinated by the rosy cheeks that were stained with blood, shining brightly in the moonlight.
The children are whiny but they love him. The man in black loves him too. This meat suit he is wearing admires him so much. Even the giant man he tied to the tree and put into a coma calls him a friend. Little flower was doomed to rot in agony but he still got so much love. It all worked out in the end though. The stronger it is, the louder sound it makes when ripped apart. Their little hearts breaking bit by bit is what enriches him. He can’t just give it all up.
“ Do it, or I will make all your wait worthless. I will do anything to keep you from having me willingly. I will ruin your appetite, tear your guts, ashen your tongue. I will do anything to make this as unbearable for you as it is for me. Push me and I might find a way to curse the curse itself.”, he said as he looks into his eyes defiantly. Its euphoric, the sheer will of this tiny soul that he is about to devour. This conviction will make it richer, better…delectable.
He is ravenous now, the years of wait finally catching up to him. It’s degrading to be this impatient for someone like him who is older than years itslef but the hunger has become too much.
“ I promise, they won’t remember a thing, not even him.”, he says as he takes him in his arms. This time, he doesn’t run. This time, he just lets go and his body becomes limp in his hold. He raises his hand, trying to tame a particularly annoying strand of his loose hair and wipes the tears that are on his cheeks.
“ Its okay Liu Sang. It will be over soon.”, Xie Yuchen says and his hands fall limp on the grass.
Hei Yanjing wakes up on the forest floor. His head hurt a little but he doesn’t remember why. He stands up abruptly and tries to look for a way out but stops when he sees Liu Sang unconscious at a distance. He checks his pulse and sees the blood on his feet. It didn’t make any sense.
The screams startle him. He focuses on the sound…Li Cu, Su Wan and…Yang Hao. He finds them tied up to a huge tree. They are the same as him, don’t remember a thing. They find Pangzi at a distance, tied up again in the same way. Liu Sang ran to him, uncaring about his injured feet and tried to wake him, kissing him on his forehead in relief. Hei Yanjing couldn’t help but feel like he is trapped in a brutal version of hide and seek at this point.
They come back from the forest and tell about it to Wu Xie and Yaba Zhang. They try to investigate but nothing comes up. Weeks pass and they start to forget, going on with their lives.
Except Hei Yanjing.
He cannot help but think they forgot something…something important.
He goes back to the forest again. He looks and looks and collapses near the same tree where he woke up that day. When the sun rises again, he gives up. He was about to leave when something came under his boot. He picked it up and looked closely.
A carved wooden knife, precious, as if someone poured their heart and soul in making it. It looks too pretty but too personal to keep.
So Xiazi keeps it by the tree and leaves.
Did you really think I would leave?
We only changed domains
Forget me until its time again
Because the curse will always find you.