It was only over twenty-three hours of this tornt, it wasn’t too long at all. He’d been trapped in the space for longer than the 8 years that had already passed. It was only a day to the outside world, but almost exactly 96 months had passed.
It was a long ti, but not too long in the grand sche of things. It wasn’t a fate that was unbearable, but it would be more bearable with a short rest.
Dong Yang’s body was still attuned to the workings of the outside world, he enjoyed sleeping occasionally. It was a luxury. Even the food Xu Feng had brought him, he would eat. Living with mortals and balancing one’s mortality was not sothing he had ever grown tired of.
It was this play of mortality that kept him going.
A little rest was beneficial for all.
And like that, before the twenty-fourth hour, Dong Yang took a deep "rest," his eyes closing, his consciousness closing, his senses withdrawing from his space. Although he was already centered within the cave, he was more withdrawn now. Previously, he could feel the vitality of the space, now he felt nothing.
It was good to feel nothing. Rest was good.
He would sleep.
Maybe if the mortal’s lunar cycle repeated itself, the life-bringer would have been healed sowhat.
"Hah." Even an immortal could sigh wistfully. Even an immortal could sleep. He hoped a quarter of a millennium was enough to give Xu Feng a chance at life again. There was much for him to live for and too much life he hadn’t lived yet.
The sleep was silent yet deep.
Dong Yang’s calculations were right. Xu Feng was on the cusp of death and his space had a hard ti healing the ger, but it was trying nonetheless. The space had beco a part of Dong Yang a long ti ago.
It shared his past, even pasts he could no longer recall. It rembered the life bringer and cherished him more than Dong Yang could even rationalize. But those feelings were irrational to begin with.
Yet, he was asleep, locked up in his cave-like so reclusive hermit, feeding his energy to so Dragonborn who couldn’t even access his full dragon inheritance. One of the darlings of the heavens was so silly, that he didn’t even know how to utilize his own gifts.
This silly little dragon was sharing his child-birthing gift with those who hadn’t earned his sacrifice. Xu Feng was truly silly, but he didn’t deserve death for that.
Although he was of the dragon clans and a rare bloodline at that, Xu Feng hadn’t fully unlocked his bloodline. He hadn’t even unlocked his mories and inheritance. Dong Yang had overestimated the energy he needed to recover, even from the cusp of death, by a landslide.
The great and powerful immortal’s fear of seeing Xu Feng in such a state led him to withdraw himself from it all. If he was monitoring the ger closely, he would have noticed his breathing streghtnening at the sixth hour and his eyes fluttering at the eighteenth hour, then his eyes opening at the twenty-third hour.
If Dong Yang had the courage to see Xu Feng die, he would have seen him live and breathe once again. But that would have to be addressed in a moon phase or one month in the outside world, and another 240 or so years in his space.
If his space could sigh at its master, it would surely sigh at Dong Yang.
.
.
.
As Xu Feng slowly opened his eyes, the world around him seed like a blurry ss. His vision was distorted as if his eyes had forgotten how to properly take in his surroundings. The hazy brightness enveloped him, an obvious contrast to the eternal darkness he had been subrged in for what felt like an eternity.
Through the haze, he could make out shades of green, though they seed sowhat dull compared to the green he thought he should be seeing. Could color be dull, even after all the darkness behind his closed eyelids?
He felt a sensation on his body, expecting the stickiness of drying blood against his clothing, but instead, it felt powdery and equally disgusting, as if he had been mummified in so strange ferntation process.
Why was he expecting blood or even dried blood?
Lying there on the ground, Xu Feng lost track of ti, content to remain in the peaceful embrace of nature. The grass beneath him seed to be shoveling energy into his body, a gentle wave of pure vitality that washed over him like a fresh new day. It felt comforting, inviting him to stay a while longer, but his body had other plans.
As his brain slowly restored... kind of.
Xu Feng found himself unable to remain still. It was as if the space around him was caring for him. Instead of being pampered unilaterally, he began to pour energy into it in return.
The exchange of energy between him and the space evolved into a playful yet painful slapfight, both entities vying to care for the other.
The Xu Feng who almost died the day before, or the space that was fueling his healing for a solid 8 years relentlessly, who would win in the end?
Both were admirable, both were overindulging the other energy source, two givers supporting each other. How could one Xu Feng win against an entire space? It made no sense.
"Owww!" One slap was entirely too hard!
With a yelp of surprise, Xu Feng realized that the gentle energy could still pack a punch, though the plants around him seed remorseful for their unintentional roughness.
Despite the discomfort, he couldn’t help but smile at the sensation of the grass stroking against his body and the trees leaning in nearby.
The smile was genuine and pure, but his lips hurt quirking the dry skin in such a direction. Was he really mummified? Why was his skin so dry? He could be ashy, this wasn’t a new phenonon, but to this extent?
He wasn’t upset. Just... dry.
To be honest, he wasn’t sure where he was, what he was, or how he was doing what he was doing. His brain was still in wonderland, but the urge to nurture was too strong in him, it couldn’t be controlled even when he felt so lost and unfocused.
Lost in a haze of confusion, Xu Feng struggled to grasp his identity and mories, the nas of those he should know eluding him like a distant dream. And then there was a heat, a sensation that stirred within him, reminding him of sothing...or soone against his own body?
One na. Two nas. Unforgettable, but he’d forgotten.
The nas danced at the edge of his consciousness, teasingly close yet frustratingly distant.
The mories seed to be right at the edge, ready to be unlocked but were blocked by so unknown obstruction.
And... there was that ever-present heat.
He felt the heat, and he knew he shouldn’t be ashad, that was just what his body was like, it was nothing to be ashad of. His body was made like this it was natural.
But... it wasn’t fun when he couldn’t control himself around those two... those two? Xu Feng tried to chase the thought, but the nas felt illusive, nas he should know like his own.
What was his na again... Xu Feng tilted his head against the grass, his new friend, as a searing pain shot through his temples.
Xu Feng winced, realizing that now was not the ti for introspection. With a sigh, he settled back against the grass, the warmth of the earth comforting yet unsettling as he put aside his fragnted mories and uncertain identity.
He was getting more and more comfortable as if he would stay in that spot forever, never hungry, never tired, just a fixture in the space, a part of the greenery. This seed like the best possible life.
The grass beneath him didn’t seem to agree.
The grass around Xu Feng began to stir once again, but this ti, it was not with the gentle energy he had felt before. There was no exchange of vitality between him and the surrounding plants, yet they seed to communicate their will to him in a more forceful manner.
With a firm push, the grass prodded Xu Feng to his feet, his stance shaky after so many years of disuse. He marveled at the fact that he still had control over his own legs, realizing that his cultivation practice must have played a significant role in maintaining his physical abilities during his slumber.
The realization triggered a mont of panic within Xu Feng. Cultivating? Cultivation? Cultivator?
Was he truly a cultivator? The mories remained elusive, just beyond his grasp like a fleeting dream, haunting him. But there was sothing about the concept of cultivation that felt familiar as if it resonated with a deeper part of his being.
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