Chapter Text
After Nezha was banished, the world below was unforgiving. He tumbled through the sky, limbs flailing, the air whistling violently in his ears. For a moment, all he could feel was the searing pain in his arm from the dog’s bite, the throb of exhaustion still running through his veins from the magic spell that stripped him of his powers. He tried to summon his wheels out of instinct, tried to slow his descent, but nothing came. His magic was gone. He was truly powerless.
The impact with the ground knocked the wind out of him. His body hit the earth with a force that rattled his bones, sending waves of pain through his limbs. He lay there, sprawled in the dirt, staring up at the vast, empty sky above. The Celestial Realm was gone. The place he had known his entire life. His position, his power, his identity as a deity—all taken from him in an instant. Now, he was just a mortal lying in the dirt, alone.
Nezha groaned as he tried to push himself up, his body screaming in protest. His arm, still bleeding, trembled under his weight, and he collapsed again, coughing as dust filled his lungs. He lay there for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts, trying to understand what had just happened.
Banishment. Mortal. A curse. The words echoed in his mind, but none of them made sense. He had fought so hard—done everything he could to protect the map—and yet, here he was, punished for something beyond his control. Was this really justice? Was this really the fate he deserved?
The Jade Emperor’s words rang in his ears, cruel and absolute. You’ve always been out of control. A disappointment. Nezha’s chest tightened. He had always tried so hard to prove himself, to atone for the chaos of his youth, but it was never enough. They had always looked down on him, expected him to fail.
And Erlang…
Nezha clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms. Erlang had promised him help. He had kneeled beside him, assured him that justice would prevail. Yet, in the end, it was Erlang’s dog that had brought him down. He had watched as the guards dragged Nezha away, watched as they prepared the curse, and done nothing.
The betrayal stung deeper than any of the Jade Emperor’s words. Erlang had been his mentor, his superior, someone Nezha had looked up to for years. How could he have just stood there? Why didn’t he help when it mattered?
Nezha took a shuddering breath, blinking against the tears that threatened to fall. He wasn’t going to cry. Not now. Not after everything. He forced himself to sit up again, biting back the pain, and glanced around. He was in the middle of a desolate landscape—dry, cracked earth as far as the eye could see, with jagged rocks scattered here and there. No signs of life. No signs of civilization. Just emptiness.
So this was his punishment. To be left to rot in some forgotten corner of the mortal realm, cursed, stripped of power, bleeding and broken.
He needed to get up. Needed to move. Even without his powers, even with the curse running through his veins, Nezha wasn’t going to just lie here and die. He wouldn’t give the Jade Emperor the satisfaction. Slowly, painfully, he staggered to his feet, cradling his injured arm against his chest. Every step sent jolts of pain through his body, but he kept moving.
His mind raced with a mixture of anger, fear, and sadness. How long would he survive like this? What was this curse? Was he truly a mortal now? He couldn’t feel his usual strength, the magic that had always flowed within him, the fire that had once defined him.
For the first time in a long time, Nezha felt vulnerable.
He stopped for a moment, staring down at his hands. The illusion that had masked his true form was gone, leaving him in his teenage body—small, weak, with nothing but his determination to keep him going. The sight of it made him clench his fists again. He had been here before—weak, powerless, abandoned—but he had survived it once. He could survive it again.
“My My~ Third Lotus prince, what happened?~”
Nezha eye widened as he heard a voice, but. Something is wrong. He could felt the dark aura from the creature, it voice was mix of sarcasm pity and amusement.
As he open his eye successfully after a moment of struggles. He saw the creature. It look just like him but more like a shadow version of him the creature have a poker face on its lips curled into a twisted smile as it stare at him, he noticed the pink flame aura around it too, He was scared. he doesn’t know why he normally wouldn’t get scared this easily but something. Something in the creature. So familiar yet terrifying. Nezha was lost for words for a good minute before wincing in pain.
“W-Who are you-..”
Nezha said while coughing. Gosh. The wound only get worse and worse the pain was unbearable.
The voices chuckle it’s eye sparkling with twisted amusement.
“Oh little poor prince, ya must be sooooo confused aren’t cha?”
The voice giggles as it float around Nezha. Nezha felt even more unease as the voices get closer, he tried to move or back up but his body didn’t move an inch.
“Relax, I’m not your enemy prince. In fact. I’m on your side~”
The voices speak up as it stop floating and stand in front of Nezha.
“And as for your question little prince, I’m a dark being. Fed of by people fears, insecurities, anger, rage, hate. And I happened to found you little prince. Your anger your fears…they are so strong.”
“With your desire and my power we can take out revenge. Serve them right. I can give you anything you ever want. In return you only have to let me live me with you. In your body. Your mind.”
The voices tone drip with venom and hatred.
Nezha felt his heart pound faster and faster by each second pass by, how can he trust this creature? It was full of mystery and dark magic. Forbidden magic. He knew he should trust it or let alone communicate with it,
But.
What choice does he has?
He was laying down here bleeding in the middle of nowhere they left him to die alone. Which was his worst fears. He doesn’t want to die alone, he was lonely his whole life he doesn’t want to be alone when he was going to die.
The voices giggles echo in the abandoned town.
“So?, what do you say prince? With my power and your desire. your agony. your remnant. We can revenge them. Search them right. Show them.”
The voices walk closer to the injured boy with a twisted smile, each step it takes the more strong its aura became.
“B-But—“
Nezha trailed off. He know he shouldn’t agree, but.
Part of him want to take revenge as if his dark and twisted side he has been denying start to come to the surface.
He tried to find a reason to convince himself that he deserved it.
“I deserved it…I lost the map. I’ve failed my duty.”
Nezha answered as he winced and tighten his grip on his infected arm.
The voices scoff at his respond as it knelt down.
“Deserved it? Pfft don’t make me laugh. You’ve lost to Sun Wukong. So? As if the others can defeat him. They act all so high and mighty but they can’t even defeat him themselves. They just throw their problem at you.”
The voices taunt.
“T-That’s not true I was to protect the map-“
“No you’re not. They simply just don’t know where to throw their problems that’s why they throw it at you.”
Nezha went silent. He couldn’t deny it. The voices was right. It’s the truth he tried to deny it for a long time. So at least he could felt useful for once.
“And Erlang. He doesn’t have to lied to you. He could just simply left you be. But instead he manipulate you. back stab you. Lied to you. He never really care about you to begin with. He doesn’t deserve you prince.”
As the voice continues Nezha start to believe its words. That’s true, Erlang doesn’t has to lied to him about it, yet. He chose to.
The voice twisted smile only widened as if sense Nezha hate growing.
“See? It’s not your fault prince is theirs-“
Suddenly the voices trailed off.
“Ya wanna make a deal now? I’m kinda in a hurry.”
The voices gritted it teeth. As it body slowly disappear.
“W-what’s happening to you..?”
Nezha asked in pure confusion as he tried to moves.
“Well prince a creature like me can’t live without a host. Well simply dies. So deal?”
Nezha looked at the voices as it offered Nezha its hand.
Its hand was glowing with pink flames.
Nezha look at it’s. It wasn’t so different from him. It was going to die, slowly. Just like him.
Nezha look down as he take a deep shaky breath.
He has sacrificed so much. For his village. For the celestial realm. He has been obedient. Never ask. Never question. He give all his happiness and childhood just to still be seen as a failure and a monster. They never even trust him. That’s why they put thesilver shackle on him at the first place. It’s not for help him to control himself. It was for control him, and treat him like a damn dog.
Fine. If they seen him as a monster. Then he’ll be a monster.
“Deal.”
The prince said coldly as he grabbed the creature’s hand.
Suddenly a pink flames glow out of nowhere around the prince and the voices.
The voices suddenly disappear with the fire as Nezha felt a powerful sensation enter his body, it was overwhelming and simply just too much.
He look at his arm. The wound was gone and perfectly healed. Then he felt like a bomb was about explode in his body as he screams pain as the shackles at his wrist and neck breaks.
He fell on his knee and puke.
