Chapter 100 Dark
Chapter 100
Dark
It was dark, so very dark, not a single ray of light could reached Xie Jie laying on the cold rock floor.
He couldn’t move... his body felt strange... different from before... he struggled to remember... what was he like before?
There was no sound, it barely felt like there was air. For the longest of moments he felt nothing but the cold rock.
Starting slowly there was a soft wisp of air moving across his metal, gradually it built till it felt like a hurricane of wind pulling him haphazardly across the floor, he wanted to scream but had no mouth to open.
Then the roaring of the wind stopped, for another long moment he lay silent in the darkness again, then the wind started blowing the other way, pushing him back across the rock floor.
Silence, wind, silence, wind, silence. It went on for an eternity in the eerie darkness.
Years passed by, then eventually a small flickering light appeared off to his left, it grew steadily and was accompanied by the sounds of many heavy armoured feet.
With the light he could now see he was in a long beautifully carved tunnel of reddish brown rock, but the whole place looked to have fallen into disrepair, large cracks raced crazily along the walls and in the floor, that were stain with black soot.
The light was coming towards him from the direction the wind pushed him back, the flickering uneven light was cast by blazing torches held by people, but the angle was all wrong, why was he looking up at them so much?
The armoured boots coming towards him were huge, he was terrified, the people didn’t seem to see him, then the front man kicked him with out even realising.
He flew across the tunnel with a high pitch ting sound, hit the wall and got stuck in a little crevice.
As he saw the group go by, an unbidden thought came into his mind, “guess I’m not getting out with them."
Minutes stretched into hours in the darkness.
Wedged in his crevice he no longer moved with the wind, just sat in the dark, waiting, forever waiting.
Then all of a sudden, the direction the wind pulled exploded with light, a huge roaring came surging towards him and flames engulfed the tunnel.
Terror gripped his brain, but the unbid thought said calmly, “stupid humans serves them right.”
The words sounded harsh but Xie Jie could feel it was tinged with a deep sadness.
After the flames died down, Xie Jie said inside his mind, “hello?”
The thought came again, this time full of excitement, “who are you? How can I hear you? Where are you? Please be there, I’ve been alone so long.”
Replying systematically Xie Jie said, “I’m Xie Jie, I have no idea how I can hear you and I can’t remember where I am or what I am, I just woke up here, where ever here is?”
The excited thought said, “interesting, what do you remember?”
Thinking hard Xie Jie replied, “I remember being bigger, and being able to move but I’m not sure how.”
The thought became even more excited, “your a being like those humans, you must have a body somewhere; that means you can come get me.”
“How? I have no idea where we are or how to get back to my body.”
The thought became silent for a while then said, “I don’t know if the name has changed as it has been many thousands of years since I came here, but it used to be called the golden mines of the blessed. Although that was before the dwarfs fell to the dragon.”
Xie Jie’s non existent eyes went wide, “that was dragon fire, we survived dragon fire?! Wait how come I remember what a dragon is but not what I am?”
“Your memory can become fragmented when you are disembodied,” said the thought in a tone a lot like someone Xie Jie knew, but couldn’t quite remember.
The thought went quiet again, when it spoke this time it said tentatively, “can I try to go with you to your mind? I’m not going to lie to you it could really hurt, but it would get you back, and would be a joy to me to be out of here for even a moment.”
Cautiously Xie Jie asked, “how?”
“I would open your inner eye then quickly close it and open your physical eyes, so I could see the world, I really hope you are outside, I want to see the sky and feel a fresh breeze, oh I hope there are birds and trees near you.”
Something about opening an inner eye felt strangely familiar to Xie Jie, but he couldn’t remember why, not wanting to spend more years here he said, “I can’t promise you trees or birds, but I will try my best to come find you. May I know the name of the person I’m coming to find?”
The thought replied, “I’m neither a person nor have a name, I’m one part of a set of armour.”
This all sounded very familiar to Xie Jie and made him excited for some reason, “I’ll definitely come find you. If I make it and pick you up, may I give you a name to thank you for getting me home?”
The thought smiled, “If you pick me up you can call me what ever you please Xie Jie. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready wondrous armour.”
Xie Jie’s inner eye opened, and there in front of him stood three very worried silver people with dark blue hair.
The Duns’ faces turned from worry to shock to joy, as a fourth silver man walked out from behind their pale incubus.
Not much taller than Xie Jie, the beautiful silver incubus ran at his sibling parts and straight into their waiting arms, hugging them with over flowing joy.
Xie Jie’s memories of his true form rushed back into his mind; worried he would forget everything he had learnt like a dream, he yelled urgently, “he is in the golden mines of the blessed.”
His lovers stared at him quickly comprehending, then Xie Jie added, “Please open my eyes, he would like to see the outside world.”
With a last loving look at his brother part, Dun Guanlian gently opened Xie Jie’s physical eyes.
Ignoring the looks of concern surrounding him on his cultivators’ faces, Xie Jie jumped up from the floor and rushed outside.
It was dawn at Snow Mist Peak and the sun was just breaking over the horizon as Xie Jie looked out across the misty mountain, the land stretched out far below in its golden hazy glory.
A strange sensation came over Xie Jie’s body, and he felt his head move on its own looking around at the beautiful vista, lingering on the bamboo forest and the little birds twittering through the sky.
Thick with emotion, the thought said, “thank you Xie Jie, I await your arrival, please come find me my dear sweet man.”
Xie Jie replied to the fading feeling, “nothing will keep me from you my wonderful friend.”
And with that he could feel the thought had gone.
When the connection broke, Xie Jie’s energy failed him and he slowly began to fall.
Strong loving arms gently caught his limp body, and he looked up into his husband’s handsome worried face. His eyes closing and his thoughts hazy he said in barely a whisper, “my love I dreamt of another ancient artefact.” As the words left his mouth he slept once more.