𝐒𝐓𝐔𝐃𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 !!

❤︎

y/n - your name
l/n - last name
w/n - weapon's name
t/n - title name

❤︎

A YOUNG MAN STOOD AT THE CENTER OF A BLOODY BATTLEFIELD, PANTING HEAVILY AS HE LOOKED ALL AROUND HIM.

his emerald green eyes, which used to twinkle brightly as if they smiled in place of his frowning lips, had gone dull. his soft and delicate features had become rough as a result of the frequent battles he fought in. his body was littered with tattoos and scars, as evidence of his success and triumphs. it mixed perfectly well with the ugly burn mark that wrapped around his neck, but even that was covered by the purple scales of the scorpion-tailed snake that was looped around his neck.

he raised his spear above his head and released a powerful battle cry as he charged forward, slicing enemy after enemy. he swung his spear to the side, stabbing a soldier in the chest. y/n didn't know how long it's been since he became a member of the banyue tribe. his numerous tattoos should be an indicator as to how long he's been a member, but he never really bothered to count.

"shūshu! behind you!" y/n's eyes narrowed as he swung his spear to the side, hitting a yong'an soldier with his blade. he pulled his spear away when he heard the satisfying sound of the yong'an soldier's scream. "lai!" y/n looked over and saw his nephew looking at him, panting heavily, sword in hand. y/n noticed a soldier sneaking up behind him. he reacted in a heartbeat by throwing a dead yong'an soldier's abandoned sword in his direction. the boy immediately ducked his head and the sword hit the sneaking soldier straight down the middle of his throat.

"don't get distracted!" y/n exclaimed. he didn't even give the boy any time at all to respond, as he had taken off to help some of his injured banyue brothers. then, he came face-to-face with a yong'an general. he noticed he was wearing multiple layers of armor, with a couple of badges pinned to his chest, which made y/n automatically assume who he was.

raising his spear, y/n glared at the general. there were only a few banyue soldiers left, and if nothing was done soon, the yong'an kingdom would wipe them all out.

y/n exhaled sharply.

"lai!" he called, his voice echoing all over the raging battlefield. "take the wounded and retreat to the palace." he commanded. "but shūshu-!" y/n gave the boy a sharp glare, immediately shutting him up. "take them and go!" fearing his uncle's wrath, the boy quickly grabbed as many of the injured soldiers as he could. "don't get in my way." was what his uncle told him.

he managed to drag them all the way to the gates, where the soldiers left inside the kingdom waited for him. "your highness!" they called, but the boy paid them no attention. "shūshu!" lai quickly turned his attention towards his uncle.

l/n y/n stood there, all by himself as he bravely stood up against the army of yong'an soldiers. "shūshu!!" lai's voice rang throughout the battlefield. as if it was some sort of signal, both the army and his uncle rushed towards each other.

"lai!" the boy turned around and saw his mother and father approaching him. he threw himself into his mother's arms and cried, "mom! dad! shūshu is out there! i think... i think he intends to fight them all by himself."

the mother shook her head as she hugged her son tighter. "oh, don't you worry my child." the woman shushed him. "there is no one in this entire world who can defeat your shūshu."

and it was just as the woman said. y/n faced the army of yong'an soldiers all by himself. he intended on defending his kingdom, his sworn brother, and his family, even if it meant facing the wrath of ten thousand angry yong'an soldiers.

"your shūshu is the strongest." the woman sadly says as she watches the raging battlefield.

hours after the battle ended, there, standing atop the corpses of the fallen soldiers, was l/n y/n. if it was still even him.

his face was painted with the blood of his enemies, and underneath all that red, he wore an exhausted expression, as if he no longer wished to be there. dark bags were seen underneath his now, lifeless green eyes, his once bright and fair complexion had gone dull, and his hair, which, at one point, reached his waist, had now been chopped off to shoulder's length and tied back into multiple braids.

he sighed, "where's the wine when you need it?" living with the banyue tribesmen, and being at constant war with the yong'an soldiers had worn him down over the years. yet he continued to fight. he was hailed as the most powerful, the strongest, undefeated warrior of the banyue tribe. and at first, he was very proud of himself. he loved the banyue people, he loved the kingdom he built, and he would do anything to ensure that both remained safe.

but... thinking back to the first time he opened his eyes in the hot desert, the first time he met shanyue and the chief, who was now his sworn brother... y/n realized how long it's been. hell, it's been so long, his nephew, lai, was already celebrating his tirteenth birthday and the success of his maiden battle.

in four years' time, that little boy would ascend to the throne, and y/n would have someone new to serve.

l/n y/n was so exhausted. he didn't even know if he still carried the will to continue fighting. the only reason he continued to do so, was because he was ordered to and because countless people relied on him.

his brothers and sisters of the banyue tribe, the chief, and his family... they were all counting on him.

he looked down, watching as the blood on his hands trickled down onto the fallen bodies of the deceased soldiers. the ongoing war between the banyue kingdom and the yong'an kingdom was endless. no matter how many soldiers y/n killed, more and more just kept coming. thousands of men would be sent to their deaths, just to get a chance at trying to kill the most powerful soldier to ever walk the gobi desert.

"when will this war ever end?" y/n ran his bloody hands through his hair and closed his eyes, inhaling the horrible stench of death that surrounded him. the snake that was wrapped around his neck hissed before rubbing its scaly head against y/n's cheek, as if it was trying to comfort him. "thanks, ren." he muttered.

he opened his eyes and breathed deeply. "i should probably head back." he said as he stood up. he slipped a little because of the blood, but he managed to maintain footing. he turned around and began making his way back to the kingdom.

but to his surprise, a man stood behind him. he wore white armor that shined so brightly, y/n felt like he was gonna go blind, and he almost looked like he was floating on air. his long hair flowed like water on a stream, and he held a clear and calm expression on his face. he reached a hand out and grazed y/n's cheek with one slender finger. "what happened to you, my son?" y/n blinked a couple of times before he widened his eyes as if he felt a spark run through his skin from the man's touch.

he hurriedly blinked and rubbed his eyes, thinking that he was just hallucinating. he pinched his cheeks and grunted in pain. but no matter what he did, he wouldn't wake up from his hallucination. "i'm going crazy... i'm going crazy..." y/n mumbled under his breath. the man in white chuckled softly.

"you're not going crazy. i'm here. i'm truly here." the man said. "y-you called me your son?" y/n whispered in disbelief as he stared into the man's kind eyes. "yes. come, my beautiful emerald, you must be exhausted." the man's voice was so relaxing to y/n's ears. he instantly felt safe and comfortable just hearing his voice.

the man gently grabbed ahold of y/n's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. slowly, they began to float in the air. "where are you taking me?" y/n asked. "home." the man answered.

the people of the banyue kingdom watched in awe as they saw a blinding light envelop the bloody battlefield. their strongest warrior was holding onto the hands of a man wearing white as they were floating up to the gray skies. a pillar of light was shining down on them as if they were recalling the two back to the heavens.

"is that..." the banyue people bowed their heads to the light as y/n floated away in the arms of the man in white.

"our strongest warrior is ascending to the heavens!" one man called out.

"i knew it! it was only a matter of time!" a woman exclaimed.

the king and queen shared a sweet smile as they watched the light. their son leaned on the marble railings of the palace balcony. "shūshu! that man is taking away my shūshu!" the boy exclaimed. "no son, he is ascending to heaven. just like what the stories foretold, one can ascend to heaven by gaining merit from the battlefield."

the woman smiled at her son. "as for your shūshu, it was only a matter of time before he ascended. he is the strongest man after all."

the heavens shook violently as a golden pillar of light rose from one singular location. the people near the area panicked as they were easily toppled over by the sudden quakes. a youngster clad in green clothing stumbled in his steps before falling into the ground, face-first. he then looked up and watched in awe as the pillar of light spiraled higher and higher into the endless sky, draping the glamorous heaven's realm in a beautiful golden glow.

the powerful quakes were enough to gain the attention of many notable deities as they gazed out of their windows to cast their gazes onto the light. at that moment, everyone had one thought in their minds;

"the prince has returned!"

the light disappeared almost as soon as it was there, and everything was calm and silent.

a second later, the distant sounds of entire buildings collapsing had echoed throughout the quiet land. the man clad in white armor chuckled. "my, we've caused quite the commotion." the man smiled as he turned towards his son.

"deputy gener-"

"welcome back, my prince!" y/n was immediately enveloped in a big hug by a young man with dark hair. he desperately clung to y/n's robes as he began sobbing uncontrollably. "o-oh..." y/n felt awkward, he didn't know how to react. the man who called him son, only smiled as he stood behind y/n. "deputy, can i entrust the rest to you?" he asked. the dark-haired youngster pulled away from y/n's dirty, and blood-stained robes as snot ran down his nose.

he sniffled, "of course, your majesty!" the man in white smiled. he turned towards y/n. "come to my palace once you've been scrubbed clean, all right?" y/n slowly nods. he didn't know where he was. he was just thrown into a completely different world, and everyone looked at him like they were expecting something of him. as if, they already knew who he was.

"come, my prince. we have to get you cleaned up for his majesty!" the youngster exclaimed, tugging on y/n's sleeve. y/n looked back to the man who brought him to this new world. "i will see you soon, my beautiful emerald." and with that, the man walked away, but not before giving y/n a wave with his hand.

now that the man was gone, y/n took the chance to begin asking the youngster, "who was that? who are you? where am i? why are you calling me prince?" the youngster paused in his steps as he whipped his head around to give y/n a shocked expression. "you mean..." the youngster nears his face to y/n. y/n leans back, getting a little uncomfortable.

"you really don't remember anything?" he asks, a suspicious look on his face. y/n presses his lips together as he quickly shakes his head. the deputy sighs. he pulls away and scratches his head. "well, i think it's better if you didn't remember. before your banishment, you had a pretty brutal battle with a fellow martial god." the youngster chuckles, shaking his head. "it was a bloody battle."

l/n y/n shared a look with the snake wrapped around his neck. "can you tell me more?" y/n asks, now getting interested in hearing about his past. "uh, i'm not allowed to say much. only your father can tell you about that, although, i suggest letting him tell you on his own. don't ask him too many questions." y/n frowned upon hearing this. "you seem to know a lot about me," y/n observed. he followed after the youngster, who walked down gigantic, well-polished halls of marble.

l/n y/n noticed how the floor he was walking on, was made out of glass. underneath, there was a clear, blue lake, where the occasional koi fish would appear. the youngster walking in front of him chuckled sheepishly. "well, i was your personal attendant. it's my job to know everything about you."

l/n y/n raised a brow. "and yet i don't even know your name." he said. the youngster laughed nervously. "well, since you did lose your memories, i suppose it's a given." y/n furrowed his brows. it frustrated him to no end knowing that someone who could tell him all about his past was standing right in front of him, yet at the same time, wasn't allowed to speak about it, as if it was some sort of curse. "all right then," y/n grumbled. "but can you at least tell me your name?" he asked.

the youngster smiled brightly, "liang mao." he said. "you were the one that gave me that name!" he adds as he grabs y/n's hands. y/n raised his brows in surprise. "i did?" liang mao nodded enthusiastically. "yes! now come on, general! i believe the heaven's realm will be throwing a feast to celebrate your return. we must get you cleaned up before then!"

the heaven's realm was bright and full of energy, well, more than usual at least, as everyone who was anyone attended the great welcoming feast for the young prince of the heaven's realm. petals of narcissus flowers were scattered all throughout the heavens, as they were the symbol of the prince. they rained down on the heads of the crowd as if it was signifying a bountiful blessing brought upon by the prince's return. both major and minor deities were mingling in the crowds, just smiling as they were having the time of their lives.

they were all excited to see their prince again.

l/n y/n gazed out at all of them from the window. he was no longer covered in blood, and filth from the bloody battlefield. and, as much as he didn't want to, y/n was forced to wear hair extensions. his beautiful face could now be seen holding a neutral look, while his eyebrows were knitted together as if he were deep in thought.

the strongest warrior of the gobi desert had been pulled away from his natural environment and was placed in a world of luxury and splendor. yet, as he watched his reflection moving along with his every movement in the window, he felt... right at home.

wearing grand clothing, and constantly praised and revered by the masses... he inhaled deeply and pulled a smile onto his lips. the snake, ren, hissed happily, for he too, had been scrubbed clean.

knock, knock

l/n y/n looked towards the door and his smile faded away. he answered, "come in." with a soft voice. the large door creaked open, revealing a young man in his mid-twenties with quite an eye-catching face. his lips held a welcoming smile to y/n, who raised a brow at him. his smile looked almost worried, but y/n ignored that. when he entered the palace of the heavenly emperor to meet him, he honestly thought that he would be meeting the emperor, as he had a lot of questions for him, but instead, he was met with this young man he was sure he's never seen before.

the young man chuckled weakly upon seeing y/n's confused expression. he lightly dipped his head into a bow before he raised his head. "welcome back, my prince." he spoke politely. y/n's brows creased. "my prince?" he asked. the unnamed visitor sighed as he entered the room, closing the door behind him. "yes. my prince." he repeated, emphasizing his words this time. "why are you calling me that? and who are you anyway?" y/n asked, gripping the cloth of his golden robe.

the visitor seemed surprised. "so you really don't remember anything?" y/n took a step back and immediately put his guard up. he wasn't sure whether this man was dangerous or not, but with the way he worded it, y/n's first instinct was to defend himself.

years of fighting can do that to you.

the man turned his gaze elsewhere, muttering something to himself. y/n's other hand went behind him as he subconsciously gripped the hidden dagger that was tucked inside of his sash. he glared at the man.

a deep and troubled sigh escaped the man's lips. "well, i'm general pei. we were sort of neighbors up here in the heaven's realm, and we shared the northern territory, so we often crossed paths." y/n still wasn't sure if he should trust him. "who were you to me then? a friend? or..." y/n pulled out the dagger from his sash, pointing it at the surprised general pei. "an enemy?" he finished, his eyes narrowed with a dangerous glow to them.

general pei sighed again. "i can understand why you would react this way but..." the general slowly approached the prince, so he wouldn't agitate him any further. y/n had the dagger raised the whole time, but he wasn't doing anything with it. he was just watching, observing, for any suspicious movements coming from the other general.

when general pei was now standing just a few feet away from him, y/n slowly lowered the dagger. ren hissed softly, glaring up at general pei with its beady eyes. the general slowly grabbed ahold of y/n's hands, and he waited for a couple of minutes for y/n to pull away, but he didn't. pei frowned deeply as he noticed the state y/n's hands were in. they had gone rough over the countless battles and wars he's fought in, and he couldn't help but blame himself for it.

"i'm truly sorry." he said, his voice barely over a whisper. y/n barely caught his words, but when he registered those words, he widened his eyes, as if they'd struck a chord within him. he winced in pain as his head began to throb in pain, a ringing noise in his ears. he squeezed his eyes shut.

pei yelled, "my prince!" which only seemed to make things worse. y/n screamed and fell to his knees, grabbing locks of his hair in an attempt to ease the pain, but nothing worked. "my prince!" y/n's eyes snapped open, and red flashed before his eyes. he saw the image of a man's fierce gaze piercing through his eyes. the man looked just like general pei.

he quickly pushed pei away and grunted in pain as more and more memories flashed through him.

the image of the general raising his sword, preparing to swing it down on y/n appeared, followed by his thundering roar. y/n would raise a spear, and prepared to meet his strike.

"my prince!" pei was beginning to get worried as y/n squirmed around in pain. "my prince, please!" pei immediately pulled the prince into his chest, seeing as calling out to him had no effect. he thought that holding onto him, as tight as possible, was the only way to calm him down. "my prince!"

"how dare you?!"

"you're blaming me?! it's all your fault! you and your meaningless promises, and your insufferable personality!"

"that doesn't give you any reason to massacre them all!"

"my patience has run thin, general... i've suffered alongside them for so long just... waiting for you."

"general, enough with this madness!!"

"their deaths are your fault! you are the reason why i became like this... this is all your fault! your fault!"

y/n's eyes snapped open. he was breathing heavily, cold sweat dripping down the sides of his face as if he had just wakened up from a nightmare. his entire body was trembling, especially his hands. he could hear nothing but his short breaths and loud heartbeat.

then, the doors slammed open. "general pei!" the said general stood up and bowed respectfully. "your majesty-" a loud slap echoed throughout the room.

general pei's eyes were wide with shock. the heavenly emperor, jun wu, had just slapped him across the face. he didn't dare look at the emperor's face, but when he did manage to catch a brief glimpse of his face, he thought that his heart would stop beating for good with at just that one look.

the emperor's eyes were blazing with such immense hatred, he didn't even look human anymore, but as soon as he heard y/n's soft whimpers, his fury literally dissolved into thin air as he began fussing over his precious son. "oh, my beautiful emerald, it's all right, i'm here." the emperor hushed gently, gathering the prince into his arms and wrapping him in a tight hug.

l/n y/n trembled in his arms, gripping his sleeves as he sweated profusely. he wasn't gonna calm down anytime soon. the new rush of memories made his head feel like it was being stabbed all over by a thousand needles. y/n squeezed his eyes shut and gripped the sleeves of the emperor. "father..." he whimpered.

jun wu smiled softly while brushing his fingers through his son's hair. "hush now, my emerald, i'm here." he whispered. looking at general pei, he gave him a look that was silently telling him to get out of the room.

reluctantly, he obeyed.

despite ascending to heaven, the war on the desert still hasn't died down. the banyue people fully expected their strongest warrior, now god, to assist them in battle, but y/n wasn't helping them at all. he never used his godly powers to pick a side and help one overwhelm the other, no, y/n used his powers to help both sides.

he was a martial god of great power, but he only ever used his powers to heal injured soldiers who would pray to him, whether they were banyue or yong'an. he treated both sides fairly and never chose a side.

every time the yong'an people attacked the banyue people, he sent poisonous snakes and powerful sandstorms to hinder them. and when it was the banyue people attacking, he would do the same. but, more often than not, it was the banyue people who attacked, which prompted y/n to send more snakes to stop them. if the snakes and sandstorms weren't enough, he'd send deadly plagues and terrible calamities.

but their thirst for blood and foolish determination kept them going.

of course, general t/n wasn't always cruel, no. he would always show mercy to his beloved worshippers, whether they were of yong'an or banyue, every time he sees them suffering. he cures them of their illnesses, helps their livestock grow healthy, protects them from the dangers of the desert...

as such, he was hailed as a fair and just deity. thousands of temples were erected in just a few years of his godhood. he was a war deity, but he was also renowned as the god of architecture, fertility, and of course the desert, with his primary symbols being the narcissus flower and the scorpion-tailed snake.

his followers were fiercely loyal to him, and they often decorated his temples with narcissus flowers, while taking good care of the scorpion-tailed snakes that came to visit the temple.

but there were some in the desert, specifically, those who were in power, who would oftentimes disobey him, such as rulers who would refuse to end the war peacefully, state councilors who would steal from the people, royal advisors who supported the aggressive nature of their king and so on and so forth. y/n's nephew, lai, was not a stranger to these people. as soon as his mother's regency ended and she passed away, he ascended to the throne and became a tyrannical dictator.

on the day of her death, y/n heard the call of a familiar voice, beckoning him back down to the mortal realm. it was the voice of his queen, shanyue. he wasted no time in going down to the mortal realm to pay her his respects.

he wore simple, commoners clothing, and a large bamboo hat that had a veil to cover his face. as he was a god, he was able to change his appearance to that of a frail, banyue citizen, who only wished to pay their respects to their queen.

but as fate would have it, y/n just had to get a closer look at his dear queen's grave. she was buried beside her husband, y/n's sworn brother, who had foolishly encouraged his son's war-freak behavior. y/n exhaled deeply. shanyue's grave was facing the crescent moon, and y/n smiled, sitting down beside her grave.

"goodness, my queen, why did you let your son turn out this way?" he said, referring to the still ongoing war in the desert. he rested his hand on the soil where she was buried and felt her essence remaining on the place where she was buried. he gathered up her remaining essence into his fingers, smiling softly when they formed into tiny little orbs, dancing in between his delicate fingers.

he subconsciously began to hum, "when the sun..." he presses his fingers on the soil. "loves the moon, even the ocean, feels her pull..." the soil began to glow, and slowly, it grew into a mound, as if something was rising from beneath it. "oh, and the stars align every might, to spell out their love, in tiny bright lights.." slowly, a green stalk began rising from the soil. "oh, when the sun, loves the moon, never touching, but never far.."

y/n smiled softly as the stalk grew taller and taller until it was at least at knee's length. y/n smiled. "may the spirits of the fallen warriors welcome you, my queen, and lead you through the nightless realm, where you will know no more pain and sadness. may they sing your name with love and reverence, so that we may hear it rise from the depths of the heaven's realm, and know, that you've taken your rightful place at the court of heaven, for a great woman has fallen..."

y/n continued to smile despite the tears that were running down his cheeks like a waterfall. shanyue was the person who welcomed him into the banyue tribe despite being an outsider. if it weren't for her, y/n would be dead. but saving his life wasn't the main reason why y/n respected her so much.

he loved and respected her, as his queen, as his friend, as his sister... he promised her that he would always stay by her side, that he would serve her for as long as he could. he was also, fiercely loyal and devoted to her and her husband. he would've served them for as long as he could,

but as time grew, they as well, grew apart. from the birth of lai to the terrible war, and to his ascension. y/n became nothing more than a soldier to the eyes of his sworn brother. the banyue chief became the banyue king, who fiercely believed that all the power in the desert belonged to him and him alone.

the worse thing? his son inherited his messed-up ideology and his tyrannical behavior.

despite all that, shanyue remained true and good-natured. she continued to love her husband and child, and she loyally supported y/n as soon as he ascended into the heaven's, and she tried everything to stop the war going on between both the banyue and the yong'an, but stopping the war was a very unpopular opinion, which ultimately, caused shanyue's death.

"hear me, father! hear me, heaven's realm! send this woman to the place where she belongs! bring her up to the heaven's!" y/n cried, facing the moon, his tears falling onto the soil of the woman's grave. his heart ached, for the soul of his beloved sister has already left the mortal realm. there was no way he could guide her soul to the heaven's himself.

"hey! who's there?!" y/n snapped his head around. at the entrance of the garden, where the king and queen lay buried, a young man dressed in expensive silks stood there, an angered look on his face. another man ran beside him, and y/n's eyes met his. "lai?" y/n whispered. "shushu?"

"there's an intruder!" y/n's eyes were glaring through the boy he once called nephew before he summoned a dust cloud inside the wide-open area. as soon as the dust cloud dispersed, y/n was gone, and everything was still in its place, except for one tiny little thing.

lai walked to the grave of his mother and kneeled on the floor. rising up from the soil, he saw a plant that looked similar to a fern. "a fern?" he wondered. "your highness, please! there was an intruder!" the other person exclaimed. "shut your mouth, head eunuch! how dare you call that person an intruder?!"

the other man lowered his head in shame. "that person... was my uncle who ascended to godhood, l/n y/n. and... he came to pay his respects to that woman."

( 𝖾𝖽𝗂𝗍𝖾𝖽 | ✓ )
( words: 5000+ )

ummmm, lai isnt that significant but i gave him a name cuz why not