A Thousand Years in the Blink of an Eye

Jiu Qing's eyes slowly fluttered opened, adjusting to the weird lighting in his surroundings. The young writer found it weird that something would be so unusually bright, with his laptop usually being the only source of illumination in his dim room.

Eh? This didn't seem to be his room.

What greeted him instead was a spacious hall. Jiu Qing slowly sat up in confusion, taking in everything in the large space that made him feel rather uncomfortable from how big it was.

He was sitting on a large throne made of pure marble. The floor was also composed of the same material, being so shiny and clean that he could see his own reflection. Looking down closely, Jiu Qing touched his face in shock.

"Is this... Me?" He turned his head back and forth to make sure that it was really him, rubbing his cheeks.

Jiu Qing's face was spotless and flawless like polished jade. The young writer could only gawk at his changed appearence, with skin more beautiful than most women. Even his originally dark hair had turned a pure snowy white.

Originally, he had been very plain looking. Now Jiu Qing felt he looked like one of those Korean pop models.

He resisted singing the accursed song that started with "Oppa" and ended with "Style."

"What the hell is going on?" He muttered in confusion. Was he stuck in some weird, lucid dream?

Glancing down, even his clothes had changed to Chinese hanfu robes. Jiu Qing sighed and slapped himself hard, the sound echoing through the empty hall.

"Your majesty! What are you doing?" A small voice shouted underneath him.

Looking down, Jiu Qing was startled to see a little white cat staring at him in worry. Their deep blue eyes were filled with concern before looking down fearfully.

"Did... Did you just talk?" Jiu Qing felt his eyes grow small from shock.

"Of course! Are you not feeling well after your rest, your majesty?" The cat nodded.

"A talking cat." Jiu Qing calmed down and tried thinking of everything with a rational mind.

He remembered that had been working on his new online novel in his room, trying to catch up on deadlines or he wouldn't get paid. Feeling sleepy after an all-nighter, Jiu Qing remembered dozing off in front of his laptop. He couldn't remember anything after he fell asleep.

"Where am I?" Jiu Qing asked the little cat, rubbing his eyes and signalling for them to rise. "How long have I been sleeping for?"

The little cat tilted their head in confusion cutely. "This is your highness's Heavenly Palace, and..."

Lifting their paws, the little cat tried to do some calculations, standing on hind legs. "It's been exactly 1069 years since you've awakened."

Jiu Qing sat back down with a gawk, wearing a deadpan look. Tian Gong, which translated to Sky or Heavenly Palace, was a setting he was writing in his newest novel.

It looked much nicer than when he first introduced it in his story though. The palace had been abandoned and neglected, eventually deteriorating into rubble and ruins.

He took a deep breath in through his nose and decided to play along with the cat. "Summon the others here."

Nodding, the little cat ran off with a sprint. They soon returned with 3 others in tow, although one of them lagged behind. Jiu Qing did his best to stare calmly at the weird-looking chicken, snake, and the turtle that appeared before him.

"We greet his majesty." The 3 animals bowed before him, not daring to meet his eyes.

Jiu Qing wore a thin smile as he waved them to rise. This whole situation was completely ridiculous.

The young writer had never taken drugs or performed any substance abuse, yet the situation he found himself in was too unreal. Waking up in the Heavenly Palace, with him cosplaying as an emperor of sorts, and his subjects were all apparently talking animals in various unusual colours.

If he was truly dreaming, this is certainly one hell of a dream.

Thinking of the content he wrote in his novel, Jiu Qing cleared his throat. "What continent are we currently on?"

The animals looked at each other in confusion. Finally, the snake spoke with a surprisingly dignified voice. "We are currently above the Tian Qi continent, your highness. You ordered us to keep the palace locked here."

Jiu Qing sank into deep thought. It looks like what he deduced was right. By some act of god, he was now currently in his novel!

However, Jiu Qing didn't believe he was the main character. Heavenly Palace did exist in his novel, but it was also a place that the protagonist would never have visited in his planned out story.

"What is my name?" Jiu Qing questioned further.

The animals now looked at one another again, seemingly more alarmed. They didn't dare to meet Jiu Qing's gaze as they began to fearfully shake.

"Your highness..." This time it was the chicken who spoke, albeit nervously. The voice was rather melodic opposed to their current tearful and pitiful appearance.

"That is taboo for us to know of, we can only refer to your highness as your highness. If we did know of it, we would be executed on the spot."

"I see." Seeing that the other animals were also extremely afraid, Jiu Qing decided to change to something else and not force this topic.

However, upon seeing his frown, all 4 animals fell to the ground and prostrated themselves before him. Jiu Qing became tongue-tied at how scared they were because of him.

"Please ease your wrath, your higness." They trembled violently.

Jiu Qing sighed, bending over with an outstretched hand. The animals trembled even more at his approach.

Seeing the hand land on top of the white cat, the other 3 were about to cry, thinking their emperor was about to start punishing them.

"Ah~ So fluffy." Jiu Qing felt spiritually fulfilled on the inside.

The white cat closed their eyes, accepting death once they felt the hand on top of their head. However, what only happened was repeated, soft strokes that made their body tingle with pleasure.

"Huh?" Opening their eyes, the cat was stunned to see Jiu Qing pet them with a soft smile.

"Please don't be so afraid of me, you guys." Jiu Qing chuckled. With both hands, he began patting the other animals as well.

In his heart, the Jiu Qing always had a soft spot for animals. Seeing the pitiful and small creatures so terrified before him, Jiu Qing couldn't help but feel bad, so he tried to comfort them.

"I'm not a bad guy who wants to hurt any of you." Jiu Qing promised.

The animals slowly opened their eyes and were stunned at their emperor's gentle treatment. When they came into the world, even his sleeping state had an absolute presence that ruled over them.

There was no emotion, only an endless abyss of strength that made these creatures worship and fear him. They would listen to his commands without fault, as he was both their creator and God.

Yet now, Jiu Qing's kindness and gentle treatment stunned the 4. With his bottomless strength, was this still their same god?

"Now, uh..."

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit Jiu Qing. He placed a hand on his face, feeling extremely exhausted again. "Shit."

The writer felt that he was about to fall asleep again. Looking at the 4 animals, Jiu Qing couldn't just fall asleep again and neglect them.

If any of them died due to his neglect, animal protection services would arrest him faster than a dirty uncle trying to lure kids with candy at the park.

"You guys... You guys should leave for the time being." Jiu Qing commanded, stepping back and sinking into the throne seat.

He yawned, unable to contain himself any longer as the darkness threatened to consume his consciousness. "Go and explore the world."

"No, your highness-" The animals decided to protest, but stopped when Jiu Qing gave them a stony glare and raised his hand.

"Just go! This is an order!" Jiu Qing commanded with his remaining strength before falling into another slumber. "Come back when I wake up..."

Looking at each other helplessly, and seeing how their emperor was no longer responsive. It was the black turtle that first spoke.

"I guess I'll head towards the North." The turtle shrugged, crawling out of the palace and disappearing.

"I'll go explore the East." The snake followed the turtle, also vanishing in a blue haze of light.

"South." The chicken took one last look at their ruler and flew off in a flurry of crimson ethereal feathers.

Finally, there was only the cat remaining. It stayed by his side by laying at his feet for another 1000 years, hoping he would wake up again.

Unfortunately, he did not.

Taking one last, lingering look at the God Emperor, the white cat slowly got up and also walked away. It promised itself to be back one day.

Disappearing in a white flicker, the cat travelled to the West and eventually set up its own territory.

An unknown period of time passed, and the once beautiful palace began to crumble. Soon, all that remained was dirty and collapsed marble and tile, which had browned over the long passage of time.

...

Finally, Jiu Qing felt like he slept for an eternity as he woke up.

Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself falling from the sky at a ridiculous speed, plummeting towards the ground. The writer thought he was dreaming again, but this dream didn't end as he continued to fall like a certain God of War from a video game.

"Eh?"