Zixin woke up, his eyes opening as he rubbed them gently. He sat down, recalling the Wolf Lord's memories.
Sigh, it's been like a few days at most since I last used Snowdrop on the Wolf Lord, and that was indeed a terrible experience. I even started to feel like biting random objects for no good reason; I suppose it's still an animal at heart. Zixin shook his head, lifting his gaze only to be met with the sight of the plain wooden ceiling.
Closing his eyes, he slipped into his deeper consciousness. He waved his hand, creating a whirlpool, sucking his thoughts into one. With one swift cut, he split the whirlpool into two new whirlpools and entered the White Palace.
Inside, he glanced at the surroundings, only to be disappointed by the everlasting scenery–a white void. He sighed, sitting down and focusing on his thoughts.
Inside his mind, he noticed a golden thread, and using one of his thoughts, he felt a connection.
A wave of information flooded his mind–no, it could be more accurately stated to be images surfacing inside his mind. Images of the other half of his mind.
Huh? How does this thread manage to connect me to my other mind? This half should be completely isolated from the rest. Zixin questioned in his mind, until a sudden idea arose: Hmm? Well, that's not bad…
He removed his grip on the thread, letting it go. He pulled his remaining thoughts closer to the thread. And just like this, balls of light drifted towards it.
But suddenly, he increased their speed, crashing into the thread. And just like that, similar threads began to sprout from them. But due to the crash, the thoughts' lights dimmed significantly.
Zixin paused, discarding those thoughts, letting them fade into nothingness.
Zixin tried again, his thoughts moving more slowly, pushing him to success.
During this time, he connected every thought that he could control and that was inside his mind with the thread, and finally, he accomplished this task.
His thoughts were like limbs; it was mentally taxing.
Wait a second… isn't this exactly what I'm missing to complete my Synchronization? But this is inconsistent due to the reliance on the sudden appearance of the thread. Zixin commented internally.
A flash of white light erupted from his eyes, and an undeniable smile formed upon his lips just as he thought of the idea.
Shaking his head, his composure returned, his calm, almost dull demeanor seeping back again.
Suddenly, his mind collapsed from the burden, leaving the White Palace and merging back with the rest of his consciousness. Immense pain erupted from within.
With his eyes closed, Zixin concentrated his mind, enduring it.
Soon enough, the pain ended, and Zixin lay down, letting out a sigh of relief.
Perhaps connecting the thread to every thought was a bad idea. Failure noted. Zixin carefully remembered.
"Thinking back, the thread showed me images of the separate part of my mind, the one still inside my body. What's the origin of the thread?" Zixin muttered, finally sitting down after a while of rest.
A bright flash of light shone in his eyes as an idea was born: Wait… could the origin of the thread be similar to how the Wolf Lord absorbs life essence? The Wolf Lord needs to connect all its thoughts and suppress its emotions to start. Was the thread my subconscious's response after experiencing the Wolf Lord's memories?
"Using Snowdrop always ends up with odd effects, huh?"
He shook his head, closing his eyes and taking rest, his mind becoming lighter as he fell asleep.
…
A few hours later, Zixin woke up. Rising to his feet, he stepped into the living room. But what met him was utter silence–nothingness.
He shifted his gaze only to realize that Hope was gone. He pondered whilst rubbing his chin: Where did Hope go? Is she inside Fang Hau's Chamber, or is she just shopping?I suppose there's no reason to be worried, after all, she can take care of herself.
After quickly dismissing the thought, Zixin noticed a small wooden box on the table. He tilted his head, stepping forward and opening it. Inside was a well-organized meal, with vegetables placed on the side, with rice packed at the right, and with meat sitting at the top. Thankfully, there were utensils right next to them.
Zixin sat down, digging in with a soft smile. After he finished, he washed the dishes as Hope taught him and took a nice warm bath. After getting dressed up in a neat white shirt and black pants, he took out a brown coat and put it on top.
He walked to a mirror, taking out a rubber band and tying his long white hair into a ponytail.
"I look too feminine…" He muttered.
He pinched himself, regaining his composure, and left, heading off in search of Hope.
On his way, he noticed a few wolf footprints scattered on the ground. His lips twitched momentarily.
Shaking his head, he headed to Daisal's market. However, after more than an hour and a half, he failed to find her.
He then went to the underground market, searching for Hope in all three districts. Alas, he ended up in Xiaoshop, where Arbane sat and read.
"Hmm? Oh, what did you come here for?" Arbane inquired.
"I came here searching for Hope. I presume she's not here either?" Zixin replied, letting out a heavy sigh.
"Sounds about right. So, why are you looking for her? Aren't you two quite close? You two even live together." Arbane asked, tilting his head.
"No need to make a big deal out of a misunderstanding, right? We're merely allies, that's… it. Either way, thank you for telling me." With one last response, Zixin headed back to Mount Lorebale.
…
Inside Fang Hau's Chamber, Zixin's figure materialized right in front of Fang Hau's lazy gaze.
Fang Hau immediately stepped forward, asking, "What did you come here for?"
"Is Hope here? I haven't seen her today." Zixin asked, shifting his gaze to search his surroundings.
Fang Hau shook his head and replied, "I haven't seen her either."
Where could she be? I've already searched everywhere, and I still haven't found her. Could she have been taken by the wolves? A deep sense of concern welled up inside Zixin, but Fang Hau's words managed to ease him.
"She might be at Mount Lorebale's Peak, observing its cycles."
"Oh, I haven't even thought of that before. Um… thank you." Zixin replied, waving his hand and leaving.
…
Zixin headed towards Mount Lorebale's Peak, recalling the secret path that Hope and he had taken to reach it before. Not long after, his gaze shifted to a young lady who sat on top of a rock, her back turned to him.
As he walked closer, the sight of her eyes shimmering with awe caught his attention.
"To think that you were actually here. I even searched for you the whole day, but you were actually this close. But why are you even watching Mount Lorebale's cycles? You should have already seen it countless times before." Zixin asked, standing beside her.
"Come on, take a seat first. Well, either way, this sight is beautiful, isn't it? Who would get tired of it? A maniac?" Hope's lips curved into a gleeful smile, shifting her gaze towards Zixin and telling him, "Tonight's dinner is up to you!"
Zixin's lips twitched before shooting her a deadpan expression.
He lifted his gaze towards the tree. Its branches grew, reaching the high clouds in an instant, but its body would wither and fade just as fast. This was Mount Lorebale's cycle, a truth hidden for centuries.