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The ultimate fighter dreams only of the stars.
Jing Yuan dreamed, once.
As a young boy, he dreamed of one day being a galaxy ranger, roaming the universe and balancing justice through his actions. What a pity that life never goes the way one plans. This was the first of many dreams of his that are now left scattered to the winds, only the aching memory of which it remains until it, too, is lost to the inevitability of time.
Though this abandoned childhood dream was left unfulfilled, Jing Yuan ultimately was able to touch parts of the universe anyway, through expeditions undertaken as a member of the Cloud Knights to rid various planets of the Denizens of Abundance. He attained a bloodless victory on his very first expedition, marking the beginnings of what would soon become his relatively peaceful centuries of history as General. Never quite known for his physical strength, Jing Yuan nonetheless was quickly considered for his strategy and intellect.
It’s not quite what he was so set on but he’s still in his early years, and the Xianzhou natives have long life spans. Surely he will truly take flight on his own one day, all he has is time in the end. He collects the memories from these expeditions and stores them within his heart, vowing to never forget what he’s seen until it’s no longer just an out-of-reach dream he can only imagine in his sleep but a feasible reality that he can touch and mold with his own hands.
Taken under the guidance of the Sword Champion, Jing Yuan learned of the principles and duties carried on by the Cloud Knights as followers of Lan The Hunt. A Cloud Knight must be able to detach from their feelings to accomplish their goals, never allowing emotion to sway or influence their actions. To not hold back or be held back by any outside force. Of this, he would be tested many, many times.
Jing Yuan soon became one of five heroes of the Xianzhou fleet, as the High-Cloud Quintet. Despite being the youngest member and the last to join, he proved his worth through their countless feats as a group. Of the five, was the Sword Champion, his mentor, Jingliu; a Nameless Foxian, Baiheng; a mortal craftsman, Yingxing; and the High Elder of the Luofo Vidyadhara, Imbibitor Lunae, Dan Feng.
He cherished the time they spent together above all else and grew attached to not only the battles experienced by the Quintet but all the moments in between as well. These were defining moments of his adolescence after all.
The High-Cloud Quintet were all distinct individuals from different walks of life who came together for a common goal, with Dan Feng being one of the most prominent members. Though the majority of people saw Dan Feng as just a scion of Permanence, a hero, or even an evil, he was always simply a person when with the Quintet. They drank and sparred, and the memories of the years spent with each other culminated in the understanding that he had an identity outside of the legacy and duty he was bound to.
When Jing Yuan would allow himself to indulge in fantasy, he dreamed of existing beside them as they were, forever unchanged by the construct of time. It always made his heart clench.
If the present were to inevitably only exist in memories, to be forgotten and scattered, wouldn’t it be alright to let himself dream while he still had time?
And Jing Yuan woke up.
The death of Baiheng and the subsequent Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae, the unpardonable sin regarding the Abomination of Abundance in which both Dan Feng and Yingxing participated, in which Jing Yuan did not intervene, marked the end of the High Cloud Quintet.
Jing Yuan was the only one left to pick up the pieces. He dealt with the consequences of the fallout alone, not allowing the memories and emotions reserved for his friends to interfere with his newfound duty as one of the seven Arbiter-Generals. This was not an easy task, as he has always been quite sentimental and prone to longing and three of the five do remain, though now, not within his reach. But he’s gotten used to this. And Jing Yuan—the General, can not afford to not be strong. For his people, for his friends. For himself.
So when Jingliu succumbs to mara, rampaging indiscriminately as she loses her mind, Jing Yuan honors both her and their duty, repaying her guidance by defeating her without holding back. All the while lamenting that they never truly became close, that they will never be able to.
So when Dan Feng’s karmic debt is to be paid by his new incarnation being shackled and imprisoned upon flawed molting rebirth, Jing Yuan terminates his sentence, pardoning him by exile. Free for the first time in his new life, Dan Heng walks towards the stars and doesn’t turn back.
So he exiles Jingliu, Dan Feng, and Yingxing. So he buries not only Baiheng but every single one of his friends. So he buries his own heart and dreams.
Jing Yuan often makes up excuses to visit the new High Elder of the Vidyadhara, claiming poor health, just to catch up with her. It’s the least he can do, not only as the General, or as one who understood the price, but as a friend. He worries about her.
Bailu has spent the entirety of her life without freedom, only relegated to duties of healing while being considered too useless and incapable of inheriting the Imbibitor Lunae legacy and title.
She has never once dreamed after all. Not of her ancestors’ past lives nor any of her own musings. Indifferent towards her powers and to the world.
It’s too sad for such a little girl. So Jing Yuan brings her gifts and tells her stories of the expeditions that he once kept close to his heart. Though she will most likely never be freed from her duties, just as he won’t, he hopes that, maybe, just knowing at least a small portion of the vast universe that’s out there will help her heart take flight. He hopes, above all, that she could be free at least within her dreams as he once was.
He, too, lacks dreams. He can’t remember the last time he allowed his mind to wander, too focused on his duties, on the present, lately. When he closes his eyes all he sees are plans and preparations for his disciple and his future successor, for the Luofo.
The dozing general, renowned for his seeming indolence, does not dream. To do so would be to yearn for a long-lost past, to exist within these memories once more, but Jing Yuan can not reverse time, after all. There is no going back on the chessboard. How can anyone return to the past?
When at once all he had was time, now he has lived and governed for centuries. His past enemies are either dead or captured, and his past friends are scattered to the winds. He is, indeed, a burdened and old man. But he must—and he will, carry these burdens for there is no one else to. He exists solely as a tool to protect the Luofo, now, and he will give his everything to prevent another horrible disaster from ever occurring.
When Jing Yuan opens his eyes these days, he often sees his disciple, Yanqing, earnestly training. Yanqing was born for the sword, fated to be inscribed within history books telling of his victories and triumphs, but ultimately a little bit too eager. He dreams of becoming the Sword Champion, a title that has since been discontinued after the previous champion's transgressions and exile.
Jing Yuan is relieved that he can dream, that his are well within his reach, achievable, unlike his own childhood dreams. Yanqing already possesses the talent and ability required for such a prestigious endeavor, only lacking what will be conceived over time.
Jing Yuan thinks that Yanqing has grown up well, if not entirely too fast. After all, he’s put many resources into training and raising the boy, even considering him one of his own. He’s proud of him and what he’s accomplished already at such a young age, though hesitant to let him run free just yet. Yanqing has all the time in the world to become more experienced but Jing Yuan also knows that he can not keep him sheathed forever.
Nor can he hold off on the eventuality of passing his role of General to the Master Diviner, Fu Xuan. When she reminds him of her intellect and overwhelming capability to take over, he can not disagree, though he stalls nonetheless.
Jing Yuan has long since become accustomed to the hardships that exist hand-in-hand with being General. If she is to inevitably carry the same burdens that he has shouldered for centuries, he only wishes for her to not experience them too quickly, too soon.
He will hold off until the very last second, in an attempt to minimize the amount of time she will spend undergoing tribulations and regretting as he has. Fu Xuan has already given her everything to divine the fates of the Xianzhou and its people, enduring the pain that accompanies her Third Eye bestowed upon her by Nous, the Aeon of The Erudition, as proof of her unflinching resolve to her duty. Jing Yuan knows that there are no better hands for him to relinquish his position to and that there is no one more qualified.
She need not dream of his retirement, it is only a matter of waiting until the time is ripe.
The Stellaron Hunters. The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, The Antimatter Legion. The Astral Express.
Jing Yuan moved the pieces on his chessboard, taking advantage of everything to gain momentum for The Luofo. He knew that the only way to contain the Ambrosial Arbor was for the Vidyadhara High Elder to guide the ancient sea to flood Scalegorge Waterscape, with the reincarnation of the previous High Elder, Dan Heng, returning and taking the form of the Imbibitor Lunae, provoked by the newly forged Blade, the new identity, or lack thereof, of his old friend and craftsman, Yingxing. Checkmate.
The reunion is bittersweet. His friends have finally returned to the Luofo, just as he once dreamed, though they couldn’t be more different from Jing Yuan’s memories of the past. This is the present, after all, and the past can no longer be accessed. Dreams are just that: unattainable fantasy.
Dan Heng does not reciprocate his warm feelings and Jing Yuan does not expect him to; Dan Heng has fought hard to forge his own identity independent of the legacy he was born to, to acknowledge his past but to not be shackled by the weight of it. Though Jing Yuan struggles to separate the current Dan Heng and the past Dan Feng, he would never chase a ghost at his expense. He would always make the choice to free him. It would be unfair to both of them to continue to cling to already shattered memories when they both have the present and their own cherished people to get back to.
A new dawn begins and he waves goodbye to the Outworlders, wishing them luck on their journey beyond the stars. Whereas he once dreamed of the universe, the Express’s journey will continue to make it a reality, surpassing the realm of possibility. His successor, too, will reach further into the vast expanse of the unknowable that he was unable to.
He entrusts his future to Yanqing and his duty to Fu Xuan. He entrusts both his and Bailu’s dreams to the Astral Express. Go further, he says, than I was able to.
It has been too long since his heart has felt this light. He smiles and closes his eyes.