♡ (DUDE)
wOW would you look at that date. i am definitely not late :) JFDKLGJFD
Send me a symbol! [Angst] // closed!♡: your muse fatally injures mineremember our hard angst phase rin?? bc this was definitely from the hard angst phase (did we ever leave it tho lbr)
Like many times in this broken world, Wang Yuanji wondered if she was in a vivid dream. It was both hell and paradise, former enemies able to work together in peace, but only due to an end that would claim them all if they did not unite as one. Yet there were times when their own allies turned against them, and most of the time it was not of their own volition; rather, another anomaly of this realm, a power fortunately impossible for mere humans to harness. An individual able to cloud one’s mind and dangle them by strings to do his bidding.
Of all people to be trapped in that state, who worse to pit against her than Jia Chong? It was an unfortunate coincidence, and a deadly one. Though she avoided his projectiles, they always landed a mark on someone’s life. On the other hand, Yuanji could not wield her weapon against him, knowing what he was trapped in. Instead, she did what she could against the opposing soldiers whenever they drew near to her allies, her knives landing with devastating accuracy.
While it looked even at first glance, she knew it was far from the truth. It was those who feared death fighting against those who had nothing to lose. Yuanji had yet to encounter this power that claimed Jia Chong, and the only method she knew of to break that trance was to defeat them, that they did not respond as well to compassion or reason. Perhaps had it not been her, defeating him could be more plausible; but her fingers trembled at each thought of striking him down. She could not get a precise shot at him, and any chance she had from through the fighting crowds could risk a fatal hit. She was no powerhouse able to storm through and destroy the enemy, she was decisive and tactful. There was no outwitting this. Not only was interference on this route unprecedented, reinforcements were already spread so thin that they had no choice but to hold their ground.
Dammit. Why now of all times did she have to hesitate? Why did it stop her in her tracks when she knew that she had to take that risk to stop him? She knew better than to put personal feelings above duty, and yet when it mattered most, she did just that.
“Jia Chong, stop this madness!” But he would not – no, could not – listen to her plea, if her words could reach him at all. She already knew that. Impossible to safely get close, but unable to run, she felt helplessness as she saw others die around her. Soldiers she had encouraged prior to the battle, who she had sat with, ate with, laughed with. Learned of their hardships and the homes waiting for them. All because she faltered.
She evaded another of his projectiles, once again hearing the gurgling of another taken out behind her. A realization set in: unless through sheer luck, he was never hitting her on purpose. If she had not moved it would still have barely gone by her. It was as though he intended to, but could not follow through at the last moment. Was it her only other option?
Yuanji had to take it. She did not think it through yet, nor plan ahead beyond it, but she could not let anyone else die.
In full sprint she ran straight for him, ducking and evading oncoming attacks from his allies, but not completely clear of wounds as an arrow, much faster and harder to see, struck her in her back. Briefly her face contorted in pain, but she pressed forward, as her way back closed around her.
The moment that she reached Jia Chong, she threw out her knives behind her and charged at him. With a fierce yell, she tackled him with every ounce of strength in her body, landing with him on his back against the dirt and her atop him.
Her arms remained gripped tightly around him, her heart pounding from the remaining adrenaline coursing through her veins. For that moment, she had not felt the searing pain of his weapon piercing through her small frame. She could feel her abdomen grow warm. He must have done it as she tackled him, she thought. He was always so quick to react.
A shaky breath left her as she loosened her hold on him and rose up, amber eyes gazing into steel blue. He had to be in there. Everyone else had been. She wondered, if he could be freed of his spell, what he would feel. Would he feel remorse, knowing his allies and her blood was on his unwilling hands? What a terrible thing it was.
“I’m so sorry. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault,” she spoke to him gently, pleadingly, a hand cupping his cheek. “I couldn’t take the chance when I needed to most and made this choice. But you need to wake up. Wake up, and feel no regret for what they did to all of us… but the strength to continue on and bring us home.”














