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Centuries melt into years, years into months, months into weeks, weeks into days, days into hours, hours into minutes, minutes into seconds, and seconds into nothing.
Time stops meaning much when you're asleep. It feels like nothing and everything, thoughts lose focus, and memories start to blend into an amalgamation of loose threads and frayed ends. It was someone like Mengzhui's job to tie those loose threads of thought and memory into something more coherent and hopefully something peaceful.
A dream.
Mengzhui wanted nothing more than for every demon, celestial, human, and animal to have peaceful sleep and sweet dreams. It was a daunting task, but one they gladly took with gentle fingers riddled with pricks from sewing needles.
And though they love their duty with their entire being, it was... rather lonely. Isolating. And until they actually had a companion, they didn't really know what it was like to feel seen in company... And now that they did. They never wanted to be alone again. And they would never wish that fate upon anyone.
And for the past centuries, they made due on that promise. Each dream they weaved was in part an extension of their wish. Even the really odd ones that lack any reason. While Mengzhui was weaving away at someone's dream, they heard restless sleep. It wasn't uncommon for people to have nightmares, and so Mengzhui paid special attention to those who needed to wake up or transition into something nicer.
They approached the thread that connected to the sleeping person and found a jumbled mess of threads that whipped wildly like a snake. This must've been a coma then. And judging by how large it had grown, it had easily been a few centuries. They dived headfirst into the mess of threads to see what this person had been causing this person such distress.
Mengzhui opened their eyes to find themselves in a vast emptiness; they felt like they were swimming in a large body of water. Mengzhui took notice of the only other figure in the void.
A Princess?
Mengzhui floated closer; they could feel how weak the princess was in this state. Mengzhui frowned as they took notice of how empty and volatile this dream felt. As if something would attempt to grab Mengzhui and trap them in this empty void... all alone... Mengzhui's own innate panic caused them to flee the dream, gasping for air like they were underwater.
They couldn't help but look at the mess with a pitying expression. What could have led to such a state? And for so long? Was she cursed, perhaps? Mengzhui looked at the princess with a pitiful expression.
'You poor thing...' Mengzhui spoke in a soft whisper as they took hold of some of the thread, their needle already in hand. 'To be alone for so long, floating in nothing... Don't worry. You shall not be alone any longer.'
Mengzhui took hold of another strand of thread and used their power to tether the two dreams together. A lime green and a muted pale blue. Mengzhui worked the threads and frayed ends into, while not a dream, a comfort in time of rest. Another figure joined the princess, a young woman with black hair and dyed green ends. Mengzhui smiled gently as the mass of black thread into a tamed dream. Before they parted from the dream, they pressed a gentle kiss to it like you would a sleeping child's forehead.
'Rest easy now, sweet princess... You will not be alone any longer. May you wake up soon...'
And with that, Mengzhui parted from the dream, having to focus their attention on other restless nights, but the princess did occupy the back of their mind, moving forward.
Seconds mean nothing in the face of what feels like eternity. It was cold. Hualing has felt cold for as long as they have been like this. Memories of their life before sleeping, sobs of mercy, begging, screams, and laughter all felt like distant whisps at this point. The body that housed the sweet princess had rotted away with her family's corpses.
Hualing couldn't move; she couldn't feel much of anything like this. It was quiet. Too quiet.
It all blended into nothing. She was but a passive observer to her own body, feeling everything it felt but also being there to witness it.
And then.
Someone.
A young woman with wild black hair and green streaks had appeared. Hualing doesn't remember anyone like that before falling asleep. She would've remembered someone so enchanting. She watched as the young woman flailed around like a fish out of water before the young woman's eyes locked on her. Hualing could feel her piercing gaze on her, yet she could do nothing about it.
The young woman swam closer to her before gently taking her hands, so they were anchored together. For once in what felt like a lifetime, she felt warmth.
The young woman's hands felt like fire in a harsh blizzard; the absence of warmth around Hualing suddenly felt increasingly more suffocating. It was like the young woman read her mind, though, and pulled her closer. Like the first day of spring, Hualing felt warmth bloom around her. All from someone she doesn't even know the name of yet.
The young woman looked at Hualing with curiosity, not the unkind type, but up this close, Hualing could really see how... beautiful she was. And she couldn't reciprocate this affection. She couldn't even open her eyes, let alone move a limb. Hualing watches as the woman seems to fall asleep again and let go. Only for when Hualing was drifting away again, for her to wake up and start floating after her again. Hualing was embraced by the same, looked at the same, and felt the same warmth of the young woman's hands on hers.
Hualing couldn't say what she wanted to or do what she wanted right then, but if she could...
She'd never let go of the woman in front of her.