"Li Susu, let go," Tantai Jin whispered as the All-in-Distress Way started to disintegrate around them.
Li Susu shook her head. "No," she said, her tears soaking his shoulder. "With the Devil God gone, the world won't need a god anymore." She embraced him tightly. "Just this once… let me hold you."
The broken evil bone that was connected to his life force made his whole body burn in pain, but Li Susu's warm embrace eased it completely. "All right," he said. Just this time.
They held each other as the All-in-Distress Way continued to dissipate, the threat looming over the three realms finally ending. Faintly, they could hear the joyful cries of the common people, rejoicing over the end of the disasters that fell on their homeland. They heard the immortals rejoicing over the end of the Devil God, and the destruction of their doom brought by the All-in-Distress Way.
Everyone is safe… everyone is going to be all right…
Tantai Jin turned to Li Susu, who was still clinging on to him tight. Let go, Li Susu, his mind summoned the words, but his lips refused to utter them.
You have to let go.
Tantai Jin summoned Mingye's Heart Guarding Scale to his hand. Mingye's primordial spirit had dissipated from it already, but remnants of his protective power lingered. Together with the power he infused in it as Cang Jiumin, it was still capable of protecting someone.
Susu, you have to live on.
Tantai Jin looked askance at Li Susu. Exhausted by the godly power she used to damage the evil bone, she was now leaning heavily on him, unconscious, but still holding on tightly to him.
I'm sorry Susu. I have to lie to you once again.
Tantai Jin fused the Heart Guarding Scale into Li Susu's unconscious body, and the warm protective power enveloped her. He gently eased her off him, and released her into the air, where the Heart Guarding Scale carried her safely away from the imminent destruction of the All-in-Distress Way.
Tantai Jin watched Li Susu soar away. Live on, my love. He closed his eyes, and with immense pain and difficulty, he pulled out the broken evil bone from his body. He opened his eyes and looked at it for a while, smiling all the while, and then looking up towards where Li Susu had gone.
"Li Susu," he whispered. "This will be the end of you and me." At the final moment, he fused into the evil bone all the love that he had felt throughout his lifetime, turning the All-in-Distress Way into a Way of Compassion that could give life to all the three realms, instead of taking life.
Tantai Jin crushed the evil bone himself, and scattered its ashes, and as he did, he blessed them with the goodness that was first shown to him through Li Susu's first Sketch Charm.
Purifying rain fell down on the world, soaking the earth with much needed moisture. When it finished, the skies turned blue once again, and the grass and trees became more verdant than ever. Smiles and laughter echoed the happiness in each person's heart, as the hope of another day to live brightened the world.
Amidst the calm and peaceful scenery, the only Devil God dissipated into nothingness, his final thought only for the one he left behind.
May you no longer have nightmares, Li Susu.
XxxxxxxENDxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N: And that concludes this story. See you next time! =cries in the corner=
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So now that's done... let me do another one because this drama made me such a sucker for angst. I'll be putting it up soon, but for a preview, I give you... Dreams.
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She walked up the stairs with an inexplicable trepidation in her heart. The musky smell of an abandoned place, enforced by the overgrowth of tangled weeds peeking through the broken cement, and the random pieces of junk scattered all over the place filled her nose as she took each step, but as she rose one step higher, a faint memory from a lifetime ago called out to her, and his voice accompanied her every step as she went towards an unknown place.
"I give you the chance to pick a parcel of land where you'd like to be buried."
"Stop showing off. Who said I'm going to spend my lifetime with you?"
At the top of the landing, Li Susu paused. Behind tall weeds, two tombstones faced her, standing side by side. She moved closer to make out the writings on the stone, but time and natural forces had corroded some of it, making it absolutely unintelligible. Gathering her newly-found powers, she cleared away the present, and returned the place to another time when it was last used.
Her breath caught in her throat.
The first tombstone was marked "The tomb of Ye Xiwu, the loving wife of Tantai Jin".
The second one was marked "The tomb of Tantai Jin, the husband of Ye Xiwu."
Seeing the marked stones broke the goddess' heart into a million tiny pieces, the pain no less than the pain that Tantai Jin carried in his heart for 500 years. She touched the writings on the stones, the ones lovingly marked by a lonely soul who had only wanted to love and be loved. She felt his anguish, and his sorrow, his worries, and his pain, and her devastating regret at not being able to love him as he ought to have been loved, to cherish him as he had cherished her, and to live when he had not, brought her down to her knees, weeping.
"You lied to me, Tantai Jin," Li Susu whispered brokenly, tears flowing relentlessly down her face.
If I break my promise, may heaven and earth end my life. May my soul perish with my body.
"You lied to me again…"
Suddenly, a white-hot pain burned through her chest, and she fell down in front of the tombstones, rendered unconscious by the pain.
So this is what it feels like to die of a broken heart, Li Susu thought as she blissfully floated through the void of unconsciousness, blessing the freedom from pain as she was stripped of all senses. Tantai Jin, you lied to me, but I'll come to you myself.
And we'll never be apart again this time, I swear.
She opened her eyes.
The pure, clean smell of the lake wafted towards her nose, calming her spirit as her eyes blinked to adjust to the glare of the sunlight. As she put her hand up to block the light, a shadow covered her face and a hand enveloped hers.
"You're awake, Li Susu," a voice above her said.
Li Susu opened her eyes again.
Looking down on her with a smile in his eyes was Tantai Jin's face.
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I've started a draft for this next one, but I'll put Dreams up by September 2. Please look forward to it. =)
Thanks for reading! Let me know how I've done by reviewing this fic, because they're always appreciated. =) Thank you! xxx