Chapter Text
“Lumine…”
A whisper was heard through her ears. Each one was a blur, undistinguishable in fact, as her eyelids gradually opened.
“Lumine…”
It was unknown to her of who she had seen as his hand was placed onto her shoulder, shaking her body to fully awake itself. His voice had called out to her, pleading in such agony; a voice from a stranger to be exact.
How familiar, she thought to herself.
“Please…” his soft cries uttered once more.
“How strange…” her lips parted out those words to him. How could a stranger call out to someone like her, nobody. She did not know him, yet his desperate lament continued on and on. With golden eyes summoning water to roll down his cheek, to his shrivelled unkempt emerald hair, the expression he displayed was futile to her current state.
“Please…” another plea was called out to her. The unknown man’s hand travelled down, wrapping behind her waist to lift her body off the ground with the other supporting her head. “Stay longer I beg of you…”
How strange…
There was no doubt that this became a person whom she was to be familiar with despite being a stranger. For a man as dull as him, his eyes displayed every desperation in his words that were called out to her. However, she did nothing,
With the little remaining strength left in her body, her hand had finally lifted. It had travelled higher only to caress his cheek with the back of her hand in a meticulous manner.
“Lumine…” a whisper escaped his lips. “Come back to me.”
It was not a lament anymore.
“Lumine!”
Lumine’s eyes had finally flown open instinctively as her name was called out. Sitting up from her bed, a groan was let out alongside her forehead resting on her palms.
“I told you to stop waking me up like that!” Lumine whined, rubbing her eyes as the morning light greeted her face.
“Who cares,” her brother shook his head as he approached her, pulling the sheets away without a care from her protest. “We have to go now since you decided to sleep past your alarm clock again.”
“I do not even have work today. Besides, the day should be next week to host the event.”
“That day may as well be today since you still have not finished your painting yet, ” Aether scoffed, baffled by her lack of awareness in her own schedule. “You need to stop yourself from procrastinating again.
“I know I know,” she shooed him away out of her room, but was not obeyed by her own brother.
Aether had only stood there, his gaze unreadable towards Lumine at that moment. From there, his mind had come to think about which words were correct to say.
“Another dream?” he finally spoke out.
“Of course.”
“Was it a good one at least?” a small chuckle was let out by Aether as he placed the sheets back to her bed.
“I cannot say…”
“Well then,” he said. “What happened in that dream of yours?”
“Not much actually, it was hard to tell. That is what most dreams are after all.”
There was nothing more shortly after from Aether. From there he stood indifferently, as if he was attempting to read his sister’s thoughts itself.
Aether sighed.
“You were having trouble breathing again,” he said.
Of course she was, why would she not react that way in walking her up from such a state.. With his arms crossing, Aether’s body had leaned against the doorframe, providing his twin some patience before she decided to remove herself off the bed.
“Well then,” Aether spoke out once more as he turned around to face away from her. “I’ll head off to the bus stop. If the transportation misses you, then it is not my fault.
From there, his hand travelled downwards towards the doorknob, twisting the handle before shutting the door onto his sibling.
Lumine had groaned slightly as she remained seated on her comfortable bed. The walls surrounding her had kept her safe, but not enough as the noise of the outside city travelled from her window.
The movement of vehicles, transporting a person to their next destination, hummed everywhere as the giggling pedestrians continued to wander off. Not to mention, the nearby birds had not put their chantering song to end with their feet landing onto the branch of the tree.
Although the light from the sun illuminated her room through the opened window, greeting Lumine with a welcoming warmth, her mind wandered elsewhere.
“That man…” a sigh whispered out of her mouth. The memory of that stranger had plagued her mind, and her brother’s disturbance did not aid her in the slightest.
The day had continued with every civilian in their room having adhered to their daily schedule. With the sound of the students’ footsteps travelling back and forth the university, everything had been blended into one. However, it did not provide a joyous atmosphere, but rather a dull one.
“Ugh-” a student whined from the corner of the room. The sound of silence echoed throughout the room despite its colourful strokes of paint planted on the walls.
From there, Lumine sat inside the classroom as her hand held the handle of the paintbrush, each stroke upon the canvas in a calculated manner. From muted shades to complementary colours, her skilled hands effectively chose all the necessary ingredients to render her vision in the background of the canvas.
The illustration itself only contained horses running away towards safety, as well as the expressions of soldiers that displayed themselves in desperation and hatred to one another. Yet, these elements did not prove worth enough to have the main centre of focus. Despite all of the detail conveyed through the colours and emotions,
This painting was still an empty canvas in her eyes.
Lumine was fully concentrated in her work as she was thinking to herself on how to perfectly complete her art piece. It was the last one she needed to complete before it was due. Not only would this painting appear in her portfolio, but it would also have the chance to be put on display in the art gallery for any curious eyes to bear witness to her artistry.
“What should I add?” she thought to herself, as the paintbrush withdrew itself from the canvas and back towards its original place.
After all, the semester was about to be over, and all she could hope for was to put an end to such suffering by finishing the deadlines on time.
It had felt like a moment of eternity to Lumine as her mind had wandered elsewhere, thinking to herself on what should be the main focus of attention. Yet, as if a spark had blasted through her head, her hand had picked up the handle of the paintbrush once more.
Now she knows what is left to complete it. With the tip of the brush being dipped into the pigment of paint, Lumine was determined to finish it off by the end of today.
As the nights passed by, the sun greeted the sky wholeheartedly in contrast to the sleep deprived students. With countless hours of effort spent into their studying and the completion of their tasks, many could not wait to go home.
However, today was the day where the students would get to display their portfolio in front of a crowd, and each judge would get to pick one artwork to add to the local art gallery museum.
Of course, Lumine was no exception to succumbing to the anxiousness of the other students. Not to mention, the absence of Aether’s presence provided her without a sense of comfort or reassurance in herself.
“Oh Aether…” Lumine said in an apprehensive manner for a moment, as her golden eyes looked towards the final piece of her portrait. It was one that she had considered the best out of all of the pieces she has created, the judges may not reciprocate her taste.
“Was he not supposed to arrive by now?” a friend of hers asked.
“Of course,” Lumine assured herself, as well as the friend of hers. “However, he told me that he might be late for today due to the delay of his own schedule.”
“Where is he today then?”
“I am not sure myself either,” Lumine shrugged. “Though, I am certain that he is attending one of his sporting competitions. But due to today’s event, I could not go and watch.”
From there, she stood facing her painting once more with her mind contemplating to herself if there were any unfinished touches that she had missed. Despite each stroke of paint transforming into an image she desired to portray, there was an inkling sense within her that she could not forgo.
Regardless, it would be futile as she could not go back to retrieve the supplies to fix any flaws that her eyes lingered on.
With her heart racing in each moment, as well as her desire for her sibling to present himself to her, The students nearby had also begun to form an anxious expression in their face as others attempted to remain composed for this occasion.
Lumine took a deep breath.”
“You can do this,” she reassured herself.
As each second passed by, tormenting her well-being through every moment, the judges were beginning to approach her section. Her eyes had witnessed the unpleasantness through her classmate’s face, as some displayed an exuberant smile of relief.
Now it was her turn as the judges approached her section.
Lumine’s heart raced as the uneasiness in her stomach grew, even though their focus seemed to be concentrated elsewhere. With some nods and some eyebrows raised on a few of her artworks, they have yet to see her final one.
The judges have passed on, unwilling to engage in knowing more about her artwork. As her accomplishments get demolished piece by piece, they get replaced with the sign of failure. With only a few ones left, Lumine’s hope in expressing a delighted smile on her face was becoming ineffective.
And yet, they had finally reached the last piece of her artwork in which the heaviness in her chest expanded. Oh, to impress or perhaps satisfy their taste in art was all she could ever hope for.
“So, Miss Lumine,” said the judge curiously, as one walked over the last one. “Your previous pieces were always painted with such bright colours, yet this one was not. Why did you decide to try a different approach in comparison to your overall expression in art?”
A question was finally asked as it was Lumine’s only hope of maintaining their miniscule interest. The fact that such artwork has managed to pique one of them was a miracle to her. Yet, her mind had left her speechless
She could not help but look towards her piece as a way to pull out some words out of her mouth. Its emotions had already been conveyed through the colours, yet she could get herself to explain why.
Why to be exact?
She did not know herself either.
“Why does he have to be in this position out of all your pieces?”
Lumine had looked back towards her piece. The background was covered in muted and neutral colours, and the ground had a stroke of red paint that was brushed slightly alongside the servants in the background, running away for their lives.
Yet the main focus of the portrait was a man, holding an individual in their arms. Its lifeless form was held by his hands as the wound remained unhidden to the eyes of the viewer.
Additionally, she had used gold as bright as any magnificent jewellery paired with a variety shades of green to capture the beauty of a jade for his hair. Although such an expression signified one seemingly wrought with agony, the man's captivating appearance suggested an eminent origin in which he presented himself
Despite working endless hours upon the painting, this was the only time she was able to look at it with a clear mind, with every detail of the finished product complete. The amount of flaws were too much, yet everything has formed into depicting the imagery her mind once had.
Why was he out of everyone, chosen to not smile at all?
“I,” Lumine contemplated.
“I just cannot see myself seeing him be happy.”
Lumine finally answered, yet her gaze had not removed herself from the painting. Something within her felt so drawn towards it, yet she knew it would not provide her with any satisfaction.
“Is that so?” said one of the judges, as he wrote some notes on the paper with the pen in his hand.
“Perhaps out of all your pieces, this was by far the best, as it displayed your overall improvement and skills. As much as we would like to take in your other work, this would only be displayed at the local gallery.” said another.
And finally, the last one parted his lips to conclude the critique.
“Congratulations Lumine.”
Lumine’s heart was bursting with joy as every tightness and heaviness on her chest was removed. A sense of relief washed over her as one of her efforts was able to pique their interests enough.
With the judges approaching the next student to critique, Lumine went over to fully face the artwork that was approved. She could could help but reminisce about her previous statement as to why it was the first time she said it.
Why to be exact?
She could not help but stare at the man’s expression from the way his eyes gazed down towards the person he could not save. Not even herself could picture out a story on why he cannot be enough to save an individual.
“Him again?” a familiar voice called up to her from behind.
To her surprise, Lumine turned back to face who it was.
“Aether!” Lumine greeted him enthusiastically. “I thought you would miss the whole thing because of your sporting thing.”
“I thought so too, but I was fortunate enough that it had ended earlier than expected.”
“Did you win?” she asked.
“Of course,” he assured her before he had reached into his bag to grab a bottle of drink. “Here, I got the drink you asked for this morning. And I saw the judges approving this particular piece of yours.”
“It was a miracle to be honest.”
Lumine grabbed the drink before replying with thanks, but her attention was still drawn towards her artwork. Aether did the same as well.
“Whenever you draw that man, he never smiles,” her brother commented doubtfully.
“I guess it was just the last minute inspiration I had to complete it.”
“But why though?” he asked once more. “Are you certain that you have never met that guy at all?
“No, actually,” Lumine paused. “You already know he always appears in my dreams.”
“Maybe you should look back into your memories more thoroughly.”
With his hand lifting up, it had reached towards her face before his fingers flicked her forehead, causing her to groan in annoyance.
“Stop that,” Lumine whined as her hand rubbed her forehead to soothe the pain away.
A subtle chuckle escaped from Aether.
“Nah, but you still have not fully answered my question. Why is he your main inspiration for the final piece?”
“I told you, I do not know.”
“Fine,” Aether sighed out of defeat before looking back towards her painting.
Only a moment passed before Aether’s lips parted once more.
“Mom and dad would be proud of you, you know?” Aether said in a hopeful manner.
“You think so?”
“I do not doubt it.”
“To be honest, Aether,” Lumine said. “I thought you were not coming at all. But I am glad you did, even if you were late.”
“Why wouldn’t I? I promised our parents that I would attend every event for you.”
“I know,” said Lumine. “But you are all I have since they’re gone.”
The sound of the other people’s footsteps blended into the conversations the students and their friends had with each other. Everything had become a blur as Lumine remained standing in her place, not moving a single muscle in her body. Her sibling on the other hand looked back at her awaiting her next words.
As she was about to say another word to her brother, a sudden noise captured everyone’s attention.
BANG!
The sound set an alarm through every person within the room, as screams of terror echoed through the walls. Gunshots were fired on and on as people ran away towards their safety. To Lumine, however, not a single muscle was able to move. It was as if she was frozen in time.
She needed to go. People were running everywhere as Lumine’s heart raced every second that had passed by. As if time had stopped, the only thing Lumine thought of was about her brother’s safety.
With nothing else to do but run, Aether’s voice had called out to her, grabbing her wrist before heading off for safety.
BANG!
Bullets were shot in every direction from the stained glass window shattering to creating a hole inside the canvas. Aether’s grip on Lumine tightened as the both of them continued to run towards safety as other students did the same. There were little who screamed out of pain but fear surrounded the whole room.
They continue to run as the exit towards safety awaits them. Every muscle in Lumine’s body moved as the presence of Aether in front of her was the only small amount of reassurance that she would make it.
BANG!
A sudden sting of pain stabbed her in the chest, sending shockwaves throughout her body before plummeting to the ground.
“Lumine!” Aether cried.
She could not move as every energy seemed to be draining out of her rapidly, unaware of what to do next. Lumine’s body could only begin to be numb yet the pain in her chest dug deeper every second. Was this the end? Is everything over for her? There was so much more she could live for and so many other places she wished to explore.
She could not let herself die like this. Her mind raced as the mere thought of the afterlife and where it would lead her plagued her mind. Will her brother be fine without her? Will she meet her parents?
Everything became a blur as her vision had gradually darkened. The sound of her name was called in desperation, but eventually became futile
“Lumine!” another plea was called out.
“Lumine!”
And another.
“Please…”
Memories seemed to have dwelled in her mind of all the moments she had. Everything she had been through, her past relationships, her profound friendships with kindhearted individuals, and last of all, her brother. Her only family.
Everything she had lived for was to make her family proud, and all of it was just going to end so early. She was scared. Lumine did not want to leave him alone as the image of the little boy crying at the funeral filled her mind. Will he be the same, sobbing over and over again in pleading for the portrait of his family to come back to life?
She did not want to die yet.
“Lumine…”
It was faint as each call began to become indistinguishable in her ears.
“Wake up…”
She must wake up now, but every muscle in her cannot. Just move, she says to herself. Lumine knows she is capable enough to do so despite fighting off the stabbing pain in her chest.
Just a bit more.
“Ying!”
A voice of a young woman called out to her, but it was whom she did not know off.
Ying? she thought to herself. Wait, why was there no pain in her chest?
“Oh-my lady has finally woken up!” another woman called out of relief, rushing over to check on her well-being.
“Don’t approach her so hastily,” the third woman nudged the second woman’s arm.
Lumine looked around as everything was unfamiliar to her. The voices, these women whom she did not know or heard of, have somehow looked so desperate in aiding her physical health. The women in front of her did not wear the daily clothing she had seen in her normal life, but was rather foreign to her experience.
Additionally, they appeared to be wearing simple clothing in contrast to another individual passing by down the hallway, after Lumine took a glimpse of the open door. Despite a moment of observation, the individual’s clothing seemed to have more detail and layers, which depicted a class difference between the women in front of her.
“Who are you?” Lumine softly whispered, hoping to not speak out anymore that she needed to due to her weakened state.
“You do not remember us, my lady?” the first one looked in confusion.
“Perhaps the attack was too much, as it had caused memory loss,” said the other.
The stabbing pain had still not left her chest, as a large cloth of bandage had been wrapped around it. It had eased down as the layer of protection soothed the achiness, alongside the moist ointment that had been applied onto the wound.
Thinking to herself, she must have been rescued by the ambulance, but that did not seem to be the case. Rather than recovering on the uncomfortable mattress of a standard hospital bed, Lumine had rested on luxurious covers.
From the expectations of seeing dull beige alongside the colours of white walls with a blue curtain, the current room did not seem to match what she had expected.
It had appeared to be in a different architecture, historically different to be exact, as the windows and decor presented itself to be crafted from a tedious process that must have took years to perfect. Furthermore, the usage of browns and red were spread alongside the brush pen on the table, right beside the ink used for writing.
Besides the contrast in architecture, the bustling sounds of cars did not greet her, but were instead replaced with the calmness of the birds’ chirping from outside.
There was no medical equipment or any source of lighting other than from the sun itself. With her mind still being a haze, there was a feeling inside of her that there was something missing.
The sound of the strangers chattering with one another continued on until the word “brother” had reached her ears. In that instant, Lumine’s main priority rushed through her mind.
“Aether!” Lumine cried out as she had immediately sat up, only for the stabbing pain to return once more on the same wound.
“My lady!” one cried out of concern, urging Lumine back to the pillows in hopes to recover properly.
“Where’s my brother?” she asked, tugging onto the woman’s sleeve.
“Brother?” the second one looked in confusion before grabbing a bowl of water with a wet cloth inside. “Your brother’s been dead years ago.”
Dead?
No.
It cannot be this way. There was no way that everything would sense to Lumine after everything she had been through. She found herself in an unfamiliar place, disoriented by the absence of familiar technological comforts.
It was as though she had been transported to a bygone era, where reliance on traditional methods prevailed over modern technology. Recalling from her earlier memory, her brother was not shot.
“Perhaps she really did lose her memories,” a servant said anxiously, as her focus remained on Lumine.
“Maybe her memories might return when she visits his place?” the second one suggested.
Lumine could not get herself to believe the fact that her only family was dead, not after everything they have been through.
Had he sacrificed himself to protect her? What did they mean, “years ago”? It had her question how long she had been asleep for. Though, she was certain it cannot have been that long for sure.
“I would like to visit my brother’s grave.” Lumine said.
“You cannot, not now at least, my lady,” the third servant next to her suggested, as she began to prepare some medicine.
“Please,” Lumine pleaded, tugging on her sleeve once more as she cannot help but display herself to have such a desperate expression.
“Not yet, my lady.”
“Please…” Lumine begged.
The woman said nothing more, only looking back at Lumine with reluctance. It had only resulted in Lumine tugging onto the sleeve tighter.
“My lady,” the woman paused as her gaze went back to hers. Each moment passed by and yet Lumine’s hopelessness began to grow, wanting to see her sibling. The woman took a deep breath.
“All right, just for a brief moment. You still have yet to recover.”
After the strangers aided Lumine’s recovery, they had informed her about her brother’s location within this unknown building. The trip itself was told to be not that far away, as Lumine had slowly lifted herself off the bed.
“Let me help you,” one said, urging to go next to her, but was interrupted before she was about to aid Lumine.
“Do not worry yourself,” said Lumine, before ignoring a subtle sharp pain in her chest. “I’ll go by myself.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I will not be there for long,” Lumine reassured the servant as she had made her way out of the room.
Everything was different, as it was certainly not a hospital. The writings and language were different yet, she could not understand why she was fluent in it. With every bit of energy draining out of her, Lumine’s muscles continued to move, making their way towards her destination as there was fortunately no other servants walking by.
Her hand had been placed to her side, providing pressure to soothe the pain as her free hand opened the door outside.
A soft breeze flowed through, whisking away the leaves off the branches of the tree into the ground. With the scenery outside being unknown to her, the only thing in her mind was to follow the directions that the servant had informed her of.
As each step furthered her away from the building she once had, the freshness of the cool air touched her skin flowing through her golden hair.
“I see that you have recovered, Ying .”
A voice was called out from behind as Lumine’s head spun towards that direction. It was that name again, a name that did not belong to hers, yet it is what everyone sees her as. However, the moment her eyes met the person, she could only remain frozen, as if she had witnessed a ghost.
“Do I know you?”
The individual in front of her was extremely identical to the man she had seen before. Another breeze flew by, wafting through the man's hair, a cascade of emerald and jade strands. His striking golden eyes glowed amidst the sunlight carefully observing Lumine.
A sense of familiarity rushed through Lumine as her heart raced and the soft breeze continued to flow past the both of them. However, those same eyes that had stared at her with hopelessness were not as she had seen before. It did not welcome her with warmth, but with disdain and irritation instead.
“The servants were right about your memory loss after all,” the stranger in front of her murmured.
“You look,” Lumine paused gazing towards this nameless man. “Familiar…”
The man had only looked at her indifferently.
“It’s Xiao.”