Mdzs Oneshots

All that I never knew (Insanity 3)

Then the world was blinded by flashes of crimson, azure light.

Lan Zhan could still feel his throat go awry, as he stepped into another place. As soon as the light faded away, he knew exactly where he was. Cold air kissed his icy face, sending shivers up his spine, and something heavy hung of the air like stormy clouds. Resentment. The word glittered in his mind, sending further shivers through him, and the pit of his stomach turned cold. Burial Mounds. Lan Zhan's eyes darted around the mounds, searching. But all he saw were corpses, and the musty smell of rotting infiltrated his senses, and his vision went blurry. Wei...Ying...Wei Ying...How...did...you...survive...this?

Lan Wangji's legs turned to jelly, and his eyes were rimmed with tears. Wei Ying, he thought, Where are you? His legs felt like stones, but he dragged himself forward, not caring if the sharp rocks in the ground cut his feet, if the resentment in the air gave him a splitting headache, simply dragged himself forward. Just one more step... Then another. And another. Another.

Only the Deities above would know how long he'd trudged through the mounds, eyes anxious and darting, searching desperately for something. A flash of crimson on charcoal, a pair of stunning onyx eyes, no matter how broken he was. No, that wasn't it. Lan Zhan didn't care how the hell he looked. He was searching for a souls, a spirit. Nothing else mattered. Behind him, the sky darkened into enchanting hues of purple, but he carried on. Wei Ying, Wei Ying, Wei Ying... His name played on his lips like a mantra, and his heart beat in sync with those words. It didn't matter if his head was about to be thundered open, if he broke his legs walking, as long as he got to Wei Ying. Then his eyes flitted on something. Indeed, a flash of dirty, muddied charcoal robes, and a-crimson. So much of it. for the nth time today, Lan Wangji found his heart shattering and remolding itself. "魏婴。。。"

In an instant, he swooped down, clutching the way-too-thin body of Wei Wuxian's, who was trembling and shivering under his touch. Blood seeped through Hanguang-Jun's snowy white robes, and his Wei Ying whimpered in his arms, cold and wounded. And slipped away. His body hit the ground with a resounding thud, and Lan Zhan's heart thumped and cartwheeled hard against his chest. Hell. Hell. The sound of bone splintering jarred his ears, and he tried picking Wei Wuxian up. Again. And again. And again. But to no avail. Lan Zhan gaped in bewilderment and terror, as Wei Ying's frail frame crashed through his hands, leaving his hands glistening, glittering, as if he wasn't there at all. Straining the limits of his memory, he beckoned for traces of something like this, anything, as long as it explained. Then it struck him. Only once, just once, did that happen. A night amongst the clouds, beside the one person he'd cherished the most, before, to see her pain. To feel it, to comprehend her, before she went away. Empathy, his mind whispered, and he was brought back to a city in the clouds, in a beautiful, wooden cabin surrounded by breathtaking gentians, in hues of violet and lavender, but he shook it off. Wei Ying was more important for now. 

Casting his eyes on the half-crippled frame, cold spread up his stomach, and his throat constricted. His breaths grew heavier, and heavier, as he watched the partner of his soul, his spirit, clutching on desperately to a rusty iron sword, tainted with coils of boiling energy, stabbing his way forward, until he found an array on the floor. This was an array that Lan Wangji had never seen before. The closer he got to the array, the further away he was pushed, sending splitting pain up his sides and his head. By now, he was stained with sweat. Wei Ying's eyes were bloodshot, and his onyx pupils dilated. Unlike Lan Zhan, he was barely affected by the sinister aura emanating off the array in throes, only the slight sheen of sweat divulged his pain. Worry overflowed Lan Zhan's senses, and he subconsciously reached out to the half-paralyzed figure on the ground, aching as he watched him. As Wei Ying dragged his body towards the center of the array, tears blurred both their visions, and something raged. It felt like a never-ending bonfire, that sparked, that burned, that consumed him from within, sending stinging sparks of pain up Wei Ying's mangled body, up Lan Zhan's standing one. Orbs of ebony spiraled around Wei Wuxian, shrouding him in darkness. Fear and trepidation trapped Wei Ying in place, trapped his other half and crept up his body, infiltrating his mind. 

You're useless, searing pain shot through Wei Ying's head, You're nothing. You've no golden core, they hissed, what use can you be of now? None. None to Jiang Cheng, none to your beloved Lan Zhan... 

Lan Wangji's blood simmered at those words. How DARE they! And...What happened to his golden core? Smiling sadly, Lan Wangji pushed forward, encasing his life's face with his palms. Feeling his faint pulse, Lan Zhan knew his Wei Ying, knew he was fighting. His eyes shuttered close, and he his mind simply asked one thing. 

"Wei Ying, just how much have you gone through? Can you tell me?  All that I never knew."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A/N: 891 words! That's shorter than before, I believe, but trust me when I say this chapter was much harder to write. Anyways, 2020 is finally coming to a close, and I wish you all the best for the upcoming year! Thank you for taking time to read, and yes, constructive feedback would be much appreciated!