YiJun is heaven's most ruthless weapon, until the day he falls, and then he keeps falling.
How low can an Archangel fall, to protect that which is most precious to him?
Can he win the heart of the one for whom he chose to rebel or will the very thin...
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YiJun's POV
When I open my eyes, a heartbreaking sight greets me. While my soul was dragged to the underworld, someone had hurt Xian.
My first thought is to draw blood. I wouldn't spare the one who had dared to lay a hand on what was mine. I lean in to inspect, but he recoils.
Why?
He had never done that!
Unless... Unless I was the cause of it. I was the one who had hit him. Bile rises to my throat. "I did that... I hurt you again." I am not asking him. I am just confirming, admitting the crime I had committed.
He gulps and moves towards me; it exposes his bare shoulders and chest. Bruises line his neck, shoulders, and chest, and I realize that I had not just hit him...I had tried to...
I can't bring myself to complete the thought. I couldn't bring myself to confess it even to myself.
Xian tries to cover himself, cementing my fears that it was, indeed, my doing. I had never hated myself as I do now. I need to fix this.
It dons on me at that point that my superhuman strength was the reason for Xian not being able to protect himself. It had happened because I was stronger than him. I could not let that happen again. I won't.
Even after what I had done to him, he reaches for me. I know what he wants to say. He wants to absolve me of my sins.
How far did I go? I want to know, but I don't deserve it. I don't deserve his answer.
I tell him to leave, and he does so reluctantly. I lock the door as an extra measure. What I want to do... what I am going to do, I can't have Xian barging in on me.
My mind was made up, but my heart was selfish. I missed my family: father, Xuan, Jian. I wanted to return to doing what I was created for: vanquishing evil.
Even after all the time I have spent away, I still haven't stopped hoping to return to heaven with Xian. I wanted to believe that if father saw how pure and perfect Xian is, he would accept him. But now I realize that they were just lies I had told myself. And now, because of my desires, I had put my Xian in danger. If I had cut off my ties earlier, I would not have put Xian in this situation.
I am sorry, my prince.
I get dressed in the robes that my father had created for me. Though it doesn't shine like before, it still clings to its celestial charm. I want to feel it against my skin one last time before I become unworthy of it. I pull out my sword and unsheath it. The room fills with light. It looks and feels like home.
As I stand in front of the mirror, centuries of leading armies of heaven flutter across my eyes.
I will never be that strong ever again. But I didn't need to be, did I? I did not need them anyway. I was not responsible for the mortals. I just had to protect one boy.
