《Blind and Bereft》Chapter 46 | The Heart Blossoms A Jade Fruit
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Prince Zhanying took heavy and hesitant steps towards Jingrui. His hand shook as he reached out for her and placed his thumb over her wet cheeks, feeling her. The way he touched her was gentle, and it squeezed her heart.
"What do you look like, Bao Bao?" his voice was deprived of the usual harshness.
Her heart skipped a beat, and a torrent of pain overtook her. Perhaps it was his touch that brought the cascade of connection into her. She could feel every string of sorrow within him.
He ran his thumb across her cheek and caressed the arch of her brow. "I want to know what you look like, Bao Bao."
Jingrui felt cold, so cold that her lips trembled, and her heart froze into ice. She blinked the tears in her eyes. "D-Does it matter?" she mumbled.
Rain dripped from his hair as he lowered his gaze. "What do you mean?"
"Does it matter if you cannot cure your blindness? Does it matter if you cannot see me?"
Prince Zhanying angled his head towards the sky and a chuckle, bitter than the rain, rumbled from him like the thunder overhead. "I live for revenge, Bao Bao, and I live for bloodshed. I live, hoping in vain that I would be pulled from the abyss. Without my eyes, I am powerless. So what if I am the God of War? So what if I am a Prince? There is never anything when all that I see is a void. Without my eyes, the victory I've traded my dignity, my blood and my sanity for cannot be achieved—"
He stopped short when Jingrui let out a soft sob. Without uttering a word, she walked closer to him, and as if a force—one so powerful—pushed her courage to surface, she laid her forehead on his chest. "What are you saying?" She muttered and sniffled. "So what if you are blind? So what if you cannot see me?" she let out a subtle laugh filled with profound pain. "So what if there is never anything? Even if you have nothing, I will still admire you the most!"
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The stern mask he had on wavered, but he kept himself stoic. The rain continued to fall as he stood still, breathing sharply. His arms hung by the side of his body, and his fists clenched as if he were trying to hold them back.
Salty tears and bitter rain mingled on Jingrui's face as she buried her face in his chest. "You have saved me countless times, and you are kind to me. I don't care what people may say, you are the strong and honorable God of War who has been protecting the world all this time. You have accomplished so many things without your sight, so what if you are blind? If you are blinded forever, then I . . . Then I will be your eyes!"
At her words, his chest rose and fell heavily beneath her cheek. Jingrui felt his hand run into her wet hair and she tensed up. He held the back of her head and pressed her to close the gap between them. His long sleeves enshrouded her from the cold rain. Jingrui sniffled as she relaxed and drowned herself within his intoxicating warmth, melting in his arms.
"Bao Bao. . ." he called her, his breathing heavy. "If everyone in this world could be like you, how good would life be?"
Jingrui blinked, trying to clear the glassy layers of tears in her eyes. "I am just a little humble maid, but from now on, I won't leave Your Highness' side, alright?"
His eyes wavered with a pain and the feeling that perhaps within this world he was not alone. His hold on her tightened. "Alright."
Jingrui didn't know how long they stood there by the edge of the cliff that looked out into the vast lands. And she didn't know why she was willing to give everything up for him at that moment. Within the world of survival where she had no one to lean on, he was someone who made her feel at home. He was someone she could give her whole heart to.
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By the time, they pulled away from their embrace, the rain had stopped and streaks of sunlight shone from the gap between the clouds.
Prince Zhanying looked out towards the landscape below, letting a beam cast a gentle ray upon his face. "Since I cannot cure my blindness, let us retrieve the fruit for Yihuai. I shall ask the Phantom Lord of your Master, then we shall return to the Floating Abyss Palace."
She nodded and smiled, seeing him in a better spirit. She cradled his sleeves and nudged him. "Since we are already here, and you can't cure your blindness, let's just eat the fruit for good health!"
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The Last Science [SE]
[SE has the same content as the original story, split into smaller chunks for easier reading. This story is on a temporary hiatus due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. I work in healthcare and unfortunately no longer have the freetime to continue posting on a regular basis. As soon as our workload decreases, I will return. Thanks for reading! 💙] No one ever knows the whole story. Deep in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, the fading town of Rallsburg stumbles upon an amazing discovery—magic itself. Faced with potentially world-shattering power, the people of Rallsburg keep the secret for themselves. Led by Rachel DuValle, a perpetually underestimated college student with grand ambitions, they seek to found a new society. The world beyond suspects nothing, but magic cannot stay hidden forever. A train arrives in Rallsburg carrying Alden Bensen, a directionless high school graduate. To him, magic could represent meaning for his life, an explanation for his empty existence. This potent force offers anyone the power to change humanity forever—or send it cascading into swift and total annihilation. The Last Science is an ongoing science-fiction / low-fantasy web novel series, focused on the modern world with a twist. New societies bud and grow, but the people who make them up are imperfect and flawed. The story includes elements of mystery, action, crime, interpersonal drama, relationships, philosophy, sociology, politics, and much more, all centered on the perspective characters driving the tale. This is the "Scraps Edition" of the story, where the chapters have been split up into bite-size chunks (roughly 1500-3000 words), for your convenience. The prose has been edited from its original form, with some improvements, but there are no content differences from the original. New chapters will be posted throughout each week starting on Friday and appearing on multiple days thereafter, depending on the length of the chapter. Content Warning (by request): This series delves into some topics and situations which may be upsetting for some readers. In American rating parlance, the narrative would be rated PG-13 (except for language), but some have noted the story can get pretty dark on occasion. Please use your best judgment, and don't be afraid to take breaks and come back later. I'll still be here! [Discord] - come hang out and chat! [Patreon] - writing blog, epub copies, advance chapters and other goodies Need more to read? Check out my finished novel, Epilogue — a post-fantasy psychodrama.
8 122Plague Children
Years ago, in the country of Sei'O, a plague spread and turned half of their population to stone. The children of those infected were born with skin abandoned of all color. Completely grey, they were known as Plague Children. Though they possessed no ability to spread the plague, they were heavily mistreated, discriminated against, ostracized, and often times killed at their younger ages. The story follows the young Plague Child Ora, as he gains one of the strongest relics the world would ever come to see. With it, everything changes with relative ease. What fate awaits this world that heavily mistreated Ora? In this world of magic, relics, and ancient arts, no one could be certain. Tags OP Main Magic High Fantasy Races Lore World Building Evil Main Multiple Views Multiple Arcs Relics Tragedy Grimdark Strategical Politics Evil Organization Light Humo Death Elves Beastkin Magic Technology
8 188Reaper of the Shadows
People die everyday without anyone noticing it. It takes people time to recover from the event. Some follow the victims path, some take vengeance. But, the one responsible for this are Reapers. When people die they only see someone weilding a scythe and before they could see who they are, they died. But one reaper is different. David Maxwell died when he was stabbed in the heart. He thought he would die, but before he can he was offered a chance to become a reaper by the person who killed him. He thought it was somekind of joke and accept since he was gonna die. He then woke up in an unknown room with the person who killed him next to him. Note: I made a few adjustments to the Genres, since i thought deeply about my fiction. Anyways this is just something i do for fun and somewhat of a hobby to me. With those thoughts in mind i hope you like my fiction.
8 158The Problem Store
There lived a guy who went by the name of Guy. He lives in a World, and has many stories to tell about it. Stories of relationships, brotherhood, indulgence, women, and skinship. Especially women and skinship. Guy has a lot of stories about women and skinship. You may or may not enjoy Guy’s stories, but he's more than happy to tell you all about them. If you’re in for them, enjoy. Uneven, sporadic updates with short word counts. Engross at your own discretion.
8 164At The Lions Gate
In the 20th century America reinvented itself. Devastated by depression, scarred by war, rocked by a revolution, Americans banded together to preserve their country and their freedom. They had faith in themselves, faith in one another, and for those who believed…faith in God. This novel tells the story of one American who lived through those turbulent years….years that would test his character and the character of a nation. For Josh Sanders it begins in 1935. A star athlete in school, pro football is a ticket out of poverty during the Great Depression; but when his father, a WWI veteran, is killed during a robbery, Josh’s spirit is broken, and with it his boyhood dream. To honor his father Josh joins the war effort in 1942, distinguishing himself as a fighter pilot, until a fateful decision near the end of the war changes the course of his life once again. But many years later, after a stint as a boxer and a failed marriage, Josh finds his calling…at a time when the country is at war with itself. The year is 1968. King and Kennedy have been killed, race riots are breaking out, and Vietnam has become an albatross, causing massive protests across the country. In the streets of San Francisco Josh watches a crowd of students march for peace. As a veteran he’s conflicted, toward the war and those who oppose it. But when he encounters Rosy Goldin, a spirited young protester in need of help, a voice from the past calls him to action. His good intentions are soon tested when Rosy falls in love with the fugitive anti-war activist Erick White, a young man determined to oppose the war at all costs, against the wishes of his own father. Fearful of what happens to Rosy, Josh confronts Erick, unwilling to be part of his plan to escape…until he meets the boy’s father. A high-powered criminal attorney, Karl White is also a flag-waving patriot demanding that his son follow the law. But as White makes his case Josh is jolted by a painful war-time memory, a crisis of conscience that will soon determine the fate of Rosy Goldin and Erick White.
8 108Classroom of the Elite: Unconfined Genius (Test Phase)
In this timeline, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka the masterpiece of the white room has escaped from the white room with the help of a few acquaintances from the government. In exchange, he will test himself against the so-called "elites" of Japan in the government-funded school of Tokyo Metropolitan Advanced Nurturing High School. While he is at school, the government will continue to investigate the disappearance of children and the facility the masterpiece grew up in, hoping to connect these cases to a particular person.Will Ayanokouji be able to prove himself against the most elites of the elite at his new school?Will the government connect the cases and finally find a culprit while taking down the white room?Find out in Classroom of the Elite: Unconfined Genius.Spoilers: This fanfic assumes you have read Classroom of the elite from volume 1-11.5 at the least.Classroom of the elite belongs to Kingugasa-Syougo sensei.I'm just a fan of his works writing this fanfic for fun.Word Counts:Prologue: 29,751 Words.Volume 1: 125,394 Words.
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