A Tear Frozen in Time

Whispers

30,000 years later

The chamber was slowly beginning to lighten as yet another night gave way to a new dawn. He thought he might eventually give up counting how many times the long shadow hit the edge of his dais, but even in meditation, he was still coherent enough to distinguish day from night. Dawn came like an indrawn breath while the exhale slowly disintergrated with the coming of dusk. No sound filled the chamber and hadn't done for thirty thousand years. Thats how many times the shadow fell on his dais and how many indrawn breaths he recalled.

Initially, Mo Yuan had entered seclusion with the stubborn thought of letting her go seeing as that was what she chose in the end. Only the pain at losing her, soon gave way to a grief so powerful, he had wanted to die. The pain and agony at seeing her small frail body slowly falling out of the sky, had him realizing exactly what he had put her through, and though he knew she was not petty enough to pay him back in kind, the sight was one that was imprinted on his mind forever.

He felt the burning ache in his heart as a physcial assault. It literally weakened his knees, but he still had enough energy left in him to soar into the sky to grab hold of her despite the physical pain he was feeling. He had no idea what was causing it, and nor did his mind really dwell on it, the pain was a throb that was there only he was barely conscious of it, all he saw and wanted was her as the others also rose into the air.

It was himself who reached her first and though her eyes had been open, and her breath shallow, he knew she was leaving him. But for the life of him, he couldn't allow it. Yet even then, it seemed as if death was mocking him, because rather than the tired and wounded woman who had entered the bell, her face was a vision of perfect beauty. Not a single wound marked her beautiful face, and with her eyes open, she merely looked a little stunned to see him.

And he knew she was looking at him, her pupils were moving even if no sound came from her mouth. In those few precious seconds, thousands of years of love passed between them. Everything she had felt for him, was in her eyes for him to see along with the smallest of smiles, as if she were happy that it was him who had come to fetch her. That was just moments before a single tear slid down her cheeks and her eyes closed. And it was then that he realized he had lost.

And in anger and perhaps sheer madness, he had cursed at her, he cursed at Ye Hua and Guotin, and even Heaven for forcing her into an unfair decision and the moment he had landed them on the sands below, then he had drawn her tightly to his chest as she breathed out her last breaths.

Immediately a fight broke out between Kunlun Mountain and The Fox Den over her body. Mo Yuan had insisted that she be taken to Kunlun Mountain in the hope that the divine energy would somehow save her. It was a futile and useless thought, but he had desperately wanted to try, or at least hold her a little longer before her family took her away.

Only he had forced her fathers hand who drew his sword in order to reclaim her from him. And had Di Jun not stepped in to prevent yet another bloodbath, Mo Yuan would have taken the mans head from his shoulders. Instead sense had prevailed in the end, and he was was forced to relinquish her body right there on the banks of the Ruoshui River.

And it was here that he suffered the devastating heart attack. Not only had her heart stopped and thus affecting him because of the heart blood link, but she had not died in his arms but her fathers. To Mo Yuans mind at the time, it was the greatest tragedy. He had wanted to be the one to hold her until the end, only in his mind, her father had taken his one chance at saying goodbye properly.

And so he had returned to Kunlun Mountain angry and so weak that he could barely stand. Heartbroken and with no will to live, Zhe Yan had forced him into seclusion, ordered the Disciples to remain in order to guard over him, and to ensure that he did nothing stupid, Zhe Yan also moved into Kunlun Mountain once he was satisfied that she had been taken good care of.