Bonds of Darkness: Swordmen's Redemption

Chapter One: Lingering Shadows

A/N: All rights to the original content are reserved by the respective copyright owner.

EDIT: Revised the chapter with more 'flow' and added depths of emotions.

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The aftermath was a shadow-draped silence for Jingliu, every day heavier with the echo of Y/N's absence. Her heart bore the quiet, persistent ache of loss, an echo that resonated through the hollow weeks that followed their calamitous parting.

Amidst the ship's nocturnal hush, Jingliu was often found adrift in the solitude of the observation deck, staring into the void where stars flickered with indifferent light. There, the ghost of Y/N's presence lingered, a reminder of a bond broken, of a love unfulfilled.

Tears blurred her vision as memories surged—a tableau of their last encounter, the sound of Y/N's laughter now distorted, his eyes wild, sword raised with a hand that shook with darkness. The horror of that moment clung to her, a weight as oppressive as the gravity fields they navigated.

In the training chambers, where the sound of metal meeting metal should have dulled her inner turmoil, Jingliu's relentless combat with phantoms brought no respite. She could not escape the shadows that pursued her—the echoes of a day that had defined their doom.

Baiheng and Jing Yuan, her comrades of the High-Cloud Quintet, watched her spiral, the crease of worry etched upon their faces as deep as scars. They mourned Y/N's fall, yet it was Jingliu's unyielding search for absolution that kindled their fears.

As the ship sliced through the cosmos's canvas, Baiheng approached Jingliu, her words soft, laden with concealed distress. "Jingliu... self-blame will not undo the threads of time. We fought... with all we had."

Turning, Jingliu's eyes—pools of sorrow—reflected a wounded soul. "We—We were not enough, Baiheng," she stammered, her voice thin as comet trails. "I must... must be stronger. Must... find the key... to his salvation."

A sigh escaped Baiheng, sorrowful as a weeping star. "We were... all of us... powerless. The Mara's riddle is not ours to solve alone. This path you tread... it leads to shadows, not to stars."

Jingliu's resolve, though, burned undimmed, her words a fervent whisper. "There's... there's more to this darkness. There must be a thread... a thread in the night... that leads back to Y/N."

Thus, her path unfurled—a path of peril, unwinding through secrets that would reshape their understanding of the Xianzhou, and of the Mara's curse that entangled Y/N's fate.

But Jingliu's quest exacted its toll. The once lucid dance of her intellect now stumbled, faltered, her quarters a mausoleum of frantic research and broken theories. "I will... find you, Y/N," she murmured, her voice a hollow wind in the desolate expanse of her room. "I'll shatter this... this curse... whatever it takes..."

The cost was steep; Jingliu's very being frayed at the edges, her obsession a mirror of the curse's consuming hunger. Her journey had become a labyrinth mirroring the Mara's dark design.

Across the Xianzhou, as whispers of Y/N's fall reverberated, the others sought closure. Jing Yuan, Baiheng, and the remaining allies grappled with acceptance. But Jingliu's heart was a fortress against reality's siege, her belief unyielding—Y/N was somewhere within the Mara's grip, awaiting salvation.

Her single-minded pursuit isolated her, her inner fire now an inferno threatening to consume her sanity. Where others saw an end, she saw a beginning—a quest fraught with danger and draped in shadow, but necessary to unearth the truths that would save them all.

Their once unbreakable bond, the High-Cloud Quintet, now trembled under the weight of this new ordeal. The darkness that had claimed Y/N cast its gaze upon Jingliu, its next willing victim. Her comrades could only watch, hearts heavy with despair, praying her path would lead to redemption and not to ruin.

Thus the tapestry of the Xianzhou was threaded with new legend, of a hero lost and another teetering on the brink, their fates a twisted helix that might yet converge in the heart of the Mara's enigma.

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Author's Note:

Ello,

In the next chapter, I'm planning to provide a brief glimpse into Jing Yuan and Dan Heng's (Or is he named Dan Feng? I got confused) perspective. We might touch on some of the political dynamics within the Xianzhou Alliance as well, though that'll be difficult to capture. After that, we'll dive into the story arc where Y/N and Jingliu embarked on their childhood adventure until before the prologue.

Thanks