Darkness.
That was the first thing Zixin felt when he began to come around.
Darkness and a strange, gentle warmth that seemed to surround his entire body.
For a few moments, he remained still, too disoriented to understand where he was. His mind felt heavy, as though he had just been dragged out of a very deep sleep, and when he finally tried to open his eyes, all he could see was darkness stretching endlessly in every direction.
Then he noticed a light.
It was faint at first, nothing more than a blurry glow somewhere in front of him. The strange light shimmered softly in the darkness, almost like a distant star, and beside it sat a blurry figure.
The figure seemed to be leaning against Zixin's shoulder.
Something soft brushed against his cheek.
Zixin slowly moved his head toward it, and the strands of soft hair tickling his skin shifted with him.
His vision gradually cleared. The blurry figure became sharper.
It was Bao.
The young man was sitting curled up in a corner, his knees pulled toward his chest as he rested his head against his shoulders. His mouth was slightly open, and his breathing was slow and peaceful.
He looked completely exhausted.
For a few seconds, Zixin simply stared at him. Then reality hit him.
'Where the heck am I?' He immediately looked around, his eyes darting from one side to the other as panic returned.
They weren't in the metro tracks anymore.
At least, not inside the train.
The place they were in looked like some enormous pipe. Curved metal walls surrounded them on all sides, disappearing into the darkness ahead and behind them. It was cramped but surprisingly spacious enough for the two of them to sit inside, and there was barely any light except for the strange glow coming from Bao.
Zixin blinked.
Bao… was… glowing?
Actually glowing.
His entire body seemed to shimmer with a faint silver light, soft and almost ethereal against the pitch-black surroundings. The glow wasn't bright enough to hurt Zixin's eyes, but it illuminated the immediate area around them, casting faint shadows across the curved walls.
"What the..." The words slipped out before Zixin even realized he had spoken.
The sound immediately startled Bao awake. His head snapped up, and his ruby-red eyes widened when he saw Zixin sitting upright. "Zixin!"
Bao scrambled toward him, his earlier sleepiness disappearing instantly. Concern filled his face as he crawled closer, his eyes quickly scanning Zixin from head to toe. "Are you okay? Do you feel any pain?"
"No..." Zixin paused. "But you... you're glowing."
Bao blinked. "Oh." He looked down at himself as though he had only just remembered.
A small smile appeared on his face. "I just learned how to use my powers." He lifted one hand excitedly. "Look, look." A tiny ball of white light suddenly appeared in the center of his palm.
Zixin stared at it.
The little sphere floated just above Bao's hand, swirling gently as soft white energy moved inside it. It wasn't like a flame, and it wasn't quite like electricity either. It was simply light—pure and warm, almost alive as it danced lazily around his palm.
"Isn't it pretty?" Bao looked ridiculously proud of himself.
Zixin reached out and gently touched the light.
He expected it to burn. Instead, warmth spread across his fingertips. It was strangely soothing, almost like placing his hand beneath warm sunlight after being out in the cold for too long.
Zixin looked at the little ball again. "So you can light up the way..." he muttered. "That seems like a pretty useless power."
Bao puffed out his cheeks. "No! I can't just light up."
Zixin raised an eyebrow.
"I can also heal."
Zixin's expression changed slightly.
"Don't you feel your body?" Bao continued, sounding almost offended that Zixin would call his power useless. "You were badly burned back then. I healed you."
"Huh?"
Zixin stared at him.
That was new information.
The last thing he remembered clearly was fighting the Level 3 zombie. He remembered the fight, the electricity rushing through his body and the unbearable pain that had followed.
He remembered falling.
After that, everything was a blur.
His entire body had felt as though it were splitting apart.
Slowly, Zixin looked down at himself.
His clothes were almost completely ruined. Large sections had been burned away, leaving torn fabric hanging from his body by little more than a few threads. The remnants of his shirt barely covered his torso.
He hesitantly touched his chest. His fingers moved over his smooth skin. There wasn't even a burn mark.
Zixin frowned. "You healed me?"
Bao nodded.
"Was I really that badly injured?"
Bao's expression immediately changed. His lips pressed together as though he was trying desperately to hold something back. "N-Not... not that bad."
Zixin stared at him. "So it was bad."
Bao finally lowered his head and nodded. "You were burned all over." His voice became quieter. "Your skin was split, and you...I thought you would die."
The last words came out as a trembling whisper.
Zixin's expression softened slightly.
Bao's fingers curled tightly around the edge of his clothes as he continued, clearly struggling to keep himself together. "I know humans are fragile, but I didn't realize they were this delicate." He looked up at Zixin again, his ruby-red eyes glistening. "Next time, I'll protect you, Zixin. You won't ever get hurt. I assure you."
Then, despite everything, a small smirk tugged at the corner of Zixin's mouth. "You? With your torch light?"
Bao's face immediately scrunched up. "It's not a torch light!"
"Whatever you say." Zixin leaned back against the curved wall of the pipe and let out a soft sigh. His body still felt strangely tired, but there was no pain.
He glanced at the young man sitting beside him before speaking again. "I'll do the fighting. You just follow my orders and run when I ask you to."