Embers of the Holy War [BEING REVISED]

Shattered Dreams

Bright. Why was it so bright? Blearily, Guang opened his eyes to the gentle rays of sunlight. Unfurled above him were thousands of pink sakura flowers. As if greeting him, they swayed on their branches, a mesmerising sight. Alongside the merry chirping of birds, someone was humming; a melodious, soothing melody that filled the air like sweet incense.

For a while, Guang was lulled into a state of perpetual calmness, staring at nothing in particular with no thoughts in his head. It was nice. It was peaceful. So pleasant it was that he was tempted to sink eternally into the depths of comfort.

But abruptly, the humming stopped. Slowly, Guang blinked, as if arousing from a dream. Something below his head shifted, and a face shrouded by mist came into view, blocking the sunlight from his eyes.

"DiD I WAke yOu, sWeEtHeaRt?"

A voice like rough sandpaper. A voice that had neither pitch nor tune, as if a poorly made robot was made to speak. Despite their jarring voice, Guang could clearly understand every single word it spoke.

"Who..."

Other than their strange voice, this person had no face. No, perhaps they did, but no matter how much Guang scrutinised, he couldn't see through the mist stubbornly shrouding the person's face.

Now that Guang noticed there was something off, he quickly became wary. He sat up and looked around, trying to figure out where he was. A grassy field with a large sakura tree in its midst and a misty-faced companion. He racked his brain but he still couldn't figure out where he was, how he got here, nor who this person was. Even more confusing was that he doesn't even remember what happened to him prior to waking up.

"SweetHEart?"

Guang winced. The faceless person's inhumane voice grated at his ears painfully. Even so, Guang turned to look at them. They tilted their head, not an ounce of hostility aimed towards him. Rather, they seemed curious.

"iS SOmEThINg WROng?"

"No, it's just..."

Guang trailed off when he noticed the clothing of the faceless person. How did he not notice this before? The clothes they wore were definitely not native to Alca. Rather, if Guang remembered correctly, it highly resembled the clothes of traditional Nayleners. A long-sleeved upper garment and a long skirt - what was it called again? A hanfu?

Whatever it was, it was stunningly elegant and it fitted the faceless person gorgeously. As if possessed, Guang found himself leaning in, closing the distance between him and the faceless person. They, too, leaned closer, making Guang's heart stir excitedly and the butterflies in his stomach to go into a mad frenzy.

But suddenly, the faceless person crumpled. Like a doll with its strings cut, they fell onto Guang's lap, motionless, unconscious. On their back, there were what seemed like three large slashes. Blood leaked out of their wound, dousing the green grass below them red like spilled wine. It was a terrifying sight.

With trembling hands, Guang shook the person on his lap.

"Hey. Hey, wake up. This isn't funny."

When they didn't respond, Guang was sent into a full-blown panic. However, just as quickly, his panic morphed into something else. Something indescribable, something that froze his entire being.

The faceless person was no longer faceless. They had a face now, and their face was one that Guang recognised.

It was that of Jin's.

He screamed. He backed away rapidly in shock. Jin? No way, it can't be. Horrified as he was, his eyes were unable to leave the once faceless person who had somehow transformed into his brother. His brother Jin, who was lying in a pool of his own blood, eyes unseeing and glasses broken.

It was then Guang registered that there were two more people lying around Jin. He wished he didn't, for it was father and mother.

His family - all the members of his family - were lying dead in front of him. Eyes blown open in fright and blood leaking from their parted lips.

The sound that came out of Guang's throat was so guttural and ugly that Guang refused to believe it was his own doing. He cried and choked, drowning in his own tears, screaming his lungs out.

Why them? Why them? It should've been me. I should've been the one to have died, not you, not any of you.

Beyond those tears, he saw another person appear. A pale man in a furry black coat. Said man stood over him, casting Guang under his long, dark shadow. Slowly, Guang raised his head. It was Sui. Sui, who was looking at his wrecked, pathetic state piteously.

Stirred by Sui's dense, oppressing presence, the air shifted restlessly. Agitatedly, the wind whispered, "The Demon King, the Demon King, the Demon King."

Stupefied, Guang stared at the imposing figure. The man he recognised (the man he did not recognise).

"Sui."

"You killed them. You killed them. You killed them. Demon King, you killed them."

Guang shook his head. Even so, his feet backed away of its own accord, afraid of the presence before him.

It can't be him, it can't be him, it's impossible.

He clamped his hands over his ears, but the voices were somehow able to penetrate through his skull. Noisily, they echoed in his head, destroying him from the inside out.

"He killed them, he killed them, he killed them."

"I hate him, I hate him, I hate him."

"Whywhywhywhywhy-"

Shut up, shut up, shut up! Those were not his thoughts!

"Get out of my head, get out!"

He screamed, refusing to listen to the persistent whispers that were slowly ingraining itself into his mind. Against his will, they intertwined with his being, until Guang didn't know which voice was his and which was not.

He was sure he was going insane.

"I'm sorry, Guang."

That voice. Sui's voice. It was like a beacon of light through the raging storm. Guang looked up at him, at Sui. He just had to ask. Sui would tell him the truth, that he didn't kill his family, if Guang asked. He simply just had to open his mouth and ask.

So why was it that he couldn't?

With a yell, Guang sat upright. Sui was gone. He was in a completely different place. A room with white walls. Where was he? What happened to his parents and Jin?

"Hero, could you be less dramatic?"

Beside his bed, Jin was scowling at him.

Guang took a moment to register it all. That Jin was here, that Jin was alive, breathing and alright.

Still panting heavily, Guang demanded shrilly, "Where are we?!"

"The hospital."

The hospital. It made sense. This view was not completely unfamiliar to him - he had once been in a similar place after waking up from a major accident fifteen years ago. But he doesn't recall being involved in an accident this time around.

"Why am I here?"

Jin stiffened. His expression darkened as he cursed under his breath.

"Did you forget?" he huffed with a taste of disdain.

Guang, however, was at a loss. "What? What happened, Jin?"

"Our parents and our home. The Demon King, he...did you really forget everything that happened?"

It all slowly came back to him. The memories that his body desired to forget but was unquestionably and undoubtedly reality.

Two lifeless bodies on the cold, wet grass. The Dragon Manor, his home, set ablaze. An ethereal man in a midnight blue jacket. The Demon King, Sui-

His hand flew to his mouth. Distantly, Jin was shouting something. His surroundings and senses became blurred as his thoughts swam with the fragmented memories his body was whole-heartedly rejecting.

His parents' murderer, the Demon King and Sui. How could they be the same person?