Her translucent lashes fluttered gently before she averted her gaze, taking a few steps back.

  But Jin Yu couldn’t look away. He kept staring at her, quietly etching that unfamiliar, yet hauntingly familiar face into his mind.

  Beautiful? Yes.

  But not the kind of beauty he was used to. Hers felt… foreign. Perhaps the only word that could describe it was...

  Otherworldly.

  Her skin gleamed like polished jade, smooth and nearly transparent, as though water and light had fused to sculpt her. A soft, luminous glow kissed her features, casting an ethereal radiance.

  Around her, a calm and peaceful aura lingered: soothing, almost hypnotic. Just by existing, she made the space feel quiet, whole.

  She wore a flowing blue dress, its color a perfect mirror of her water-blue eyes.

  And the longer Jin Yu looked, the harder it became to look away. Something about her refused to let him go.

  Still caught in that trance, he whispered under his breath, “Beautiful.”

  Startled, she turned to him, her pearl-like eyes glimmering with moisture, like still lakes rippling in moonlight. Then, gently, a hint of warmth stirred in them.

  She cleared her throat softly and glanced away.

  With a graceful wave of her hand, the void around them dissolved, replaced by a modest chamber lined with foreign shelves, filled with strange and unknown relics.

  She glided across the room, movements so fluid they were nearly soundless, and sat behind a simple desk.

  “Please,” she said, her voice just above a whisper, gesturing to the chair across from her. “Sit.”

  Jin Yu blinked, looked down briefly, then stepped forward and sat in silence.

  Then, his eyes lifted to meet hers. Steady. Calm.

  “What’s your name?” He asked.

  Calm and unwavering eyes met his.

  “Sylune.” she answered softly.

  Jin Yu echoed it under his breath, tasting the name like a secret.

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  “Sylune…” It lingered on his lips, delicate and surreal.

  A beat of silence.

  “Wh–what are we?” he asked quietly, almost a whisper, as if afraid the question might shatter whatever fragile thread had just been spun between them.

  His heart thudded heavily, emotions tangled in confusion and something far deeper than he could name.

  Sylune held his gaze for a moment, that soft smile never fading.

  “I don’t know,” she said simply.

  Jin Yu blinked.

  “You… don’t know?”

  She nodded gently, turning her face to the side, letting her gaze drift elsewhere.

  “But… you…” his fingers moved on their own, brushing his lips, the ghost of that warmth still lingering there.

  A ripple shimmered through her body, subtle, like a lake stirred by a breeze. Her skin faintly glowed, and she looked away with quiet stubbornness, lips pursed in silence.

  Jin Yu exhaled slowly, lifting his head to stare at the ceiling as if it could steady the thrum in his chest.

  He’d never felt anything like this before. It was strange, really strange.

  He turned back to her, steadier now.

  “So… what now?”

  Sylune looked at him through her lashes, then turned her gaze again.

  “We’ll meet after the Merge.”

  She paused, a faint glimmer of mischief dancing in her expression.

  “If you’ll excuse me now.”

  Jin Yu studied her face, letting the silence settle between them like fine dust.

  Then he said softly, “So that’s it?”

  She didn’t answer, only smiled in that gentle, maddening way, like a secret tucked behind moonlight.

  He lowered his gaze briefly, took in a slow breath to steady the unrest in his chest, and nodded.

  “Then I’ll excuse you.”

  But he didn’t stand up.

  Her eyes flicked back to him, brow lifting ever so slightly. The unspoken question hung in the air: What are you waiting for?

  Jin Yu met her gaze again and said plainly,

  “Won’t you ask for my name?”

  The quiet lilt of surprise ghosted across her face. Then, after a beat, her pearl-blue eyes softened, shimmering like still water under starlight. She said nothing.

  He offered it anyway.

  “Yu. Jin Yu.”

  Her lips parted slightly, as if to repeat it, but all she gave was a soft hum.

  “Hmmm.”

  It sounded indifferent. But it wasn’t. Something in the way she looked at him in that moment, like she was etching the name somewhere permanent, made him smile.

  He stood at last, casting her a final glance that lingered a second too long.

  And then he turned and left, never looking back.

  But the feel of her stayed with him, like a ripple under his skin, like a whisper caught in his blood.

  ---

  The door clicked shut behind him with a soft thud, but its sound echoed in Jin Yu’s chest like a tolling bell.

  He paused just outside, eyes fixed on the long hallway ahead, yet seeing none of it. The air felt different. Lighter. Or heavier, he couldn’t quite tell. Something had shifted inside him.

  His fingers brushed his lips again, slower this time. That warmth… it hadn’t faded.

  What was that…?

  A feeling stirred in his chest, not desire, not infatuation. It was older, deeper. Like he’d been searching for something without knowing, and for a fleeting moment, he had found it. Found her.

  And then lost her again.

  He clenched his jaw, pushing the thought away. “After the Merge,” she’d said. But what did that mean? Why did those words feel like both a promise… and a test?

  He started down the corridor, his steps measured but firm.

  At the arched entrance, Seer was already waiting. He leaned lazily against the wall, flipping his coin-shaped disc between his fingers, but the moment he caught sight of Jin Yu, he straightened.

  A faint smirk touched his lips.

  “You were gone for a while, friend. Fell into a well of beauty?”

  Jin Yu stopped a few steps away from him, expression unreadable.

  Seer tilted his head.

  “…That good?”

  Jin Yu said nothing. He looked away instead, toward the sun-drenched city beyond the arch.

  Seer’s eyes narrowed slightly, the grin still on his lips but dimming at the edges.

  “What did she show you?”

  Jin Yu gave no answer. But the silence said enough.

  Seer clicked his tongue.

  “A man returns speechless from a woman’s chamber… the heavens must’ve spoken.” He stepped forward, gaze flickering across Jin Yu’s face.

  “So?”

  Finally, Jin Yu looked at him. The wind brushed past, tugging at their robes.

  “…Her name is Sylune.”

  Seer’s smirk faded just a little.

  “A beautiful name.”

  Jin Yu nodded.

  “And?” Seer asked.

  “We’ll meet again. After the Merge.”

  That answer made Seer pause. His eyes twitched faintly.

  Then, slowly, he slipped the coin-shaped disc back into his sleeve and turned.

  “Then let’s make sure you live until then.”

  He walked ahead, his voice drifting back:

  “Come on. We still owe someone two days.”

  Jin Yu looked after him for a long moment, then followed, the echo of her name still whispering softly through his soul.

  Sylune.