6:
Red, pure red blossomed across the newly built mannor as a girl in a traditional wedding gown held the bleeding corpse of an older looking man. The corpse of her grandfather. The corpse of the man who had raised her up until this point, the corpse that had long turned cold.
Yu Rui regretted it. She regretted being willful, she regretted being so stubborn and insisting on marrying a man who didn't even care for her. Yu Rui regretted everything.
Yet, Yu Rui doubted those two regretted anything. If they wanted act out a drama they could, if they wanted to fall in love they could, if they wanted to torture eachother then they also could. Yet why did they have to drag outsiders into their scandal? Or maybe she was the naive one.
It wasn't like the man that had shown up dressed as the night started a massacre. He hadn't been the reason for Yu Rui's grandfather's death either, the girl wanted to blame someone, anyone. Yet the only person she could think of to blame was herself.
Yu Rui regretted it.
Yet those two didn't.
Both Hei Kong and Yuan Ming had not regretted their choices from three hundred years ago. Was it a curse or blessing? Only the two could decide for themselves.
Though, if you asked Hei Kong, he would call it a curse. A curse that bound him eternally to someone who didn't even seem to care for him. A curse that condemned him for suffering for as long as he couldn't let go.
While Yuan Ming? He would call it a blessing. A blessing that he didn't have to regret something that he believed to be right. A blessing that saved him from guilt that would eat away at him until nothing but a hollow shell is left.
The Venerables on opposing ends both had no regrets. Yet Yu Rui had so many.
"Yuan Ming," Hei Kong started to speak, his voice hoarse, full of heartache, and hesitation. "Leave with me. I'll treat you well. We don't have to listen to what everyone says, I don't care what everyone will say, I just..." want you to be with me.
Yuan Ming stayed silent, allowing Hei Kong's hesitant eyes the time to light up with hope. Full of hope just like before everything had happened. Hope from a more naive time in Hei Kong's life, and just like those naive times, the hope was shattered and left to rot with the fleeting youth from those days.
"No." Yuan Ming's eyes were full of ridicule. Those bright shades of blue his the underlying, darker shades of red that held coldness and indifference for everything. "You may be a barbarian, but I am not. I have a duty to uphold."
A sword was drawn. The same sword Hei had forged for Yuan personally all those years ago. A sword that held Hei Kong's affections that were still hidden at the time. A sword Hei Kong had secretly engraved with both their names. Funny how nostalgic it was to Hei Kong dispite the deadly weapong pointing straight at his face.
It was all so similar to back then. Similar to when it was all simple and yet similar to the chanced encounter that changed both their fates.
Yuan Ming glared at Hei Kong with empty eyes. "Let's end everything here."
The same words that were said then. How funny, even after so many years nothung changed. Both of them were still stuck in their ways, Hei Kong laughed. He laughed like he had lost his sanity.
Hei Kong felt the tears coming, but refused to let them fall. He sneered, "Sure, but this time... I refuse to let you go."
Yuan Ming smiled bitterly at those words. He knew what Hei Kong meant, the first time Yuan Ming had said those words to Hei Kong, they had made a bet, as bet that he lost. "Hei... stop this insanity. Don't force my hand."
Another bitter smile from Hei Kong. "To think that the first time I hear you call me so intimately after all this time would even be the same... Fine, let's repeat history."
Yuan Ming pasted that indifferent expression onto his face again, but this time, it might be permanent. He wielded the sword in his hand with grace and stabbed at Hei Kong. To Yuan Ming's shock, Hei Kong easily grabbed the weapon with his hand and scoffed before crushing it.
Hei Kong gave a chilling smile. He didn't care whether or not Yuan Ming saw his worst anymore. The man clad in black pulled the man in festive wedding robe into his arms, the man in red's hair fading to a pure white as Hei Kong did so.
Yuan Ming widened his now ruby colored orbs appalled. He was aghast with dismay as he felt Hei Kong's hot breath by his ear. "Like I said, this time I won't let you go. This time you can't leave. I have the power to keep you bound by my side."
As his blood ran cold, Yuan Ming strugged to escape from Hei Kong's grasp. When did Hei get so strong? Was history really going to repeat itself? Will it have a different ending this time?
Yuan scowled. "You're insane."
All of a sudden, a broken laugh echoed out. Yu Rui's stunnibg features distorted as mocking words came out of her mouth. "HAHA, THIS IS JUST SAD! You, Yuan Ming, can't put down your pride while you-" Yu Rui's pale hands trembled as they pointed to indicate the personnel Yu Rui was adressing. "Pathetic sir, you have no pride left."
What was she doing provoking these two? Either one could kill her with a flicker of a finger. Perhaps Yu Rui had truly given up and wished for death. Yet once again, she was left astounded as the man in black simply smiled bitterly.
"I have long acknowledged that fact, I don't need your reminder." Yeah, Hei Kong had long thrown away his pride. He realky wished that he had never spiraled down the rabbit hole known as love. All it was was a endless amount of water, drowning and suffocating you as you desperately grasped for air and the slightest chance of survival. "I trapped myself in a cage."
And with that, Human Venerable Yuan Ming and the mysterious man in black who would soon be found to be the assumed to be dead Devil Venerable Hei Kong dissapeared, only leaving behind a grieving Yu Rui and a long fled crowd of audience members.