Once upon a lifetime

Rebirth - Part one

Revised 30/04/22

As if awakening from a long dream, Wei Wuxian slowly peeled open his eyelids with trepidation; his heart palpitating wildly from where it rested inside his chest, itching to break free. 'I... actually woke up?'

His eyes clearly traversed the room as he attempted to push down the overbearing feeling of dread that had formed a pool within his stomach. 'Where am I? Is this...the afterlife?'

As quickly as the genial feeling arrived, it was squashed down by sudden realisation. 'This is...!!'

He felt a soft hand stroke his head, fingers running through his scalp and tangling through his wild tousles of hair. "A-Xian, it's time to wake up."

'That voice..Shijie?!'

Wei Wuxian bolted up from within the soft enclosure of his bed, pupils dilated into two thin slits. In all her glory, Jiang Yanli sat with a composed yet relaxed demeanour, her warm smile contagiously plastered across her face as she continued to soothe him with nimble fingers. To her left was Jiang Cheng, dressed in his accustomed Jiang Clan robes, a scowl ever-so-present on his adolescent face.

"Jiang Cheng..?" Wei Wuxian stuttered, a layer of uncertainty spread about his speech. He felt tears take root within his eyes, but despite the way he desperately blinked them down, they meandered down his cheeks anyway, a trail of wetness being left behind.

A frown spread across Jiang Wanyin's fluctuant visage as he reached forwards to wipe away the abnormality, but shock soon replaced that uncertainty when Wei Wuxian unconsciously thwacked his hand away, protectively shuffling himself to the back of the bed in a defensive posture.

"No," he said, then repeated more firmly. "This isn't real. It isn't real. Soon I'll be back in Nightless city and- and-"

'Nightless city.'

"A-Xian!" Yanli cried, breaking him out of his dazed state. She seated herself beside his trembling form and held his head, taking him into her embrace. "A-Xian, calm down. This is real. Don't worry, they can't get you anymore."

Jiang Cheng, supposedly, caught onto her hint and began to quickly reassure, "Wei Wuxian, there are no..." he pursed his lips, hesitating whether he should say the word or not. "Wei Wuxian, it's just us in here. No... dogs."

Jiang Yanli looked like she wanted to roll her eyes, but nonetheless sent Jiang Wanyin a thankful look for trying. She subsequently turned her gaze back to the younger, soothingly whispering words of reassurance in his ear. "A-Xian, wake up. It's only A-Cheng and I."

Wei Wuxian uncertainly glanced up at her, tears slowing down to a stop, instead remaining unshed within his duct. "Shijie..."

"I'm here with you, A-Xian. We're both here."

* * *

The following morning arrived like a breeze, and Wei Wuxian woke up to the opulent smell of Jiang Yanli's sumptuous Lotus Root and Pork Rib soup. The familiar scent wrought long lost repressed feelings to the surface of his chest. He gazed into nothingness with an exhausted stare and reached out a hand, holding it out as if he could grab the ceiling and tear it down, just like the way his life had all those years go.

'Am I... really back?' The concept itself brought unwanted shivers down his spine.

'I don't deserve a second chance,' Wei Wuxian thought, hand slowly curling into a fist, nails painfully digging into the soft flesh of his palm. He exhaled a shaky breath, and, releasing the tension in his hands, whispered. "Suibian"

In the twinkling of an eye, the desired sword appeared in his palm. Wei Wuxian grabbed the hilt and slowly unsheathed it; the sharp metal of the blade appeared translucent within the sun's rays, with a sharp glare of light reflecting into his eyes.

Throwing the sheathe aside, he held the blade to his throat. Pools of blood seeped out, trailing down the nape of his neck and down his inner robes like soft rain against a window in a midsummer shower.

"Wei Ying."

Wei Wuxian's eyes sprang open, and, not even noticing the blade resting across the floor, began to eagerly search the room with desperation. "Lan Zhan?!"

Except nobody was there, and all that accompanied him was deafening silence.

Coincidentally, Jiang Yanli opened the door to his room at the same moment; a bowl and tray in hand. "A-Xian. Are you awake? I made you some Lotus Root and Pork Rib soup."

Surprised at the sudden intrusion, Wei Wuxian swiftly sheathed Suibian and used his golden core to quickly heal his wound. He wiped his tears and adjusted his position. With a small smile, he sat up and reached for the bowl of soup.

After one bite, he gulped it down, ignorant to the burning as it made its way down his throat, and immediately reached forward for another. His eyes stung at the intensity of the multitude of tears that had escaped many times throughout the morning.

Eyes fondly watching as he did this repeated motion, Jiang Yanli smiled. Wei Wuxian, ever so observant, noticed the underlying hint of melancholy within her irises, so he quickly reassured, "Shijie, about last night.. I'm alright. It was just a bad dream."

Jiang Yanli nodded in understanding, her hand hesitantly reaching out to once again caress his wild locks. Attempting to soften the atmosphere, she said, "A-Xian, we are to travel to Gusu in two days. Have you prepared your belongings yet?"

Startled, Wei Wuxian accidentally loosened his grip and the spoon he was holding fell to the floor with a resounding clank. "C-Cloud Recess? In two days?!"

Noticing his abrupt mood swing, Jiang Yanli furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Yes, A-Xian.. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing!" Wei Wuxian replied, pushing the bowl of half-eaten soup to the middle of the table before briskly making his way to the bed. "Shijie, I'm feeling tired so I will rest for a bit longer." He turned over to face the wall for extra enunciation of his exhaustion.

Understanding that he no longer wished for her presence, Jiang Yanli tucked him in with a soft smile and gently kissed the back of his head before leaving the room with reluctance.

A sudden wave of memories purged Wei Wuxian's head as he attempted to succumb to rest.

Lan Wangji leaped forward with a newfound strength, fuelled by merely his inordinate senses alone, as he reached out, grabbing Wei Wuxian's thin wrist of a pale, almost-industrial white colour.

"Lan Zhan." Wei Wuxian mumbled. He clutched the cover slightly below his eyes as a river of tears ran down his cheeks, overwriting the dried tracks of former ones, "Until the very end he stood by my side.."

A thought quickly overrode the plan of ending this second timeline with efficiency. 'A second chance.. I can see him again!'

"Maybe I could stay for a little while.." Wei Wuxian's mind eventually caught up with his fatigue, and he fell into a sweet slumber.

* * *

When you open the document only to see "Last edit was 7 days ago"