From another time, a puff of air was slowly exhaled inside a dimly lit chamber from a figure sitting in his study room, his eyes trained on an object in front of him. Guiren finally tore his eyes away. He had already sent Yanmei away after checking her body for injuries. Other than a few mild injuries, the girl was fine. A sense of regret slithered into his heart. Was this what Daiyu wanted to tell him? Yanmei hadn't been hurt? Had he been too hasty in his actions?

His eyes flickered back to the object, a single branch of pink blossoms that laid on his table.

His fingers reached and gently stroke the flowers. Even if Daiyu didn't kill Yanmei, it could not be denied that Daiyu had intended to. Over the years, her heart seemed unreadable. With such a muddled head she had, he could not allow Daiyu to continue to keep the key. Lest in the end, she harmed the sect.

Daiyu.

You really changed.

His fingers crushed around the flower and squeezed tightly. Making up his mind, he left the room. The door banged behind him, and a swarm of loose petals wafted away, leaving the room and scattering in the air.

Never to be seen again.

Gone

********

A pair of white shoes stopped its momentum outside a pair of tightly locked wooden doors. Guiren sighed. He hadn't wanted to come back tonight. However, Daiyu's stinging pleas still rang in his ears, and he couldn't help returning. He shook his head.

"Daiyu."

His voice rang out and carried through into the void of the night. The stillness seemed to cut into his heart. He frowned. Why hadn't Daiyu opened the door yet? Was this another of her schemes?

"Daiyu."

This time his voice seemed to echo about the residence. It received no answer nor the slightest reply. The air seemed to be strangely quiet as though it was waiting for him to make another move. The pond nearby reflected the moon distinctly while the branches of the trees softly swayed. Only then did Guiren realized something seemed wrong. His eyes darkened, and he snapped the lock open.

As the rusty metal fell apart. The wooden door seemed to spread open with a sense of regret slowly. While the room was dark, the moonlight had dimly lit up the room. Beyond the stacks of carefully placed books, the considerately made pottery, and refined sword, a girl laid motionless on the ground.

Guiren felt his heart freezing for a minute.

"Daiyu?" His voice that had become so quiet was congested with confusion. Where was she? Who was this on the ground? The scene seemed to blur as his questions grew. Where was his senior sister? Where?!

His feet seemed to lead on their own, reaching closer to the body. The sound of his shoes stepping in the sticky blood echoed painfully into his heart.

"Daiyu."

The girl remained motionless.

Her black hair was swirled around her neck. Her eyes shut composedly with a gentle smile on her lips. The scene was oddly peacefully, yet Guiren's heart throbbed achingly. His eyes stared blankly.

She was dead.

Countless recollections started to sail across his eyes.

A gentle figure smiling at him yet while everyone glared at him with hatred.

A soft hand grasping his fingers tightly.

The swirling black hair that covered her pale neck.

Her laugh.

Her smile.

Her gentle words.

How was it so hard to recall them until now?

No.

How long was it that he last saw Daiyu's smile?

He couldn't remember.

His chest was filled with fire as his heart began to boil. The painful throbbing of his heart and the air that became hard to breathe seemed to tell him the bitter truth. Trembling uncontrollably, he couldn't stop the rush of tears.

Was he crying?

The anger and hatred he once felt toward this senior sister of his seemed to evaporate to nothing. Was he even angry in the first place? Did he even hate her? A sweet taste surged out of his throat, and Guiren found himself wearing a bitter smile. Blood trickled down his chin from his unstable mental state and throbbing heart.

Oh, so that was what it was.

That uncomfortable sensation in his chest that always appeared when he looked at Daiyu.

It was not dislike.

It was love.

When did he become so misled to not even know his own heart?

But it was too late now to finally realize it.

His trembling hands took hold of her cold ones. Lifeless. How strange. It was always this hand that comforted him. He gently took the sharp handle from her fingers, removing it from her heart. Did it hurt? What was her last thought? Was it of him? As he took away the sharp weapon, a small crystal fell out to the ground from her heart. Amidst the dark blood, it seemed to shine exceptionally bright, but it caused Guiren's heart to significantly dull. With his wavering eyes and trembling hands, he reached out to grab the crystal.

His heart seemed to stop.

The key.

Even if he never saw it before and had only heard it from his master, he was sure.

Clear, yet reflecting so many colors.

This was the key.

********

'If you really want to help me, then give me the key.'

'I can't. I can give you anything but the key.'

'Then we have nothing to talk.'

'Guiren! Stop right there. Do you know why the key is passed only after the holder dies?'

********

Back then, he wasn't sure. He never knew, and she never told him. She had walked right past him with a such a sad look, Guiren felt he was looked down upon. Sad? How could she be unhappy? She had the privilege of obtaining a key to the sect that he only had the honor of hearing about. He had felt bitter for not being talented enough to earn the right to the key.

But now...

Guilt pounded into his bones, and his heart turned ice cold. His eyes blurred as he felt tears clouding his vision. With a shaking voice, he tried to open his mouth many times only to give a wounded cry. Holding her body closer to him, he couldn't even feel himself anymore.

Cold.

His heart.

His tears.

Her hands.

Her body.

She was gone.

He had the key. Yes, this key that he had so desperately yearned for. Yet he was devastated.

"I-I was wrong, Daiyu," But no one acknowledged him. She wasn't here anymore. Her soft voice that'll never comfort him. Her bright eyes won't see him anymore. Her hands that'll never save him.

Gone.

To where, he wasn't sure, but she was no longer with him.

No longer by his side.

From her finger, he slid off a black jade ring. Daiyu had tried to give it to him a year before as a sign of her affection, but Guiren had coldly refused. Yet now he was frantically trying to wear it, holding the slightest hope she would return somehow. But his eyes soon dulled.

"I-I don't need the key. I don't need the sect. I won't yell at you anymore. I'll pay more attention to you. Please.... please... please come back. What am I supposed to do... without you... please come back to me."

His voice carried hollowly into the empty night unanswered.

You never changed.

I did.

in_awe

This is really different from my style. Haaaahh~ I researched by comparing my work and even acted it out. Hopefully, it tugs even if it's a little at your heart. My goal as a writer is to sway the reader. This novel is doing better than my other one. I didn't get so many views until later on. Next chapter will be Guiren redeeming himself.