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Hello! I'm not a big fan of Author's Notes myself, but rest assured these will be few and far between. So, I would appreciate if people tuned into this.
First of all, hi! Feel free to call me V, or VK.
I just wanted to remind any lore hungry gamers that this story will not precisely follow the game's. I've already altered the story of Dan Feng and Blade's relationship and history a bit, as it does create a much better flow for my plans in the future.
I also plan on making this rather long. I'm a huge sucker for slow burn romances, so naturally, I will be doing that with this story.
There's a high chance this may reach 100 chapters, so for those looking for a lighthearted, quick dose of Dan Heng x Reader content, this may not be for you. Rest assured that my second Dan Heng fanfiction will be more lighthearted - maybe.
I do want to add some one shots here and there, in case the Dan Heng content goes a little dry! I always try to add at least a hint of romance within each chapter though.
And finally, I'm trying my best to release as many chapters as possible right now. I've been adding at least 1-3 chapters every 1-2 days. I am a university student, so unfortunately updates will slow down once the semester begins. I will make the most of my time now though!
Thank you for reading, and enjoy this longer chapter. <3
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A group of cloudknights marched into the vicinity. In their arms was a struggling Y/N, who relentlessly fought against their grasp. On multiple occassions, she had managed to escape briefly, unforgivingly beating up multiple knights in the process. Her body was covered with heavy purple bruising, accompanied with scratches of red. Some trickled with blood. It was clear she had given them quite the handful.
"This one's given us a lot of trouble, sir," the leader of the group reported in exasperation.
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Dan Heng was filled with horror upon seeing the state Y/N was in.
"Y/N! What have you done to her?!" the clash of intermingling chains echoed as he struggled to reach her on instinct.
'It's all my fault.'
Y/N slowed down, she was beyond exhausted. Her vision had a difficult time focusing, but she could just make out the outline of Dan Heng's figure. She managed to flash him a tired smile, relieved he was safe.
Her face was dusted in dirt. Beads of sweat trickled down her face, causing locks of hair to stick to her skin. Her legs trembled from exhaustion as she used her remaining energy to stay standing.
Jing Yuan's eyes widened. He instructed the knights to keep her in check, but not to injure her. He knew his knights weren't ones to disobey his orders, which meant Y/N had overpowered them to the point they were forced to attack. It seemed her decline in stamina was the only reason they managed to regain the upper hand.
He quickly fixed his facial expression, returning to his stoic composure. He strode to the girl, grabbing a fistful of her locks and forcing her to face him.
"Ah-!" she whimpered in pain from his harsh movements, sending him a deathly glare.
"You gave my men plenty of trouble, young lady," he smiled intimidatingly, a glint of anger in his eyes.
"Yeah, I got more where that came from," she taunted with a smirk.
It was obviously an empty threat, yet it still sent a chill down the cloudknights' spines. They thoroughly believed she could have done more had Jing Yuan not been present.
"Tsk, if you want to save your man you'll keep that mouth shut," his smile faded as he threw her down, a loud thud cut through the tension filled silence.
'My what?' Y/N thought. The pain and exhaustion distracted her from fully comprehending Jing Yuan's comment.
Jing Yuan dusted his hands off, stepping back to turn towards Dan Heng. Only, Dan Heng beat him first.
"General-!" a knight shouted as he rushed towards Jing Yuan.
An explosion of light encapsulated the room, monentarily blinding everyone.
"What's happening?!" another knight screamed in confusion.
"Protect the General!" a third hollered.
Jing Yuan squinted with a hand covering his face, blocking the light. He could see the shadow of Dan Heng behind rolling waves of water. Those jade eyes were emitting the same dangerous glow from before.
Soon after, a beastly outcry roared as a dragon of cloud and water emerged from the fading light. It's growl was powerful enough to make the whole room shake, frightening the knights as it circled them.
A light rain began to pour from the dragon's wake. It picked up speed, opening it's mouth to bare it's humongous fangs in a threatening manner. With a final round of the room, it flew towards the high ceiling, slowing down for a brief moment as it reached the top.
Another bellowing roar rang in everyone's ears as it dove down, charging at an incredible speed to it's creator with it's jaws wide open.
"D-did it just eat him?!" a knight cried out. The overwhelment caused him to faint moments after.
"Hey! Get up soldier!" the leader commanded frantically as he tried slapping his comrade awake. Though everyone could hear the fear laced in the poor man's voice as well.
The dragon had disappeared, dispersing into shapeless water upon crashing into Dan Heng. Only the pitter patter of rain and sounds of light splashing remained as he stepped towards the scattered group.
His appearance had completely changed, and Jing Yuan didn't look the least bit surprised. He recognised that look all too well. Horns had emerged on Dan Heng's head, and a flowing tail from his lower torso. His hair had grown much longer with the edges tinted in green. He was adorned in traditional, regal Luofu attire - with some adjustments it seemed. Jing Yuan reactively scrunched his face at Dan Heng's exposed upper chest and toned shoulders.
The Vidyadhara man carelessly kicked away the chains that held his feet. They had been easily severed by his dragon.
"A General who abuses his prisoners to make ends meet...," he started.
Jing Yuan cautiously entered a fighting stance, preparing to take on the enraged dragon. He never meant for Y/N to get hurt, but he knew reasoning would be pointless in his current state.
"Does not deserve such a title," Dan Heng seethed.
The glow in his irises relit as he raised his hand, pointing two fingers in the air. The ground trembled and glowed in jade. Low growling errupted as the same dragon slowly emerged around Dan Heng.
"Everyone get back!" Jing Yuan bellowed, jumping away from the ground that glowed beneath him.
The cloudknights clambered up the stairwell in an unorganished rush, barely escaping Dan Heng's wrath.
"Rise."
The dragon roared viciously as it charged through the floor, shattering it in the process.
It's body blocked the stairwell whilst acting as a shield around Y/N simultaneously.
Dan Heng was about to make his way to Y/N when he noticed purple sparks of lightning dancing across the water's reflection. His gaze shot up to Jing Yuan, who now had the high ground.
"Radiant spirit, heed my word," Jing Yuan called. A tremendous concentration of golden light appeared behind the General, taking the form of an armour clad warrior.
"The General's Lightning Lord! We're saved!" a knight belted in relief and joy.
"Show no mercy," Jing Yuan demanded.
The warrior raised it's arms steadily, swinging down a giant spear of lightning towards Dan Heng. His dragon sharply swerved, flying head on towards the attack. It took on the brunt of the force, dispersing into rain upon impact. However, jolts of lightning had managed to pierce through the water, continuing to charge towards Dan Heng.
He braced himself for the attack, only to feel nothing but a gentle wamrth. Orange flames licked his skin as a shield enveloped his body. A flaming lance clattered to the ground after blocking the last of Jing Yuan's attack.
Dan Heng knew who's power this was. He turned to Y/N, who was still laying flat on her stomach. Her trembling hand had mustered just enough strength to manifest the last of her power into Preservation magic.
She protected him.
"That was one heck of a magical girl transformation," she joked in a hoarse voice, followed by a soft chuckle. Her hand then dropped to the ground, along with her remaining consciousness.
Dan Heng was bewildered at the fact Y/N could still crack jokes then and there, but it was very typical of her to do so. He picked up her delicate body, carefully avoiding the areas that were bruised. Brushing her matted H/C to the side, he took a good look at her peaceful resting face. He didn't realise he was smiling at the sight.
Whilst examining her, Dan Heng noticed specs of light on the ground. He glanced up to see the ceiling had begun to collapse from all the ruckus they had caused.
'There's our escape route,' he mentally noted.
His gaze hardened as he turned back to Jing Yuan. The General eyed him carefully, trying to predict his next move. Dan Heng manifested his dragon once more. It swam through the air gracefully, behaving much calmer than previously.
"What's he doing?" a cloudknight mumbled to his comrades, who engaged in hushed chatter.
Jing Yuan readied his spear, not daring to break his staring contest with Dan Heng. Just as he was going to make the next attack, Dan Heng's dragon swiftly darted around it's owner, carrying him and Y/N on the back of it's head. It then dashed to the ceiling, breaking free through the collapsing material.
"They escaped! Quick, call reinforcements!" the group leader commanded.
Jing Yuan watched as his men ran past him frantically. His head was full of thoughts, yet none of them were quite coherent. He should have felt angered, or even hatred perhaps.
But all he felt was a sense of relief. These were his true feelings. He was genuinely pleased they had managed to escape. As a General, he couldn't allow personal sentiments to cloud his work and judgement. But now that the fight had passed, he allowed them to surface just for a few moments.
"I'm glad you're well, old friend," he smiled reminiscently.
It wasn't long before Fu Xuan arrived at the scene. She was shocked her divination was proven wrong, as she foresaw that Dan Heng would be trialed and sentenced to death.
"Perhaps Dan Heng has broken free of his past life's fate," Jing Yuan told thoughtfully.
He figured out mid battle that Dan Heng was a reincarnation of the man they were after. Many signs portrayed this, such as his behaviour, speaking mannerisms, and appearance. They were all so familiar, yet so different at the same time. Jing Yuan was still baffled by Dan Heng's somewhat scandalous outfit.
His mind wandered back to Y/N. She was one feisty, yet gentle woman. He always knew Dan Feng to be incapable of wooing a lady, let alone holding one. He couldn't help but chuckle. Somehow, to him, it showed that Dan Feng and Dan Heng really were two different people.
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"Will you shut up?!" an irritated Blade barked. His eye twitched uncontrollably.
March had been chatting endlessly to Blade, demanding him to tell her what pain he caused Dan Heng in the past.
"Our Dan Heng would NEVER hurt anyone!" she nodded, crossing her arms.
"I don't care what you think little brat. Just stop talking!"
Welt and Himeko looked at each other, smiling awkwardly.
"At least we've found our target, I suppose," Welt commented, focusing on the positive.
March was about to retaliate further when she felt a damp substance soak into her clothes.
"Huh? Is that water?" she touched the liquid with her fingertips, confirming her suspicions.
The four prisoners perked up upon hearing the outcries of soldiers. A loud ruckus of metallic clangs filled the air as more water seeped through the entrance's doorway.
Soon followed a bright green glow, and the metal door was knocked down.
"Oh my god, what is that?!" March screamed in fear as a water dragon slowly entered the vicinity. It surveyed the area carefully, growling quietly to itself.
Blade stood in a fighting stance, facing the beast who stared at him. He furrowed his brow upon realising who this dragon most likely belonged to.
"Guys!"
The dragon dispersed, and everyone turned to the exit to see a relieved Y/N smiling at them. She was leaning against Dan Heng, who had his arm wrapped around her smaller stature to support her body weight.
The happy moment ended as soon as Dan Heng made eye contact with Blade.
"You-," he started, glaring daggers at the red eyed man, who met his look with an equally venomous glare.
"You're Blade?" Y/N intervened. She looked at Blade wih equal caution and curiosity. He was Dan Heng's friend after all. She also figured allowing the two to converse at this moment would be unproductive.
"Yeah," he responded.
"Wow, perfect," she was stunned by their luck. Now they could save everyone in one go.
"Oh, Y/N! Thank the stars you're alright!" March exclaimed in relief, jumping into Y/N's arms as she unlocked her prison cell. Y/N returned the hug, grimacing slightly as her wounds silently cried in pain.
"I'm so glad you're all safe," she smiled.
"This reunion is lovely and all, but I think we should make our escape while we can," Welt said directly.
Everyone agreed, quickly making their way out the door and navigating through the endless corridors. Eventually, they made it outside.
"The sun feels so good!" March cheered, opening her arms to welcome the star's warm embrace.
"Hey, look! They're over there!" a voice suddenly called. Everyone panicked upon seeing a hoard of guards gathering together, rushing in their direction.
"That's our queue to run!" Welt ushered the group in the opposite direction.
They weaved through the streets, attempting to find a place to hide in the meantime.
"They're catching up!" March called worriedly as fatigue began to consume her.
Just as the guards were almost on their toes, they noticed a young girl waving for their attention at the end of the street. Her purple braids bounced furiously as she jumped on her toes desperately, and her tail flowed along with her movements. Those unmistakable horns made Y/N recognise her instantly.
"Over here!" the child shouted.
Everyone made a mad dash towards her as she enveloped herself in a flurry of pale blue water.
"Water heeds the cloud!" she chanted, surrounding the group in a faint blue blow. The second they entered her vicinity, she activated her magic, causing the entrance of her abode to camouflage. It appeared as if there was no doorway to begin with.
"They ran this way!" the guards shouted as they hurried past the building.
March finally let out a sigh of relief, sliding down the wall she was leaning against.
"That was too close."
Dan Heng remained holding Y/N protectively, checking her physical state and ensuring she had not pushed herself too excessively.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah! Don't worry," she laughed quietly, touched by his caring gestures.
The young Vidyadhara stared at Dan Heng with much curiosity. He felt rather uncomfortable, but reluctantly met her intense gaze once he and Y/N caught their breath.
"Why hello there, Dan Feng!" she giggled excitedly.
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