What comes to your mind when you hear the word 'Antagonist?.'
A character with an evil role?.
Then, what comes to your mind when you hear the word 'Fantasy?.'
Something that is filled with extraordinary things?, beautiful and amazing?, a world filled with fun adventures?, full of Magical things beyond logic?, even sounds crazy!?.
Yes, of course all that crossed your mind.
But, have you ever thought that a fantasy genre with an antagonist is closely related? What comes to your mind when you hear that statement? You must be wondering, "how can the two be so closely related?".
That's because the antagonist is someone who is not only evil, but also sometimes they are someone who is just running away from a painful reality. Unfortunately fate is too tightly gripped so they can't escape from the thing that hurts them so it's the dark side that they bring out to fight the fate that grips them.
And one more ....
Have you ever wondered why writers prefer to write stories with fantasy genres that are not real? Why are writers so fond of writing things that are beyond logic and full of fiction rather than writing stories that take from real life?.
The answer is one, and it's the same reason most antagonists experience: to escape from a painful reality.
People are too tired if they have to reopen a story that has happened in the real world. They are tired of the routines in real life that sometimes restrict and suppress their lives. So, if someone is told to choose to read a story, most of them will definitely choose to read a fantasy genre story, where freedom is what they feel when immersed in the story without having to be bound by the laws of life in the real world which are sometimes cruel and unfair.
But, do you know? Those who write fantasy stories sometimes what they write is not just fantasy, but it actually happened in their lives.
For example, when you were truly an evil demon emperor you were reincarnated because in your old life you died just to catch up with your lover. But honey, no one will believe your story if you tell it in the era where you were reincarnated. In the end, you prefer to suppress and then pour all the contents of your thoughts and feelings into writing.
You start writing the story of your old life in a world that people think is just a fictional story that never really existed in the real world.
Ctak!
After pressing the enter key, the man – Chunyin smacked his finger to type. His eyes looked empty and empty, his soul seemed to have disappeared from his body.
His mind had drifted far away somewhere. Fuck!, he was a little sick and sad. His face was gloomy, his feelings churned like a firestorm that burned everything to ashes.
"Xiang-er…" Chunyin's mind drifted. He dropped his gaze to an image on his laptop screen. It was an image in an article that carried news of the engagement and wedding day of a beautiful young director who owns the largest Healthcare company in the Chinese capital.
Many are familiar with the figure of a beautiful young director from the owner of the largest hospital in China who in three days will marry a talented young doctor who is also in the spotlight of many media because of his appearance and skills in the medical world.
Can't forget. Of course he was very familiar with the picture of the beautiful director. the owner of that sweet, radiant face was An Jia Li – the face of a reincarnated lover.
That night. After experiencing the same dream over and over again, Chunyin finally realized her true identity – in her old life, she was someone who was very close to An Jia Li.
Zhang Chunyin was fully aware that he was the reincarnation of an emperor in his old life named Fengying Haochun. He is someone who has developed a love with the figure of An Jia Li who he knows better by his real name in his old life, namely Xiang Lian.
However, in his old life. Xiang Lian had to be killed which caused him to sink into a deep sadness so he decided to end his life to catch up with Xiang Lian – hoping they could meet in another life.
His hopes were realized, but who would have thought that fate was still toying with him.
In their previous life, they were separated by death and then reunited in another life in the same world, even with the same destiny, which is not being able to be together.
Two lives. Present or past. They are like only destined to just meet but not to unite to be together in a life bond line.
Even in the current life it was more painful for Chunyin. Fate seemed to never get tired of continuing to describe the scratches on his heart. He didn't know what picture would form in the end from all the scratches that had been poured into his feelings by fate, but one thing for Chunyin he could feel in his two lives.
Hurt.
After reincarnating, Chunyin is again faced with things that can't make her smile. In this life, An Jia Li had tied the knot with another man. She married that man and forgot about him. Moreover, the other man was none other than his own brother at this time. Even so he couldn't blame anyone because in this life An Jia Li clearly had no memories of her past life.
An Jia Li did not remember who she was in the past, nor did she remember who Chunyin was to her. Currently, An Jia Li only knew Zhang Chunyin as her husband's younger brother. He didn't know who Fengying was. Even now, Chunyin was nothing more than a friend to him – nothing more.
Killed by circumstances. By now Chunyin was dead. The soul in his body was a Fengying who loved Xiang Lian so deeply that he could feel his heart breaking once his old lover only thought of him as an ordinary friend in his current life.
The pain prompted Chunyin to reminisce about her old life which was as sad as hers now. Can't be together and have to lose for the second time. Chunyin is ruined! Every bit of him couldn't forget Xiang Lian. Even to the tiniest bit, he still loves her. Xiang Lian is his only true love. No one else. No one can replace him.
"Am I just an antagonist who never gets what I want? Is having Xiang-er just my fantasy?" Chunyin asked without expecting an answer to come to her, she didn't even want to hear the answer even if someone answered it.
But ....
"At least… Xiang-er and I can be together in the novel" Chunyin muttered as she stared blankly at a book that was her first meeting with An Jia Li in her second life. A book that is actually a novel by him that he wrote before his old memories surfaced.
The novel entitled True Love From the Heart was written by Chunyin based on references from her dreamland. At first he was quite happy to write the story. But after his memory came back. Chunyin couldn't help but smile like an idiot because she had written a novel based on her own old life story. And the beautiful ending is what he wrote in his story.
"So this is how I escape? It's so ridiculous" thought Chunyin. He chuckled a little at his own pitiful self. Even so, he slightly hoped to enter the story in his own novel to feel the ending of his beautiful story even though it was only a form of his pathetic escape. But it was impossible, so finally sleeping became his last resort to sink into the comfortable cold void.
Chunyin recalled the night he had a dream before her old memories returned. A dream so cold it made him shiver. He snuggled up and pulled the blanket up in layers to cover his trembling body, but it was all a futile thing to do because the cold didn't come from the night air.
The chill that ran into Chunyin came from itself.
His body temperature at that time was not normal. Sweat soaked his body. he didn't know, or rather he wasn't aware of the chill that came from his own dreaming body.
Chills. The dream also made him have a fever.
In his dream. He stood in the middle of a lake whose surface had frozen into a thin, fragile layer of ice.
Not far from where he stood, he saw a woman who was dressed in silk and brocade as white as snow. Her hair was loose and gracefully tossed by the cold wind. She was like a flower in the snow, still waiting for spring to come to her.
Even so, Chunyin couldn't help but take his outstretched hand that called out for her to come so she forced herself to step on the thin layer of ice. as soon as Chunyin took her first step, the ice sheet finally shattered and drowned her.
When he realized, Chunyin had made another mistake because the steps he took also made the woman who was on the same thin layer of ice as him fall into the cold water.
Not only that, the water was also dark, and so empty.
The dream kept replaying in Chunyin's head like a broken record. Finally, Chunyin took her pen and chose to write down her dream to give birth to a novel that An Jia Li also read.
If only An Jia Li knew who wrote the story maybe she wouldn't get her honest assessment. Fortunately Chunyin used a pseudonym so that An Jia Li could review the ridiculous story where for An Jia Li, the story that Chunyin wrote was a story that she honestly couldn't understand.
Even his Xiang-er was still so innocent to understand this form of love. That's what he thought.
At that time. Chunyin desperately wanted to approach the snowflake figure, but her steps were blocked. He is trapped in eternal ice. Even so, no other choice could fulfill his desire to reach for the flower, because if he moved even a little on the thin ice surface it would crack and crumble.
Even so, Chunyin couldn't help but take his outstretched hand that called out for her to come so she forced herself to step on the thin layer of ice. as soon as Chunyin took her first step, the ice sheet finally shattered and drowned her.
When he realized, Chunyin had made another mistake because the steps he took also made the woman who was on the same thin layer of ice as him fall into the cold water.
Not only that, the water was also dark, and so empty.
The dream kept replaying in Chunyin's head like a broken record. Finally, Chunyin took her pen and chose to write down her dream to give birth to a novel that An Jia Li also read.
If only An Jia Li knew who wrote the story maybe she wouldn't get her honest assessment. Fortunately Chunyin used a pseudonym so that An Jia Li could review the ridiculous story where for An Jia Li, the story that Chunyin wrote was a story that she honestly couldn't understand.
Even his Xiang-er was still so innocent to understand this form of love. That's what he thought.
"True love from the heart, the work of Xing Yi" Chunyin muttered. He racked his brain again to remember something unfamiliar that felt familiar, "Who is Xing Yi?" he wondered.