Light hated this world.
It was a simple fact, statement, whatever. Maybe, there were some things that could change that but this world in general was very much hated and that was not without good reason. However, if she had to be specific that the thing she hated were the people, not the earth or mountains and trees—those things were actually quite beautiful—but not the people in general, but their attitudes. Morals, personalities, views, character.
Her name was Luucht, the Light Empress. Not Tian Languang, even if it partly meant light. She was not a commodity becaue of her gender, not worthless because of her inability—and simply spite—of not understanding or wanting to understand their way of raising strength, not useless because of her not wanting to learn how to arrange flowers or brew tea.
To reiterate it, she loathed it.
Obligations, she was obligated to marry a stranger and who would want that if not a brainwashed fool? Filial piety, laughable when her parents were ready to give her away at a second thought. Strength, even more laughable when they considered she belonged in the top ten in her last life.. Honor, virtue, grace, morals, all of it was downright ridiculous when they could not compare the least to their pseudo-family's youngest and clumsiest sibling.
(Where are you, big sister? Little brother? Death, Destruction, Music? Lightning?)
Four years later and she hears of the Tian finally dying off. That it was caused by a younger step-brother of hers, the one she's heard most rumors of, that one called "the monster" by everyone else. Tian Leiji, not coincidentally also the one who she has most suspicion on.
Leiji, Lightning, their names were very obvious. Lightning had always looked like a male in the past life, maybe she was always meant to be one. This particular person, she was one she hoped the least would be with her. Couldn't it have been anyone, even Darkness?
Did it matter at this point?
And so for the first time in this life, Light lets her elements go free, nearly everyone trembling with the knowledge that there was someone so powerful was hiding among them. She feels the greeting Lightning releases in return, two empresses letting their power go onto the secular world and terrifying everyone.
In the eyes of people who can see is this, a fairy with a qiang in hand and flowing blue and white robes meeting a light-haired cold and untouchable immortal with an intimidating broadsword on his back. The two leave, ascending back to the heavens.
Everyone had taken to eating together. While everyone consisted of Leiji, Yanhei, Hongyun and Lanbing, Bai Shaoxue sometimes visited, dragging Bai Qiafei with him. Today, those two were here again. Lu Yanhei never looked away from writing, um, whatever it was that she was writing. Tian Leiji, while knowing a myriad of languages from her previous life, has never seen these particular characters. Mother greeted, somehow knowing that she was there despite her never reveaing her presence. "Welcome back Leiji and…young miss?"
Leiji did not blink towards this particular ability of hers. Taking it as a normal thing because she could also do the same thing even without cultivation of strengthening her elements. She pulled the somewhat intrigued Light, or Tian Languang over.
Tian Lanbing looked at Light oddly, as if she had an idea of who she was but could not confirm it. Lu Yanhei smiled at her lightly. Ling Hongyun, on the other hand, jumped up and pointed at Light rudely, as if knowing her?
"Ah, hello there. I'm Tian Languang, but I would prefer it if you called me Light." Light smiled brightly and Tian Leiji suddenly felt as if it was better to stay closer to Ling Hongyun after this, lest she be blinded by everyone's bright smiles. This was the smiling squad assembly all over again!
"You!" Ling Hongyun, who had been processing her words suddenly shouted, he lunged at her, looking all like he had found someone he could fight with.
So they had met before. Good, or else Ling Hongyun would be very suspicious of Light.
Tian Leiji very pointedly ignored how Light zipped around while avoiding Ling Hongyun's attacks, not very indulgent to a child's whims currently, especially when said child's main line of thought is about fighting.
Lu Yanhei waved her over and Tian Leiji obediently did as told.
It was later on that Light approached him with a plate of what seemed to be bribes made of sugar. To be short, it was a plate full of desserts that did not exist in this world and a cup of what was probably hot chocolate if they went by smell. "Lightning," she greeted.
"Light, what do you want?" Tian Leiji looked at the bribes and forced herself to look up at Light, inwardly wincing at the habitual cold voice and acknowledging in the back of her mind that Light probably has a Creation secondary.. She didn't mean to act cold and unfeeling, it was just a habit after copying her mother's noble bearing all throughout her childhood. She was just happy enough to have such understanding people on her side—who actually just thought that they warmed their way into her heart.
She placed the plate in front of Lightning and sat beside her, talking in the common language of their past world. "No one blames you too much."
Ah.
This was what it was about.
(Tian Leiji held in a sigh of relief, her conscience lightening.)
"…ah, so, how did you get here? I wasn't the one who killed you." Tian Leiji bluntly asked, ignoring how Light tensed up a little at that and (beamed, why are you smiling at me, the killer of your family?) informed her, "Well, after you killed and injured most of us," Leiji hid a flinch and sipped some hot chocolate, yum. "those weird organizations killed most of the rest of us."
"It was when they got to Flora that we let Destruction loose upon them," right, those two were madly in love with each other and couldn't hide it properly, "Destruction took out sixty percent when they got to me."
"…mn, the still surviving ones?" Leiji looked into the very interesting distorted shape that is marshmallows on the chocolate. Light didn't say anything, blurting out the answer. "Balance, Moon, Destruction, Creation, Chaos and Knowledge."
Twenty-nine, there were twenty-nine of them, now only six of them were left and it was all her fault.
Light stuffed a cookie in her mouth, smile never leaving her face.
Terrifying.
Meanwhile, outside the room, Ling Hongyun and Tian Lanbing were pasting their ears onto the door, eavesdropping and only getting the results of weird sounding words that seemed to be another language. Bai Shaoxue, who dropped in to visit while dragging over a Bai Qiafei who seemed just really tired with life, approached the two of them, asking, "What are you two doing?"
Lanbing hushed him, afraid of getting caught while Ling Hongyun bluntly told him, "Listening in on Tian Languang…er, Light and little boy's conversation. Do you know this language?" he then repeated several words, getting disinterested in the answer when he saw that Shaoxue did not show a hint of recognition on them.
"Oh? I didn't even know there was a language other than this one."
Bai Qiafei commented, still groggy. "There used to be different languages other than this one, no one knows how to read or talk it anymore, maybe unless you are an elder of a really outdated village or something…"
"Interesting…" Tian Lanbing murmured.
"On a side note!" Shaoxue suddenly shouted, "Light…Lai-tu, come rabbit?"
Ling Hongyun perked up and an infuriating smirk was on his face for a split second.
They all pondered about the choice of words before a voice sounded frm inside, Light called out to them. "Come in you four!"
Tian Lanbing flushed in shame of having been caught, Ling Hongyun sniffed, miffed that he was found out before acting like he had notdone anything. Bai Shaoxue smiled innocently, only just having got there and not having heard anything while Bai Qiafei stared at the scene in confusion before apparently deciding to fu-dge it and sit next to his brother.
Tian Leiji inhaled a sharp breathe, recognizing very clearly her mother's amusement at the situation that she somehow knew of despite not being there for. She sent it down their bond and Leiji sent some of her annoyance in a childish retaliation.
There is a lull of peace before Lanbing starts chattering with Shaoxue, Light turned to Leiji and offered her a cup of tea to wash away the sweet taste of the hot chocolate, Hongyun and Bai Qiafei starting a quiet conversation that Leiji couldn't be very bothered to listen in to.
Bonds were, in theory, a double-edged sword. They were just that in practice too, it was a convenient thing to use when checking on loved ones but hurts like hell when cut off permanently. This was why; they were only made with one's most trusted people. However, that wasn't the only thing that was to be considered.
Tian Leiji and Lu Yanhei have a strong bond, yes, but that was because the both of them fulfill the basic requirements of a good mother and son. Other than that, it was…slow. Yanhei truly did love Leiji as a son, but there was always a strain despite it because of how he was conceived, of the fact that she had to raise him herself as a slave of the Tian and somehow succeed in making a good person. That was not to mention that their personalities are constantly clashing even if the two of them love each other enough that they do not show conflict.
Hongyun and Leiji on the other hand, got along like a house that was doused in gasoline on fire without any firefighters coming to put it out. Meaning, the two simply clicked. It was why the two could communicate simple phrases without saying anything when in range with each other even if they couldn't see each other in such a short time.
This was what one could call affinity.
If one were to put it into percentage, then it would be like this. Leiji and Yanhei were at 27%. With Hongyun it was 97%, Lanbing 68%, Shaoxue 63%. Bai Qiafei was actually at 87% and Light 84%.
It spoke volumes of how Leiji was closer to the antisocial and battle maniac that was Hongyun rather than anyone else.
(Hongyun often reminded her of Negativity, Light could see it too. After all, she practically raised Negativity along with Justice. Leiji would not be surprised if he was actually Negativity Emperor reincarnated without memories, but Hongyun was a Star and not a Negativity, so the suspicion was null.)
Then there was the talk of soulmates.
In the past world, Lightning Empress Zapfino's parents had been soulmates—a scene flashed in her mind, of one time where she walked into them doing things and it wasn't that she didn't understand it at the time but all she could think of was "Why is dad tied up?"—in this world, it was treated as a myth.
Not very surprising, Leiji would be surprised if anyone in this world knew that they were real with how they arranged marriages all the time. Light had been trapped into one, Lanbing probably was already planned to be with someone of high standing or something.
It was lucky that they all saw her as a monster and more importantly, a boy, which was what this body was.
Lu Yanhei walked into the room, taking a seat beside Light and chatting with her.
Tian Leiji smiled at her, feeling comforted as everyone settled into the same room.