Ciel should have left the moment he sensed someone at the pool, but he had felt no hostility. So against his better judgement, he stayed and frolicked in the water, enjoying the refreshing feel of the clear cool water after playing in the sun. He could feel that person watching him in the shadows but instead of making him feel uncomfortable or wary, that hidden gaze made him feel hot instead.
He wondered if it was the same gaze his father gave his mother or Yue gave Dawn. While he had never experienced romance, he was a man of more than seven hundred. Working at the club and watching guests and patrons flirt with heated gazes and suggestive smiles, he would be a fool to be ignorant of the intimate interactions between a man and a woman.
Should he lure him out then? He climbed out of the pool and sat in a sunny spot, enjoying the gentle warmth. He waited but his secret admirer did not move. Maybe he should go to him then. His parents were going to yell at him and Dawn would have shaken her head; if she was around, that is. The loss of his big sister was a big blow to him and perhaps this was why he had been increasingly wild. Big sister, who was his voice of reason was gone and he had been scared. Scared that he would die like her without ever knowing about life, forever trapped between the club and that unwelcoming valley. He wanted to soar, to see the world; the stories he had listened to were not enough anymore. It was one thing to listen to them and another to be there in person.
So he had dressed and left. Concealing his presence, he stealthily used the top of the cliff range where the pool was concealed in and moved to where he suspected that person was. There was a movement and someone came out from a cave nearby. Unable to conceal his curiosity any longer, he jumped down. A foolhardy move but he had his mother’s talisman at the ready if things turned south. And he would take it as lesson learnt and never approach the pool again. What he really wanted was that adrenaline rush and to experience good and bad on his own instead of being suffocated by cotton wool, which was what his parents were wont to do since losing Dawn.
In front of him was an intimidating man. Taller than him with broad shoulders and a mane of golden hair which reached his shoulders. The right side of his face was covered by his hair but what Ciel saw was a bronzed, chiselled face and a very blue eye looking at him in surprise. Ciel was fascinated by this man. He was clearly alert to Ciel’s presence but he neither moved nor spoke. The both of them looked at each other, clearly wary but as neither of them could sense any hostility, neither moved. Ciel tilted his head to one side, as he looked at the stranger in front of him. He was wearing a black robe, similar to that of cultivators but they somehow looked a little erotic on him; perhaps it was because he had not worn them properly and had only tied them loosely, revealing his clavicle and chest.
The stare from that man was rather intense. There seemed to be some unspoken emotion in there and suddenly, Ciel couldn’t take it anymore. His whole face turning pink, he leapt into the sky and fled. The man did not chase him, as expected. He might be inexperienced in the ways of the world but it did not equate with ignorant. That man wanted him… should he feel flattered or frightened? It wasn’t that there weren’t any admirers at the club but he had never come across someone so blatant, so naked with his desires. If he wanted Ciel, would he be able to stop him? He wasn’t sure; that man felt dangerous but Ciel also had to ask himself… did he want to stop him?
There was an unprecedented attraction that Ciel had never felt for any other person before. It didn’t matter that that person was a man; a magical being such as he was not interested in the continuation of the species nor would his parents care. What he needed to know was if he was interested in that man enough to know him better, to take the next step. Ciel felt that his rebellion and spring had come; seven hundred years too late. He felt like and awkward teenager and jaded adult at the same time; foolish and naïve, wanting to take the leap but at the same time wary as the wisdom of the years held him back.
He managed to get back to the club but surprisingly, he was not caught and reprimanded by his father. If father or even his easy-going mother found out what he had done, however, it probably wouldn’t end with just a lecture. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he were to be grounded for a decade. Unknowingly, Ciel had been captured. The blonde man with the penetrating stare had taken over his thoughts and try as he might, Ciel couldn’t get him out of his head.
His mind kept wandering over to the man at the pool and he kept wondering if he should approach him and speak or to lock the memory of that man away and never think of him again. The rebellious, curious child at war with the cautious, guarded adult. All because of romance and lust. In his seven hundred plus years, this was one emotion that had never affected Ciel. Love from friends and family he had that in droves. But passion… that was a sentiment he had never experienced first-hand; the searing gaze of a lover, the intimate exchange between two individuals be it on the physical, emotional or spiritual level. He wouldn’t lie and say that he was not interested. But he was not sure in his heart if it was worth it. He could tell you the dramas that went on in the club, the foolish maudlin heart in the first blush of love, the passions of a searing love, the jealous anguish of an unrequited love, the bitter hate of a lost love. What had he not seen in the seven hundred years of watching humans and gods? Love was one of the strongest emotions there was; its only rival was hate, which was love corrupted. And the question that he circled endlessly in his mind was: he had seen it all, was he ready to experience it himself?
He agonized over this for a good half year. To go, to stay away. To speak, to remain silent. He didn’t know the man, he could get to know him. Mistakes piled up and he was just too distracted to care, nor would he tell anyone what was wrong. One day Master Gin couldn’t take it anymore and just told him to clear his head outside. Ciel couldn’t believe it; he had permission to leave the club, to leave the valley and play? He quickly left before his father could change his mind.
He flew towards the pool again, wondering if he should approach or not. Maybe just a peek? If the man wasn’t there anymore, then he would just treat it as fated and forget about him… then he heard a roar as he neared the pool. His heart went cold and he sped up. He found the blond man there fighting a creature by the pool. The once beautiful pool was no more as the rubble from the mountains and broken trees destroyed surrounding area. Ciel gaped at the sheer destruction that he had witnessed. Another roar diverted his attention back to the fight between the man and the creature. On closer inspection, it looked like a lesser Dìlóng or earth dragon. These kinds of dragons were very much weaker than a pure earth dragon and would probably never ascend; not unless it cultivated diligently for hundreds of years. But they still had some minor powers of their ancestors and could partially control the rivers and seas, if there was no stronger power occupying it.
Ciel guessed that the Dìlóng wanted to find a place to cultivate and endure its lightning tribulation and had come to the empty pool. The surrounding area had a rather rich spiritual aura and with how isolated the pool and waterfall was, it was a good place to prepare for ascension, if it was close. Ciel suspected that was the case, with how the clouds were rapidly gathering. There was an ominous rumble in the sky as well. The man should have just quietly left when he sensed the dragon. He couldn’t understand why he had to fight it. The Dìlóng wouldn’t have been interested to fight him; it was too close to its tribulation and would rather focus on that than to risk failure because of an insignificant human.
He flew closer, forgetting that he was still in his beast form, thinking that the blond man was no match for the earth dragon and that he should help him. But he was shocked when he saw the man use his sword and slash at the dragon, severing one of its claws. The dragon roared in pain and lances made of water rose from the destroyed pool. The speed and precision of the spears were fast and true as they pierced the man in his arms, thigh and abdomen. But as if he felt no pain, the man slashed again, another deep gash appearing through the dragon’s heavily armoured scales, showering the man in blood. The man didn’t even seem to have exerted himself when he swung his sword; how strong was he? Another swing of his sword and the Dìlóng fell to the ground, dead; a look of unwillingness in its eyes. It was so close; if it had survived the tribulation, it would be one step closer to being a true dragon. Instead, it died here because it had accidentally wandered into the path of a demon.
Ciel gasped when the man turned to look at him. He saw a blood spattered, bleeding man holding onto a bloody sword who pushed his hair out of his face. He could see his face now, a scarred face with a ghostly white eye. The other eye was no longer blue but a ruby red that made Ciel shiver. It reminded him of creatures from the abyss; mad and evil. He gasped when he remembered the patrons talking about a deranged dragon killer who had killed rather indiscriminately in Europe and the Middle East. There had not been stories or sightings of him for over a century so many had assumed that he had died. But they all had given similar descriptions: a tall blond man with a scarred face and a ghostly eye.
Right now, Ciel was in his beast form; a beautiful silver-white dragon about ten meters long with flaming red wings. He realized that he was in danger and turned to flee. But that man was faster. Without him realizing it, the man was already on his back and had reached for his right wing. As if they were no more than paper, the man gave a yank and tore Ciel’s wing from the base. Pain so intense he nearly passed out flooded Ciel’s mind. He gave a roar and twisted his body as he rose into the air on his one good wing, hoping to throw this dangerous stranger off his back. The man instead stabbed his sword into his back and slashed. The solid scales, muscle and sinews on his back gave way like a hot knife through butter. In his mind, he was screaming in pain but he could only redouble his efforts to get that man off his back. The actions seemed to displease the man and Ciel felt his other wing being grasped.
‘No…’ Ciel cried in his mind over the pain. It was too late; like ripping wings off a butterfly, Ciel felt his other wing being torn off. Pain and exhaustion were sinking in as Ciel started to plummet to the ground. The man on his back just began slashing on his back indiscriminately and Ciel could endure it no longer. He changed to his human form, and the man seemed surprised at the change. But the bloodlust in his eyes did not subside; he reached over to grab Ciel by the neck and raised his sword. With his remaining strength, Ciel cast a ‘life and death seal’ on the man; if he was going to die, then let that man die with him; the moment his life expired, the seal would activate and the man would also lose his life. But when the seal hit the man, a strange change took over. The red eye that had been staring at him in hatred, bloodlust and madness, slowly changed back to a blue one that looked at him with horror. The sword that was about to stab him in mid-air was dropped and Ciel was dragged into a protective embrace instead. They crashed into the ground, the impact softened by the man, who had used his body to protect Ciel. Even then, the blow still forced a mouthful of blood out of Ciel as he coughed and gasped, his lungs feeling like they had been crushed. Before they could do anything else however, the clouds that had been gathering for the lesser earth dragon’s tribulation gave an unearthly rumble and lightning from the heavens struck the both of them.
