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 Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2024 1:22 pm
Qingcheng held his breath as he held Nalanda’s hand. They both arrived together, and both in one piece. So far so good. The place was…for lack of a better word, wonderful. The round top mountains. The mists that hovered near the peaks. The waterfalls, the lush greenery…it was amazing. There was a slight pang in his chest, and he refrained from saying the words that wanted so badly to bubble to the surface. That he wished that Laojun was here. But.
He wasn’t. And honestly…that was okay.
It would be okay.
It was okay.
They were here for a purpose...and having a purpose was good. It was grounding. Qingcheng needed that from time to time. He squeezed Nalanda’s hand in his own and glanced around, not really knowing where to start. There were pathways and overgrown gardens, and they were all worth looking at, but he gently tugged his partner's hand when a speck of light caught his eye. “This way, I think.”
He began walking, uphill, of course, because why would anything be an easy trek. It wasn’t a steep hill at least and the softly bubbling brook beside the path was soothing. Relaxing. Wasn’t there supposed to be something wrong? The Code had sounded so concerned. So unhappy, so worried. There was something wrong, it would be reflected on their Wonders but…everything seemed fine here. Tranquil and lovely.
Of course, that was until they found the building that the shimmering light was leading them to. Or at least, the building that he thought the light was leading them to. There was a large tree on top of the building. The roof was slanted inwards and the whole thing looked absolutely unstable.
“Oh.” Qingcheng’s eyes widened in concern, in worry. This…
How was he ever supposed to find his Code piece in a building that looked as though it were ready to come down?
He swallowed hard and finally let go of Nalanda’s hand, staring at the mess before him. The doors were…open. But open in a way that looked as though they had been knocked open and were now stuck that way. The whole place…looked as though it would come down if they so much as breathed incorrectly.
“I’m not…really sure how to deal with this. The trail was leading me here, but I’m afraid that if I go in there…what if the place collapses in on us? We don’t have a way to move the tree or to see if there’s any better way to find whatever is inside…”
As Qingcheng looked at Nalanda, the expression he wore was one of absolute confusion. This…wasn’t how he had wanted things to go. Wasn’t how he thought things were going to go…but now…this was what they were stuck with.
“...You don’t happen to have any ideas, do you? Should we just…go in and be careful? Maybe…fixing the Code will fix this?” He wasn’t sure it was possible…but then…this was all caused by some magical mishap…so. Perhaps.
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2024 1:00 pm
Qingcheng was breathtaking but Nalanda had expected nothing less.
There was something particularly magical about Cosmos Wonders but he would have been biased no matter what world Qingcheng was located on.
He allowed himself to be led and used his free hand to lift his robe just slightly so he could keep up and follow easier. He wasn’t much for this much exercise and he’d already spent so much energy at his own Wonder. It was a bit difficult not to huff and puff as they ascended but he did his best not to sound like he was terribly out of shape.
There was a tickle in his lungs but he ignored it. They’d had so much fresh air today that he hoped he hadn’t strained himself. He’d find out later.
When they reached the tree, he tensed. Qingcheng couldn’t possibly be thinking about going in there…There had to be another option, right? Knights or not, neither of them would benefit from a building collapsing atop of them.
He was more aware of the discomfort in his lungs, even as he made a conscious effort to hold his breath.
A moment passed. Nalanda couldn’t think of anything else.
“...If we’re careful,” he said, though he couldn’t believe the words were coming out of his mouth.
“Maybe…”
Oh, it seemed like such a bad idea.
It was just also their only idea.
“Just don’t go too deeply,” he insisted. “Don’t touch anything. Don’t let go of my hand. If something goes wrong, we can probably make it back to Destiny City. We’ll have better luck if we stick together, I just don’t want to get separated.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2024 7:39 pm
Qingcheng looked at Nalanda with grateful eyes and hesitated, squeezing his hand. “Are you sure? I…I really think it’s in there, and I know that I have to go and see…but if you’re not comfortable…you can just stay and keep watch out here…”
It wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to do Nalanda’s plan. Wanted to go together. Wanted to not let go of the comfort that Nalanda’s hand provided, and his face said all of that. Qingcheng had absolutely no poker face, but right now, he had forgotten that. Which…was fine.
“I’ll be careful, no matter what I’ll be careful…you don’t have to worry about that.”
Priam’s Code Piece had turned the lights back on. Given the flowers life again…
Clearly, there was power in fixing these things…
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Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2024 7:30 pm
Nalanda gave him a look, like he couldn’t imagine who Qingcheng thought he was fooling.
“I’ll worry no matter how careful you are. But if you think it’s in there,” he drew in a breath, held it, and then nodded. “Well, let’s try.”
He didn’t release Qingcheng’s hand, no matter how much he did not want to go in there.
“We’ve been through worse, haven’t we? If the building’s a little shaky…”
Oh, it was such a bad idea.
“We’ll just stay alert. Don’t touch anything that doesn’t need to be touched. Besides–if the Code piece is in there and it is dangerous, we need to get it out and find it somewhere else anyway, don’t we?”
It didn’t really seem like they had a choice no matter what.
“Let’s not drag it out any longer than we have to, though. No time like the present.”
…Besides, if they stayed out here for much longer then he might find a way to talk himself out of it.
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 2:29 pm
There was obvious danger, but Nalanda was staying by his side, and that alone made Qingcheng almost glow with contentment. “Come on. We’ve got this. I’m sure it will all work out, just like it did with yours.”
The worst thing they had come away with from fixing the Code Piece on Nalanda was wet clothes which had been easily taken care of by a quick power down and back up, and now? Sure…this was a dangerous structure but.
They were together...and honestly?
That fact gave Qingcheng all of the courage that he needed.
Slowly, carefully he moved inside the mostly destroyed structure, closing his eyes as the darkness of the building enveloped them and for a moment, he simply stood there, breathing as steadily as he could. When he opened his eyes again, the soft, golden sparkle was back. “It’s in here, Nalanda…come on, it’s going to be this way…”
His voice came out just above a whisper, as though speaking too loud would cause the tree to finally destroy the rest of the building.
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 3:49 pm
Nalanda hoped this worked out the same as his, but then–the worst thing he had to deal with were some stairs and splashing water.
It had never occurred to him to worry about the foundation or structure of his Wonder.
…Although, if it had been waterlogged for so long…
No, no.
He couldn’t afford distractions. He needed to focus on what was going on here, especially given how dangerous it looked.
Nalanda followed Qingcheng quietly, equally careful about speaking or breathing with too much vigor.
“Okay,” he whispered. He kept his hands to himself and had dismissed his staff. He didn’t want to bump into anything, and he walked slowly to make sure he didn’t trip. Staying close to Qingcheng was easy, even if he couldn’t see much right now. He just held his hand tightly and moved with him.
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 6:29 pm
Thankfully, it seemed that with as bad as the structure had looked on the outside, it wasn’t quite as bad on the inside. Most of the damage was to the outer structure, or at least that was how it seemed, and the further Qingcheng went inside, the more sure he felt about this.
Of course, when he opened the door and the staircase led downwards, he had some misgivings, but only squeezed Nalanda’s hand once again and began to walk down the steps.
Thankfully, they weren’t nearly as deep as Nalandas had been, and even more thankfully there wasn’t any water at the bottom. Just a room that looked to be absolutely wrecked. He wasn’t sure what it was meant to have been but now, the only thing that seemed to matter was the small hanging object near the small window. It looked a lot like the crystals that were on the back of his outfit, and he noticed that the space at the bottom of the…suncatcher? Maybe it was a sun catcher…but it was empty, and he had the feeling that…the Code Piece was supposed to rest there.
It made some sense, it would light the whole piece up when the sun was set…and it would be beautiful.
“Okay…it should be down here, somewhere…”
His voice was still quiet and he hesitated for a moment before letting go of Priam’s hand and walking a few steps to a small pile of rubble and gently, removed the debris off of the faintly glowing orb.
“...Found you.”
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 7:59 pm
Nalanda wasn't quite sure he trusted it from the inside despite its more sturdy structure. He was fine, for the most part.
Until Qingcheng released his hand. He wanted to chastise him that it wasn’t part of the plan, that they were supposed to stay together just in case, but he’d already hurried off and–
Found his Code piece.
Nalanda inhaled and eyed the room around them suspiciously.
He moved closer to Qingcheng, one slow step at a time, and gently placed a hand on his back.
“This place looks like it could be lovely,” he said, trying to forget that there was a nearly toppled tree looming above them.
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 8:15 pm
“You’re not wrong, Nalanda…it…it feels…”
He picked the Code Piece up and held it gently, cupped in his hands. “It feels…somewhat familiar? Even though…I’ve never been in here before…I would have remembered, I’m sure…”
Walking over to the dangling crystals, he pressed his forehead to the small, weakly pulsing orb, not really sure how else to…interact with it.
It must have been the right thing to do, because a warmth pulsed through him as he did so and light seemed to seep into his closed eyes.
It was beautiful. Radiant. Like being in a swirling crystal rainbow.
There were images that were gone too quickly to really understand, but…he was doing it. He was resonating...and it was wonderful.
As he stood there, time seemed to stand still, until a very loud rumble came from the room above, and dirt and dust fell from the ceiling.
The ground trembled, but Qingcheng didn’t seem to notice, eyes still closed, still cradling the Code Piece.
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 8:46 pm
Resonating with the Code piece was a strange sensation, and Nalanda knew how easy it was to slip into an unnatural, dream like state. Though he’d only been resonating with his for maybe a moment or two, the experience felt both longer and shorter.
He wondered if it was the same for Qingcheng.
…Except, when Nalanda was with his Code Piece, the ground wasn’t trembling.
“Qingcheng,” he whispered, watching the ceiling warily as the dust shifted. There was a lump in his throat already and he felt his heart rate accelerating.
He rubbed at the Knight’s back a bit anxiously. He had to resonate with it, but–
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 9:01 pm
The rumbling grew louder and the room shook for a moment, before finally the Code Piece in Qingcheng’s hands grew bright, lighting up and sending flashes of rainbows all over the room. It was beautiful, or would have been if Qingcheng would have seen it…he did see…feel? When the Code Piece was…better. It felt warm, seemed to almost vibrate in his hands, and he slowly opened his eyes, looking a bit dazed.
There were tears prickling in the corners of his eyes and he blew out a breath, giving a soft, shaky laugh as he placed the glowing orb back where he supposed it belonged.
It fit just the way it was supposed to, and the light from it cascaded through the other gems and reflected across the room–rainbows once again.
“Oh…Nalanda that…was…intense…”
He looked over at the other Cosmos Knight and gave a soft, somewhat confused smile. “...I think it worked?”
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 9:07 pm
Nalanda was still frozen, too on edge from the rumbling to be glad that Qingcheng thought it worked. He was glad, of course! But the whole place had just been shaking. The room was beautiful, bathed in an otherworldly, dreamlike light.
Qingcheng looked like he had become emotional during the experience, and Nalanda didn’t blame him, but it was difficult to feel as though he could celebrate right now.
They still needed to get out of there.
“Good. Your Wonder was shaking some,” he said, and with his free hand he fanned the air a bit as if to clear the dust.
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 9:11 pm
“Was it?” Qingcheng drew in a breath and reached down, taking hold of Nalanda’s hand again. “...You wanna go out the way we came or…cheat again? I think…I think we should go out the way we came…just to make sure…I…”
He swallowed and looked a little guilty. “I would hate to never be able to come up here again if we get stuck in the basement…”
It might be dangerous but…he wanted to come back to his Wonder. Wanted to spend time here…see what it was really like.
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 9:47 pm
Nalanda gave him a tired look but there was no rejection or reproach in his gaze. He wanted to get out safely. His curiosity did not overwhelm his self-preservation.
He understood.
He just worried.
“All right,” he said, and held on tightly to Qingcheng’s hand.
“But if it shakes again like it did before, I want you to be ready to get out of here. Even if something happens and the ceiling caves in, if we’re still in one piece we can at least start digging things out. If we get crushed underneath everything before we get a chance, ah…I’m sure you can imagine. Go ahead, lead the way.”
He squeezed his hand reassuringly. “I’m with you.”
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Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2024 9:55 pm
Qingcheng gave a nod and a small smile. “That’s fine. If it gets dangerous. We cheat. Nothing wrong with that, and you’re right. It’s safer that way.”
He drew in a breath and began cautiously climbing the stairs, again just being quiet...as though it were an avalanche and noise would trigger the full collapse of…well. Everything.
The room that they walked into however was filled with light, and the creaking sounds that were heard before were gone, and as the two walked outside, the tree that had been on top of the building, was back where it was supposed to be. Standing tall and sentinel over the building and the whole area. It was beautiful. And all of the damage to the building was gone, leaving a tranquil, lovely view.
“Oh…” For a moment, the sight absolutely took the Knight’s breath away and he squeezed Nalanda’s hand back, giving a soft, shaking laugh. “...Looks like we fixed it all.”
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