aroberuka. [WIP] Sidequest (7/21) (Reply)

Fandom: The Scum Villain Self-Saving System
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Shen Yuan & Shen Jiu & Yue Qingyuan
Summary: A Shen twins AU. When a botched ritual traps Yue Qingyuan into a dream made of his own memories, it’s up to Shen Yuan and his brother to dive into his mind to find him - and, maybe, reconcile with their shared past in the process.
Content Notes: Canon-typical child abuse and assorted backstory traumas.

Aaand #7, which marks the end of chapter 1. ~~It’s a good stopping point, so I’ll be taking a break next week before coming back on July 27th with the beginning of chapter 2!~~

Edited August 10th: all right, keeping up with that weekly schedule isn't working for me at the moment so I'm taking a real break while I fully edit chapter 2, and I'll be back with it when I'm done with it - hopefully sometime in September.

first | previous

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They followed Yue Qi out of Su Yintao’s office. This time, the dream didn’t loop them back around, and they were able to explore at their leisure the majestic halls of Qiong Ding Peak.

The version of Qiong Ding that existed in Yue Qingyuan’s mind was a fairly elaborate construct, true to life in a way the previous sets had not been, though it seemed to have been assembled in something of a hurry: the kitchens unexpectedly shared a space with the outer disciples’ dormitories, and they saw three identical training rooms before they found a single courtyard. Wherever they turned, they found more of these single-picture scenes: simple, everyday memories, all proof of a life Yue Qi had built for himself around their absence.

Eventually, they pushed open a door and found themselves in Qiong Ding’s great meeting hall.

Large enough to comfortably host all twelve Peak Lords and their entourage, the room was a master class in Qiong Ding’s calculated use of decoration: sober enough not to distract from the proceedings at hand yet lavish enough that no-one could ever forget who was top dog. At present, it held a meeting between what Cang Qiong referred to casually, though never within their hearing, as the money-making trio: An Ding, with its fingers on the Sect’s entire budget; Sang Tian, whose talisman paper made a good half of the Sect’s alternate revenue; Zui Xian, whose renowned fruit wine easily made the other half. The three Peak Lords, shadowed by their personal disciples, were having an animated yet indistinct conversation - a feature, or a bug? Even from up close, their words were a garbled mess.

Yue Qingyuan stood near the head table, Su Yintao’s own shadow; Shen Yuan looked at him then had to look again.

He looked wrecked. Wan and tired, with chapped lips - had he been biting them? - and dark circles under his eyes - he seemed lost in some faraway thought, his blank eyes a chilling reminder of what had brought them here. Under his long sleeves, his fingers were shaking badly, though there was still a faint smile on his face, a peaceful front hiding any turbulent emotion. After spending so much time looking at the Yue Qi of old, seeing that serene face again gave Shen Yuan an unpleasant start. It was so easy, to look at Yue Qingyuan now and forget where he'd come from, forget he used to laugh and get angry with the rest of them, his mood as easily changing as any kid.

The meeting drew to a close. The Peak Lords gathered together, speaking to each other in a more relaxed manner now that the official proceedings were over. Yue Qingyuan, blinking rapidly, shook himself back to reality as his fellow disciples approached him, slowly coming back to himself just in time to dodge the Zui Xian head disciple’s gentle concern. Uncharacteristically for him, he politely but firmly brushed off all attempts at small talk, and without waiting for a formal dismissal simply walked out of the room.

Such outrageously OOC behaviour rang all kinds of alarm bells in Shen Yuan’s mind, and without any thought for his own well-being he grabbed Shen Jiu by the sleeve and dragged him along after Yue Qingyuan, ignoring his indignant squawk of outrage.

They followed Yue Qingyuan as he walked with purpose: away from the meeting hall, away from Qiong Ding and his fellow disciples.

Just like Qing Jing had its bamboo grove, Zui Xian its orchards, Bai Jian its impenetrable jungle, so too did Qiong Ding have its own wilderness, a forest of pine trees carefully tended to so as to favour spiritual growth and provide both teachers and disciples with some much needed peace and quiet. Yue Qingyuan walked deeper and deeper between the trees, a wooden barrier thick enough for privacy - a rarity on Qiong Ding, which was always bustling with visitors from other peaks and dignitaries from other sects. Slowly, the world outside fell away from them, until they could have believed themselves the only people left alive.

Alone in this stillness, Yue Qingyuan leaned against the trunk of an old tree, clutching his chest like his heart was paining him. Shen Yuan felt every hair on his body stand on end. Something was coming, he could feel it rising in the air, like he’d have felt a storm coming by the smell of ozone. The pressure kept mounting, way past the point where Shen Yuan thought he could bear it, until, finally, Yue Qingyuan breathed in and out and in and out and screamed.

He screamed at the top of his lungs, rough and undignified, breath coming out in sharp, painful hitches. He screamed for a long time, so hard he slowly folded forward, hands turned into fists, held tight against his stomach, like he'd been split open and was desperately trying to keep his guts from spilling out. The twins watched in horror. Even Shen Jiu couldn't bring himself to be glib.

The silence that followed felt like a raw wound. After a minute that stretched on forever, Yue Qingyuan straightened up.

On his face, not a break in composure.

For the first time, it occurred to Shen Yuan to be scared for him.