The void felt quieter this time.
No screaming wind. No wild plunge through darkness. Just a slow, weightless glide—like the space around her had softened, no longer resisting her presence. It felt as if the void had nothing left to fight now that she wasn't fighting either.
Yao Yao drifted with her arms curled close to her chest, eyes half-lidded. Her breathing remained steady. The darkness shimmered with scattered lights, each glowing in a different color, motionless like distant stars.
But just beyond that edge, something else stirred.
Not violet.
That color had dragged at her like a storm, furious and wild.
This one was white.
And it didn't pull.
It simply waited.
She nearly missed it. A dim gleam flickered at the edge of her vision, like it hadn't decided whether to reveal itself. But the moment her eyes found it, the void responded. A gentle tug brushed against her chest, just enough to nudge her forward.
She didn't resist.
Her body turned toward it instinctively, arms loosening as one hand lifted, reaching. The glow ahead brightened. She floated without effort, the darkness thinning around her with each passing breath.
Her eyes blinked against the light.
The first thing she saw was the ground. Soft grass spread beneath her feet, dotted with tiny white flowers. One had bent beneath her heel, its stalk slightly flattened. She shifted her foot back slightly, careful not to crush it.
Then she lifted her gaze.
It was a cavern.
Vast, open, and filled with light. A wide split in the ceiling let sunlight pour through, flooding the cavern in a pale glow. The sky stretched overhead in clear blue, so open and bright that, for a moment, she might have believed she was standing outdoors. If not for the stone walls curving gently around her, she might never have realized she was underground at all.
Grass stretched far beyond where she stood, and wildflowers bloomed freely, their colors scattered across the green. Small birds of bright plumage perched on rocky ledges, while butterflies drifted slowly through the air, wings brushing petals as they passed.
To the right, a waterfall slid down the rock face in a smooth, unbroken stream. It wasn't tall, but wide enough for sunlight to scatter faint lines across the falling water. The pool below shimmered where light touched it, ripples dancing across stone. The sound was soft and pleasant, more like a stream than a waterfall.
It was beautiful.
Too beautiful. Like a secret hidden deep within the world.
A place not meant to be found.
And yet, somehow, she had landed right in the heart of it.
Then she saw it.
Something lay still on the grass in the center of the cavern, where the light was strongest. Its fur was soft and snowy white, and its long, lean body rested with its head gently tucked over its paws. Its eyes were closed.
A wolf.
Then, without warning, the wolf opened its eyes.
Crimson.
Its gaze met hers.
The wolf didn't move. It stayed exactly where it was, its head resting on its paws, as though her presence meant nothing. It simply watched her, as if it had known she was there but had no reason to react.
There was no threat in its stare. If anything, she felt calm. Almost safe. But more than that, she felt a pull. Like something beneath its gaze was quietly reaching out, beckoning her closer. And the longer she held its gaze, the more the cavern seemed to fade, until it was just the two of them, watching each other in silence.
Yao Yao didn't really think when she stepped forward. Maybe she was just a little curious, wondering if the wolf would react at all.
But it didn't.
So she took another step.
Maybe it was the beauty of the place that gave her a false sense of safety, or maybe the wolf had simply allowed her. The nearer she got, the more his silence felt like consent.
Before she realized it, she was standing right in front of him.
The wolf hadn't moved. His head still rested on his paws, his body stretched across the grass, watching her with those same unreadable eyes.
Her fingers hovered midair. She hadn't decided if she was going to touch him, only that she wanted to be near. It wasn't fear holding her back. Maybe it was just how he looked up close. So white. Like something too beautiful to reach for.
Then it happened.
A thread of silver light drifted from her fingertip.
Then another.
And another.
In a blink, a dozen flared out, silver spilling everywhere. They spun fast, weaving around her and the wolf, curling inward until the space between them shimmered with light.
The wolf's eyes widened.
Yao Yao froze.
She didn't know how it started. But she knew exactly what it was.
Spirit bonds.
Thin, silver strands, alive with magic. Meant to bind.
Only… hers was gentle. They moved smoothly, curving through the air, weaving around her and the wolf in soft spirals.
But—why?
Why here?
She looked back at him.
His gaze had changed. It was no longer passive. It felt like he was looking through her, searching for something she couldn't name. Like he was asking something, just not with words.
Her lips parted. She wasn't sure if she intended to speak or if the words just slipped out.
"Are you…"
The rest stuck in her throat.
Are you my spirit?
She wasn't even sure who she was asking—him, or herself. But the question was already there, hanging in the air before she could stop it.
But if this wolf was her spirit… then who was that man from before?
She could still remember how the man had stood above her, distant and detached. His silver eyes stared at hers as if she were a nuisance that had wandered in uninvited. His presence was powerful, like he stood above everything in this realm, and nothing here could ever touch him.
And he hadn't wanted her. That much was clear.
Cold voice, cold stare.
Yet he was the one who came when she called, even without a single thread between them.And now, standing here in this place, it all felt different.
It felt like a choice was extended.
Her heart thudded softly.
Maybe soul resonance wasn't a single thread tied to one spirit forever. Perhaps it was more complicated than the stories told to children.
And if that man didn't want her...then maybe this one would.
She stared at the wolf, chest tightening. Her voice came out soft, barely louder than a whisper.
"Do you want to be my spirit?"
He didn't move.
For a moment, she thought he might not answer at all. And maybe… that was fine. She wasn't even sure how spirit bonds truly worked. Did she have to ask? Or was it something both sides just knew—
"No."
The answer came before she could finish the thought.
Yao Yao froze, unsure whether she had heard him correctly.
But the threads had.
One by one, they slipped from her wrists and waist, unraveling gently, as if something had decided to take it all back. The silver light dimmed, then vanished.
She stood there, staring at the space between them.
Then, a beat later—
"…Seriously?" she muttered. "Why is everyone rejecting me?"
Her voice echoed, too loud in the silence.
The wolf didn't respond.
He simply closed his eyes.
***
The Spirit King's eyes twitched, then slowly opened. Light poured in through the glass above—too bright. His lashes trembled once, then again, as if his mind hadn't fully caught up to the fact that he was awake.
He sat up stiffly, dragging a hand to his temple. His brow furrowed, his jaw clenched. The pain was still there—dull but deep enough to cloud his focus, pulling at the edge of consciousness like a weight that refused to lift.
"You're awake," Rui said. He was already beside him, likely hadn't moved since the collapse.
The Spirit King didn't respond. His fingers pressed harder into the side of his head, like pressure alone might restore clarity.
"How are you feeling?" Rui's voice dropped lower.
"…I'm fine," the Spirit King said, voice hoarse.
Rui studied him. A pause lingered just long enough before he spoke again. "You're lying."
"I'm not."
But it wasn't convincing. His hands still trembled faintly, and his gaze hadn't quite returned to the present. He looked as though the world around him was only half-formed.
"It's the abyssal power, isn't it?" Rui asked, voice steady. "It's unstable inside you."
The Spirit King said nothing. He sat in dazed stillness, his breath shallow and uneven, as if his soul struggled to settle back into his body.
"You shouldn't have touched that power," Rui said, voice edged with warning.
"…Just a little," he murmured. "Just enough to shut the portal."
Rui's eyes narrowed. "And yet she opened it."
That made him pause.
"She forced her way through," Rui continued, watching him closely. "Into this realm. That's not normal."
The Spirit King's gaze lifted toward the dome overhead, where light spilled in. He squinted slightly against the brightness, as if trying to pull his mind back together from whatever place it had been.
Then, quietly, he said, "I felt her."
Rui's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, felt her?"
"I'm not sure... when the portal opened again… something pulled at me. It wasn't just her magic. I could feel her. Directly."
The Spirit King's expression tightened, as though the sensation still lingered just beneath the surface.
"It felt like…there was a connection," he said. "Somehow."
Rui's gaze dropped, uneasy as he tried to piece together what it all meant. Silence lingered between them for a moment. Then, the Spirit King's expression shifted—just slightly. A flicker, subtle, but enough to show that something inside him had stirred.
"What is it?" Rui asked. "Is it hurting again?"
"The girl… she's here again."
Rui's head snapped up. His eyes swept the glasshouse, half-expecting Yao Yao to crash through a window at any moment.
"Where?" Rui asked, sharp and quick. "Where is she?"
The Spirit King looked at him, more composed now, though a faint twitch still tugged at his brow.
Rui glanced around once, then back at him. "You mean she's here? Like… here here? Or just nearby?"
"In the realm," the king said, low. "Somewhere."
Rui exhaled. "Then we need to send a search party. We can't let her wander around alone."
He paused, then added, "No human has ever entered the Spirit Realm. We don't know what she might run into."
The Spirit King didn't answer. His eyes drifted, just slightly, past Rui's shoulder.
"Where?" Rui stepped forward, blocking his line of sight. "Where is she?"
Still nothing. The king's eyes slid away again, disinterested, like a lost child in his realm wasn't his problem.
"You're thinking of ignoring her," Rui said flatly.
The king rubbed his temple. "If we stay very quiet, maybe she'll give up and go home."
Rui looked like he might actually combust. "She's just a child! You're the one who said she was connected. We can't just leave her out there!"
"Connected," the king repeated, slow and dry. "Not invited."
"You felt her, didn't you? That way," he said, pointing roughly toward the line of sight the king had been holding just moments ago. "You were looking."
A beat of silence.
Then the Spirit King exhaled. "…East."
"Great," Rui muttered, already turning towards the door. "We should go now—"
The Spirit King raised a brow. "We?"
Rui turned back slowly, sighing like a man who'd been through this too many times. "Fine. Your Majesty. Me. I'll go find the child wandering your realm, and you can stay here."
He took two steps, then paused. "East where?"