My sister hesitated, her eyes filled with pity as she kneeled by my side, lifting up my bangs as she turned by head towards her gaze.
"I see you still use that eye…" Her gentle calloused hands caressed by cheek, her thumb resting at my lips as she cleaned the blood off of them.
Slowly, her hands wandered down lower, towards my uniform, gently and tenderly stripping me of my top. There it was… All laid bare before her… The truth of the devil I made a deal with.
Scars, burn marks, stab wounds, all of these gruesome marks laid bare for her to see.
"I'm sorry you were born like this… I'm sorry for being a bad older sister…"
Yue Liang's finger traced over every scar and mark on my torso, eventually going back to holding my head in her hands.
This left eye of mine… This accursed eye is what you truly call demonic. Everything that is alive, everything that has form and exists, I can see its flow of origin as stars. By using that, I am able to read the flow of everything and their movements, even being able to interrupt them.
But of course everything has consequences. And mine was to understand everything I saw. I could feel the emotions of people I looked at, feel the pain inflicted on others, that's how I got all these scars.
So for every life I took and watched die, I too died alongside them.
"Perhaps in another life… If the gods from above permit it… We can be happy together… All three of us."
As Yue and Yu Yang left, I couldn't help but do my best to keep my sights on them… My best friend and older sister… The man who brought me death and the angel that took away its pain.
For the first time in forever, I could tell that I was feeling cold. The blood clogged my throat as my entire left arm and right leg were broken forever.
She said she was sorry for how I was born… A cursed eye, a useless body… All I did in my childhood was read stories.
I couldn't go outside… I couldn't run like the other kids and play ball with them. So all I did was have my sister walk to the library and bring back books to read. Reading was hard… We had little to no education, so by simply reading, I slowly learned how to efficiently read and write.
Yet despite it all, of all the stories I had read, of all the legends and fables I've heard, I couldn't help but be drawn to heroes.
Warriors that shine like the sun, even in foreign lands where people wear clothes made entirely out of metal called knights… I wanted to reach for the stars as they did.
I tried to speak… To cry, to scream.. But nothing came out of my mouth. I was already choking on my own blood, my lungs had already given out from the blow and my Ki was trapped in my own body without circulation.
Perhaps… if I were to be born anew… Would I still want to be a hero..?
Yeah…
{Done from Yu Yang's point of view}
Yue Liang quickly walked up to my pace, returning to our base in war. "Yu Yang… That was too much… He was the only family I had left."
"I…" Catching my moment of weakness, I sturden my resolve. "I did what I had too. In a world as cruel as this… The Demonic Faction but be purged."
Despite Yue Liang's seemingly calm and collected facade, I could tell she was breaking up on the inside. It had been over a dozen years since we had last seen one another, and our reunion was stained with his death.
"Please rest up, Sister Yue. We depart from this station tomorrow."
"I said I'm not leaving! I refused to get married off just because I am a woman!"
"Sister Yue. Please understand… This is for your safety. You do not need to love him, just simply survive. Once I become the leader of this faction, I shall forcefully end your marriage and we can live the life of peace we've wanted."
Yue Liang paced around, picking up a bottle of ink on a nearby table before throwing it at my head, dying my blonde hair partially black.
"Just because I am a woman does not mean I am not capable of fighting!"
She's only soft when it comes to her brother… It had always been like that. Even though we're childhood friends…
"And I understand that… I'm just saying it would be more beneficial for the both of us. You will guarantee your survival and I will gain support to rise the ranks to become leader."
Yue Liang begrudgingly calms herself down, returning to her own quarters without a word.
Nearly 15 years have passed… Peace is still nowhere to be seen… I had to kill someone that I had considered a brother.
Just a few more though… Once Yue Liang gets married off, I can rise the ranks and assert power where I want… I'll fulfill the promise we had made to create a land of peace.
But what if, no… I can't think those thoughts… His words will only drive me further away from our goal. The Demonic Cult's Cheon Ma killed our Sword Saint… That is all I need to know.
As the sunsets, everyone gathers up for dinner besides Yue Liang. I couldn't be bothered to convince her… Knowing her she would throw a brick at me if she had one.
With our stomachs full, we turn in for the night, awaiting the rise of the sun to shine down galliently on our heroes.
———
—————
"Please be nice to your fiance, Yue Liang…"
"Shut up. I'll do what I want, just be glad I even agreed to this…"
Her eyes are puffy and dark… She must've stayed up crying all night.
"Should I drop by every now and then?"
"No. I don't want to see you till you've made up for what you did."
She's still angry about it…
"Of course… I, Yu Yang, the Monkey that stole from the heavens shall return once he has made heaven his own."