Chapter Text
In the depths of the Shackling Prison, there wasn’t much else for him to do than drown himself in the irrelevant memories of his disillusioned, broken, irrelevant, past life. He dreamed of the oath he made with his four brothers and sisters to the Arbiter Generals of old when the Long’s Scions encountered the Xianzhou Alliance in their endless wanderings.
He dreamed of dancing before an alter— a farce, nothing more than a performance for his people masquerading as a sacred ritual.
A promise 'he' would one day fail to keep...
He dreamed of standing guard over the husk of the dead plague mark for eons, listlessly wondering how the other Vidyadharian High Elders were fairing in their own respective solitary vigils... Until the day she appeared...
He dreamed of a white haired Xianzhou Native raising her ebony hued blade and boldly challenging him to a duel that lasted days before he and all the command he held over the ocean delves conceded to her skill with the humble sword.
He dreamed of watching a craftsman with the lifespan of a cherry blossom hammer away at rare asteroid ore, boldly proclaiming that he'll surpass all the masters who've come before him and matching his wit as they bantered into the early hours of the morning that ended with a freshly forged spear washed away with water from his own cloud hymn magic.
He dreamed of raising a cup filled to the brim with rice wine and toasting to the people he called 'friends'. The lilac furred girl laughing away whilst the white haired swordswoman rolled her eyes and failing miserably to hide the small smile upon her lips. The pale haired craftsman bumped his shoulder good in jest as they watched the pair squabble as the wine washed away their inhibitions…
He dreamed of a boy who followed the snow haired sword master. Who imagined outlandish strategies that even made the nonconformist craftsman arch his eyebrows in skepticism. And that— despite all expectations, each strategy the Lieutenant concocted played out exactly as planned and ended with their victory. When he wasn’t leading the vanguard, the child oft pestered him with harmless jests in an effort to make him smile.
…And a handful of times, the child managed to do the impossible.
And he dreamed of growing old, embittered, and weary under the endless weight of ‘permanence’ and born from his desire to break free, a stupid idea that had taken root.
One that cost three out of five everything and all there was to show for it was four lightless walls, this eternal cold, and biting chains.
Hatching Rebirth.
The scions of Long preached that after undergoing Hatching Rebirth, the soul is cleansed of all wrongdoings— But fearing the loss of their Imbibitor Lunae, the Preceptors awoke the memories of his past life who committed the atrocities he was condemned for.
And thus, his soul was once again tainted with sin, and so the Ten Lords Commission kept him here for killing four thousand six hundred and sixty six Vidyhadara…
…And for what ‘they’ did to Baiheng.
In the back of his mind he knew that he shouldn’t allow himself to be engulfed by these accursed memories from a lifetime that did not belong to him but… living in a blank world surrounded by four walls that were filled with chains that kept him bound, there was nothing else to do...
He looked up when one of these walls fell away. And then he saw the boy 'he' remembered as the Lieutenant of whom ‘he’ last saw reading out his sentence with his voice cracking at every word…
He was taller than as he was in 'his' memories. His shoulder’s border, eyes dimmer, and yet— he carried a radiance that shone through the suffocating abyss that was his prison that was brighter than the sun.
Now, they called him General.
The General offered a small, sympathetic smile before he informed him in an unwavering voice that he was to be exiled from the Xianzhou Alliance.
Never to return.
Freed from the prison that confined him and the duties that bound him.
After assisting the Healer Lady in repairing the seal over the Ambrosial Arbor, Dan Heng wandered through the marketplace of the Loufu lost in thought.
Rain clouds that were manufactured by the weather machines crafted by the inventors of the Artisanship Commission in the days of old with the assistance of his people’s cloud hymn magic began to take form overhead, making the atmosphere of the now revived Arlum Ally a cool and soothing in the breeze that settled his thoughts somewhat as he contemplated over Jing Yuan’s offer to return to his homeland and live aboard the Loufu now that the sins of his past life were more or less forgiven. He knew Jing Yuan made the offer as a gesture of good will for someone he once considered an old friend... but that friend wasn’t Dan Heng.
Objectively, Dan Heng was needed more to protect the crew of the Astral Express than the well guarded Loufu while the selfish part of him wanted to keep exploring the vast universe as a wanderer. And despite her innate indifference to healing Baiheng Bailu’s proven her resolve to take over the mantle of Imbibitor Lunae… And subjectively speaking… he preferred to continue traveling as a Nameless and cataloging anthropological discoveries in the Express’ archives.
And yet… Something kept pulling him back to the Loufu. A part of Dan Heng wondered if Dan Feng’s sentiments had crept their way into his mind… influencing his life even now.
Dan Heng shivered, oblivious to the chill in the air.
Ever since Dan Heng left the Loufu in exile, he’d tried to leave his past buried where it belonged and yet it followed him everywhere he went. With the hurt looks he received from the older Vidyadhara of the Loufu, with how Blade relentlessly hunted him across the cosmos to pay for an unobtainable wish with Dan Heng’s life, and in the way Jingliu looked at him with disdainful crimson eyes that burned through the black cloth that kept them covered.
And then there was Jing Yuan…
At times, Dan Heng wished that the Arbiter General would just view him with contempt like the rest of Xianzhou Loufu. The way he looked at Dan Heng with genuine earnestness was… more than he could take.
Dan Heng wondered if this was just another remnant of The Permanence that would always cling to him—
"Heyhoooooooo!"
Dan Heng blinked and realized that he had wandered into the Exalting Sanctum glanced over towards the games parlor. He saw a twin tailed Xianzhou Native with light brown hair wearing Jade Abacus oft used by the Divination Commission standing next to her was a girl whose long red hair was tied in a side tail and was dressed in vibrant red and gold fabrics of a street performer with the Cloud Knight he met during the Stellaron crisis— Sushang was her name.
The twin tailed girl waved his way, "Wanna play a round of Celestial Jade? We need a fourth player!”
After a moment’s hesitation, Dan Hen figured why not and made his way over to the pavilion.
“Everyone, this is Dan Heng!” Sushang chirped happily before bumping shoulders the same way Yingxing used to do with Dan Feng with the red haired girl next to her, “This is the silent but deadly guy I was telling you about, who helped me fight off the Marastruck at Starskiff Haven!”
“Bae, ‘Silent but deadly’ is not as cool as you think it sounds.” The red haired girl said as she tossed a jade tile from her collection and picked up a new one from the board. Brows furrowing, she sucked in a breath, “What I wouldn’t give to’ve been there on the front lines to film those action scenes, I could barely catch grainy footage of the General throwing down with that big scary lady from here!”
“We were fighting for our lives...” Dan Heng told her as he took a seat at the vacant game board, though this tile game was new to him, it did not take too long to understand the rules of the tile based game.
“I’m fighting for my life every day trying to stay out of the red…”
”I don’t get it, you wear red all the time.”
”Eh, it’s an outworlder term of phrase…”
Sushang turned back to the Nameless, “Dan Heng, this is my partner, Guinaifen, but you can call her Little Gui for short.”
“I will not—“
“He will not!”
The twin tailed girl picked up a jade time from the table with well practiced precision and focus before introducing herself, “I'm Qingque, a diviner from the Divination Commission. It's my day off by the way."
Glancing towards Dan Heng as she tossed a discarded tile back to the table, "So what’s your deal Mr. Dark, silent, and broody?”
Dan Heng blinked and opened his mouth to reply that he was fine, but he couldn’t form the words…
Putting this internal turmoil that has plagued him since his rebirth into words was... difficult.
Sushang regarded Dan Heng thoughtfully before speaking up, “You know, my Uncle back on the Yaoqing likes to say that if I let heavy thoughts weigh me down, I’ll won’t be able to grow. Maybe you’ll feel lighter if you let them all out!”
Guinafen blinked and turned towards her girlfriend, “You have an uncle? Since when?”
“Well actually he’s my neighbor, but when I was a kid I had trouble pronouncing his name cause one of those old language names, so he tried writing it down but I ended up reading the characters as ‘tree uncle’ instead and it stuck!” Sushang tried to laugh off her childish antics while Qingque, Guinafen, and Dan Heng exchanged concerned looks that the Cloud Knight Lieutenant quickly took notice to, “I have trouble reading— okay!”
”That’s some serious skill issue, sis.”
“Yeah, imagine if the Divine Foresight declared that all Cloud Knights to have a passable reading proficiency.”
Sushang quickly shushed her friends, “I can read— now!”
“Bet.” Qingque gestured towards the store across from the games parlor, “So what’s that sign say?”
Sushang glared at the librarian, ”…That the Master Diviner’s headed right for us.”
“Wha—“ Qingque fell out of her seat as Guinafen and Sushang erupted into laughter.
Dan Heng sighed and in a moment of irrationality, told the three everything that had been troubling him since leaving the Loufu in exile to the best of his ability.
”…I don’t want to live on the Loufu— because I know that’s what Dan Feng would do. but at the same time… I feel as though I’d be leaving something unfinished if I continued traveling.”
Dan Heng hung his head and sighed. He was met with silence. Honestly, he didn’t know why he vented all of this to these three who had no stake in his troubles. He didn’t know what he should’ve expected unpacking all of that—
Guinafen whistled, “And here I thought my dark past was dramatic!”
Qingque leaned forward, resting her elbows on the wooden table and clasped her hands together as though lost in thought, “I think the root of your deal is you’re worried about Lady Bailu, cause she needs someone to teach her High Elder Cloud Hymn magic? Oh— or do you secretly want to be friends again with the Dozing General? You two may not know eachother now but you used to in another lifetime and that’s gotta mean something, right?”
“I have no interest in getting involved in the Vidyadhara’s politics, or the Divine Foresight—“
Qingque and Guinafen snickered and Dan Heng realized his mistake And rolled his eyes. Sushang on the other hand looked lost in thought as she stared at the jade tiles on the board.
“You’re not who you used to be. And the Loufu’s not the same as when Dan Feng was around either.” Sushang looked up, “Maybe what you need is to take a vacation and see things as they are for yourself rather than through someone else’s eyes?”
“And didn’t you say that Dan Feng created Bailu?” Guinafen added, “So wouldn’t that make her your sister? You ought to spend time with her before she’s all grown up! Trust me, you’re gonna miss the days when your little sister’s cute and wants to play all the time!”
…Perhaps it was because none of these girls knew of the ways of the Vidyhadara that speaking with them was like a fresh perspective. And perhaps if he stayed for a little while, these memories he’ll make aboard the Loufu as it is now will finally allow Dan Feng’s memories to wash away like the tides.
Dan Heng’s thoughts drifted back to the little dragon smiled up at him, "You know what? It's like you're the teacher I've been waiting for!“
“And no one’s telling you to stay for forever,” Sushang exclaimed as her eyes shone with a brilliance only the unbroken youth possessed, “we have smartphones so I’m sure you can call your friends whenever you’re ready to get back to your wanderings. And if that doesn’t work, Qingque can help you find the Express at the Divination Commission—“
”No I won’t!”
Dan Heng’s phone chimed with a text message from one of the Astral Express Crew’s many group chats from the conductor wishing him well and looking forward to his return to traveling aboard the Express when he pushed passed the doors and strode through the light projections of star chess of the Seat of Divine Foresight’s projection sand pit.
The aids greeted him with a polite formality that he did not feel he deserved before moving out of earshot.
Jing Yuan’s disciple was assisting his teacher with going over digital documents when he looked up, Dan Heng didn’t miss the small flare in his golden eyes that was quickly snuffed out as he glanced towards the General who silently instructed him to take his leave.
The Cloud Knight Lieutenant silently bowed and gathered the Jade Abacus tablets. Before he left, Dan Heng spotted that same flare in the young Lieutenant’s eyes as he passed the Nameless.
Whether the Lieutenant’s expression was a silent challenge or lingering wariness, Dan Heng could not bring himself to care as he looked back at the General, who regarded the Nameless with seemingly laid back curiosity.
“General,” Dan Heng cleared his throat as he summoned his resolve, “I have made my decision about your offer from earlier…”
Some Time Later...
When Pom Pom announced they were using what little fuel they had to revisit the Xianzhou Loufu for not only a festival and to act as witnesses for the Alliance’s investigation into the Stellaron crisis— but to also pick up the Astral Express’s resident guard and archivist, to say that March 7th and the Trailblazer were confused was an understatement.
“Um Pom Pom, did you bump your head on our last space jump Dan Heng’s been shut in his room this whole time!” March 7th pointed out, gesturing towards the archives where the Expresses Guard slept.
“Uh, no. Not long after the Ambrosial Arbor crisis, Dan Heng he told Pom Pom that he still had unfinished business to attend to on the Loufu, plus since the Express was only given four tickets to the Charmony festival he thought you guys would have a more fun time than he would. He just texted that he was ready to catch up with the crew now!” Pom Pom made a little gesture with his tiny arms pulling the train’s whistle, “Whoo Whoo!”
March 7th and the Trailblazer stared at Pom Pom blankly.
“So, you’re saying that this entire time Dan Heng wasn’t here?”
“Yes.”
“But what about when he showed up with Boothill when we were saving the day on Penacony!?”
“Pom Pom was video chatting with him and Penacony’s dream technology made the halo images look super lifelike!”
“But we’ve been texting him all the time and it’s never came up!”
“Yes, you guys text Pom Pom too. Then there’s the group chat with all of you and the group chat with just the three of you kids. And then there’s the secret group chat with— Pom Pom’s got a backlog of unread messages from just the two of you alone!”
“So then… if Dan Heng’s not here… who the heck’s this guy!?” The Trailblazer pointed to the person standing next to them who was a spitting image of their Vidyadharian friend. Who was reclining on one of the party car’s couches, casually listening to Sush tell one of their bad puns that would send the tellers of dad jokes to tears with a straight face.
Pom Pom shrugged.
When the three stared at ‘Dan Heng’ for a good four minutes and forty five seconds, a grin rivaling that of the Cheshire Cat spread across ‘Dan Heng’s’ face and in the familiar voice of the masked fool who’d tricked, pranked, and kind of tried to kill them throughout their travels on Penacony— she cheered,
“Guess who’s baaaaaaaaaaack~”
“Ah! SPARKLE!”
Acting on pure self preserving impulse, the Trailblazer summoned their trusty baseball bat and with all the power they could muster— they swung.
Under any other normal circumstance, swinging a bat at the head of a little girl would be considered dramatic and a little bit of overkill— but Sparkle literally just tried to blow up the Radiant Feldspar with fire works, so there was no holds bard as far as the Trailblazer was concerned.
And unsurprisingly— the moment their bat made contact with the masked fool, a figurative explosion of paper confetti filled the party car…
The Astral Express’ return to the Loufu was delayed by forty five minutes due to Pom Pom needing to clear out the sea of colourful paper scraps from the party car while March 7th and the Trailblazer tried to help… which added an extra twenty minutes to the delay.
“…I stand by my high morals.”