Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 12, Part 1)

34 A Fading Mark

Xiang Yu unwittingly panicked, not thinking about Jing He's matter any longer. Instead, he hurriedly tugged at Tian's sleeve again, trying to urge him to explain. "Why does it look different? Just what is happening?!"

Tian's expression was still the same as usual. He recalled the mirror and then motioned at the Mark of Wisdom. "You gain the mark when you become a fallen god and it is tied to why you did so. In your case, it was your betrayed feelings which caused it to appear. Because of this, for as long as your obsession with that person remains so will the Mark of Wisdom."

Xiang Yu blinked his eyes. He seemed to understand something but it was so fantastical that he had a hard time believing it. Still, his heart raced and he couldn't help but gulp, wanting to make sure. "That ... that means it would vanish if I managed to ... get over it?"

Tian inclined his head. "Let go of your obsession for Yan Xia and the mark will vanish. In your case, this process has already started so one of the lines of the mark has disappeared. If you want to know, then it happened precisely at the time when your trial as Hua Lin Yu ended."

Xiang Yu didn't respond. He just stood in front of Tian, completely stunned. He had always thought that he knew what the rest of his life would look like. If you became a fallen god, then you gained new abilities that could open up new worlds to you and allow you to protect yourself against those who wanted to harm you.

At the same time, you had to bear the pain of your soul being ripped apart, never to reconnect and be whole again. You would be marked for life and your appearance and maturity could never change again. You were frozen in time, paralyzed by what had happened to make you this way.

Now, Tian wanted to tell him that this mark ... could vanish? But if it did, then wouldn't this mean that other things about being a fallen god should also ...

Xiang Yu's mind seemed to buzz, making him unable to think it through. A fallen god ... a trueborn god ... The difference was worlds apart and yet, they could also be counted as the same in a sense. The fallen gods weren't a new race after all but just another form of a trueborn god. If the Mark of Wisdom could be erased and the soul healed, then ... wouldn't this mean you could be a trueborn god again or something infinitely close to them? At the very least, you should look no different from them. As long as you didn't use your ability to manipulate space and opened portals where others could see, nobody should be able to tell the difference.

He tightly clung to Tian's sleeve, his hands starting to hurt. "Does this mean ... does this mean I could be like a trueborn god again?" He finally couldn't help himself and had to ask directly. It seemed impossible but ... he still held some hope.

Tian inclined his head once again. "Not just like but you could be a fully-fledged trueborn god again. In fact, since you have gotten rid of some of that obsession already, it shouldn't take too much." He pulled out a small vial, holding it in front of Xiang Yu's face. "Didn't you want to go on another trial? Take this and I can send you somewhere that will allow you to continue on this journey.

"During this time, you will have to suffer a bit but you might also taste the sweet love you yearn for. When you wake up, most likely, another line of your Mark of Wisdom will have faded and only one shall remain. At that time, just making more experiences as yourself will be enough to slowly get rid of it. And by the end of it ... your soul may heal and you may be a trueborn god again, ready to fall in love, start a relationship, get married, and have the life you have always imagined."

Xiang Yu's eyes widened as he stared at the vial. He had indeed wanted to go on another trial but he had wanted to wait for a while until he left. Now, leaving for the mortal realm again had suddenly turned into something with such fantastical side effects. It was really hard to ignore.

He let go of Tian's sleeve and grabbed the vial instead, holding it tightly. "I can really be a trueborn god again?" He stared at Tian's expression that didn't seem different from usual as if this was a matter of course. He couldn't quite understand it. He had never known there was such a possibility. But he trusted Tian so when he said that it was true, he naturally wouldn't doubt it.

Tian nodded. "You can. Just drink the potion. I will send you over immediately."

Xiang Yu opened the vial but then hesitated. "What about everything else? I haven't told Jinde about Jin Ling yet and Qiu Ling isn't awake yet either. Jing He is also still missing."

"Leave those things to everyone else. Doesn't Jinde have a husband to comfort him? Isn't that Xin Lan guarding his child? Aren't there advisers and someone from the spirit beast tribe to care for the dragon king? And as I said, the crown prince of the Nine Heavens will have to go through this by himself.

"Right now, you should care about yourself more. This matter of going on a trial to reduce your obsession will always be possible but how successful it is will depend on what specifically you experience. The outcome can't be guaranteed but as long as the circumstances are right, it is much more likely to work in your favor. Wouldn't you like to give it a try?"

Xiang Yu stared at the open vial in his hands. He really wanted to but ... he also didn't want to leave the others alone to deal with their issues by themselves. With both options in front of him, he had a hard time making up his mind.