A Tale of Forgotten Gods

Chapter 74: An End of Blood.

Xue Lan stood near a frozen tree, his back leaning against it. He pulled the mask out and threw it away. His expression entirely silent, his gaze lowering at the snow.

He glanced at his hand, which still had some blood marks. Inhaling a long, cold breath, he looked in the direction of the palace. He was a traitor now, but he had a question: Did his brother escape?

Staring back at the cold snow, his eyes lingered at the border of Trasia.

There were no guards, no human noise, or animals. It was silent.

In slow motion, he moved away from the tree. He had to find his brother to ensure he was safe.

Suddenly, a familiar scent ran through the air. The sound of someone walking reached his ear. Tilting his head to look in that direction, alongside that he heard the voice of his heart pounding.

In the direction was Yin, his clothes dusted with white snow. His hand held the black dagger tightly; he stopped ten feet away.

Xue Lan’s eyes found the dagger, and that was when he understood everything. He closed his eyes before turning toward Yin.

The silence between them stretched for a long time. The wind swept through the path, carrying loose snow across the space between the two brothers. The dark green ropes that looked like vines came out of the dagger’s handle, curling around Yin’s hand.

”You’re alive.” Xue Lan said softly. His voice was devoid of warmth, yet under that facade he knew the situation now. ”I hoped you would have crossed the border by now; as always, I shouldn’t have trusted you to be on yourself.”

​”Crossed the border?” Yin rasped, his voice turning more enraged. ”To run away while you slaughtered our father?”

Xue Lan went silent; his eyes lingered on the mark on his brother’s neck. The two bite marks of moths that were invisible for others, but that deception wouldn’t work on him. It was the mark of ancient worms... ”Yin, throw that dagger away.”

”Don’t call me by the name my mother gave me!” Yin grumbled. He surged forward, his boots plowing through the deep snow, and lunged with the dark dagger. Its edge cut through the air, turning the snow black.

Xue ​Lan pivoted on his heel with fluid and precise movement, letting the blade skim past his chest by mere inches. The black snow stuck to his robes.

Fueled by grief and the corruption’s influence, Yin’s attacks became wild, aggressive, and entirely reckless. Strike after strike descended upon Xue Lan, those slashes aimed at the neck, the heart, and the lungs. Each blow was meant to kill.

Xue Lan’s expression shifted; the movements were faster than he anticipated.

​”He waited for you!” Yin screamed, tears streaming down his face and instantly freezing into tiny crystals on his cheeks. ”He thought you were going to save him! He believed in you until his last breath, Yan!”

Xue ​Lan dodged another vicious thrust, catching Yin’s wrist with his bare palm. The vines burned his hand, but he didn’t pull back, staring directly into his younger brother’s bloodshot eyes. ”Listen to me,” Xue Lan whispered. ”If I hadn’t struck him. He would have suffered a fate worse than death.”

​Yin snarled, his strength surging unnaturally as the vines tightened on his wrist. ”Lies! You did it for your ascension!!” With a violent wrench, Yin freed himself from Xue Lan’s grip and raised the dagger, bringing it down in an arc aimed directly at Xue Lan’s shoulder.

Xue Lan had the choice at that moment. Take the blade out and sever his brother’s arm, but he didn’t.

The dagger slashed through his shoulder; his authority didn’t work, even if he had the four seconds of invincibility. He quickly brought his other arm up and pushed his palm with a shockwave on Yin’s chest. The force sent him stumbling backward.

Yin looked up, his vision swimming with shadows, the Overseer’s whispering voice echoing inside his mind: See? He showed no mercy. He strikes you down just as he struck down your father.

Xue Lan straightened himself, hiding the pain behind his facade. ”Yin, he gave you that weapon to make you a murderer.”

”Now a murderer is telling me to not become one?” Yin shouted at him, forcing himself up despite his body. ”I trusted you for so long. I thought you’d save him, and if you wouldn’t have, then I would have tried, but you... you already killed him.”

Xue Lan stared at the mark again; suddenly, his eyes fell on a bat hanging, grinning with a humanoid wicked smile. He realized the true motives of the Overseer at that moment. He sent Yin so he could kill Xue Lan, knowing Xue Lan wouldn’t kill him, and when Xue Lan would escape... he’d torture Yin to use him.

Xue Lan closed his eyes for a few seconds, then he moved his hand toward his sword. Why didn’t he put his brother to safety first... Now, he had to make a choice again.

The wind howled through the barren trees, carrying the faint, ominous scent of corruption.

​Xue Lan’s fingers brushed the cold handle of the sword. He had spent his entire life trying to protect his family in secret, moving pieces on a board only he could understand. But the Overseer had inverted every move; everything he planned failed, turning Xue Lan’s desperate mercy into a fatal trap for his brother.

​If I run now, Yin will return to the sanctum and be tortured. If I stay and fight to disarm him, the outcomes would remain the same.

​Xue Lan took one quiet breath. The frost on his collar rattled against his neck.

​”Yin,” his voice lowered softly, losing all trace of its former indifference. ”I cannot undo what I did to our Father. But I will not let the Overseer use you as his final joke.”

​”Shut up!” Yin shouted, his corruption taking over. ”You talk like a god about mercy, but you’re just a coward!” With that, the black dagger pulled him forward.

Xue Lan squinted his eyes; his expression faltered at that. His hand clenched the blade tightly, and when Yin was close... he flew his hand toward the dagger; it pierced through Xue Lan’s palm, yet he caught Yin’s hand tightly, then pushed him toward a tree.

With a quick movement, he raised his blade and stabbed Yin. The blade pinned him against the frozen tree. He leaned closer to Yin’s ear, then whispered softly, hiding no warmth. ”I love you so much... so much that I can’t let the Overseer torture you. Please... Forgive me... my little brother.”

Xue Lan pulled the blade out; blood sprayed on his hand. Yin coughed out blood, his eyes going dizzy as he stumbled forward. Xue Lan slowly pulled him; his bloody hand held his own dying brother tightly. ”You’ll hate me, and I wish I could have told you the truth... you truly were worthless for not running away from him...” He shut his eyes tightly before throwing the blade away.

Yin’s body remained conscious, his eyes flickering. The dark dagger in hand, it loosened its grip. The vines were stabbed in his nerves; as it fell, the mark on Yin’s neck grew further.

Xue Lan gripped Yin’s clothes. He couldn’t cry anymore; he wasn’t feeling anything, the grief was his guilt. The distant heart, never getting time to understand. The board game took his every piece.

The bat that hung on the tree flew away again with the same sickening laugh that echoed in the frozen field.

Winter died that day... The Trasia that had been frozen for decades finally showed the sun. The warm sun did nothing to calm Xue Lan, who remained frozen while holding his brother.

He knew about the divine dragon’s lake... but the cost...

He shook his head, his grip loosening as he slowly put his brother down again. Yin’s eyes were closed; he couldn’t hear any final words; he couldn’t hear whether his brother had forgiven him or not... not a single voice said the warm word. ”Brother.”

***

The Overseer in the hall grinned with darkness embedded deep within. ”Oh my, such a tragedy. It makes me so sad.”

But there was a small surprise behind that face. ”You killed your father, then your brother that you loved the most... such choices... how are you the same person who couldn’t choose before?”

The Overseer’s cunning smile remained. ”I wonder what you will do next. What will be your purpose now, Xue Lan? You have killed everyone you had.” His expression was patient as he leaned back against his throne. ”Pitiful life, deep chilling sorrow. Your mind is admirable, Dreamer.”

The Overseer laughed cruelly at Xue Lan’s fate, his hand resting on his thigh. ”Run away for now; I’ll wait. You are thinking you are ahead of me, and I’ll break that belief soon.”

The words echoed in the hall.

That was the cruel fate of Xue Lan. The title ”The Perfect Assassin” was true now, an assassin who didn’t differentiate between anyone.