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“We need to try that again. I won’t allow myself to be defeated by those g-ghosts!”
Powerful as Guinaifen’s words are, they also carry a small percentage of the far that both women tasted while walking through Fyxestroll a few days ago. It was very dark and very scary, the experience caught on camera and displayed for every single one of Guinaifen’s faithful followers.
Sushang trembles upon recalling that, almost as much as she did when they were going through that accursed area. Sure, she did volunteer herself to go with her sweetest Gui after hearing where she would be streaming next and what she was trying to do.
That is, despite the fact that she cannot stand ghosts… and isn’t any the better against them, since her specialty is stabbing things that have a physical, material body.
Hence a portion of her mind asks Sushang why she allowed herself to be taken over to the same site again. She can’t do any better against ghosts that time as she did before. She has learned no spell, skill or attack that might give them better defenses against the supernatural—though for some reason she did intensify her training regimen after failing so badly to protect Little Gui.
So it would be a lie to say that her mind isn’t hoping for a better outcome… already envisioning her own self, sword in hand, standing between Guinaifen and some terrible, awful, scary…
…ghost.
A shiver runs down her spine, the momentum broken. The image in her mind turns black and fades, her previou fear making a comeback right now, as she and the other woman stand in front of the gates. The wide open gates that invite them in, yes, but that are ready to curse them, and give them hell to pay for trespassing…
“Come on, Sushang, you’re not scared. Are you?” Little Gui stands beside her, scrutinizing the warrior with wide, attentive eyes.
Such pretty eyes, that Sushang sees herself falling into them, getting lost. Her fright abates, even if just a bit, yet it’s enough to make her able to shake her head and offer a small smile to her companion,
“No, it’s okay! Everything’s fine and will be even better this time around. You’ll see. And I’ll keep you safe for sure.”
Her voice is louder than usual, her posture even stiffer. It’s not as if she were battle ready, however. More like… she is trying to convince herself that those things are true.
“That’s the spirit!” Little Gui doesn’t see it, though. Her eyes once more sparkle as she looks at Sushang, the sight of them something almost ethereal in a sense. The Cloud Knight catches herself almost gawking at her, even more so since it makes the other woman grin. “Well then, stop staring at me and let’s go.”
She doesn’t want to. She promised herself she never would, never again. Yet promises to oneself aren’t as holding, are they? Especially if she is walking besides the girl of her dreams. With that in mind Sushang takes a deep, cleansing breath and paces towards the gates of Fyxestroll, determined not to faint one more time.
No ghost would be strong enough to stop her, to even startle her… or wouldn’t it?
The atmosphere around that area is so heavy, that it feels like they have gotten to a different portion of the world. Mist surrounds them a second after they walk into the location, turning everything into a mixture of eerie lights and undefined shadows. Green, white and yellow lamps are alight here and there, their glare contributing to the ominous vibes.
That, and the sounds of anguished cries which already make Sushang’s skin crawl, are a bit too much, evoking memories of what the two of them went through the last time they were around.
“Hoa, Shangshang, is everything okay?”
Guinaifen’s voice causes the Cloud Knight to awaken from whatever plane of existence she was in. It’s only then that she realizes her hands are woven around the streamer’s arm, a bit too close for comfort; their lips are mere centimeters away as it is. Sushang cannot help but stare at them for a few heartbeats before shaking her head, reminding herself of where she is and what she is doing.
(Those aren’t things she wishes she has to remember, though. But in a sense, all is well since she is with Little Gui.)
“I was uh, I don’t knowwwww,” she says, drawing out the last word. Everything about that ordeal seems to be too much for Sushang, who just wants to be home enjoying a rare day off. “It’s… we already have ghosts around us! I don’t think we should walk into their place, Little Gui…”
“Hey, what did I tell you before? It’s okay.” The woman walks closer to the knight and cups her cheek with a palm. Her touch is warm, soft and careful. Everything that Sushang has ever dreamed with and more. “Let us get our scoop for a stream, then leave and get some good food, your choice!”
That sounds easier than it seems and the warrior knows it to be so. Little Gui has a way with words, a way of using them to her advantage and allowing things to look a certain form. Yet by then she is convinced, if not by what was said but by how tenderly she was caressed—a sensation that she immediately craves, as soon as she nods her head and Guinaifen takes her hand away.
She has to do it, if not for the fact that she will be rewarded with something herself, but due to how happy Little Gui will be. Her smile will be the best reward, as it always is. And it should be enough for her to find courage from the depths of her soul… or of her heart, that beats for a certain streamer, in order to go on.
Those thoughts, the touch, everything about that situation certainly does the trick. Posing a hand on the hilt of her sword, Sushang takes a first step forward, then another, doing her best to forget the haze which already surrounds both her and Little Gui.
Oh, which reminds her…
“Hey, Guinaifen, please stay close to me. Hold on to my arm if needed, I don’t wanna get separated from you.”
“True, last time we almost got lost, right?” Guinaifen does as asked, her hand enclosing Sushang’s upper arm with a delicate touch. “My my, someone’s been working out I see!”
“A-ah! It’s uh, it’s nothing, haha! Just daily practice and, and a few extra exercises that I’ve picked up from my peers and so on… so uh…” Sushang answers, face growing hot for some reason or the other. No, it’s not the time to focus on her terrible attraction towards Little Gui.
No, it’s not the time to keep thinking about it, recalling the praises she has already received and how nice they sound, coming from the streamer’s lips.
She has to push forth through mist and shadow, through the eerie lights that are floating around…
Wait, the eerie lights that what ?
“Gh-gh-gh-hhostttttttttt!”
Her yell tears through the fabric of that world or so it seems. It is loud enough that the lights facing them waver—almost as if they were scared by her yell for some reason or the other. Behind her she hears the sound of a camera being prepared, then clicks as Guinaifen goes about her job.
Meanwhile the lights hover above ground, Sushang standing as still as she can while internally hoping that neither the haze will dissipate so she won’t have to look that thing in the face, and that Little Gui will be done soon so they can keep moving.
“W-will it… take too long?” The Cloud Knight shivers and allows the fear to get to her voice.
“Hush, a little bit more… and done! We can leave that aside and go. Bye, kind spirit.” The streamer waves to the ghost, spirit or whatever it is, under Sushang’s terrified stare. “What? We gotta be polite to them, you know? They let me take pics and all.”
Sushang says nothing and sighs instead. “Please tell me it’ll be over soon.”
“Heh. Soon, soon! And you are doing amazing, Shangshang. I’m proud of you.”
Another praise followed by a squeeze on her arm. Warmth running down her spine, her heart now rushing for another reason altogether. Sushang doesn’t think she will survive until the end of that adventure, though there are two very different things that might cause her utter demise in that place.
“Let us go…” Her voice is small, but not afraid. Embarrassment is plain to hear in her tone, and she can almost see the smirk this gets from Little Gui in response, as she did hear its sound.
They resume pacing amidst tall walls which seem to stretch forever, with an opening or door every here and there. There doesn't seem to be a pattern to it, nor a way to break what is clearly an illusion; glancing back, Sushang cannot see either the entrance or the green lights they encountered not too long ago.
No, everything is just mist, and shadows, and…
Desperate wailing that seems to come from nowhere, and surround them before either women can realize what is going on.
“W-what is this…?” The Cloud Knight draws on her sword, pointing it at nowhere.
The haze seems heavier around them, to the point that she can barely see Guinaifen standing behind her as it is. If there is a foe prowling, circling them, Sushang can neither see nor aim at it.
But no, she can’t be that bad of a protector just because one of her senses is impaired, can she?! If nothing she can hear the creature loud and clear, way too loud and clear for her own taste.
And if nothing, it feels like they are pacing not towards her, but around and then away from her and Little Gui. Closing her eyes, Sushang can see that pattern, a strange one which doesn’t seem to belong to an attacker. To an evil spirit? Perhaps so. After all, they are stomping the ground, or making a similar noise to it, and yelling at the top of their lungs…
“Oh, a wretched spirit!” Guinaifen takes her arm away from Sushang, who opens her eyes and turns to look at her companion just in case. She watches then as the streamer picks up her camera one more time, sets it to record and starts filming their surroundings. “Ladies and gentlemen, we have here an actual sighting of what must be aaaaaaaaa—”
Whatever she is trying to say gets interrupted by a small scream of her own. She points, almost just so that Sushang can understand what is happening, and the Cloud Knight stays locked in position, her back to whatever it is that Little Gui is pointing at.
She doesn’t want to see. She is pretty sure she doesn’t have to see it. But she must, for it’s her job as the woman’s protector…
Sushang turns around.
And grabs Guinaifen’s hand before making a run for it.
She doesn’t realize she is screaming until she’s almost out of air. There are tears in her eyes and her heart is racing, not so much because of the sprinting. Her mind tries to understand what she saw, the tall humanoid figure with silver hair, a very pale face, yellowish eyes and terrible, terrible scars all over their limbs, and cheeks, and legs…
The lights which danced around them, red and reminiscent of fireballs…
The horrible sound that being made after opening their mouth and screeching, worse than what they heard before…
No, just no. Sushang isn’t about to stay around despite whatever Little Gui might say. She won’t let the woman be in danger or something, not for a stream or for anything else. She won’t faint or stay around to see what any of those creatures around the place want to do to them.
“Sushang?”
She won’t stop running, not until they are out of sight from that thing.
“Sushang?”
She won’t look back, or go back into that accursed place, even if first she has to run all the way around in order to leave the maze.
“Shangshang! You did it, we’re outside.”
She won’t—
Wait, she did it?!
Sushang finally opens her eyes and allows reality to settle in once more. Luckily for her, it’s a reality without mists, strange lights floating in the air and weird luminescence lying around. Rather, they are kind of close to the Aurum Alley… with people looking at them a bit weirdly, trying to understand why a Cloud Knight has tears in her eyes and was darting around with her eyes shut.
It’s too much. It’s all too much, all of a sudden: the trip, the encounters, how scared she got. Before she can stop herself, Sushang falls into Guinaifen’s embrace and hugs her, letting herself be held for a moment or two.
“There, there, my knight.” Little Gui croons, beaming. She places a kiss on Sushang’s forehead, drying her tears with a thumb. “You did so amazing! There’s no need to cry.”
The Cloud Knight doesn’t know what to say or do. It’s easier to just be right then and there. To take deep breaths and keep telling herself that she did it indeed: that they went in and out of Fyxestroll without any major incidents aside from the jumpscares.
“You… you got what you wanted, right?” Sushang asks, still in Guinaifen’s arms. It’s comfy in there, good. It makes her feel like she is home in some way or the other.
“Almost,” Little Gui says with another one of her beautiful smirks. “There’s one thing left before I can say that the mission is complete.”
“Oh.” Sushang lowers her eyes, guilt running through her body. It is thanks to her that the woman didn’t do everything she needed to, right? “I’m sorry, I should have allowed you to stay there for longer, and—”
“Hush, now. All I need is…”
Guinaifen lets the words hang between them for a while—enough so Sushang glances at her again. The moment that happens, the streamer leans forward and closes her eyes, then places a small kiss on the Cloud Knight’s lips.
It’s short and quick, but it is what Sushang needs, too. When they open their eyes and stare at each other they smile, both blushing with what was admitted without words.
What they will express in many other ways later on, the mutual love they have always felt for each other finally being shown.
“Let’s go for that meal I promised?” It is Guinaifen who speaks first, offering her arm for Sushang to take. They will have many more opportunities to show how much they love each other, as it is.
“I… I’d love to.”
Sushang takes her hand instead, a new display of courage. After everything that has already happened on that day, she no longer wants to wait. To wonder. To not be brave enough in order to take the next step. If she can survive seeing ghosts, then showing her true feelings to Little Gui is no biggie, right?