January Catchall | Open

[binghua]

WHO: Xiao Xingchen and YOU!
WHEN: During their three week lighthouse stay
WHERE: ...The lighthouse
WHAT: A catchall for mostly bad decisions
WARNINGS: Some weird eye squick and potential blood visuals...much blood Also Xue Yang. Xue Yang is his own warning. Including some mild disciplinary violence on Xingchen's end.


1.

[The lighthouse is yet another stop on the group's ever eastward journey, but after time spent in a world where the life and death cycle is...trapped in an infinite loop, Xingchen is glad to be somewhere a little more normal. A little. He's been in this world long enough to know that not everything is as it seems.

And, naturally, that comes to light to him after spending enough time on the lower floors of the lighthouse. Something has felt off since he first ascended these floors, but the longer he stays the more he trusts his gut, for once.

There is screaming, warning, and general anger and vitriol spat around the space. Xingchen takes a seat well into the night - he hasn't slept well in months to begin with; the fact that he can't see to get any schedule on track doesn't play into this - and jumps, surprised, the first few times the harsh cries ring out. But he grows used to it. And, when one of these voices pleads They come from above! Xingchen gently responds.]

Who comes from above? What have they done?

[The voices do not answer, but he gets the distinct feeling that they are nothing he has ever encountered before.]


2.

[Xingchen has always been curious and friendly, wanting to learn new things or connect with other people, but he's also been able to keep his hands to himself and not prod where he isn't welcome. It's a good trait, until it's also a trait that has gotten him into messes he never should have in the first place. One doesn't learn unless one asks or reaches out to grasp for knowledge.

He decides if he wants to be of any real use here, he'll have to start being nosy and cross some thresholds.

Which is why he's found that door on the twelfth floor and, after tracing the letters explaining the need for a wish in order to enter, he does just that. And, yes, he discovered the still-living bodies collected within and that is certainly noteworthy. Who are they? Why do they sleep so deeply? What is happening inside that room?

But after he leaves the room, something else has happened. Xingchen is driven to help, even more than usual. Instead of quietly offering assistance when he feels it is necessary, now he approaches anyone he meets with an eagerness.]

Do you need an extra hand? I have two perfectly capable ones.

[Or, even if he's not sure what someone could need help with, he simply offers himself up.]

Whatever help you need, please rely on this one. He's happy to bear the load.

[Because the wish he made to get into the door? I wish I could be more useful.]

[ooc: The only limitations to this helpfulness are no sexual situations, self-mutilation, suicide, or killing. But feel free to ask anything else of him! This lasts for 24 hours after he leaves the Sleeper room.]


3. CW for eye horror and blood imagery

[Regardless of how his helpfulness spree has gone, Xingchen wants to go back to that strange room and try and figure out anything else. Except that requires making another wish. And, sure, the first one took a strange turn, but it wasn't a horrible turn of events. Maybe...he'll get lucky again.

Xingchen knows better than to trust something in this world. He knows. But that curiosity, that need to know as much as he can about this strange situation, keeps him there. Only, the first wish that comes to mind is something he doesn't want at the same time. And yet...if it could help him again...

But there's...not guilt involved, just an acceptance. He is blind, and blind by his own choice. Regret does not linger in his flesh about this decision. He would do it again if he could. If he had to.

...But he does miss things. He's been blind for a few years now and he misses color, he misses seeing how a smile can light up someone's face. He...

I wish I could see again.

If only that wish could have gone into effect when he entered the room again, but it doesn't. No, it comes to fruition, again, after he leaves. As soon as the door closes behind him, a fullness inflates behind his covered eyelids, a weightless presence takes up residence once more in his abandoned sockets. It hurts, but it doesn't. It just feels sharp and dull at the same time.

Not long after, Xingchen seats himself on one of the lower floors, his blindfold in one hand while he looks - looks! - at his hands in front of his face. A face that is complete once again.

Except, well. If one were to look at his eyes, they would notice that they are...not quite right. They're eyes, definitely, but not human eyes. No, they're a little more bulbous, a little thicker. Fish eyes. They're fish eyes.

He...might have gotten carried away with the wishing, huh.]

[ooc: Not only does Xingchen have brand new eyeballs for 24 hours, but they come with some fun powers, detailed here. If you want your character to appear in any of these forms to Xingchen, specify in the subject or explain it in the tag, just let me know somehow! I'm happy to traumatize any and all of us involved. If you'd rather not be subjected to those images, just leave the subject blank or let me know about that, too!]


4. wildcard!

[You know how this goes. Want something completely different with Xingchen? Perfect! Hit me up and I'll go with the freaky flow!]

Comments

3.

[thesuspense]

[It's a habit that he watches Xingchen for a while before approaching and it's testament to how familiar he is with the man in every way that even from further away, he notes the change.

To be fair, it's not that subtle a change. The lack of blindfold. The lack of bloody sockets. It's more than enough to draw him closer and he chooses to approach openly, stopping a few steps away and tilting his head to the side.]

Long time no see, daozhang.

[Well. He's damned either way, might as well go there.]

[binghua]

[Xingchen doesn't remember what his hands looked like before. The general state of them, yes: pale, fingers long but strong, callouses from years of swordplay. Now, though, they look...thinner. Harder. He needs to clean under his nails quite badly.

He's only really looked at his hands in these few moments since gaining a fresh pair of eyes. Despite making the wish, he almost feels ashamed of begging for something he doesn't deserve. So, when he feels a horribly familiar presence nearby, and then that voice reaches him - and speaking such funny words - he automatically closes his eyes and turns his head toward the speaker. This is more familiar to him now, navigating in the dark.

Except even the darkness is new after these years, after existing in a visionless void.

He doesn't think he can handle looking at Xue Yang again. Not yet.]

...Indeed.

[thesuspense]

Ah...

[It shouldn't be surprising, Xingchen refusing to look at him. The man despises him, he knows that. He has done everything to make it so, after all, it had been his aim for years, even if he has lost sight of why he would want that along the way. Has lost sight of it now too, because surprising or not, he feels the hurt.

And there's only so many ways Xue Yang can deal with hurt and none of them are mature.]

Are you scared you'll like how I look, daozhang? I always like how you look.

[binghua]

[Xue Yang doesn't deserve his compliance. He tries to tell himself this and at first, it works. But then there's a whisper in the back of his mind, one that accuses him of hiding, of cowardice. He knows what Xue Yang looks like already. There isn't anything to fear from seeing it again.

Maybe that voice is right. Maybe he needs to face this man directly, stop letting just the idea of him keep Xingchen cowed, in a way. Even if Xue Yang is always going to be a part of him, especially in this awful land.

Still, it takes him a moment to work up the nerve. He swallows, tries to keep his breathing steady, and slowly opens his new eyes. It takes him a moment to raise his gaze to find Xue Yang and when he does his breathing falters.

This...truly is him. The man who ruined Xingchen's life, Song Lan's life before it, the one who destroyed so much and for no good reason. It's him, Xingchen would be able to recognize him in an instant, and yet, there's something different.]

...You're older.

[Not by much, he thinks. There's still plenty of that boyish charm about him, if Xingchen were to be generous in his description. But just as his hands have been changed by time and the world, so has Xue Yang.]

[thesuspense]

...well, I started cultivation later than you.

[That does come out as childishly defensive, almost mumbled more than anything, certainly not a quip with a quick tongue the way he usually favours. A bit more of a sullen reply of someone who feels unfairly treated.

Whatever, he straightens, shrugs it off.]

I won't age any more.

[True enough. Even if it wasn't for a strong enough golden core, a high enough level of cultivation, he has died. He is dead. He knows that. At least back where they are from. Back where things are real. Although the lines are blurring.]

I don't care what you think anyway.

[It is another childish remark, but this time with more self-awareness, knowingly ridiculous. Also a blatant lie, but in such an obvious way that Xue Yang hardly thinks of it as such.]

[binghua]

[It had just been an observation, one of the more neutral things he could have led off with considering their sordid history, but it's been taken badly. Xingchen could defend himself, but he saves his breath. It doesn't matter. If Xue Yang wants to be offended, then let him be offended. He's offended plenty of people before, so this is just a little bit of karma, right?

Xingchen gets his breathing back under control and stands up. There's a window here and he wants to see the outside world for the first time in far too long. Walking by sight, however, takes longer than he would have expected. Getting used to that process all over again. He still keeps his hands outstretched just in case he overcorrects or misjudges somehow, but eventually, he makes it to the window. A lot of it is encrusted in salt, but he can still make out the waves. Not the most colorful of scenes to welcome him, but it's alive and it's movement and it's not Xue Yang's face.

Xue Yang... Xingchen should be more careful, turning his back to such a man, but he knows Xue Yang won't hurt him. Or, perhaps, he wishes he would.]

If you don't care, then why do you cling to me?

[thesuspense]

[Watching Xingchen move, Xue Yang tenses. Not because he fears an attack, but in case he stumbles and needs help. In case he reaches out and needs a steady arm. But even though his stance has changed, he doesn't move closer. He knows Xingchen isn't beckoning him. Would not.

He knows.

Still, once Xingchen's back is turned, he does step closer, if not as close as he'd like to be.]

I'm not clinging.

[First of all. But, second of all.]

Only you matter.

[binghua]

[This talk again. Xingchen breathes out, his shoulders falling. He knows exactly what he feels like right now.]

I matter, except for when it comes to my opinion. I matter, except for everything of which I am made up, besides my looks.

[To be a hollowed-out shell. To be the once-revered Xiao Xingchen, but never see, never speak, never act out.]

You would cage me. I would be nothing but a pretty face to you. Is that what you want, Xue Yang?

[He turns away from the window, only to see that Xue Yang has moved a little closer to him. Of course. His words don't do the best to corroborate his actions.]

To make me a possession?

[thesuspense]

No.

[That's all a lot, so Xue Yang is quiet for a while, as he tries to determine how he feels. What to say. Not the kind of terrain he has much experience on, he might as well be the one to walk blindly.]

Your looks don't matter that much.

[Not that he has ever seen anyone as beautiful as Xiao Xingchen. But that's not really what he means to say. Blind and without guidance.]

You own me.

[binghua]

[At the denial, Xingchen expects this argument to keep going around in circles, or at least fizzle out confusedly with no real ending point. Sometimes two people just aren't compatible in any sense and he's sure he and Xue Yang are two such people. They shouldn't be compatible, anyway, no matter how much he wishes he could go back to what they might have had in Yi City. But wishing for a lie won't make anything better, either.

And yet, Xue Yang continues, a little unsure, as if trying to find footing on pure ice. That's strange enough to keep Xingchen paying attention, to manage to hang on to whatever words come next.

Those aren't the words he expects, but for some reason, they make something flutter in his gut. It can't be any sort of happiness, as if he's won in control over the other, but neither can it be a kind of thrill about it, either. Xingchen can't classify it, only recognize that something happened for a moment and he doesn't know what to do with that.

After a moment, he can only shake his head.]

I don't own anyone.

[thesuspense]

That you hate having me--

[He pauses for just a moment, because he doesn't like those words. He's never cared for bitterness.

Yet here he is.]

--does that make it not true?

[He shrugs and looks at Xingchen, with his strange eyes that aren't his. Weird, isn't it. Xingchen has never called him by his name any other way than with dislike. Has never looked at him with anything other than dislike either, except maybe when they first met. Before he knew.

And there is no way that Xingchen could have ever actually seen him and not hated him. He still likes every time Xingchen says his name. If he's hated, then he matters.]

[binghua]

I have no power over you. I'm powerless to stop you if you wish to do the things I hate. That has always been the case.

[That has been the case with anyone Xingchen has met. All he can hope is that whatever goodness he tries to emulate will spread to others so that there will be less pain in his wake. But he knows, he's learned that he cannot save everyone. And it's only realistic to understand that anyone he's met could easily turn around and undo whatever he's done. Anyone could be another Xue Yang.

He lowers his gaze back to his hands, where he starts to twist them in front of himself. He speaks again, this time with a quieter voice, a little more vulnerable.]

I hate what you've done to hurt other people. To hurt me.

[He swallows again.]

You've hurt me deeply. You know you have.

[Or else why would he have targeted Song Lan and Baixue Temple?]

I hate...I know I should hate you, but I remember when we...

[He's going too far, he's opening himself up too much. This is giving Xue Yang an opportunity to just hurt him all over again and Xingchen is doing so willingly, like the fool he is. But he can't seem to stop.]

We were friends, once.

[thesuspense]

[A lot of this is interesting enough that Xue Yang just listens. Interesting, isn't it, that Xingchen believes he has no power over him. That he maybe even feels settled in that role, in a strange way, where Xue Yang is so very different. When he feels weak and powerless, he does what it takes to end that feeling.

Even to his own detriment.

Even beyond what feels good for him.

Too far. Everything went as planned. And that means entirely too far. Too far to come back from.

Friends. Hearing it from Xingchen's lips again, in his voice, even with the wrong tense attached... Xue Yang breathed out slowly, leaning his head forward, hair falling before his face. Then he inhales, reaching up to push his hair back.

Xingchen can see him, can't he? For once. So he takes a step closer and then falls on his knees. Lifting his arms, he crosses them in front of himself, his eyes on Xingchen's face.]

If you want power over me, take it.

[There is no smile, not even a hint of humour to his voice. His gaze is steady and he does not know what emotions show on his face. How could he know? So many do and none he would understand. But his eyes are burning and he blinks.]

[binghua]

[Xue Yang falling silent for any amount of time should be worrisome. And it is, though Xingchen doesn't necessarily want to keep his eyes on him for too long. He should, to make sure he doesn't do anything horrible, but he...hurts.

He's been hurting for about two years now, but the wound in his heart festered even more the moment Xue Yang revealed himself in Taravast.

He doesn't get much of a reprieve when Xue Yang inserts himself into his gaze. Submits, really. Xingchen's hands freeze and he just looks down at the man offering himself up to him. What is he supposed to do with this? Should he arrest him all over again - albeit seemingly more easily this time around - only to be unable to bring him to justice properly in this world? Is Xue Yang even being sincere? He's a good actor; Xingchen believed his assumed role without a second thought.

And yet his eyes look...honest. As honest as he thinks he's ever seen Xue Yang, though that amount is admittedly slim.

He breathes in. He breathes out. He reaches out and covers one of Xue Yang's hands with one of his own. His voice is quiet, small, when he finally speaks.]

What I want is my life back.

[If only he could go back a few years, do all of this over again, better. But he can't. This is the life he has now.]

[thesuspense]

[His hand is trembling under Xingchgen's and it's not from the strain of holding his arms like that. He's in good shape, well-muscled, it'd be nothing to hold a position much more strenuous than this.

But.

Xingchen is touching him. Willingly. Knowingly. And not pulling away yet.

His life back? Any life back? For either of them. He's tried, in his way. He's wanted, in his way. Too little and too late. In his way, until his end.

So it's in his way that he continues.]

Ruin me.

cw: disciplinary violence??

[binghua]

[Of course the answer he receives is one wishing for violence. Is this truly all Xue Yang knows? Xingchen frowns at him, almost disappointed. He knows better by now. Words don't seem to resonate the way they're supposed to.

But ruining Xue Yang? Xingchen tried that already. He wrapped his hands around that man's neck and he couldn't go through with it. What does he want this time?

Maybe...

Maybe they can reach some sort of middle ground.

Slowly, Xingchen removes his hand to rest it against Xue Yang's cheek. Lightly. Almost tenderly. They were friends once. Whatever that means.

He breathes in again.

Without giving himself time to think this over too much, he pulls his hand back and slaps Xue Yang on that same cheek. The sharp sound of skin meeting skin fills the space for a moment, along with the harsh exhale of Xingchen's breath. Suddenly, he realizes his entire body is shaking and he clenches his hand into a fist, the palm already starting to sting.]

[thesuspense]

[It's far from the first time he's been slapped like that.

Is it truly all he knows?

For a while, for a long time, perhaps it has been. Growing up in a world of nobodies with a hierarchy determined by little more than who could beat who down further. Years before he could ever come out on top. Being made to kneel, endure, suffer, but instead of staying cowed, resentment bred defiance and defiance led to being so much more than he ever could have been otherwise. Than he ever should have been.

Worthless. Nothing. Dirt. Blood. Pain. Ground up bone and broken spirit and then there he was, twisted and destructive, against the world and himself, held together by resentful energy. Lashing out the only way he's ever known.

So, yes, it is familiar. Expected. That sting on his face, the taste of metal in his mouth.

And then there is his breath hitching the same moment as Xingchen's and his eyes are wide, they show need and want and the desperate clinging to someone caring about him, no, to Xingchen caring about him, and his lips stay parted as he stares up at him, holding his position.]

One.

[binghua]

[It's the first time Xingchen has slapped anyone like this.

Usually, when he had to deal with difficult people during cases he'd take with Song Lan or on his own, he managed to help the situation with words and not aggression. It was his goal to save people, after all, not hurt them. It helped his reputation, too, not that he cared too much about that. But it meant people respected him, trusted him. Those kinds of connections would be more helpful in the long run than trying to force himself to the top, than making people look up at him.

Like Xue Yang is doing now.

But he...feels something stir within him. Something a little satisfying. His hand tingles from the sting, and yet he finds himself raising his hand for another strike -

One.

His breathing hitches again and he frowns harder at Xue Yang. His mouth is so dry.]

...What?

[thesuspense]

Keeping count.

[Which, while it may sound like a poignant statement of sorts, was really just a straight-forward answer to the question, for one, without even a hint of mockery. For once.

As straight-forward as his posture, holding the punishment position he had taken unprompted, looking up at Xingchen with what he may think is a straight-forward look too, as he's not aware of the weight of the emotions behind his own gaze.]

[binghua]

[It's such an honest answer, so honest that it leaves no room for anything else to leak its way in. This is a punishment and Xue Yang is taking it willingly.

So why does it give Xingchen pause?

But it's still a punishment and Xingchen has more than earned the right to carry it out. He clenches his hand again, but brings it down on Xue Yang's cheek again. The skin is going to flush quickly, especially if he keeps at this.

He'll wait for the inevitable count of two, but as he brings his hand toward himself so he can rub at the growing sting, he isn't sure if he wants to hear more. Or inflict more.

This isn't him. But why did he enjoy it the first time? Why sis he such a contradiction and unable to figure things out?

He can't ruin anyone, not even Xue Yang. Maybe the real reason he left Xue Yang with the Jin Sect was because he really couldn't kill the boy himself, despite all his regrets not doing just that.

Still, as he looks down at this man, someone who is submitting to him willingly, he has to wonder why. So he kneels down, too, looking at Xue Yang on the same level.

He leans in a little, voice rough.]

Are you sorry?

[thesuspense]

[Perhaps there is a rawness to it all, that opens him up. Years of pain and hatred - so much against himself, so much he doesn't comprehend - and Xue Yang stares at Xingchen, his cheeks burning, wetness in his eyes that he is not aware of either.

He's not stupid, Xue Yang. He's learned to read well enough to decipher the Yiling laozu's secret scrolls. He's figured out new techniques after mastering what no one but the laozu himself could. He knows how to manipulate, how to twist words so they are sharper than any knife, how to win against superior cultivators through use of his wit and dirty tactics, all of which requires smarts. Quick thinking, street savvy, wicked mind.

But right now he looks lost, going beyond confusion into oblivion. Who has ever taught him how he feels?]

How do I tell, daozhang?

[binghua]

[Looking at Xue Yang's face isn't what Xingchen wants to do, but he has to in order to try and understand even a little bit of what goes through his mind. Emotions flit across one's expressions, often betraying what they truly feel.

And yet, even as he watches, even as he tries to make any sense of Xue Yang, he realizes he hasn't had to do this in so long. Yes, it's only been a few years, only a fraction of his entire life, but going without sight has kept him out of practice. Still, he can tell that Xue Yang isn't faking the way he looks unsure.

Something hurts in Xingchen's chest. He almost feels...pity.

But then he remembers the sight of the Baixue Temple after Xue Yang had killed everyone except Song Lan and he keeps himself in check.]

Do you feel regret? Do you wish you hadn't hurt those people connected to me?

[He doesn't refer to the Chang Clan because he's sure Xue Yang feels nothing for them. But for Song Lan's family, targeted as a means to hurt Xingchen, and then the innocent residents of Yi City, thrown away to ruin Xingchen further, those are the ones of which he thinks. He has to know if Xue Yang would budge even a little.]

When you see me and think of everything you've done to hurt me, do you ever wish you could take any of it back? Or will I never get through to you?

[thesuspense]

[His eyes are on Xingchen's throat, even though he doesn't mean for that.

Don't leave me.

What matters? What matters at all, what matter so him?

He remembers the day Song Lan came to Yi City, when he'd known, with certainty, that things would go exactly has planned. And he remembers wishing that he'd never have come. Take any of it back?]

I can't take it back.

[That's just a statement, it's stalling, because he's not sure how to word his thoughts, how to explain what he feels, he doesn't truly comprehend it.]

Anything. Everything. I'd take everything back, daozhang. For you.

[Does that matter at all? He doubts it. Even as he kneels in front of Xingchen, looking up at him with his arms raised, still in punishment position, he doubts it matters how he feels. Sorry. What is that?]

For daozhang, I want to not have been born.

[binghua]

[Xingchen asked the question and now he's received his answer, and yet he doesn't really know what it means. If Xue Yang had answered simply, "Yes," or "No," then there wouldn't be this deliberation. He would know without a doubt whether or not any of this time spent trying to understand the man who ruined him, who ruined his life, would have meant anything.

But nothing is ever black and white. How stupid of him to have expected this to have been easy.

He thinks Xue Yang has some capacity for regret. It's just not directed in the place Xingchen wishes it would be. Xingchen himself should not be any sort of anchor or deciding factor in what Xue Yang considers wrong and right. Xingchen shouldn't really be involved at all. Maybe he shouldn't have asked about himself, knowing that Xue Yang has such an awful attachment to him.

What's worse - better? - Xue Yang wishes he had never been born. And Xingchen agrees that the world would have been better off in that case. But Xue Yang doesn't care about the world.

Xingchen sighs, slouching further back on his knees as he looks at the floor between them. What is he to do with this? This has solved nothing. All he has to show for it is a red palm and pitiful expression. He shakes his head over nothing in particular.]

...I wish you hadn't been born.

[Harsh words, despite their honesty. But as he thinks a little more, tears start to sting at his eyes and he raises a hand to cover them.]

I wish neither of us had been born.

1

[scrapgege]

Daozhang, you hear them too?

[That's... good? Maybe? Xie Lian is used to having spirits or ghosts around that normal people cannot see, so hearing what amounts to voices is not that out of the ordinary for him, but if other people are hearing them too...]

We're not alone here... But I'm not sure what is there with us. I've never felt anything like it before.

[binghua]

[The new voice registers slowly and for a second Xingchen wonders if he's made contact with whatever inhabits the lighthouse, bit then he realizes he knows this voice.

Oh. Right. He's really not the only one here.]

I do.

[Then again, he finds it hard to believe no one else would hear all this racket.]

They don't act like ghosts or other spirits I've heard of, but they're definitely here.

[scrapgege]

They don't feel like ghosts or spirits either. I can't feel any qi. It's... very weird.

[That being said, they also don't feel like other things Xi Lian is familiar with.]

They're not demons or gods either. Or at least not ones I can recognize, if they are.

Did they answer you, just now? Maybe they can't hear us.

[binghua]

They didn't.

[He sits up a little straighter and raises his voice the next time he speaks, sounding a little more authoritative.]

Who resides here with us?

[But, again, nothing. Or at least nothing that counts as an answer, though the voices continue to angrily speak as if they aren't even there.]

They may not recognize me as having any sort of power, or maybe they are more nuisance than real problem. I don't dare to make that assumption, though.

[scrapgege]

I haven't actually seen anything either. Like the way ghosts might make themselves visible sometimes, more or less see through, more or less solid.

[He doesn't appear to be bothered to talk about visual cues with someone who is blind because, well, Xiao-daozhang hasn't always been blind so surely he must have seen ghosts before?]

... Should we try to go upstairs?

[binghua]

Just voices, then. So far.

[That makes this situation harder to diagnose if there is no physical manifestation, or as physical as a ghost may be. Moving upwards, however, may offer more promising results.]

"They come from above." What are the odds it would be so easy as to head up?

[Not that Xingchen expects that to actually solve their problems, but it can't hurt to try.]

[scrapgege]

It might not be, but it can't hurt to try and go see?

[Famous last words, of course, but Xie Lian is so used to having terrible luck, 'what else could possibly happen?' is a way of life by now.]

I haven't explored the whole building yet but...

Daozhang, do you feel like anyone is using magic here? Spells? Talismans? Even qi? I can't feel anything or the kind, and I don't feel ghosts of spirits either. It feels like... something else is perturbed here.

[binghua]

[Before they head up, Xingchen reaches out toward a wall, pressing his palm against it.]

No...nothing feels like anything I know, but there is definitely some force at play. I just can't put my finger on it.

[No qi, no spells, no specific presence he can point to and say, yes, this lighthouse is haunted by it in particular.]

This world does operate by its own rules, though. It is possible there are beings we don't recognize that are prevalent here.

[scrapgege]

Hm, that's possible. But I wonder...

Earlier, in the city, with those animals that kept dying and being reborn...

[It took him some thinking to get there. The energy of the place, the flow of qi felt wrong, but not in any way he was used to, so he sort of came to the logical conclusion...]

I feel like time is what is being messed with here. I don't know what is doing it, or how, but it's just not flowing the way it should. It's too fast, or too slow, or looping... But for some reason, we are not affected in the same way as the surroundings are. Or at least, not here, but in the city, just the suit was enough to alleviate the effects?

This is all very strange. If someone has the power to alter the passage of time, how could just a suit solve that?

[binghua]

[Time. Obviously it's being messed with, but that concept is so much more difficult to reconcile since they definitely can't grasp it. Same with the idea of how someone could affect time itself.

Xingchen shakes his head, completely at a loss.]

I don't know. That shouldn't even be possible.

[As he finishes speaking, a loud crash echoes in the room, like that of plateware being broken. It causes Xingchen to jump again with a little gasp.]

Ah. I would be angry, too, if I were stuck in a situation like this, seemingly for eternity.

[scrapgege]

Whatever is messing with the land here must be extremely powerful. I've never even known gods capable of altering time in this way. This is too much power for anyone, and it obviously backfired very, very badly.

[He holds out a steadying hand at Xiao-daozhang's elbow when he gives a start.]

But if I'm correct, it means... these voices we are hearing, they are indeed here. but they are not now, if that make sense.