For Warmth You'll Be Longing, Nightingale
Prologue - Come On, Just Feel it, Can't You See It?

Kuai could do nothing but tremble in pain, trying to keep his cries to a minimum. His back was burning, and every time the leather lashed against his skin the agony just kept growing. The added humiliation from his complete lack of clothes only made the whole situation worse.

I’m sorry. He kept his apologies and pleas internal, having learnt the hard way in the past that voicing them just brought him more pain. I’m sorry, please stop.

“We grow tired of teaching you this lesson Kuai Liang,” the Grandmaster claimed before the whip was brought down against him yet again. He clenched his fists, please, no more. “How many times do we have to be in this position until you just follow our commands?”

I tried! And by the Elder God’s he’d tried. But their orders were often impossible to actually follow, and those that were achievable needed to be completed to a standard he was sure no human could physically accomplish. He’d seen others complete their tasks in a similar way Kuai had, yet he was the only one who ever got reprimanded for it.

It’s not fair.

Kuai felt something grainy and sand-like be thrown on his back, and the second they hit his wounds, the burn became unbearable. Against his will, a bellowing screech was drawn from his lips, his hands reaching to claw at where the salt was getting into his wounds.

“Silence!”

A boot hit his back, forcing him down on the floor. He silently sobbed, desperately trying to keep his sounds to himself even as everything hurt.

Elder Gods, if you’re there, please let this end. It hurts.

Even with his eyes closed, he could tell there was a flash of bright light. The foot on his back retreated, and he heard the Grandmaster and his cronies taking several steps back. Kuai blinked his eyes open, slowly tilting his head up until he saw the new figure in the room, standing in front of him.

He recognised her from the scriptures.

Lady Cetrion, Elder Goddess of Light, Life and Virtue.

It felt like his heart had all but stopped.

“Lady Cetrion,” the Grandmaster breathlessly exclaimed. “It- It is truly an honour for you to grace us with your presence.”

Lady Cetrion regarded him for all of a few seconds, before her eyes slowly lowered until she was looking directly at Kuai instead.

Panic gripped him, as he pushed himself back, turning his entire body in an attempt to crawl away from her. He was just a lowly disciple of The Lin Kuei, she should not have made eye contact with him. He knew where this would go. She would want a sacrifice and the Grandmaster would slit his throat.

As he scrambled across the floor, he felt something strange snake around one of his legs. As he looked back to see what it was, he found a vine slowly constricting his calf. He gasped, clawing at the floor to no avail as the vine dragged him back to where Lady Cetrion was awaiting him. Another vine wrapped around his other leg, then two more around his wrists. His body was jerked up off the floor, as he found himself manhandled until he was dangling uselessly from the vines on his wrists.

And so that he was face to face with Lady Cetrion.

Any plea for mercy died on his tongue, this was it. He was going to die. She would claim him to show her favour to The Lin Kuei. Heart beating so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest, tears welling in his eyes, but he blinked rapidly to try and keep his vision clear. If this was how it was going to end, he wanted to be at the very least able to see what she did to him.

Lady Cetrion brought up her hands, cupping them together, a small light emerging as she did. The light slowly began to morph, and soon there was a flower bulb, roots growing underneath against Lady Cetrion’s palms. She smiled gently, as the bulb began to bloom, revealing a beautiful royal blue flower.

Lady Cetrion looked back up at him, giving him the kindest smile Kuai had ever been graced with.

Then she placed her hands against his chest, and Kuai felt the roots of the flower exploring his skin.

And then…

Pain.

Such agonising pain. He’d spent his entire life being tortured and yet he’d never felt anything like this. It was so bad he could barely comprehend what was actually happening to him. It wasn’t until he felt something pulse under his skin that he realised.

The roots of the flower were digging into his skin.

Not just his skin, he could feel them exploring inside him, finding his veins and burrowing inside them. He knew the roots had found his lungs when he suddenly started to choke. Blood filled his mouth and he had no choice but to spit it out lest he drown. Then a sharp pain from around where his heart was, and he knew that this was it.

This was how he was going to die.

His heart giving out as he drowned in his own blood.

And then, suddenly as the pain had been there, it was gone.

There wasn’t even so much as an ache. Just ice cold and numbness. He blinked, coughing the last of the blood out onto the floor. He was light headed, and couldn’t figure out for the life of him what was happening.

The vines slowly put him down and retreated, but the second they were gone his knees buckled and he fell forward. Lady Cetrion caught him, wrapping her arms around him, as one hand reached to stroke his hair. Kuai sobbed into her chest, trying to come to terms with what the hell was happening.

I’m… Alive? I’m not dead. She didn’t kill me.

But why?

Finding just a little strength, he managed to push himself away slightly, just enough to look up at her. She was still looking at him with that kind and loving expression, like a Mother looking down at her beloved child. He was so confused, what was going on?

As he managed to stand up straight, he realised his back felt strange. He reached a hand behind him, finding something solid and cold coating the wounds. He brought his arms in front of him, noticing something off about a cut on his forearm.

There was ice, growing inside the wound.

His attention was back on Lady Cetrion. Was this her doing? Just what exactly was the flower currently rooted in his chest?

She placed her hands on either side of his face, leaning forward until her lips met his forehead.

As she gently kissed him, a vision enveloped his mind.

A room covered in ice. A throne in the centre. He sat on it, legs crossed and arms on the rests. The flower in his chest complimented the beautiful clothes he was wearing, a crown perched atop his head. There was a crowd of people, bowing before him and looking at him with nothing but adoration.

He was loved.

He returned to the present, and Lady Cetrion pulled away. He stared into her eyes, and she stared into his. Somehow, he understood everything now. If that was a vision of the future, or Lady Cetrion showing him what he could become, he didn’t know.

What he did know, however, was that Lady Cetrion had blessed him with these strange powers.

She had chosen him.

And he would make sure she’d made the right choice.

Lady Cetrion finally let go of him, taking a few steps backwards. Light enveloped her being, and in the time it took Kuai to shield his eyes, she was gone.

He looked down, ice was forming around his feet. He smiled. Granted he wasn’t sure how to control this power he’d been given, but he was sure he’d grow accustomed to it.

He slowly turned around, finally seeing how the Grandmaster and the pathetic fools who followed him were reacting. Oh, the looks on their faces were priceless. Mouths agape, looking at him like they’d seen a ghost. It seemed they understood what had happened as well.

He couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped from his lips.

The Grandmaster’s face morphed to one of terror as that chuckle morphed into a full maniacal cackle.

The disciple they had despised the most had become Lady Cetrion’s chosen one.

He was the fucking messiah, and there was nothing they could do about it.

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