The crystalline cathedral fell into complete stillness as the child's phantom words hung in the subterranean air.
Hajin knelt beside the circular pool, his violet celestial aura casting a gentle, protective warmth across the water.
The seven-year-old projection hovered gently before him, her eyes reflecting centuries of patient, unyielding endurance.
"If you take away my tears, you take away the day my grandmother held my hands!" the child explained softly.
"If you take away my fear of the dark, you take away the lantern my father lit by my bedside!"
"The scholars from the capital told us that pain is useless baggage that slows down a prosperous empire!"
"They wanted to scrub our records clean so only our labor remained in the royal record!"
"A soul is not a record to be balanced by an accountant!" Hajin answered, his voice resonant with quiet majesty.
"Your sorrow gave meaning to your joy, and your fear made your courage real!"
