Recommended Listening: [Great Wall – By tunetank]
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and fantasy and will therefore contain historical inaccuracies.
End of the 100th rebirth
Battle of the Red Cliffs – 208 AD
They say war leaves its mark on every man forever. The blood never really washes off—it just sinks deeper, beneath the skin.
And over time, even the strongest warriors start to erode, becoming a shell of who they used to be.
And when the weight becomes too much, some choose to end it with the very blade that made them heroes.
But it was never the battlefield that broke Zhou Yu.
It was the silence, the nights spent too close to someone he was never meant to love, and mornings pretending that it meant nothing more than a fleeting moment.
As the legendary strategist of the Wu dynasty renowned throughout history, Zhou Yu's greatest war wasn't against any enemy but himself.
And now, on the blood-soaked shores of the Red Cliffs, Zhou Yu had dared to believe that he had finally won. He was so confident that fate had finally broken the cycle of death and rebirth.
Because this was the longest Sun Ce, his beloved warlord, had ever lived.
Across one hundred lifetimes, Sun Ce was always fated to die before the tides of this war. He was never meant to see the Battle of the Red Cliffs, a naval showdown that pitted the Wu Commandery and Shu forces against the corrupt armies of Prime Minister Cao Cao.
Sun Ce was fated to die long before the fire lit the sky and burnt down Cao Cao's fleets, long before the wind would even change its course to feed the flames.
This time had been far different. This time, he made it. He survived long enough to lead the campaign.
Now, the Red Cliffs were set ablaze with smoke and flame, the Yangtze River's wide waters churning with broken ships and charred bodies. The air reeked of ash, sweat and blood spent from both sides.
The Wu forces, alongside their Shu allies, were pressing hard, setting aside their differences to push one final counterattack against Cao Cao, but on this night there were dark things at hand.
The air was foul and not just from death but from something else that Cao Cao dared to dabble in.
Zhou Yu had been in the middle of it all, leading the charges and guiding their warriors through different tactics. At some point, he'd been separated from Sun Ce's side when the fire attack succeeded on Cao Cao's fleet.
He stood atop one of the Wu ships, taking it upon himself to guard their fleet from enemy invaders but the winds were far too strong and fed the flames enough that they spread to the Wu fleet eventually.
It was difficult to navigate his way through the flames. And ever since he realised Sun Ce was nowhere to be seen, he'd become frantic.
With his chest heaving from many hard-fought duels with enemy soldiers, Zhou Yu dragged his feet across the burning plank board connecting to the rest of the fleet.
The battle had not yet been won. There were still shouts and fights raging around him, blades clanking, arrows singing overhead and blood splattering onto the wooden floors.
"Ce'er, where are you…" Zhou Yu murmured, his sword clenched in hand. The flames were intense, cutting off his path but if it meant battling through them, then so be it.
Enemies had come to strike him down but he moved swiftly, his blade coming down on them without a second thought, like a hunter slashing through the bushes in a forest.
And according to history, the combined forces of Wu and Shu emerged victorious from this naval battle, but it was within Zhou Yu's nature to be worried since it was the first time Sun Ce had ever been involved in this campaign.
Perhaps the cursed cycle had been broken, but anything could have gone terribly wrong.
With a few more staggering steps, Zhou Yu made it onto the last ship that was anchored at the shoreline.
Relief flooded his face when he caught the glint of black and red armour through the small sea of flames over the ship's railing.
Down on the shoreline, he recognised the golden spear of his beloved warlord cutting through enemies, swerving through the air effortlessly.
When Sun Ce cut down the last enemy, he flicked the blood off his spear. And upon hearing thuds on the ship just a few feet above him, he turned around and looked up.
A tender smile immediately formed on his lips, his long hazel-brown hair open and swaying in the night breeze.
"Gēge," Sun Ce called out to Zhou Yu, his golden amber eyes softening. "Were you worried about me again?"
"You reckless fool." Zhou Yu breathed a sigh of relief, bracing himself against the ship's railing. "Always leaving your back open."
Sun Ce smiled sheepishly, chuckling to himself. Zhou Yu, being the older of the two by six years, had always reprimanded him for his reckless antics.
Sun Ce never took them to heart for he valued his dear friend's wisdom and teachings.
He'd taken a step forward to meet Zhou Yu on the ship, but a shrill scream cutting through the smoke made him pause.
Immediately alert, Sun Ce's grip on his spear tightened and he turned around sharply.
It wasn't the sound of a dying soldier or the clash of blades. It was something else entirely, something wrong and unnatural.
Zhou Yu snapped his head toward it, his breath hitching.
There was a shape that emerged through the flames and smoke. It was black with white horns, cloaked in foul energy that they had never seen before.
Whatever it was, it moved like it was a living shadow, warping the air around it as it drew closer.
Many warriors, allies and enemies alike had moved forward to cut it down, but their blades shattered against its hide. It wasn't human, not even beast or animal.
It was more like a thing children talked about from their nightmares, a demon that was summoned and brought to the surface by the forbidden rites Cao Cao's sorcerers had dared to awaken.
This had never been seen before. Across the ninety-nine lifetimes, Zhou Yu led their forces to victory in this battle; demons had never been a part of it.
They were things of myths and legends, long ago sealed and never to awaken.
And in its path stood Sun Ce.
With his spear in hand, his shoulders squared, and his chest heaving, Sun Ce showed no fear against engaging the unknown creature.
He knew what was at stake. It took him only a few seconds to process that no man or woman would survive against this creature.
As the eldest son of the Sun bloodline, it was his duty to protect his people and warriors. And if that meant manifesting the power of the golden phoenix within him, passed down from mother to child in his family, then so be it.
But Sun Ce was never truly successful at harnessing his bloodline's power, yet that wasn't enough to deter his mind.
He half-turned around, glancing up at Zhou Yu, who was still on the ship. Their eyes locked briefly, and the legendary strategist knew then and there that fate had been toying with him once more.
"No…" Zhou Yu breathed out, horrified.
He ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the flames and through the harsh wind. The world blurred around him, the cries and chaos becoming distant as his feet pounded forward, pushing past fallen bodies.
He never took his eyes off the man who had already been stolen from him too many times.
There was a final smile of farewell from Sun Ce before he raised his spear and charged toward the demon. And for the first time in his life, the golden phoenix of his bloodline had proved its loyalty.
A gold glow engulfed Sun Ce's body, but it was weak, brief and not strong enough to withhold
It only took a mere second for the demon to strike. One blow. It was cruel and swift, tearing through Sun Ce's chest.
The force lifted Sun Ce off his feet, his spear flying from his grasp and his body twisting before it slammed into the ground.
"CE'ER!" Zhou Yu screamed, reaching him too late. He dropped to his knees beside his beloved warlord, his hands already slick with blood as he pulled him closer.
Behind them, Cheng Pu, a close friend and officer under Zhou Yu's command, leapt off the ship. He arrived too late, but he charged straight for the demon, engaging it with his sword and water-based abilities.
In Zhou Yu's arms, Sun Ce's breathing was shallow, blood bubbling up with each inhale.
"You made it," Zhou Yu whispered, wiping the blood from Sun Ce's lips with shaking fingers. "You lived long enough this time…to see the fire."
Sun Ce tried to speak. A laugh, maybe, but it came out as a choking cough.
"Did I... win?" He asked through blood and tears, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
Zhou Yu swallowed hard, a smile cracking through his glistening eyes. "You were always winning. Even when fate tried to take you from me… even when I couldn't save you."
Sun Ce reached for Zhou Yu with his hand trembling, fingers brushing his cheek.
"I... I finally remembered you this time, gēge," he breathed, his mind flashing with memories of all the lifetimes their love could never be more than friendship. "I'm sorry it took me this long..."
Zhou Yu clutched his hand, holding it to his face, his tears slipping down onto Sun Ce's skin.
"Then remember me again. In the next life. In all of them. Don't forget me. Not again. Please… I don't know how many more times I can bear to lose you."
Sun Ce's gaze softened. "Always… even if I don't remember... I'll find you. I always do…".
Zhou Yu bent over him, resting his forehead against Sun Ce's. The heat of the fire raged around them, but he only felt the cold gnawing at his heartstrings.
Sun Ce's warmth was fading fast.
"Please, Ce'er," he whispered. "Let this be the last time. Let the cycle break. Let me love you without losing you. Just once." He almost choked on his words.
Sun Ce's lips parted as if to answer but no words came and his breath stilled.
And thus, it would be the one hundredth death of Sun Ce that Zhou Yu would have to accept and live through.
Zhou Yu remained frozen, holding him. He didn't scream or sob. His tears ran silently, trailing from his eyes to Sun Ce's bloodied chest. It was as if they were trying to reach something, trying to save the last specks of golden light fading from Sun Ce's chest.
The battlefield roared on behind them. Cheng Pu was still battling the demon, already wounded beyond repair.
Men died with their swords in their hands, but Zhou Yu heard none of it.
The only thing that snapped him out of his daze was the fall of Cheng Pu's sword as the demon tossed aside his lifeless body.
A portal, as black as the night sky, opened up behind the creature. It watched Zhou Yu, holding his gaze.
There was something dark in Zhou Yu's eyes from that moment on. There was a greed for vengeance and a promise unspoken to kill the demon with his own hands.
But not now. Not in this lifetime.
When the demon disappeared with the portal, Zhou Yu looked back down at Sun Ce, his tears falling faster.
"I'll find you," he whispered, voice cracking. "Even if the world ends. Even if it destroys me. I'll find you and this time… I will break the cycle that keeps taking you from me."
The 100th rebirth had ended.
And the next had already begun.