[again, a flicker. This time, things seemed to have calmed down. Nie Huaisang is once again whole. Well, mostly, save for a cut on his thigh. Su She’s corpse lays in the doorway, face down and in a pool of his own blood. Nie Huaisang sits against the altar, being patched up by a tall man in blue and white robes, while Jin Guangyao, still armless, leans against a pillar. The others are gathered closer to the front of the temple, tending to their own wounds.
The taller man finishes wrapping up Nie Huaisang’s thigh and hands him a vial of herbal medicine, before turning to Jin Guangyao and starting to patch him up. Nie Huaisang seems busy with being fussy and worrying over his own wounds, but once the tall man’s back is turned, his expression sharpens. It’s an expression he’s worn before, back during Cosme’s trial, insisting that nothing was wrong.The taller man asks him for the medicine, focus still on Jin Guangyao–and Nie Huaisang instead of handing it over, tucks it into the front of his robes, instead pretending to search for it.
The taller man turns back, frowning, moving to help Nie Huaisang fumble it out of his robes. As he does, Nie Huaisang looks up over the man’s shoulder towards Jin Guangyao, surprise and fear in his face]
Shi-da-ge, watch out!
[The taller man’s eyes go wide as well, and he’s spinning around, drawing his sword at the same time and plunging it into Jin Guangyao’s chest. Jin Guangyao jolts in shock, eyes going wide, making a pained sound. This gets the sound of everyone else in the temple, who are pushing to their feet in surprise, Nie Huaisang included.
Jin Guangyao realizes, then, what Nie Huaisang has done, openly congratulating him as he pushes to his feet, the taller man’s sword still inside him. Nie Huaisang babbles, insisting he really did see Jin Guangyao reaching behind him–and Jin Guangyao laughs. His hand flicks out, a final garrote wire hidden in his remaining arm moving quick as a whip to wrap around Nie Huaisang’s throat.
Before anyone can react, with a jerk and a push of Qi, Jin Guangyao pulls himself off the taller man’s sword and back into the temple towards the now-sealed coffin, dragging Nie Huaisang with him. Jin Guangyao’s back slams into the coffin, spattering blood from the sword wound onto it as he yanks Nie Huaisang in, hands fisting in his robes. The coffin rattles and the seal fails and breaks under the blood smeared over it. There’s an outpouring of black resentful energy; a tidal wave that shakes the very walls and foundation of the temple. Pillars start to crack and lanterns in the ceiling sway: the temple is going to come down. Nie Huaisang flails, fingers scrabbling at his neck, trying to free himself, panic clear in his face as sweat drips from his temples.]
"Now, A-Sang, don’t you want to see Da-ge with me?"
[Jin Guangyao’s face is stretched into a wide, manic grin, as two hands shoot out of the coffin and grab Jin Guangyao by the shoulders, dragging him and, subsequently, Nie Huaisang, down into it, just as the statue crashes down on top of it, the rest of the temple following suit, leaving nothing but darkness and rubble behind.
Then there’s a light shake of her shoulders, and, distantly:]
no subject
The taller man finishes wrapping up Nie Huaisang’s thigh and hands him a vial of herbal medicine, before turning to Jin Guangyao and starting to patch him up. Nie Huaisang seems busy with being fussy and worrying over his own wounds, but once the tall man’s back is turned, his expression sharpens. It’s an expression he’s worn before, back during Cosme’s trial, insisting that nothing was wrong.The taller man asks him for the medicine, focus still on Jin Guangyao–and Nie Huaisang instead of handing it over, tucks it into the front of his robes, instead pretending to search for it.
The taller man turns back, frowning, moving to help Nie Huaisang fumble it out of his robes. As he does, Nie Huaisang looks up over the man’s shoulder towards Jin Guangyao, surprise and fear in his face]
Shi-da-ge, watch out!
[The taller man’s eyes go wide as well, and he’s spinning around, drawing his sword at the same time and plunging it into Jin Guangyao’s chest. Jin Guangyao jolts in shock, eyes going wide, making a pained sound. This gets the sound of everyone else in the temple, who are pushing to their feet in surprise, Nie Huaisang included.
Jin Guangyao realizes, then, what Nie Huaisang has done, openly congratulating him as he pushes to his feet, the taller man’s sword still inside him. Nie Huaisang babbles, insisting he really did see Jin Guangyao reaching behind him–and Jin Guangyao laughs. His hand flicks out, a final garrote wire hidden in his remaining arm moving quick as a whip to wrap around Nie Huaisang’s throat.
Before anyone can react, with a jerk and a push of Qi, Jin Guangyao pulls himself off the taller man’s sword and back into the temple towards the now-sealed coffin, dragging Nie Huaisang with him. Jin Guangyao’s back slams into the coffin, spattering blood from the sword wound onto it as he yanks Nie Huaisang in, hands fisting in his robes. The coffin rattles and the seal fails and breaks under the blood smeared over it. There’s an outpouring of black resentful energy; a tidal wave that shakes the very walls and foundation of the temple. Pillars start to crack and lanterns in the ceiling sway: the temple is going to come down. Nie Huaisang flails, fingers scrabbling at his neck, trying to free himself, panic clear in his face as sweat drips from his temples.]
[Jin Guangyao’s face is stretched into a wide, manic grin, as two hands shoot out of the coffin and grab Jin Guangyao by the shoulders, dragging him and, subsequently, Nie Huaisang, down into it, just as the statue crashes down on top of it, the rest of the temple following suit, leaving nothing but darkness and rubble behind.
Then there’s a light shake of her shoulders, and, distantly:]