"I…"
A black-haired young man, naked, floated atop the lake. Propping himself up, he stared ahead in confusion, then lowered his gaze to his own hands.
Pale—so pale they almost seemed translucent, faintly gleaming.
"Awake?" a voice sounded by his ear.
Logan turned his head—and found himself looking straight at a pair of slender goat hooves.
Those legs carried a strange kind of beauty. The upper thighs wore short, flared shorts. The calves were slim without looking wrong, and because they ended in hooves, the silhouette felt warped and alluring—yet… somehow sacred at the same time.
The owner of the hooves was standing on the surface of the water.
"Whoa! You did it, Lamb!"
"And you played your part as well, Wolf."
The higher voice was oddly goofy; the lower voice was cool and clear.
Logan lifted his head, then pressed his lips together.
In front of him stood a lamb and a wolf.
A wolf with a cloudlike body spun in circles around the lamb, its wolf face smeared with thick pastel eyeshadow, grinning wide at Logan.
The lamb wore a white mask marked with faint traces. Small hands held a crystalline longbow. The posture was perfectly upright—honestly… Logan had never seen anyone stand with such effortless, beautiful poise.
It was Kindred—Spirit Blossom Kindred.
Seeing them, Logan let out a bitter smile. "So… I'm dead, right?"
"Dead?" Wolf froze beside Lamb. A little puffy cloud question mark practically popped off its face as it zipped toward Logan. "Why would you think that?"
"Because I'm seeing you," Logan said, looking at Wolf. "Though it's strange. If I died, the death gods of the Material Realm should've taken me—not you. Is it because my soul is closely tied to the Spirit Blossom?"
"Death gods of the Material Realm? Human, you're so weak, but you know a lot!" Wolf shouted, bursting into loud laughter. "Lamb, he's met us in the Material Realm!"
Then Wolf cackled again. "Lamb, you were right! This guy can help us get our memories back!"
Listening to them, Logan started to feel like something was off. "Wait… you revived me?"
Lamb only said, "Please wait a moment, human. The fox will be here soon."
The moment Lamb finished speaking, a cute little "Awoo!" sounded behind Logan.
He turned.
On the calm lake, in the windless space, a pink-white cloud abruptly appeared out of nowhere. A small paw poked out, then a fluffy little head—snow-white fur, bright eyes—peeking timidly from the cloud.
"Awoo~ Logan, are you awake?"
"Ah! Why aren't you wearing clothes?!"
Ahri popped out of the pink-white cloud, beaming—then instantly screamed. She raised her hand and slapped Logan across the face.
Smack—
Logan went flying back more than a hundred meters, then crashed into the incoming Wolf.
"Fox! Watch it!" Wolf yelled. "If you kill him, and we have to revive him again, that'll take thirty years!"
"Ah—sorry, I—I didn't mean to!" The little fox turned into a human and hurried to Lamb's side, staring at Logan anxiously.
Logan felt half his face swelling up, his head spinning.
But he wasn't upset.
He was thrilled.
He shook his head hard, excited, braced a hand on Wolf's cloud-body, and pushed himself up to look at Ahri.
"Ahri—didn't you say I would disappear?" Logan asked, almost breathless.
He could feel pain.
He really had been revived!
"I mean, yeah. You disappeared from the Material Realm," Ahri said, a little flustered. She conjured clothes for him, her cheeks faintly red. Then she walked closer and tilted her head, studying his face a few times. "Huh… Logan. You're actually a bit stronger than before. Like… a tiny bit?"
Ahri pinched her fingers close together in a childish, locker-room kind of gesture.
Logan blinked.
Because she'd just gotten a full view of him—completely naked—and now she was making that gesture. Any guy would overthink that.
Also… he'd broken his promise again.
He'd said the first person to see him would be Jinx!
But after hearing Ahri, Logan quickly opened the system panel—
[Name: Logan]
[Race: Human Soul]
[Soul Strength: 32 (Soulform)]
[World Exploration: 7.5%]
[Current Items: None]
His soul strength had doubled?
And his soul had evolved from a wisp into a soulform.
What was going on?
Back in late-stage Zaun, his soul strength growth had been painfully slow. Even a trip that gained him a little over one point counted as great—most of the time he had to "farm" strength off the fox to see real progress. If Logan relied on his own actions, even one descent might only add a fraction of a point.
"Anyway," Ahri said, "I didn't lie to you. You really did disappear from the Material Realm. I protected your soul and brought it to the Spirit Blossom—then Lamb helped you."
Ahri introduced Kindred to Logan. Logan thanked them. Lamb simply nodded calmly and said softly, "It's nothing. Even without the fox's request, if I encountered your soul, I would still protect it. Logan… you are a good person."
Logan could practically see a little "Affection +1" floating above Lamb's head.
He took a deep breath. "How long has it been? Is Styraatu dealt with?"
"With me handling it, you can relax," Ahri said, rushing forward to claim credit. "I swallowed it. And its soul was sealed by Syndra—right there in the Spirit Blossom wheat fields. Now it can't do anything."
Beside her, Lamb said evenly, "Reviving you took ten years. You have slept for ten years."
"What?"
"Ten years?!"
Logan sucked in a sharp breath, then lowered his head and started doing the math.
Time flowed faster in the Spirit Blossom than in the Material Realm—about ten times faster.
So that meant… one year had passed in the Material Realm?
He opened the system panel again, stared at it, and when he saw the button to end the descent, he finally exhaled in relief.
Thank god. As long as he could get out, it was fine—because he truly didn't dare imagine what Zaun would look like after a full year without him.
Jinx… she wouldn't have lost her mind, would she?
Could Silco stop her?
And the worst-case scenario—Logan was terrified Jinx might do something irreversible.
But she probably wouldn't… right?
She had Isha now. She had Vander. She had Silco. She had Vi. She had a Zaun that was changing for the better. Logan could feel how important he was to Jinx, but still—she'd changed so much too. She shouldn't spiral into a corner and do something stupid like dying for love.
"You're leaving?" Ahri asked quickly, noticing Logan's soul flicker faintly for an instant. She was all too familiar with him vanishing like that.
Wolf swarmed in excitedly too, circling him. "You can really leave whenever you want? Take me with you! I want out! I want to go hunting!"
"No, Wolf," Lamb said. She reached out, caught Wolf by the tail, and gave a gentle tug. "He is too weak. If your soul overlays his, he won't be able to withstand it."
"Damn it! Human, why are you so weak? Wolf is furious! I'm going to swallow you! Lamb, don't stop me!"
"Wolf," Lamb said coolly, "are you stupid? You can help him become stronger. Then you can leave later. If you swallow him, you'll never leave."
Wolf froze, then nodded hard. "Lamb, you're right. I'll listen."
Logan looked at the… three—two—Spirit Blossom gods and nodded gratefully. Then he said to Ahri, "Sorry. I still have a lot to do. Next time I come, I'll bring you something good."
"Okay," Ahri said, waving. "I'll wait. But Logan—when you leave, you'll come out in Ionia. You'll have to get yourself to Zaun."
"That's fine," Logan said after thinking it over. "Ionia's pretty close to Zaun. If I find a ship, I should reach Zaun in about a month."
Ahri nodded and waved again.
Lamb stayed silent.
Wolf fidgeted, awkward.
Seeing that, Logan spoke first. "Do you need me to do anything? You helped me. It's only right I help you."
"Yes!" Wolf immediately shouted. "Lamb likes books. Next time you come, don't just bring books for Fox—bring one for Lamb too! Or I'll swallow you!"
Lamb nodded, as if Wolf's words were exactly what she meant.
Logan's mouth twitched. So… if he didn't bring a book, Wolf would really swallow him?
"Then… I'm going," Logan said.
He tapped the system button.
[Ending descent…
Initiating descent settlement—
Settlement results:
Discovered the deity of Placid Lake, activating this character's special panel. Exploration reward: 50.
Exploration settlement in progress…
Rewards obtained:
1: Soul Strength +16.6
2: Special character Affection +20, unlocking this character's personal information.
3: Special character [Spirit Blossom Kindred] has shared an insight with you. You have obtained the special ability [Lamb's Respite]
Congratulations, Summoner.]
[Lamb's Respite (Red/Mythic)]
[Effect: You resist death. Your body's recovery greatly increases. Your soul will no longer enter the underworld, nor will it belong to the death gods of the Material Plane. Your soul belongs only to her.]
[Description: Lamb kissed your cheek. Wolf sang you a lullaby. You are one beloved by Death.]
Whoosh!
Leaping down from a tree, Logan returned to the Material Realm and raised a brow at the scene in front of him.
"So… I'm in Navori now?"
The moment he fully reappeared, Logan realized he'd come out right onto a battlefield.
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