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Rip.
Shred.
Tear.
Slice.
Cut.
Saw.
Kuai Liang felt himself get torn to pieces and put back together for what feels like the millionth time.
Has it been hours?
Days?
Weeks?
An eternity?
It didn't really matter. His mind was not allowing himself to think rationally when all he could feel was his body getting pulled apart and stitched back together like a child would with a doll made out of clay.
A female Titan appears out of thin air, right in front of the Hourglass.
"I see that your consciousness and soul are still intact. That leaves your punishment with 624,822 hours left." She mildly announces.
Kuai Liang chokes back a sob, not wanting to give her the satisfaction he knows she craves.
Kronika merely sneered at him.
"Do not think for even a second that I will grow tired of this Sub-Zero. The punishment will fit the crime. I have all the time to watch you painfully suffer until the ends of it."
"Now, where were we?"
Kronika's fingers begin to light a violent blue.
Someone. Please.
Raiden.
Hanzo.
Brother.
Help.
Help.
He-
~
He jolts up from his bed, his sweat flash freezing into droplets of ice before dropping on the mattress.
Curse you Kronika.
He buries his face exhausted, he doesn't even know what to make of these recent nightmares in the first place. But when he tries to piece together what he had dreamt...
It felt too real. Too close.
You're terrifying yourself, you coward. Kronika is finished. You shattered her to pieces. Stop your wild delusions.
His breathing hastened.
Calm down.
Calm down.
Calm-
From the corner of his half-open eye, a shadow swirled in the middle of his room. Then two. Then three.
Oh no.
The tears. They can't stop. Stop it. Please, for the love of elder gods, please sto-
A shadow portal formed in a matter of seconds, a figure jumped out and whipped out an ice sickle, generating a sharp, sick sound to intimidate whatever threat was in the room.
But all he saw was the tear-stained face of his brother.
He saw how he immediately tried to scrub off some of them, exerting himself to apply his warmest smile.
"I'm sorry. It was nothing to concern you about. I'm--"
Bi-Han threw down his weapon, walked over to Kuai's bed and threw his arms over him.
Kuai Liang kept stifling his tears to no avail as they fall more and more freely.
"Please forgive me. I'm sorry. I'm-"
"Kuai."
Bi-Han rubbed Kuai Liang's back, a gesture they have both performed unfailingly to each other ever since they were children.
"What's wrong?"
Kuai Liang silently took in the embrace.
"Another nightmare?" Bi-Han guessed though he knew the answer.
Kuai Liang nodded from his brother's shoulder.
"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"
"...Will that suffice with you?"
"Kuai Liang. I will not stand for whatever has been plaguing your mind. This is the third nightmare this week and I don't plan on leaving you with a fourth."
"Please. Allow me to be your shield."
The fluttering of billowed curtains hang in the air for a while, before Kuai Liang moved up the bed, inviting Bi-Han to stay.
Bi-Han follows suit, adjusting the way he lies down so that he can wrap Kuai Liang in a protective hold.
He traces his brother's scar, wiping away the stray tear that fell in the process.
Kuai Liang could only look upon his brother's deep gaze.
Compassion.
Love.
Warmth.
He feels... light. It's as if he could fight the entire universe with this power alone. Oh, but be feels so tired...
Just as Kuai Liang felt his anxiety melt away and his vision darken, he uttered out three words without thinking.
"I... love... you..."
And he was out like a light.
~
Bi-Han took back his finger, quietly observing Kuai Liang's somber face.
...Why do you have to keep putting on such a brave facade with me brother?
"...I love you too Kuai. Whatever dream awaits you, may the lullabies drown out the terrors for evermore..."
The winds slowly die out as Bi-Han's eyes close on the sight of his family.