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The city of Luofu is a beautiful place.
The antique, intricate motifs of each piece of architecture are a work of art in itself, and the city is a sight to behold as they piece together in a magnificent, breathtaking scenery of grandeur and colour. He could see generations and generations of people building this place from their blood, sweat and tears, from the foundations of the earth into a colossal urban haven of civilization.
At least, that’s what Caelus thinks when he stepped foot into the city.
However, there was just this feeling of emptiness. Something, or someone that was supposed to be there wasn’t there anymore. Perhaps it was a Stellaron thing, but he felt a shift in power, a force of nature wasn’t supposed to exist. Something had been replaced, and the magnetic push and pull of forces did not feel right.
Ah, no matter. Caelus was here to study.
As a transfer student on a scholarship, he has to hide his little ticking time bomb planted inside of him to continue his studies like a normal person. However, thanks to said time bomb, he feels that the city before him has more to hide than it lets on.
Focus, he thinks. Study, not whatever secret hides in this place.
Caelus has been here for eight months. He’s seen his fair share of weird things. He did try to avoid them, though, so he gave himself points for effort.
It all started with his classmate.
When he first stepped into his new classroom, thirty pairs of eyes fixed themselves on him, many sending him curious glances at the foreigner that suddenly turned up in their class, but most of them were regarding him with an air of wariness; anyone who was invited from other lands by the Luofu must be either a genius or a very lucky aristocrat’s son with the right connections.
Judging from his attire and posture, they could tell it wasn’t the latter.
He straightened his spine and flattened out his coat, tried to smooth down his ever-messy grey hair, and introduced himself in front of the class.
“H-hi everyone,” Caelus cleared his throat, looking at his teacher for affirmation, in which he receives an encouraging nod in response, “I’m Caelus. Nice to meet you, and I hope to become good friends with all of you in the close future.”
The teacher nodded and checked her clipboard. “Welcome to our class, Caelus. It is a pleasure to be hosting a scholar this year in our class. Dan Heng, if you don’t mind,” she looked up at Caelus. “Caelus will now be your deskmate. Caelus, take your seat right there.”
Caelus bowed to the teacher respectfully, then turned to his seat.
He locked eyes with the boy. Dan Heng, she’d said.
Gold eyes meet turquoise.
The boy had bright turquoise eyes, an unusual eye colour, but vibrant and brewing a storm underneath. Yet, his eyes were simultaneously dark and deep, hiding an undertone of sorrow and pain. A swish of red eyeliner framed his left eye.
His plump pink lips were set in a slight frown, and his short, dark, raven hair was tousled and rested right above his eyebrows, making him look the right amount of dangerous yet smart and obedient Luofu student. A V-shaped jawline softened his features, making him seem kinder than his guarded eyes appear to be.
Gods above, even Caelus, as dense as he always was, can see that Dan Heng is good-looking. He feels something stirring from within, making his stomach flutter and squeeze in just the right way.
He takes a seat beside the boy. “Nice to meet you, I’m Caelus,” he said quietly and falls into silence as he starts to focus on the class. His first class was mostly focused on administrative matters, updating the name list, settling legal matters on his guardian’s particulars and other activities.
Even as he tries to focus on the classes after the first day, he can feel the boring weight of Dan Heng’s gaze on him sometimes, when he thinks he isn’t watching. The boy was curious, and Caelus was sure he had much to say and ask, but Caelus makes sure he only replies to the boy the least number of times needed and ends each of his sentences with polite, precise quietness that he has learnt since young to prevent any further interaction.
He would treat Dan Heng no different, regardless of his very, ahem, attractive appearance.
At night, Caelus would lay awake in bed, mulling through his very random thoughts, some on the school day that just went by, and most of it on Dan Heng.
On one hand, Dan Heng was a classmate and was a very bright and smart person. He would sift through the entire day’s conversation with Dan Heng and pick out every tiny detail he had with him.
He would think how his turquoise eyes would fix on his, how the edges crinkle the slightest bit when Dan Heng talks to Caelus and the colors of his turquoise eyes swimming about and twinkling in mischief when he was about to make a bad joke. It was a secret little smile, a kind and friendly one, and something tells Caelus that Dan Heng does not offer it to everyone he meets.
On the other hand, he had looked so cold, unapproachable and stoic whenever Caelus tried to talk to him. Was the boy even human? Why was he so emotionless? Did some tragedy happen before?
A loud bang snapped him out of his trance.
A single piece of roof fell off and dropped past his window. Scrambling to get a baseball bat, he softly crept up to the attic and opened the roof window. Stepping onto the first rung of the ladder leading to the window and poking his head through, he nearly dropped his baseball bat.
On his roof, sat an ethereal creature.
The man had a soft grey turtleneck sweater on him, and his long black-turquoise hair flowed down to the small of his back. The most unusual was the long, turquoise tail that protruded from the back of the man’s jeans, slithering behind him in an undulating pattern, ending in a beautiful tuft of soft fur.
It was reptilian, judging from the shimmering scales that reflected the moon’s glow. It swayed idly as if a content cat guarding its well-earned food. The man’s figure was lithe, but the elegance as the tail pulsed and moved gave away the strength hiding under every move of this beautiful creature.
A small gasp escaped his lips.
The creature’s tail stilled.
Caelus’ body tensed, ready to duck and hide, but at the same time curious as to what the creature looked like.
Will it have a human face or a reptilian appearance?
It turned around, and Caelus ducked down before the reptile man can fully catch him. In the afterimages of his sudden movement, he caught illuminated teal horns and glowing, turquoise eyes.
Caelus could not fight his pounding heartbeat, but even amidst the loud rhythm of each inhale and exhale, he could feel the soft humming of the Stellaron residing in his stomach.
Caelus had been doing quite well in school, having maintained a hardworking lifestyle and a well-functioning brain, thank goodness.
The school had been quite content with his performance thus far, and as the school reveals to him some five months after he stepped foot into Luofu, had extended an invitation to him to enter a school-funded research group. There will be faculties and resources aiding the students in carrying out their science research in their fields of interest.
“It will be hard, and it will involve a great deal of commitment, but in exchange, you learn to make your very own science research, something that will aid you in your field of research when you enter university,” and that was all that was said before Caelus snatched that opportunity, entered the group and attended his first sessions.
Entering the classroom for the first time, he felt eyes training on him as he took a seat. Even as an invited member of the research group, he still felt like a foreigner, unwelcome.
He looked around for a familiar face, and he was pleasantly surprised to see a flash of turquoise and realized Dan Heng was in the group as well.
Great. Now the guy he has a crush on is everywhere in his life, and he can’t even turn a corridor without seeing the boy.
He squeezed his eyes shut in dread. Dan Heng had spotted him, and he was heading his way. Oh no, oh no. Please don’t talk to Caelus, please let him have his day of avoiding social interaction.
“Ah, Caelus,” Dan Heng says, and Caelus internally sighs in defeat, but not before feeling another flutter in the chest. “You’re in the research team as well. I’m glad to be able to work with you.”
Caelus blushed. “Me too. Definitely looking forward to it. Yeah.”
“Do you mind if I sit right next to you? You’re the only one I know in this group anyways.” Dan Heng said matter-of-factly, and that made roses bloom on his cheeks and his stomach flutter wildly. Caelus nodded mutely and gestured for Dan Heng to sit at the empty desk beside him.
This tiny interaction didn’t go unnoticed by the professor in charge. He raised an eyebrow and looked down at his name list.
The professor looked back up at the two boys, at the way they looked at each other, and cackled to himself.
Rattling off his requirements for this year’s research project, he told the students the rubrics and implications of each research project field available before asking them to think about it.
“This research is going to be carried out in groups.” The professor said as he listens to Caelus’ choice. “Hydrogen science is a well-researched topic, but much remains to be uncovered. To investigate this, you may need the power of two people. Ah, this young man here, Dan Heng, isn’t it? If you don’t mind delving into this field of research…?”
“I don’t mind, professor. I was thinking of choosing something along the same lines. I’d like to research the efficiency of hydrogen production using electrolysis.”
The professor clapped his hands together in unmasked delight. “Perfect! Ahem, I mean, great. You two would do good to pair up. You are both from the same class after all, so discussing and meeting up for developing your literature review and experiments would be easy, wouldn’t it?”
“Yes, sir,” Caelus nodded obediently.
“Then I’ll leave you both to it! Dan Heng, I’d expect you to guide Caelus through as this is his first time here. Good luck with your research!” With a tiny wave, the professor walked away, seemingly very happy with himself.
Dan Heng turned to Caelus. “Do you know any basic knowledge about hydrogen science?”
“Yeah, I do. I just want to do some further reading and develop my hypothesis,” Caelus thought for a moment. “I think we can trade information and fill up each others’ gaps. How’s this evening, after school ends? You can come to my place, and we can discuss more.”
Silence.
Caelus’ face burned. “Never mind, we—”
“No, no, sure,” Dan Heng interjects quickly. “I’d be willing to come to your place. Just name the time and place, and I’ll bring my things over.”
Caelus was sure his face was tomato red at this point, but he gulped and sent him his address.
During Caelus’s free time, he would walk around Luofu city and see the city sights. An advanced city yet a cultural hotspot, the centre of trading and commerce was whirring with machinework and bustling of citizens as they got from one spot to another.
As he walked down the harbour, he spotted a magnificent, glittering building.
He had heard of the famed museum of the city but had never seen it in person. This building was a massive work of gold and steel, adorned with the occasional sculpture that peeked through its floor-to-ceiling windows. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t even a building, but a floating ship docked on the harbour. In the middle of the museum, a large tree grew, its leaves glowing with a supernatural light that normal trees do not have.
A museum, full of artefacts that signified the Luofu’s culture and traditions, docked on a ship in a harbour.
Caelus was very, very sceptical. Were they not afraid of the unpredictability of the waters?
Did the Luofu trust the waters that much?
Stepping into the massive boat, he was greeted with glittering gold and jade, pieces of old jewellery and ornaments. Tinkling dragon motifs embroidered the long, flowing sleeves of the hanfu, delicate blossoms bloomed on the headdress of an empress. The museum was something to be marvelled at, with its wide assortment of traditional and cultural art storage and its weight of centuries of Luofu civilization that made a foreigner like Caelus feel small, insignificant, and even barbaric.
He rounded some corridors and went through some sharp turns before getting lost.
Great.
The tiny little thing in his chest hummed. Oh no, he thought to himself. The ticking time bomb was reactivated? It can’t be. He tried to press his hands to his chest, smoothing his clothing down and trying to fight down the arising panic that would make the situation worse. Things were not looking well, and if the worst came to the worst, the entire museum would combust, and he doesn’t want to do that to a nation that had welcomed him in so warmly.
He took slow deep breaths, counting from one to ten and gripping his fists tightly. The humming eventually subsided, and everything was quiet again.
A turquoise armour on a well-preserved shelf caught his eye.
The armour was a work of delicate fabric and the toughest jade, with smooth smoke motifs that adorned the entirety of the battle armour. The scarcity of fabric made the wearer less guarded, but it seems this entity of the past must have been quite powerful to not require any practical armour in battle. The attire was evidently from old times when gods and monsters still reigned, and Caelus could make out the cheap dyes that recoloured the fabrics and made it look more like a patchwork than a real deity’s armour.
Besides the archaic yet slightly scandalous attire, a glowing jade polearm glinted brightly. The power thrummed through the cold metal of the weapon, and Caelus could feel his Stellaron reverberating with the same frequency as the weapon through the thick glass panes of the museum display case.
On the plaque in front of the display, it read, “Imbibitor Lunae—Conqueror of Tides, Vidyadhara High Elder of The Xianzhou Luofu.”
Beside it, a picture of a man—or a dragon-man, maybe.
The man had long bright teal horns and a scaly, draconic tail that flowed behind him. His hands were relaxed at his side, one of them holding onto the polearm right before him, but the other was extended leisurely to a wave of water that seemed to resemble a dragon.
“High Elder of the Luofu, bearer of the Azure Dragon's legacy, bringing forth clouds and rain, and entrusted with the duty of guarding the Ambrosial Arbor.”
The Ambrosial Arbor was a tree he previously saw. Sustaining the entire museum, the tree was the life pillar of the civilization that resided within the harbour. The commander of waves, conqueror of tides. This entity was a powerful dragon. The Xianzhou Luofu entrusted their entire identity and tradition for him to safe keep.
His eyes were looking straight at the viewer of the illustration, and even the artist had taken care to capture the cruelty of the dragon’s eyes as they commanded the wind and rain. The looked arrogant yet rightfully so, and it made his features attractive, but unlikeable.
However, it was gone now. Imbibitor Lunae was nothing more than a passing memory, a past protector that was held in high regard. Myths were, after all, only myths. This being was gone, and with it, the power that Caelus had felt wrong about. The Luofu had lost a deity to time in its later years, but he was glad he was still able to see it in a museum.
However, the turquoise eyes told Caelus that the dragon might still be living and breathing. He had seen the same creature that time on his roof five months ago.
Seven months into his stay at the Xianzhou Luofu, he’d been a regular at the Ambrosial Arbor’s Museum, catching a glimpse or two of the plaque now and then and then proceeding to scrutinize the shiny, polished jade weapon and the aged armour. The weapon still seemed to thrum power, and sometimes he would lose track of time as he stared at it.
He extended his hand to the polearm—
“Young man!” A bodyguard exclaimed. He’d been keeping an eye on this strange kid who comes in here and simps after a simple armour for way too long. The armour indeed looks good, but to obtain this level of obsession was a little too much. Only if he knew Caelus had seen a glimpse of that same dragon man on his rooftop, alive, breathing, and close up. “No touching any property of the museum!”
“Sorry,” Caelus muttered.
The bodyguard sighed. “There is a saying we all know and therefore avoid Imbibitor Lunae’s possessions, not just because of the corrosion of the museum’s property. The Imbibitor Lunae was a powerful dragon once, felling monsters and gods alike. His polearm was supercharged, and only the owner himself can wield it. We sacrificed three staff members to get the polearm on the display case, and no one has tried to touch it ever since.”
Caelus nodded, disconcerted by this new bit of information. “I see, thank you for telling me.”
The bodyguard nodded and walked away.
Caelus then slowly backed out of the museum, his eyes still bugging out of their sockets.
Research sessions with Dan Heng were quite interesting during the occasional tiny glances they would give to one another, and the dad jokes Dan Heng would suddenly occasionally crack that he knew Caelus would laugh to.
Caelus would be too busy cracking up to notice the fond look Dan Heng gives him.
Their research slowly progressed into wet lab work. The two boys were undergoing an excruciating process of changing and re-proving certain theories and adding their hypotheses to them. Things were going great, and after the 20th time repeating the experiment, they were exhausted.
“Twenty sets of data, finally done for the variables on the electrolytes. We can start with the electrodes now…” Caelus muttered and groaned. Dan Heng raised an eyebrow at him.
“Tired?” Dan Heng teased. At least, Caelus thinks he’s teasing, but Dan Heng’s face remained stoic and cold. There was a twinkle in his turquoise eyes that gave it away.
“We… we can carry on,” Caelus said. “I’m fine. Not tired.”
Dan Heng nodded, picking up the beaker and unsealing the platinum that had been prepared beforehand. “Now, to test the electrolytes.”
“I’ll prepare the sodium hydroxide,” Caelus said automatically, as he had for the past few sets of twenty experiments they’d been doing for the entire day. “Aaand, I’m done.”
Dan Heng carefully placed the platinum plates into the beaker of water and clipped them to the alligator clips, gently nudging them into place, his turquoise eyes fixated wholly on the water before him.
Caelus turned around from his workbench where he had been preparing the alkaline solution, holding the whole beaker in his hands. The alkaline solution sloshed in its beaker, and with a slip, he tripped on his own feet and fell forward.
The strong alkaline solution splashed out of the beaker, right onto Dan Heng’s face. Before his body could collide with Dan Heng’s and send the entire equipment crashing to the ground, and before the concentrated solution melted Dan Heng’s face, Dan Heng moved quicker than Caelus’ brain could register.
Dan Heng’s hand shot out, supporting Caelus with one hand and the other holding onto the beaker that previously held the alkaline solution. The water that splashed out and nearly touched Dan Heng’s face all seemed to move as if it had consciousness and floated in a manner of zero gravity. The water slowly moved back into the beaker, sloshing idly in Dan Heng’s hands as Caelus's full-on body slammed into him.
Dan Heng grunted at the weight of the impact but stood his ground, managing to not bend over and preventing the equipment from completely going to waste. At least, the apparatus on the workbench was still unharmed.
Caelus wasn’t sure if he’d seen wrong. Did the water gain sentience and start moving on its own accord? He was sure he was hallucinating.
Did Dan Heng just… control the water?
Dan Heng set the sodium hydroxide down on the workbench, slowly unclipping the platinum and wiping them dry.
“We’ll finish up the second part of the experiment tomorrow. You’re tired, and frankly, so am I. Let’s go out for some dinner, shall we? I know a good place for Luofu cuisine, and I think you’ll enjoy it a lot.” Dan Heng asked, sending Caelus a tender look that threw him off guard.
Caelus’ face was still burning from the memory of himself squishing his face in between Dan Heng’s pectorals when he faceplanted himself during his little incident just now. “I would love that,” Caelus whispered.
Caelus avoided his gaze and quickly went to dump out the alkaline and water and washed up the beakers while Dan Heng stored the precious metals carefully into a storage box. After cleaning up the lab, they gathered their experiment data and headed out of the school.
“I wouldn’t be expelled or anything, right?” Caelus asked Dan Heng uncertainly while they were walking towards the restaurant Dan Heng recommended.
Dan Heng gave him one of his tiny, rare, and secret smiles that sent Caelus’ heart beating and his mind reeling. “Of course not.” Dan Heng took Caelus’ hand and offered him a reassuring squeeze. “It was just a little accident, and this happens to the best of us. It’s okay. Don’t worry, Caelus.”
If anyone asked why Caelus’ face was such a burning red, he would say it was the hot sweltering night at the Xianzhou Luofu tonight.
It was not because Dan Heng had held onto his hand for the rest of the night until the diner. It definitely was not because of the tender way Dan Heng had said his name in that moonlit and star-speckled night.
Dan Heng may be a person who can control water, whatever power that is, and he may be a very peculiarly introverted person, but Caelus didn’t mind. He was intrigued to know more about Dan Heng.
For the first time in his life, the weighing pressure of the Stellaron in his chest dimmed and quietened, as if it wasn’t there at all. Caelus no longer feel suffocated, and he could finally hear the wonderful chatter of the harbour as it approaches nighttime.
As he watched Dan Heng patiently introduce the dishes and ask for his preference, Caelus realized he was in deep trouble.
He doesn’t think he minded it.
Caelus stood in front of the ice cream stall, clutching his backpack strap tightly and hoping his classmate would turn up soon.
Dan Heng had asked Caelus if he wanted to go out for ice cream that afternoon to celebrate the wrapping up of the science experiments they had been working on. All that’s left is the calculations and the data analysis they would need to run through the school’s advanced computing systems. And of course, the report.
However, it was a well-deserved break.
Only if said break can actually be enjoyed if Dan Heng showed up.
He was waiting for Dan Heng to be close to him so that the stupid Stellaron would finally stop hurting his chest so much. He just won’t admit it to anyone or himself.
Caelus decided to buy one ice cream for himself first, finish it, and then buy another one when Dan Heng arrives. The Luofu city was too hot for him to continue to survive like that. He asked the vendor for one chocolate ice cream and started working on the ice cream.
He felt someone creeping up behind him.
An ominous feeling crept up his spine. Could it be Dan Heng?
He turned around and met large, red eyes, and the man was at least a foot taller than him. He was tall and handsome, yet emitted a serial killer aura that set Caelus on edge. “Friend of Dan Heng,” the red-eyed man greeted Caelus.
“Hi, may I help you?”
“I’m Blade,” he said, his smile revealing sharp teeth. His dark blue hair ended in red tips that seemed to glow like embers. “I’m an old friend of your Dan Feng. Finally found someone, has he? Hmph. Tell your boyfriend I said hello.” Another razor-sharp grin and the man turned to leave.
“Freak,” Caelus said, and dumped his chocolate ice cream, cone and all, onto Blade’s back.
Blade turned around, narrowing his eyes and studying Caelus closely. “I can see why he likes you, boy, but this isn’t your fight if you are smart enough to stay away from that jerk.”
Caelus spotted Dan Heng walking towards him with a solemn expression.
“Dan Heng, I met—”
“I saw,” Dan Heng said, gritting his teeth. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll take care of him myself.”
“He called me your boyfriend.” Caelus giggled. “How silly of him.”
Dan Heng’s eyes snapped up and narrowed. “Yes, how… absurd.” He fell into deep thought and frowned harder.
Then, to Caelus’s absolute surprise, Dan Heng’s cheeks darkened considerably.
Caelus snapped into action. The Luofu was so hot it was affecting Dan Heng. Time to get a cold dessert.
“Hey,” Caelus said. “It’s okay. It was just a joke, right? Anyways, let’s buy ice cream. I threw mine at the Blade guy.”
“You what?” Dan Heng looked disbelievingly at Caelus, and although his face looked horrified, his mouth ticked up in a smile, his turquoise eyes twinkling with the same mischief he’d grown to love the past few months.
“I dumped my ice cream on him,” Caelus confirmed, smiling, and ordered his ice cream.
Dan Heng snorted a laugh, shaking his head.
Caelus stared at his friend. His crush just laughed, because of him, and gods was Dan Heng’s laugh the most beautiful sight in the whole wide world. He could look at Dan Heng’s face all day.
“You should do this more often,” Caelus blurted without thinking. “Your face looks softer when you smile. More approachable and human.”
“Are you implying I don’t look human?”
“N-no! I meant you looked a little unapproachable, you know? And as a Luofu research student, you were so intimidatingly smart, it just freaks me out every time you look at me with a stoic face, okay?”
“Oh,” Dan Heng’s face looked so much like a kicked puppy Caelus mentally cursed himself for ever saying anything.
It brightened considerably when Caelus patted his back and gave a tiny ‘there, there’ and a bright smile of his own.
Dan Heng stared at Caelus, at his golden eyes, at his wavy and messy grey hair. They stood in absolute silence, a rare moment of intimacy that both of them shared yet did not want to leave. Caelus met his eyes as he bit into his vanilla ice cream and smacked his lips.
“You bite ice cream?” Dan Heng asked, his lips tugging upwards. “You have no fear in the world.”
Caelus grinned widely. “I have no fear.”
Dan Heng’s smile faltered for a little, and Caelus could sense Dan Heng settling his gaze intensely into him. He didn’t mind it.
The peculiar part was that the steady rhythm of the waves right beside them seemed to skip a heartbeat; a strong gust of wind blew through the entire harbour, the waves crashing into the rocks strongly and sending tiny flecks of water showering over the citizens.
A few people squealed in delight, and Caelus’ grey hair flew into his eyes.
Ceaelus good-naturedly patted the water droplets away from his shirt, and Dan Heng’s hand shot out automatically to swipe that stray lock of hair and tucked it behind Caelus’ ear, softly muttering an apology.
Dan Heng’s hand lingered on the edge of his ear for a little too long. He quickly pulled away when he realized he had paused.
Caelus’ cheeks turned bright red again, but not before muttering, “The waves and wind aren’t your fault, no need to apologize for it.”
Dan Heng took Caelus’ hand and steered him away from the harbour.
Caelus piped up. “Anyways, do you know there’s this cool armour I saw at the museum? It was full of jade and beautiful smoke motif fabrics. There was even a spear that no one could touch except for the water-powered dude himself! He was a past entity that guarded the Ambrosial Arbor and the High Elder of the Xianzhou Luofu. Speaking of his armour,” Caelus took a look at Dan Heng’s coat. “You know, your outfit kinda reminds me of it.”
Dan Heng fixed his eyes on Caelus. “Where did you see this display? The museum?”
“Yeah, it was tucked away in a corner of the museum. You know, the museum was so hard to navigate, it was like a labyrinth. I had to take so many turns before getting there.”
“Mind if you show me the way?” Dan Heng asked Caelus.
“Oh, sure! Finally, someone who listens to my rambling,” Caelus cheered. “This guy had a badass weapon that was a shining jade polearm that had this pulsing power that went voom, voom, voom. Do you know anything about this piece of Luofu myth? You know, as a local and all?”
“I do,” Dan Heng said. “The Imbibitor Lunae, the caller of the ocean. He can control the waves and tides and command the rise and fall of hurricanes. However, he was a Vidyadhara, and the Azure Dragon had reincarnations. The most recent Imbibitor Lunae reincarnation had perished, and the myth along with it. Luofu had now the technology to control the tide and predict the weather, so this story has been long since a bedtime story.”
“Dan Heng, I wanna tell you a secret,” Caelus said. “I saw the Imbibitor Lunae a few months ago on the rooftop.”
“Did you, now.” Dan Heng said, unconvinced, as they stepped foot into the museum Dan Heng resigned himself to being dragged around the corridors until they reached the display case.
“Yeah, the dragon had a bright turquoise tail and horns, and… oh, I remember now! He had pointy ears. He was alive and well, and completely a living breathing dragon!”
“I see,” Dan Heng said as they rounded the final corner and arrived at the display case. His turquoise eyes widened at the sight.
“Look at the picture, Dan Heng.” Caelus crowded over to the plaque. “Imbibitor Lunae is so… hot! I mean, look at his appearance. He’s so handsome and powerful and damn, do I want to meet him again.”
Dan Heng made a strangled noise in his throat. “You’re attracted to men?”
Caelus blushed. “What if I am?”
“Nothing.” He said quickly. Too quickly.
“Anyways, I wish I could see him again. I have no idea why that beautiful creature would just sit on my rooftop so casually with a sweater and jeans and stare at the moon. I hear some clatters on my rooftop from time to time, and I think he might be there, but I don’t want to disturb him. So… yeah. If he would willingly meet me for once, I would love to get to know him,” Caelus smiled wistfully.
“You know what Imbibitor Lunae stands for, right?” Dan Heng said, though his face was twisted in a weird expression. A mixture of worry, happiness and irony. “Yin Yue means the ‘drinker of the moon’. I—he usually would sit somewhere he feels most at ease and looks up to the moon to enjoy the peace and serenity of the night.”
Caelus nodded thoughtfully. “Interesting,” he said.
“If you should encounter him next time, maybe you can go and say hi? He won’t bite, you know. He had been watching over the Xianzhou Luofu for a long time, he wouldn’t hurt any mortal.”
“Wouldn’t you know that,” Caelus muttered. He twiddled his thumbs as he watched Dan Heng staring at the armor a little too intently, and he realized his Stellaron wasn’t pulsing anymore, even if he was standing right beside the armor. Dan Heng had this calming quality to him.
Caelus was sure this wasn’t coincidental anymore. He had a feeling that his friend wasn’t his age, nor was he a normal human. This human teenage boy was but a façade.
“Okay,” Caelus said, and stared at Dan Heng for a long, long while.
That evening, after both of them separated, there was news of a break-in of the museum. After a thorough security check, only two things were missing, and those were the two most expected items, especially to Caelus:
The jade armour and the polearm of Imbibitor Lunae.
Only one person could touch the polearm without being hurt. For centuries in the Luofu, the last reincarnation of the dragon had died, but what about the current reincarnation? It must have been lingering somewhere in the human world, and thus why Caelus had spotted it the other day.
It was also a coincidence that he showed Dan Heng the display case today and realized Dan Heng knew too much about the Imbibitor Lunae than the average Luofu citizen.
That night, Caelus lay awake, munching on some energy bars and waiting for the telltale whump of a body on his rooftop.
As soon as he heard it, Caelus scrambled up to his attic and clambered up to the roof, only to come face-to-face with Blade.
“Hello again, mortal.”
Caelus barely ducked a dagger thrown his way before tiny sheets of metal started being flung onto his body, narrowly missing his body. One of the metal pieces was about to fly straight into his eyes when two slender fingers caught the tiny metal sheet inches from Caelus’ face.
“I heard the Imbibitor Lunae had finally reclaimed his possessions from the museum. Finally well equipped, isn’t he? What for, I wonder?” Blade smiled thinly. His eyes slowed dangerously, and even with one eye covered by his deep blue hair, he looked menacing.
“Maybe to get ready to whip your ass,” Caelus snarled.
“I’ll have to thank the mortal for this, I suppose,” Blade chuckled. “Without the right messenger, the threat couldn’t get through. At least now, I’ll have a fair fight with you, Imbibitor Lunae, and a lovely, squirming, human leverage.”
“Keep Caelus out of this, Blade,” the Imbibitor Lunae stood before him, a living breathing man with dragon horns and a long, reptilian tail flowing from his battle robes. It was the jade armour he’d seen in the museum just now, but the fabrics were now more vibrant, new and smooth. The gold strips that embroidered the armour and the colours adorning the length of the cloth were now pulsing and glowing with power and vigour.
In the dragon’s hand, a jade spear glinted in the moonlight, pulsing with the same familiar power he’d felt through the glass in the museum for such a long time.
“Oh, very well, Dan Feng.”
“I am no longer Dan Feng, Blade. I am a reincarnation, Dan Heng.” The Imbibitor Lunae posed to strike.
“I don’t care. All you Azure Dragons are the same. No matter what time you live in, no matter what form you take, you are all the same. Uncaring, arrogant and selfish.” Blade leapt off his feet, heading towards the Imbibitor Lunae at a surprising speed. He brought his blade down, but the dragon had already moved behind him and slashed at his feet.
Blade jumped at the very last second and saved his feet from being mauled into jelly.
“I am not him.” Dan Heng said as Blade regained his footing.
“Dan Heng,” Blade tested the name on his lips. “Regardless, your being still becomes the object of my ire. Whether you regain the memories of the past, whether you think you’re innocent or not, I do not care. You have done your worst to me, and all you got was losing your life as compensation. I swore to hunt down every last reincarnation of you and bring you to justice, just like you deserved.”
Imbibitor Lunae’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“I am not him.”
“Oh, but did you think about things turning out like this when you put me in eternal misery? Did you even think about the consequences? No,” Blade laughed bitterly. “You only thought about yourself. You and your moral values and your own righteousness.”
Blade took off his feet again, bringing his sword down in a wide arc and blocked by Imbibitor Lunae’s spear, before twisting and aiming for his unguarded side. The dragon was quick to react, mostly acting on the defensive but standing his own ground.
“Now, you seemed to have found yourself a new pet, haven’t you? A new human to adore, to look after, to pamper. All is well until all is lost and gone. Well, all dragons are the same, and I was so unlucky to have been the receiving end of such kindness,” Blade practically spat out the last word, and underneath it was immense pain. “The best way to repay the deed is to inflict it upon your human.”
The Imbibitor Lunae pointed his spear at Blade and snarled. “You’re not touching him.”
“Oh, possessive, are we? Not even to share a little bit?” Blade grinned maliciously, exchanging blows with Imbibitor Lunae. The dragon moved with a practised sort of ease, flowing with power and momentum, yet standing firm on his own.
He was a trained warrior, as Caelus can see, but Blade was also strong. Blade relied heavily on his strength and strategizing the spots on where to crack an opening in Imbibitor Lunae’s stance, but the dragon only parried it equally with his own strikes and swishes.
Imbibitor Lunae raised his hand, summoning a hurricane of wind and rain, manifesting a tornado. His long dragon tail wrapped around Caelus’s ankle, holding him protectively. “Do not even think about it.”
Blade grinned wildly, before unleashing his own torrent of hell. Swiping his blade, he aimed directly for Caelus—
And the blade struck home.
Caelus gasped. Blade’s eyes widened.
The dragon’s scaly tail around Caelus loosened.
Dan Heng fell to his knees in front of Caelus, his heart pouring blood, a single sword sticking out of his chest.
Blade’s breath quickened, before letting out a gut-wrenching, “NO!”
Cradling the dragon’s head, tears formed around the corners of Blade’s eyes. “No. No, no, no, please. Not again. Please, stay with me.”
Caelus choked. “Dan Heng, Dan Heng, please stay with us.” He scrambled to where Imbibitor Lunae was cradled in Blade’s arms, and stuffed a piece of ripped cloth to where his wound was. Even so, he knew it was fruitless.
Blade’s eyes snapped to Caelus.
Then to his chest.
Blade pointed at the place where the Stellaron pumped and resided within Caelus. “That thing can save him right now. We need its power.”
“This thing can destroy worlds!”
“It can re-fuel an immortal life force.” Blade said.
Caelus nodded. Holding out a hand, Blade’s fingertips grew warm, before a shining gold light travelled out of Caelus’s chest into the Imbibitor Lunae’s body, and settled in a shimmering blanket of gold.
Imbibitor Lunae’s beautiful turquoise eyes flew open, and Blade sobbed into his chest.
“Dan Feng, Dan Feng, Dan Feng,” he chanted his name as if it was a prayer. “Don’t leave again…”
“I… Blade, I’m not Dan Feng anymore. I think it’s time you let him go, and see me for being a completely new person.”
Blade looked at him with his raw red eyes, with gaze held so tender and fond that Caelus could only feel his heart squeeze. How painful was it to finally find out your dragon was alive, and reunite with your past lover, only to realize he wasn’t there anymore? Who would want to wish this upon anyone else?
Imbibitor Lunae sat up and handed him back his sword.
Blade took the sword reverently from him, holding onto Imbibitor Lunae’s hand tenderly, as if he was scared he’d disappear into thin air again. He sheathed his sword, and pressed a finger up to his ear. “Kafka,” he said. He then grunted in confirmation.
Blade took one last longing look at Imbibitor Lunae, at Dan Heng, and lowered his head. “Well then, the current reincarnation of the Azure Dragon, I bid you farewell and good luck in your future endeavours with your mate. I can see you as you, Dan Heng. Dan Feng was not in there at all—the old Dan Feng would not be so selfless to protect something he loves so dearly.”
He never met Imbibitor Lunae’s eyes.
“I know this reincarnation of you would be kind, Imbibitor Lunae. Be kind to your human, and to the people of the Xianzhou Luofu. They need you.”
With that, Blade stepped into another dimension of space, vanishing from their view.
“Mate?” Caelus said. That was all he processed in the entire conversation.
Imbibitor Lunae turned around, and he saw pain and regret brewing in the dragon’s eyes. “Caelus.”
Gold eyes meet turquoise.
“I am the current reincarnation of the dragon.” Dan Heng admitted quietly, lowering his head. His horns were still pulsing with the glowing energy he’d felt before, and his pointed ears were red yet drooping. The unorthodox glowing turquoise eyes of his classmate finally made sense. The tail curled around his ankle, and after a little nudge from Caelus, Dan Heng’s ears turned even redder and slithered further up, tucking itself underneath Caelus’ soft coat.
Brave now, are we?
Caelus smiled fondly. “Thanks for saving my life, you idiot.”
Dan Heng looked at his human. “Thank you for saving my life, Caelus.”
And oh, did Caelus’ heart pound when he heard the soft and tender voice pronounce his name under the soft glow of the moonlight. It was said with such reverence and care that he could almost feel himself being worshipped.
“It’s okay,” Caelus said. “I’m not mad, okay? I respect your decisions, and I fully well know that who you are now and who you were aren’t the same person. You’re a good person, Dan Heng, and I’m glad to have met you. Very glad. Frankly, I had suspected this for some time now, and I understand why you would hide this. I guess we can start over?”
Caelus smiled at Dan Heng, and he returned the smile, glowing in the moonlight.
Caelus took the first step. “Hi, Dan Heng, I’m Caelus.”
Dan Heng walked forward, holding Caelus’s outstretched hand. He offered him a small smile, one that made Caelus’ heart pound and his whole body flushing. “Pleased to meet you, Caelus. I’m Dan Heng, the current reincarnation of the Imbibitor Lunae.”
Caelus stared at Dan Heng’s face, at his perfect, sweeping red eyeliner that framed his striking turquoise eyes. At his light teal horns that were embedded with gold and pulsing with magic and power. Stared at his face, at his attractive classmate, and leaned into the dragon, meeting his plump, soft lips with his own.
The dragon immediately reciprocated by leaning in and cradling the back of Caelus’ head. Their kiss was tentative, gentle and slow. Caelus ran his hand along the jade armour of the dragon before him, grabbed him by his slim waist and pushed Dan Heng flush against his chest.
Dan Heng moaned around the kiss, muttering sweet little nothings and nibbling on Caelus’ lips. The tail wrapped around his leg unfurled again, before wrapped itself entirely around Caelus’ waist and tugging it tightly. The end tuft of soft fur on his reptilian tail tickled his cheek, and Caelus opened his eyes to see the tender gaze of the dragon on him, his body possessively wrapping itself around Caelus.
“My mate,” the dragon said. “I choose you. Would you allow me to…?”
Caelus looked at Dan Heng’s turquoise eyes, so unlike yet so similar to the stoic boy he knew in class. “I’m all yours,” Caelus smiled against Dan Heng’s chest, thanking the gods for Dan Heng to choose such a revealing outfit that showed his bare pectorals and allowed him to squish his cheek against raw skin.
He could hear the steady beat of the immortal dragon’s heart, and the humming power of the Stellaron sustaining him. Perhaps they were meant to meet after all.
“I’ll shower you with gifts and the smoothest rocks from under the ocean. I’ll drape you in the finest gold and jade, and then I’ll properly invite you into my home. My mate, my love. I have been looking at you for a long time now, and ever since the first time you stepped into our class, you were smart and bright and you had the most brilliant of minds too, and I found every inch of you so attractive. Gods, your eyes, those golden eyes, I could get lost in them so easily, and I didn’t want you to know because what if you liked girls instead? And I decided I would distance myself away from you and look at you from afar.
“However, Blade’s appearance was the catalyst to everything. I needed to protect you, and I only realized how deep in I’d gone for you, but you didn’t seem to reciprocate the feelings, but I still tried my best, and as long as you regarded me as a friend, or even just an acquaintance, at least I keep you in my life. That would be enough.”
Caelus was stunned by Dan Heng’s speech.
Processing everything Dan Heng had said, he smiled and pressed a kiss to his pectorals, where that tiny window of bare skin peeked through. It was becoming his favourite spot on his new lover’s body.
“I love you too.”