A Trial by Halves

The Awakening

"Mo Yuan, open your eyes." he called out.

For several seconds nothing happened.  Only the uneven rising and falling of the mans chest gave away that he had indeed returned.  It was a highly emotional moment for all of them and the tolling of the bell was so loud, that it took them all by surprise, but with a barrier now raised to block it out, they waited for the man of the moment to open his eyes.

Zhe Yans head was resting on his drawn up knees, he could barely keep his own eyes open, but with the last of his reserves, he held on, until those eyes finally flickered open before collapsing beside him.  It was all he had waited for and having finally brought the man back to life, he gave into his own desperate need for sleep while the rest of the world began to gather outside the gates.

The first thing Mo Yuan saw was Ci Hangs concerned face hovering right over the top of him and for a moment the initial confusion turned to fear, because his face was the last one he expected to see.  Fear, because he thought he had died again, because it seemed incredulous that the man was even still alive.  He knew he had been gone for Seventy Thousand Years, because he overheard Zhe Yan mention it when he was still gathering inside his body.  Only the moment his gaze shifted to the other man next to his old friend, then the overwhelming rush of elation surged through him and his body struggled to rise.

Placing a hand beneath his shoulders, Ye Hua helped him to sit up.  Their eyes never left each others as they both sat staring at their reflections.  Despite the desperate urgency for moment, Ye Hua suddenly lost himself briefly to the memories of this man sitting beside him at the Lortus pond playing that same tune that was churning about in his head.  It seemed to him that this was the link between them and he knew this, because having pulled the mans soul from the lamp, he had seen visions of Mo Yuan trying to make contact with him via that melody.

His fist clenched over his heart as the tears rained down his face.

"You were always here, only I didn't realize it." he whispered at the single tear drop that coursed down the other mans face, though whether it was an emotional tear or from the bright light that his eyes were squinting against, he wasn't sure, only the sight of that single tear drop raised his own emotions.  For himself, for his brother who had waited so long for their meeting, for the being the one to welcome him back and for Su Su, who was still at the back of his mind.

"I will always be there Ye Hua." Mo Yuan replied in that same soft whispery voice that Ci Hang remembered and the one that Ye Hua was now remembering from his days as a Lotus when Mo Yuan would sometimes sit and talk to him.

Nodding his head having no idea how to even answer it, they continued to stare at each other, until eventually Di Juns presence at the entrance had Ci Hang briefly lowering the barrier to allow him in while in the corridors the Disciples had gathered.

And it was only then that Ye Hua was finally brought back to the reason why he was there.  And it was also then that Mo Yuan was made aware of the struggles his little Seventeenth had been enduring in his absence right up until she was taken.  

"Both Bai Qian and Cheng Yu are being held prisoner in the dungeons.  She has informed me that they are being whipped.  If we do not move now, the seal will break completely because she is very close to erupting from Qing Cangs seal.  We are positive that if she breaks it, she will die." Di Jun informed Mo Yuan who agreed, though there was something he knew regarding this kind of seal that perhaps not even Di Jun was aware of.  But he said nothing as he took a final look at his brothers face.

He could see the many questions he had regarding his little Seventeenth and though he didn't sense any animosity from his brother, there was definitely curiosity.  But then of course that was all he would have, because Mo Yuan was well aware that Ye Hua had been reading his soul pieces as he gathered them in, so he ensured that his brothers heart was put at ease regardless of the sadness he had felt at the loss of a young woman he had hoped would be there for him when he returned.