226: absurd

Tohru pressed her entire body against the door, her Dragon tail swaying uneasily behind her. Her ear was pressed tightly against the cold door panel, her breathing light as she tried to catch even the slightest sound from inside.

"Why is it still so quiet..." She lowered her voice and turned to look at Yukino Mifuyu, who was leaning silently against the wall behind her. Her golden eyes were filled with anxiety. "What method did Sister Nianyao use? Master..."

The powerful and tight barrier in the room isolated everything into a heart-wrenching silence. The quieter it was, the more Tohru's heart churned. Ye Nianyao's solemn and determined profile before she entered the door repeatedly flashed before her eyes.

In the frozen air, time seemed to be stretched infinitely long.

Tohru finally couldn't hold back and began to pace irritably in a small area in front of the door. Her tail brushed across the floor, making a faint rustling sound. "It's been too long... Could something have..."

"Crack."

A very slight but exceptionally clear crisp sound rang out, like an invisible barrier cracking open.

Tohru froze instantly, her ears pricking up.

Even Yukino Mifuyu's back, which had been leaning calmly, stiffened imperceptibly.

Immediately after, an indescribable ripple quietly flowed out from the gap in the door—it wasn't sound or power, but a sense of "awakening" of existence itself. It was as if a long-dormant Star Core had begun to throb again, weak yet truthfully announcing that a certain connection was being re-established.

Before they could distinguish it further, the door slid open silently, leaving a gap.

A gentle yet irresistible suction, like a gentle vortex in the deep sea or a biological instinct's craving for a complete form, swept out from within.

"Eh?!"

Tohru only had time to let out a short, low cry before she was gently but firmly pulled into the room by that power.

"Ugh!"

The cold air around Yukino Mifuyu dissipated instinctively, and ice crystals instantly condensed in front of her, trying to form a barrier. However, that power was mixed with a familiar aura originating from Lin Luo's Origin that she could not truly resist. It caused her condensed ice crystals to melt like they had met the warm sun, her resistance collapsing instantly, and she was also drawn into the room.

"Click."

The door closed quietly behind them, isolating the inside from the outside once more.

Under the soft light, the astonishment in Tohru's eyes was quickly replaced by a burning realization. She approached almost without hesitation, opening her arms in a posture of total devotion, presenting her vigorous vitality and unreserved loyalty before those eyes that still held a trace of emptiness.

However, at this moment, Lin Luo was not the gentle Soul they were familiar with. What drove this powerful body was more of an instinct from deep within to confirm and absorb specific life imprints.

His response to Tohru was direct and pure. One hand supported her, the warmth from his palm burning hot, while the other palm lightly pressed against the back of her neck, as if sensing that flame-like throbbing mark of loyalty. Instead of shrinking back, Tohru took a step closer, resting her forehead gently against his shoulder, as if this was the home she had long anticipated.

On the other side of the bed, Yukino Mifuyu's situation appeared more passive and stagnant.

Invisible power swirled like cold mist, keeping her on the bedding in a near-frozen state of stillness. Her ice-blue long hair spread out like flowing water, making her snow-white skin appear even colder. She instinctively wanted to curl up and retreat, but she was soothed by that gentle yet absolute power originating from the Origin, unable to move.

When Lin Luo turned toward her, Yukino Mifuyu's long eyelashes trembled violently, and she tightly closed her ice-blue eyes.

She could clearly feel the warm aura radiating from that body, which was the complete opposite of her own icy coldness. The temperature wasn't blazing, but it carried a presence that couldn't be ignored as it slowly approached. Her cold skin, exposed to such warmth, triggered a slight, almost uncontrollable tremor.

She bit her lower lip hard, suppressing every possible sound in her throat.

Lin Luo's touch landed on her tense lower abdomen. His calloused fingertips moved with an almost inquisitive, slow rhythm, feeling the slight tremors beneath her jade-like skin. The touch wasn't rough, but it carried a strange focus, finally stopping above her heaving chest. His palm covered it, as if listening to whether a resonant heartbeat also existed beneath the block of ice.

"Nngh...!"

Yukino Mifuyu finally couldn't help but let out a very light gasp and snapped her eyes open. Her ice-blue eyes were misty with a rare watery light, churning with shyness, helplessness, and a strange, intense throb brought about by her core Origin being forcibly touched. The cold air around her scattered in disorder, unable to take shape, more like a silent, chaotic response.

At the starting point of all this, Ye Nianyao was exhausted to the extreme. She was curled on her side, half-covered by a thin quilt, her cheek buried deep in the pillow, revealing only the elegant curve of her nape. Her breathing was light and even, as if she had fallen into the deepest rest during the long exhaustion of awakening the Soul.

On the bed, light and shadow flowed quietly. On one side was Tohru's unreserved closeness and transfer of warmth, like warm sun melting snow; on the other side was Yukino Mifuyu's passive endurance of slight tremors and the melting of her icy shell, like deep water flowing silently.

Lin Luo's body was like a silent hall, simultaneously receiving the "visitation" and "confirmation" of two completely different Origin imprints—the blazing fire of life and the cold spirit of purity. Every blending of breath and every light touch of an imprint was invisibly filling the void gaps deep in his Soul caused by his long "slumber," pulling those perceptions of "existence" and "connection" bit by bit from the edge of Chaos back to the dimension of reality... The faint light of early morning quietly washed over the curtains, plating the messy bed with a layer of pale gold.

What woke Ye Nianyao before her body's soreness was a sense of fulfillment and steady settling on a Soul level. She slowly opened her eyes, her blurred vision gradually clearing as she met a pair of deep eyes close at hand.

It was Lin Luo.

But in those eyes, the worrying emptiness from last night had vanished without a trace, replaced by a deep ocean—the ignorance of just waking up, the realization after memories flooded back, endless heartache and guilt, and a preciousness of having regained something that was almost overflowing.

Their eyes met.

Ye Nianyao was stunned for a moment, and then, belated shyness and concern surged up like a tide. Just as she was about to speak, her wrist was grabbed by him and pulled gently but firmly to his chest, letting her palm press against his steady heartbeat.

"You... Lin Luo?" Her voice was slightly raspy from just waking up as she asked tentatively, "You... are really back?"

Before she could finish, she caught sight of the other two figures on the bed out of the corner of her eye—

Tohru was curled up on the other side, her golden hair cascading down and covering half of her sleeping face. Her Dragon tail rested softly on the edge of the quilt, rising and falling slightly with her breathing.

Yukino Mifuyu lay quietly on her side, her ice-blue hair winding across the pillow. Her snow-white shoulder was exposed, with faint hints of red visible. Her breathing was light, and her long eyelashes were lowered, as if she had not yet fully awakened from the deep rest of her Origin being touched last night.

Ye Nianyao's cheeks instantly turned crimson, hit by both embarrassment and helplessness.

"You... let go first." She lowered her voice and tried to pull her hand back, her tone carrying a hint of embarrassed reproach.

Lin Luo did not let go. Instead, he leaned in slightly while maintaining the posture, his forehead resting against hers, their warm breaths intertwining. His voice was low and husky: "I don't think I've completely 'adapted' back yet, Sister Nianyao. That feeling of emptiness is still lingering on the edge..."

His body was warm, and a tense, longing signal was clearly transmitted through their touching skin.

Ye Nianyao's face turned even redder, and her voice softened. "Don't... they're still here..." Her voice trembled at the end, betraying her soft-heartedness and wavering.

Lin Luo didn't give her any more time to hesitate.

He lowered his head and gently touched his warm lips to her temple, carrying endless pity and a plea that could not be refused. At the same time, his arm around her waist tightened slightly, pulling her more closely into his embrace, leaving no gap between them.

"Lin Luo... mmm..."

Ye Nianyao's unfinished whisper was gently sealed. Her body stiffened slightly, then slowly relaxed under the wrap of that familiar and reassuring aura. Her fingers curled unconsciously, grabbing the fabric of his clothes at his side.

The morning light grew brighter, stretching the shadows of the embracing figures on the bed and weaving them into a quiet and warm picture. Faint sounds, the rustling of fabric, and intertwined breaths formed the unique private rhythm of the morning.

Tohru smacked her lips unconsciously in her sleep, her Dragon tail flicking slightly.

Yukino Mifuyu seemed to perceive something; her long eyelashes trembled a few more times, but she didn't open her eyes. She only buried her face deeper into the pillow, as if wanting to block out all external disturbances.

Lin Luo just quietly held Ye Nianyao in his arms, his gaze tracing her reddened ear and trembling eyelashes. The last trace of the phantom lingering in his eyes was finally completely dispelled and filled by the real and vivid warmth before him.

The morning light became even brighter, quietly washing over the edge of the bed.

The Chaos and entanglements of last night settled into a deeper, more solid connection and watchfulness in the clear morning light.