Yesterday's Day

The old days buried victory, and you sleep eternally.

*

The ruins are said to be where humanity first came into being,

the final resting place where souls and bodies return.

"He once saw his beloved here with his own eyes."

The elderly priest repeated the ancient words spoken by a madman.

"Countless people went there after hearing the tale, and returned bereft of their senses."

"More still had nowhere to return to, and that was far from the only price they paid."

The years stretch on, long and lonely. If the rest of your life must be spent between forgetting and remembering,

then this price is insignificant.

Yu Jiangzhu made the same choice as those who lost their minds.

They stubbornly went their own way,

refusing to believe that fate cannot be defied.

*

"He is... my lover."

"My lover died because of an order I gave. Now that the war is over, I'm going to find him."

On the first Ghost Festival after the war, Yu Jiangzhu set out alone.

Later, someone chanced upon him in the ruins.

He looked disheveled, nothing like the lofty commander he had once been,

yet his eyes held a smile, and his heart had found its home.

And later still...

Time flowed onward, until they too became dust buried by yesterday.

1. One-on-one pairing, Bad Ending.

2. Both characters have point-of-view chapters, with no fixed sexual roles.

Theme: Cherish what you have.