Chapter Text
"too bad for your partner there," his target smirks, dusting his hands off like he didn't just throw fan wujiu -- fan wujiu , the man bi'an had never considered could die before him -- off the steepest cliff known to their existence. "shouldn't have been so impulsive. you could've convinced him not to take the bait. but even if you did i doubt he would have even--"
bi'an's grip tightens on the plank of bloody wood he's holding, heedless of his broken glasses and the crimson liquid seeping into his left eye. the anguish twisting his heart turns hard and sharp, like spikes of iron driven into his lungs. "don't."
"what?" the target turns and smirks. "there was one of me and two of you, but obviously your guy there was just dead weight--"
"shut. up." the wood cracks in his hands, and the target smirks.
"aw, you're getting upset? what, were you close or someth--"
bi'an sees red.
he's moving before he can even process he is. one hand snaps out on instinct, squeezing the wood so hard it splinters into two, one half falling to the ground, the other aimed directly for his target's chest. they catch his wrist instantly and twist so hard bi'an hears something crack, but the pain doesn't register before he brings his other hand to grab the side of the target's face. and he clenches his fist as hard he can, ignoring the horrified screams from the man before him, the blood trickling down his wrist, the warm squelching sound from where his hand punctured skin. bi'an lifts the man so he's over the edge of the cliff, feet kicking weakly at thin air.
"you--" they cough. "you wouldn't. they said you're merciful, the swift killing, the-the--"
bi'an's gaze drifts to the horrid abyss beneath him, and merely looks back at the target, his cracked lenses reflecting the man's terrified face ten times over. his mouth spreads into a bloodied grin, cold and insincere as he nods slowly. "you're right. i'm merciful, right? and the drop off the cliff would kill you instantly, right?"
he doesn't wait for an answer.
"you don't deserve that."
there's a grunt as he tosses the target aside, their broken body hitting the ground with a dull thud. even then, they struggle to get away from him, hands scrabbling at the dirt under them. bi'an looms over them, a striking shadow over their terrified face as he stomps hard on one of their legs, cleanly splitting the bone in two. the target howls in pain, and bi'an picks up the piece of wood once more.
"do you know what it's like to suffer? do you know what it's like to have your entire world ride on the shoulders of a single person and watch as they're ripped away from you right before your eyes? do you know how it feels to be mocked for their existence? because you didn't do enough? because you can murder as many people as you want in the world but it won't turn back time? do you know how it felt? do you?"
he leans down, teeth bared. "because i can teach you what it felt like."
the sickening blows were enough to make any bystander retch, but bi'an doesn't stop until his clothes are soaked in blood, chest heaving like he ran a marathon, tears threatening to prick his eyes in mockery of what he had just lived through.
wujiu...
he stands numbly now, wandering back over to the chasm's opening. there's no telling what lay at the bottom of that but he's more than sure wujiu's body now joined the murky darkness below.
his gut wrenches as the full impact of what had just transpired hits him full force and he falls to his knees, screaming wujiu's name, begging to the gods that had forsaken him to take him instead, because wujiu didn't deserve this, wujiu deserved so much more than he could ever give him and he would be so much happier to be alive right now when bi'an's body could be the one at the bottom of the cliff. his tears mingle with the blood on his face, forming a dirty red pool before him, and he hunches over, silently screaming, hands grabbing at his sides so painfully he almost draws his own blood. his throat runs raw and the knot in his chest tightens so painfully that he nearly chokes.
he considers throwing himself off the cliff himself before he can regret anything else in life, but it would be selfish, wouldn't it? to claim his life because he could not handle it without another, and the guilt of it is what sobers him, forcing him to stand shakily, face tearstained and drenched in blood. the wood plank falls from his hand to clatter finally at the former target's corpse and with an incredibly deadened, cold feeling crawling around his heart, turns away.
and the hollow husk of what used to be xie bi'an walks away from the cliff edge, bloodied footprints following him all the way back home.