Empyrean Rebirth |Jing Yuan & Dan Heng|

☾-A Whole New World-☽

"There's a Cloud Knight walking around near the starskiff dock." Dan Heng's eyes flitted between the knight garbed in sky blue and the entrance to the ships the duo were aiming to enter, preferably unseen. "Cloud Knights aren't supposed to be guarding this dock," he muttered. "I suppose we'll have to sneak in when he isn't looking or distract him..."

"Hmm..." (Y/n) hummed. Dan Heng raised a brow, but she offered no verbal response before nonchalantly walking towards the unknowing Cloud Knight. Before the dark haired man could react and protest against directly coming into contact with the guard, the young lady had already caught the Cloud Knight's attention. With an innocent smile on her face, she started weaving a half-assed lie about a nearby crime that needed his attention. For some reason, this Cloud Knight nodded, believing her words as he quickly left. As soon as the knight was out of sight, (Y/n) waved her hand for Dan Heng to quickly follow her through the entrance and into a starskiff. Dazed, he absentmindedly followed her inside.

"How... how did the Cloud Knight believe you so easily?" In response the lady shrugged.

"I'm not sure myself, but we've got ourselves a starskiff now. Do you, by any chance, happen to know how to pilot this thing? All these buttons and screens are going way over my head... I'm afraid if I tried figuring out what each button does I'd somehow end up making the engine or worse the entire starskiff explode haha..."

Dan Heng motioned for her to switch places with him so that he could get a better view of all the controls. She willingly traded spots and watched over his shoulder with curious eyes as the man tapped a few things on the large screen in the middle and pressed a couple buttons. Within a matter of minutes, the engine roared to life and all the lights in the interior flickered on. Mouth agape in amazement, (Y/n) claimed the passenger seat next to the pilot's and fastened her seatbelt. Just in case the ride got a little bumpy.

Once he was settled in the pilot's seat, Dan Heng glanced over at the lady and asked, "Are you ready?" She nodded. With that, he prepared them for a smooth ascension into the air, making sure to get a good distance away from the dock so as to not draw any unwanted attention before easing them into higher altitudes.

Above the clouds everything in the Exalting Sanctum looked so tiny now. As (Y/n) hesitantly leaned out of her seat to peek out of the window, the man beside her reassured her that everything was under control and that they wouldn't suddenly start falling. That was the least of her concerns at the moment. They were so high in the sky! It was a weird and new feeling to be in a starskiff that was so far up.

"Are we really flying above the clouds right now...?" She asked in disbelief. "This feels... so surreal..."

Chuckling, Dan Heng said, "Yes. We're really above the clouds now."

"Everything around us is so... beautiful..." (Y/n) reached her hand out towards the sea of stars. Although her palm met the cool glass of the starskiff's window, she felt as though she was basically touching the stars. They twinkled and glowed all around them like little gems in the sky. If she extended her arm out a bit further, perhaps she could gather a handful of stars and admire them in the palms of her hand.

Are stars the same throughout the galaxy? Are they as beautiful as the ones her eyes are gazing at now? What lay beyond the stars before them? Despite all the questions that were running through her head at the moment, (Y/n's) attention shifted to the man piloting this starskiff beside her. His eyes were focused on the scenery directly in front of him whilst being mindful of keeping control over the ship.

"Dan Heng," she said.

"Yes, Lady (Y/n)?"

"Is this what freedom feels like? Like soaring through a sea of stars? If so... then I want to be free forever..." Her gaze was fixed on Dan Heng until he turned his head to face her. Azure eyes met (e/c). A laugh broke out from her lips. Laughter then tears. Tears of pure happiness.

"Lady (Y/n)!" An expression of concern crossed the dark haired man's face as he scrambled to find and push a button to put the starskiff into autopilot. As he made the move to unbuckle from his seat and rush to her side, the young lady waved her hand in the air to dismiss his concern. She smiled through the happy tears and reassured them that she was fine.

"They're tears of happiness. I swear, Dan Heng!" She kept repeating those words over and over until Dan Heng finally let out a sigh and sat back down in his seat. "I'm just... so happy. Seeing the stars. How beautiful they are as we fly through the air not having to worry about the world below us. I only wish for this moment to last forever."

"Yes, the stars are... quite the sight. They're... pretty..." Dan Heng agreed with her words and gazed out the window. The twinkling stars surrounding them shined so brightly. Bright just like her smile and eyes. Those beautiful eyes... He shook his head.

After losing himself in his own thoughts, the man snapped out of it and went back to manually piloting the starskiff, stealing glances now and then at the lady beside him whose eyes had become fixated on the stars around them for a while now. That smile on her lips never left the entire time they flew across the sky inside this starskiff they had stolen.

In silence, the two admired everything around them. Nothing but stars and the night sky everywhere. The feeling of no one's prying eyes watching them. Just the two of them. Alone and together. Sharing a magical moment in the skies.

********

Eventually their starskiff ride had to come to an end and so, Dan Heng flew their stolen starskiff back to Jing Yuan's residence. Tomorrow morning he would return it, but for now it would stay stationed at the general's house. Guiding a sleepy (Y/n) inside, he suggested that they prepare for bed. Without much protest, she followed him inside the house and once inside, she stretched her limbs out as a yawn escaped her.

Whilst Dan Heng made his way into the kitchen to brew some late night tea, (Y/n) made her way towards the back patio of Jing Yuan's house which led to his gardens. She really should have just gone to bed where her comfy bed was awaiting her, but staying awake a little longer couldn't hurt. And besides, she wanted to gaze at the stars up above one last time so that the scenery could be etched into her mind as she drifted off into sleep.

Sitting outside on one of the patio's chairs, the young lady was mesmerized by the twinkling gems above her. The starskiff ride was fresh in her mind as she kept replaying it over and over again in her mind. That feeling of soaring above everything—she wanted to hold onto that feeling for as long as possible. If she could turn into a bird and take flight she would absolutely take that chance if only to be able to fly whenever she wanted.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice when the man inside called her name a couple of times before finding her outside. At first, Dan Heng thought to leave her alone, but the two cups of steaming hot tea he held in his hands weren't going to drink themselves. He cleared his throat to let (Y/n) know of his presence before taking a seat next to her, placing her cup on the small table between them.

"Oh," she said, startled. "Thank you, Dan Heng." He offered her a nod as she then took the cup in thanks. "You should probably get to bed."

"I could say the same to you. Are you admiring the stars again?"

"Yeah... I wanted to savor our starskiff ride together before I went to bed," she softly told him. "Thank you so much for suggesting we steal a starskiff." A hint of teasing was in her voice.

Embarrassment dusted Dan Heng's cheeks at this. He turned his attention to his cup of tea in front of him, avoiding her gaze.

"You're welcome... I'm glad that you enjoyed it."

"It was truly a wonderful experience I'll never forget."

With the stars watching over them, the two sat together in silence for a while before sleep eventually called their names.