“I’m Dying, My Prince.” He laid in the man’s arms, with a familiar sword that had been in his chest, laying on the ground beside them, the hilt glittering in the lantern light.

“No! You can’t leave like this, you were supposed to win the battle and take me with you.”

“Some battles are worth losing, especially if it means I can keep you safe, precious.” He kissed his lover’s hand and wiped the tears from the man’s eyes. “My prince, when I leave, you must stand up and take credit for my death. This is why you are meant to rule the dynasty. Show everyone who doubted you, that they were wrong and you did what was right for your people. I am not important, find a wife and have children for me, you know I always wanted them anyways.”

“I can’t live without you, we were supposed to go back to your land and rule together.” He smiled at the distressed man in his eyes and reached into his inner robes. He took out a small, jade dragon on a string. It took a lot of effort to string the simple necklace around his lover’s neck but he managed.

“See you in the next life, Soulmate.”

“NO!”

His Soulmate clutched the pendant and held his hand, not letting go until he stopped breathing and everything went dark. He couldn’t remember if he had heard the man’s angry roar after or if that was an event that he formed a memory around from the stories. Whichever it was, Haoran didn’t care because he knew Sekaran had slaughtered the rest of the army after his death and that he never married. That silly man.