Chapter Text
Kill them.
… Blood…
Shatter their cores
Squash them, they’re ants
It’s all red Paint it all red
The voices bellowed; he could barely see darkness had taken over his once bright vision. He knew he had to destroy it, he had greatly underestimated its influence and overestimated his own selflessness. He was human after all, no one could be without greed and pride. His greed and pride had landed him in a ditch he could never climb of. At this point he no longer wanted to. Maybe death would bring the peace and quiet he craved.
But not before I destroy it, he thought.
He could feel the last of his strength draining away. It was a miracle he was able to hold for this long. His coreless body wasn’t much than a delicate babe’s. Why he had survived, he had no idea. He’d thought he’d escaped death but it followed him and took others. Too many for one stray soul. He wasn’t worth all the souls death had taken before their time. He’d firmly started to believe it was damnation, death’s wrath or divine punishment. He would readily go if he’d known this would be the result. He wanted to now…
No, the Wens, they were innocent they’d already been marked by the righteous cultivators, they would not let them stay alive.
He would destroy it and then take them somewhere far away.
But they’d die if they stayed near him. He was cursed.
Death can’t take us
We want to see them dead
They need to die
As if hearing his thoughts, the voices instantly changed their tune. Tempting him again.
But… they were right, they were still here. They hadn’t crossed the reincarnation bridge. They were not in hell. Maybe there was someway to change this curse. Maybe this was a test. Heavens did not interfere with matters of mortals. Why would heavens care if one soul had escaped, especially when there were already so many stray souls.
Yes, he could protect A-Yuan. He was his son. He could protect his family.
Suddenly he heard more screams joining the voices in his head making him all the dizzier.
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up
He couldn’t take it anymore.
“Young Master Wei!”
He heard his name being shouted repeatedly. The shout muted against the shrieks in his head. Maybe that was why he heard it at all.
“Young Master Wei! They’re here!”
“You need to run!”
“They’ve all come for our heads!”
“Run!”
Who was here? Death? No no, he still wasn’t done. But why was he destroying the stygian tiger. It was what had kept them alive for so long. Had he used it before Wen Ning and Wen Qing wouldn’t have died. Why was he destroying the very thing that had kept him alive?
Yes yes yes we can kill them all.
All these cultivators, lets annihilate them
Burial Mounds will turn red.
Red was good. It was a new era. Red was good, his shijie had been wearing red and she was happy. A-Yuan wore red, he was happy. Red was good, he’ll start a new era painted in red.
“WEI WUXIAN!”
He startled confused for a second. Jiang Cheng, it was Jiang Cheng! He’d come. His brother had come!
The bloodlust that had almost taken over dissipated like fog in the sun.
What had he been thinking? He needed to get rid of It.
Feeling as rejuvenated as he could given the situation, he went back trying to shatter it. The resentful energy would still be in the world but it would cease to take the form of a weapon that could be wielded. There was plenty resentful energy in the world. The righteous cultivators could eliminate it. The Lans. Lan Wangji. Lan Zhan. For some reason it hurt when he thought of him. But if the stygian tiger was destroyed and he died he wouldn’t hate him.
He felt the accumulated resentful energy getting out of his control.
He closed his eyes, ignoring the howling in his head and instead thought of his days in Gusu. He’s never gotten to try a cup of Emperor’s smile. Next life, if he has one. He’d been the happiest. Lan Wangji, however shortly had once not hated him as much. He had had fun seeing that beautiful face light up with frustration. He was the most boring man and yet being around him brought him more joy than any of his other friends until he’d ruined…
He could recall from his hazy memory the flustered rage on Lan Zhan’s face when he’d played the porn book prank on him. Only he, a half-grown man in the world could get so angry over a porn book! He would’ve laughed if he could. He’d loved it there. He could imagine himself there, eating the bland vegetables even rabbits would reject, the sharp medicinal soup. The food was atrocious, someone needed to introduce spice to the Lans. They were too secluded from the world that even their food was otherworldly, no human could stomach that and live a happy life.
“…UXIAN!”
“WEI WUXIAN!”
“COME OUT YOU DOG!”
“Weren’t you going to protect these traitors, Wei Ying!”
“You killed my father; you’ll die by my hand you monster!”
His fleeting daydream flitted away as easy as it’d come. What was going on?
What was that?
“WEI WUXIAN, GET OUT HERE!”
“BREAK THE ARRAY!”
“It’s an array unknown to us Sect Leader Nie! We need to underst…”
They were trying to break the array surrounding the Demon-Quelling Cave.
Who was?
He’d told the Wens to leave, disguise themselves, he’d given them teleportation and disguise talismans to get them safely far south, they just had to leave in small groups and they would be just fin. Wen Qing and Wen Ning would make sure they’re fine so who could be trying to break the array, also he recalled the Wens never interfered with his work, they stayed off this side the mountain.
Did Wen Qing not leave? Only she would come here. But she’d left!
A-Yuan? He can’t break an array, he’d hurt himself!
He was so close; he’d deal with A-Yuan later. After this. They’d go somewhere far south, where the sun shone and sea waves, they’d wash the filth and the blood off of him. He’d farm, farming was good and he’d night hunt at night with Wen Ning. Wen Qing would open a clinic; she was so gifted. People from all over the continent would come to her. They’d have money for potatoes, no more radishes, he’d eaten all the radishes he would in his life. He would never sniff a radish again!
Yes, he’d have everything, he just needed to destroy it! He felt it start vibrating ferociously in his arms, almost there…
“Sect Leader Jiang! Zidian isnt working. Let us examine…”
Jiang Cheng?
“WEI WUXIAN! GET OUT HERE! I’LL FEED YOU TO DOGS!”
Dogs?
He felt his focus shatter a little.
“…Anytime I see a dog, I’ll chase it away for you…”
He wants to kill you, just like all of them!
You’ll never get to live with A-Yuan.
He’ll feed A-Yuan to dogs.
He tried to suppress the shudder that went through him when the voices whispered that but he couldn’t. His back arched, dread starting to climb. He was the only one who would protect A-Yuan.
Without the stygian tiger you can’t do anything
Without us you’d be long dead
We saved you!
We never lie!
Unlike them
They don’t deserve you as their savior
We want you to live.
Live for vengeance
They don’t care about you; they will all kill you!
You saved them and look, they’re here to take your life in return
He slowly got up, after falling on his shaking knees several times. He turned to see flickering light come from the mouth of the cave. Purple, blue, red and white.
They’d some to take his life. Why? What had he done to them. He walked slowly the voices his guide because his sight seemed to fail him.
Here they are
See you need us
We can help you, they’ll all be gone
RED RED RED
Paint it all red
Red was good. Everyone will be happy in red, Shiijie was happy in red. Red. Red. Red. Red.
He kept whispering as he stumbled his way forward, bumping and falling and picking himself back up, all the while murmuring red.
When he reached the clashing lights he saw outlines of robes, purple and white and yellow and black. There were none that were red.
“Wei Wuxian you…”
That’s Jiang Cheng. In purple. For a second he remembered that his home had been purple, he’d once worn purple. He’d been happy. Purple was good too.
Paint them all red
He suppressed everything. Jiang Cheng was here; he’d chase all the dogs away.
“Jiang… Cheng… you..’re… here”, he finished.
“Wei Wuxian! I havent seen anyone as shameless as you!”
He smiled and remembered, he always said that it was comforting. Just then he noticed something dripping down his face. Red, it was red. He was covered in red; he was happy. He had everything right now, except Lan Zhan. He wasn’t here. He turned his head but saw no one. Only blurred figures. He was seeing through a film of red.
Lan Zhan was white, not red. White, white, white? But everything was tinged with red. No Lan Zhan had to be in white, he looked better in white, or blue.
“We’ve killed all the Wen dogs Wei Ying, come out you coward!”
Killed Wens? But they’re gone? Down south to the sea.
“Biting the hand that feeds you, you even killed your Shijie!”
“This is your last day; don’t think you can escape!”
“You killed my brother!”
I didn’t… I saved you.
He shook his head.
He saw a flash of purple followed by a shout “I’ll kill you today, Wei Wuxian! You traitorous dog”
It was Jiang Cheng. He could recognize that voice anywhere.
He finally realized. They were here to kill him.
Suddenly the voices roared. This time he could only hear them.
We told you.
No one except us can save you.
You need us
You need us
No one can save you
You can’t save yourself
You need the stygian tiger
He turned to go back in. He didn’t need to see. They couldn’t come in. Why couldn’t they come in?
We’re keeping you safe
But you’ll need to leave the cave
Outside we can’t protect you unless you allow it
“WEI WUXIAN!”
“GET BACK HERE!”
“I’LL BREAK YOUR LEGS”
“I’LL BREAK YOUR LEGS AND FEED YOU TO THE DOGS”
He will. He finally believed that he will. They were all so angry, all wanted him dead. There was no where in this world he could go to. They’d killed the Wens. He’d killed the Wens. It was all over.
There were no colors except red.
He felt stygian tiger pulsating in his hand so hard he almost dropped it. He wanted them all to die. He wanted them dead and he wanted himself dead.
We can do that.
We will do everything you want
We can together do whatever you want
We can kill anyone
We can kill them
We’ll help
He stopped. Hadn’t they said they would save him? Save the Wens? Save A-Yuan?
They wanted him dead too.
Wens were dead.
So was Shijie
Everyone was already dead. They were liars. They were liars.
Wei Wuxian would eradicate them himself. He needed no one’d help.
He squeezed the stygian tiger, feeling it crack. He felt the backlash from the resentful energy. The last thing he saw was a slash of flickering white light tinged with red at the mouth of the cave and then nothing more. His body ripped apart until there was nothing.
The blood pool sloshed from the force of the energy hitting him.
He had been in this cave for three months, struggling with all his life trying to destroy the stygian tiger. The weapon of destruction he’d once made, it had been such a huge task and now that it was over it: seemed miniscule. The life he’d dragged for three months, trying to hang on was also gone in a matter of seconds.
The array he’d painstakingly set up to save the world from the backlash broke, cultivators closest to it flying several feet away from the shock wave coughing up blood. Several of them with weaker cores felt life leaving them.
But majority were safe.
Wei Wuxian’s array was almost fool proof.