A Tear Frozen in Time

Prologue

The rumbling of the Bell of Kunlun could be heard throughout the entire world and no part or person was left unaffected by it.  Thousands rose from their beds in the middle of the night in awe and fear because they all knew what it meant.  Fear, because none were prepared for it, but the awe overrode everything as thousands began the long journey to Kunlun Mountain to welcome back a man who had filled their childhoods with dreams of gallantry and triumph, a man the entire world revered regardless of which side of the veil they belonged.

Darklanders and Light beings converged into the sky as one, though many out of curiosity while not really expecting to be given entrance once they arrived, but it did not prevent these awestruck souls from hoping to catch a glimpse of a man that apparently looked just like the Crown Prince of the Celestial Heavens.

For seventy thousand years, Mo Yuan had battled the greatest war of his life in a place that none had ever escaped from, so this alone was enough to fill every heart with reverence and admiration.  To die and then come back wasn't new, because it had been done before, but never from the chaos where souls were scattered for all eternity, never to see the light of day again.

Only that is exactly what Mo Yuan had achieved and not only had he returned, but he awoke to find himself in a cave he thought he might never see again.  

"Mo Yuan.  You have finally returned." Zhe Yans soft voice suddenly hit his hearing with a vengance and the wince on his face, soon had the Old Phoenix lowering his tone seeing as this man revived, was still accustomizing himself to being reborn into a body that was super sensitive to light and sound.

Also quickly dimming some of the candles so that the eyes that were squinting at him, could see him a little more clearer, Zhe Yan then moved back to give him the space he needed to acclimatize himself to his surroundings.

"Zhe Yan....." his soft voice spoke from a larynx that had not been used for centuries, and the dryness was obvious by the sudden attempt to swallow.

"Don't speak for now Mo Yuan, come back to us slowly." Zhe Yan cautioned him before rising from the dais where he had been sitting beside him.

Quickly helping him to sit up against the pillows, Zhe Yan then handed him a small cup of warmed tea to wet his throat while Mo Yuans eyes slowly grew accustomed to the dimness of the chamber, his own meditation chamber which surprised him.

"Why am I here?" he asked having assumed he would awaken in The Sea of Innocence.

"I brought you here.  I thought it would be far more welcoming if you were in a place you are familiar with." he said cryptically which was not lost on Mo Yuan only he was still too much in awe in having returned to really dwell on it.

Nodding his head instead, he took a few sips of the tea, before suddenly lowering it as a thought came to him.

"Zhe Yan, do you know if a man with my face has appeared?" he asked as the Little Golden Lotus came to mind, one he had been taking care of for centuries before his demise and along with the girl, it had been the last things on his mind.

"Actually, there is such a man.  His name is Ye Hua and he is the Crown Prince of the Celestial Heavens." he replied and though he had a whole lot to say about this particular person, he was far more curious as to who he was to Mo Yuan.

Noticing the questioning gaze, Mo Yuan explained the Golden Lotus and his relationship to the spirit it had once contained.

"So he is your twin brother?" Zhe Yan asked in astonishment.

"Indeed." he replied before the sound of footsteps outside the door soon had his head turning slowly as it opened a fraction.

"High God Zhe Yan?" a voice sounded from the gap before a pair of eyes suddenly appeared along with a long white robe and then a gasp as the flutter of silk fell into a heap on the floor along wtih the head that Mo Yuan recognized immediately.