Chapter Text
A little boy around ten years old walked calmly uphill, a crimson red umbrella tightly clutched in his small hands. His eyes were bright and innocent, looking at them would make you feel like there's absolutely no pain in the world. However, when he smiled? The world just glowed. Paired with the beauty mark just below his lip, the child was already shining with beauty.
In the mountainous Chongqing, a little boy named XiaoZhan found himself growing slowly along with the trees and the flowers.
There's one other thing you should know about his eyes other than the fact that it can captivate any other human being, it's the fact that these eyes can see things that normal people can't.
"Little boy... little boy, look here. Look here."
Xiaozhan's smile became strained as he will himself not to look into the direction of that voice. His grip on the handle of his red umbrella tightened, and his walk uphill became faster. "Little boy... Little boy..."
The ten-year-old began to sweat, his smile disappearing when he realized that the voice was only a few meters behind him.
"LITTLE BOY!" it was right behind him.
With a precision that can only come from practice, XiaoZhan released his red umbrella and faced it towards the thing behind him.
His umbrella was special, something that his grandmother specially made just for him. It was covered with different seals that were designed to repel evil beings.
In one bright flash, the ghost disappeared with a screech.
The little boy panted, sweat dripping from his forehead as he looked on at the place where the ghost previously stood. He lowered his umbrella after he was completely sure that there was nothing there.
This time he was safe.
XiaoZhan closed his umbrella and wiped his sweat, smile completely gone from his features.
"Even If the rest of your family says that you and I are crazy, at least we have each other." His grandmother gently whispered as she caressed his head. "Be careful wherever you go, ZhanZhan. Your blood is something that evil wants... as much as possible never ever let yourself bleed."
Although his grandmother was no longer with him, Xiaozhan has always kept her words to heart. He put his little hands inside of his pocket to make sure that his collection if Band-Aids were still there. He sighed in relief when he confirmed that they were.
"That's a fancy little umbrella you have there." XiaoZhan whipped his head back to see a man with sharp features. In his hands, a black I'm with a deep wooden handle.
"Who are you?" the young boy asked. Was it another ghost?
"I am someone aspiring to be a God." The man was handsome, his eyes were kind, but his smile seemed empty.
The road was empty. The only thing surrounding them were trees and plants. No one would be there to hear him shout for help.
XiaoZhan opened his umbrella fast and faced it towards the suspicious man, but there was no effect. "It didn't work..." he whispered to himself.
"Of course it didn't. Your umbrella is far too weak to work against someone like me." The man tapped the ground twice with his umbrella and suddenly a burst of power came.
XiaoZhan had to close his eyes and cover from the sheer tenacity of it. When the wave was done, his eyes sparkled and he yelled, "Let's switch umbrellas!"
The man blinked, a little taken aback until he laughed. "I can't give you my umbrella. It's mine and mine alone. Why would you want my umbrella?"
"I need to protect myself better. I need to stay alive longer."
The mysterious man's smile faded away, and his eyes became jaded. "Even though there's nothing great about your life? Your family hates you and the only one who understood you is dead. You will live every day being bothered by these creatures because of the rose scent that's coming from your body."
XiaoZhan's head perked up at the last comment. "Rose scent? What rose scent?" he completely ignored how the man knew about his family.
At first, the man was a few meters away. However, at the little boy's question, a smile came upon his lips and he started taking steps closer. "Your body is special, little one. It smells of roses... if any demon, ghost, or god were to have even just a taste of you they will become more powerful than ever."
"Even more reason for you to give me your umbrella!" XiaoZhan shouted. "You're someone who wants to become a deity, right? Doesn't that mean you're powerful? You obviously don't need the umbrella more than I do."
At this point, the man was only one step away from XiaoZhan. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, releasing it with a satisfied sigh. "What an absolutely delicious scent..." he looked into the little boy's eyes and said, "You don't need my umbrella. I can give you something better." He knelt down so that he was eye-level and continued, "Just a little further in that direction, you'll find a small, broken house."
"What would I do with a broken house..." XiaoZhan asked genuinely confused.
"In that house, you will find a deity... this deity will protect you."
"He will?"
"However, be mindful of his words. Don't fall for his tricks. He is a mischievous one, that brat."
XiaoZhan nodded, his eyes lighting up with determination. "Yes!"
The mysterious man stood up and gave him a smile. "Now go." With a tap of his umbrella, he disappeared with a swirl of dead leaves.
Little XiaoZhan didn't waste any time. With his red umbrella, he ran toward the direction that the man pointed. It didn't take long until he found what the other had said. It was true. There really was a small, broken house.
Usually, XiaoZhan knew better than to trust strangers, but the man somehow knew that he could see creatures and he said strange things that nobody else knew. If there's a chance that he can get a deity to protect him then he will take that chance.
XiaoZhan opened the door to enter the run-down house, but imagine his surprise when he was met with marble floors and a crystal chandelier the moment he stepped inside. One feature that stood out the most was the fact that there were hundreds of candles placed everywhere. On the floor, on the tables, on the stairs, and even on the chairs. What were they for?
The little boy was frozen, he didn't know what to do until he heard a deep voice speak coming from the top of the stairs. "How did you get here?"
Coming down the stairs was a handsome young gege whose eyes were glaring right at him. His hair was messy as if he had just woken up from a nap and over his body were pink pajamas. However, XiaoZhan wasn't able to focus on the pink pajamas because of how breathtakingly handsome the gege's features were.
His grip on the red umbrella loosened, his eyes sparkling on the other and his mouth agape. Was there a human this handsome? No, this is definitely a deity.
"Hey, are you listening?"
XiaoZhan snapped out of his daze and yelled, "Yes! Yes, I am!"
The gege was looking at him like he was the most annoying thing in the world, but XiaoZhan still found him handsome. "How. Did. You. Get in here?"
"A gege with a powerful umbrella told me to go here."
"An umbrella?" The handsome gege clicked his tongue. "Annoying."
"He told me that I will find a deity who will protect me."
The gege gave him a blank stare and then crossed his arms. "What makes you think that the deity will protect you?"
"He has to protect me. I need his protection."
"You answer well." The gege observed him for a while before he gestured to the candles closest to him. "If you blow out all of the candles I will protect you."
XiaoZhan didn't need to be told twice. Immediately, he got to work with blowing out all the candles even though he was well aware that there were hundreds of them. As he was getting rid of the tiny flames, the deity stood on his place at the top of the stares and watched without expression, his eyes following the figure of the younger boy.
However, by the time XiaoZhan got to the lost candle, he paused. The deity unfolded his hands and asked, "Hey, why did you stop? You're almost there."
XiaoZhan looked down and said, "Gege, why do I have to blow out the candles? Why can't you do it instead?"
It was a short moment, but there was a pause before the deity said his words, "It's because I don't want to."
"You're not going to protect me after I blow out this candle, are you?" XiaoZhan whispered without looking up from the ground.
"I will."
XiaoZhan turned around and yelled, "Promise!"
The deity rolled his eyes. "Promise."
"You didn't say 'I'!"
"I. Promise. There, I said it."
"You also need to do a pinky promise with me!" the young boy demanded.
"Can't you just blow out the candle already?" the gege said, annoyed. When XiaoZhan pouted, the deity groaned and walked down the stairs to stand In front of him. He knelt down and held out his pinky, "Pinky promise..."
XiaoZhan's eyes lit up and a bright smile took over his lips, a smile that shocked the deity. "Pinky promise!" the young boy locked their pinkies together, "Stamp!" they pressed their thumbs together, "And copy!" they pressed their palms together and slid away.
At that moment, a light glowed.
Between the two of them, a light entered their bodies. "Now," said the deity, his expression blank, "We have formed an official promise... I didn't know that doing it through a pinky promise would still work." He sighed and stood up from his one-knee kneeling position. "Now, every time you call my name I will appear right by your side to protect you."
Excited, XiaoZhan jumped up and down, his red umbrella bouncing with him. "You're mine now!" with that, the little boy blew out the last candle.
The magnificent surroundings disappeared with a swirl and they were now outside of the house, a house that was gone as well.
XiaoZhan was bursting with happiness and couldn't stop himself from hugging the deity around the waist. He was just that short. "Thank you so much, gege!"
The deity patted his head but then pushed him away. "I'm not going to protect you, kid."
"Huh?" XiaoZhan's heart stopped at those words. His hands remained to outstretch in a remnant of the hug, his umbrella hooked over his left arm. "Why? If I call your name you'll come, right?"
The deity smirked and crossed his arms. "But, did I tell you my name?"
No. No, he didn't.
The taller of the two waved his hand over the boy's head, a heat of power appearing from his palm. XiaoZhan felt a tingle and shivered. When he was done, the deity took a step back.
"Now you won't be able to hear my name even when someone speaks to you, just in case that umbrella jerk comes back." With a spin, the deity changed out of his pink pajamas and switched to ripped jeans, Nike sneakers, and a leather jacket. "You're on your own now, kid."
"B-But," tears sparkled in XiaoZhan's eyes, "You promised!"
The deity shrugged. "I still have to abide by our deal, but I won't be able to fulfill it now would I if you won't ever call my name?"
His handsome face smiled, but at that moment, XiaoZhan no longer felt awe, but bitter hate.
"Goodbye, red umbrella." With those words, the deity disappeared with a swirl of fire.
It was cold. The forest was quiet and dark. XiaoZhan's hand tightly held the red umbrella's handle, and his eyes wet with unshed tears.
He was alone once again.