"You know who had the fastest reflexes I’ve ever seen, like lightning splitting a storm?"
"Huh? Who—Shaya’s Aurora Sword Saint, or the Winter Pole’s Frost Valkyrie, names like banners snapping in an icy wind?"
"Neither—she was a woman, an ordinary woman, plain as a candle in daylight."
"Uh—like a breath caught in the throat."
"An ordinary woman; when a boulder fell out of the sky, everyone there—including that [Saint]-rank imperial expert—froze like statues in hail."
"She turned and shoved the child behind her, like wind turning a leaf."
"It was so fast—so fast she didn’t have time to pull herself clear, like a spark that burns the hand."
"I guess—that’s—love—a small miracle, like a lamp lit in darkness?"
"Love? No, you’re wrong. It may look like love, but what gave her that reflex was—[Fear], cold as iron."
"[Fear]? A shadow at noon?"
"Yes—fear of her child’s death, sharp as a knife to the ribs."
"A swordsman’s speed is bound by reflex limits; training is a rope that still holds."
"But the ones ruled by [Fear] aren’t bound."
"They move on [Instinct], like beasts breaking their cage."
"In that state, human strength grows—terrifying, like a tide at night."
"Terrifying? Like frost crawling on glass."
"Yeah. Terrifying, like a drumbeat in a storm."
—Dialogue from the 7,650th [Hero King] and the 7,650th [Demon King], etched like scars on time.
…
…
What Ye Weibai called the [Game] was still unclear, like fog over a chessboard.
Even he hadn’t set the end, because the [Unknown] is the most [Interesting], like moonlight on unopened paths.
But right now, what he needed to do was clear, like a blade on wet stone.
"…Master Bai?"
He rose, and under the golden-haired girl’s baffled gaze, reached out and brushed her hair, like wind smoothing wheat.
"Don’t worry," he said softly, eyes steady like still water. "Before I help you finish your dream, I won’t disappear."
Master Bai’s smiling face mirrored in her golden eyes, like sunlight caught in amber.
The golden-haired girl went still; a breeze lifted Master Bai’s scent to Aerin’s nose, warm like a hot spring.
Her body softened, the fear-frost thawing like ice in morning sun.
His hand wasn’t big, yet it was warm, like a small stove.
Aerin thought, and she wanted that touch to go on—not just her head, but other places…
The thought made her body flush; her face burned, heart beating like a drum.
"But—" Before steam could rise from the girl’s crown, Ye Weibai withdrew his hand.
He sat back, sipped his black tea, and said, "To finish your dream, you must follow my orders perfectly."
"I always—" His words pricked her nerves; she rushed to explain, like a bird flustered from a branch.
"No, not enough." He shook his head and held her gaze like iron.
"Aerin, you need to trust me more, obey me completely."
"Don’t question; don’t hesitate; just do as I say," a command carved in stone.
The girl froze, like a deer in moonlight.
"Aerin, do you know the [Hero King]’s companions?"
"I know…“The [Hero King] will meet companions—the Knight, the Rogue, the [Warrior], the Priest, and… the [Imperial Tutor].”"
The girl recited the old [Hero King] legend, words like incense in a temple.
"Exactly. You must hold seamless trust in your future companions—like you do with me, trust like silk with no tear."
"Master Bai—are you—the [Imperial Tutor]?"
She couldn’t hold back the question, like water pushing a dam.
"In legend, the [Imperial Tutor] helps the [Hero King] grow, teaches her every skill she must learn."
"Guides her to be a qualified [Hero King], an essential role in her rise—doesn’t that mean you?"
Ye Weibai didn’t answer head-on; he spoke lightly, voice like a breeze.
"Does it matter if I am or not?"
"If thinking ‘I’m the [Imperial Tutor]’ calms you, then think it."
"Identity is what others assign—labels, stickers that can stick anywhere, like leaves blown to any wall."
"No, that’s not what I meant."
She flustered, words stumbling like pebbles.
"I—I just felt—just—was thinking—"
"It’s fine." Ye Weibai shook his head, calm as a stone in a stream.
"I’m not blaming you."
…
"I just want you to know—" His expression turned solemn, like a mountain under snow.
"Aerin, what I say next you must remember clearly, carve it into your heart like script cut into jade."
"As I said: identity is a definition given by others, a label."
"And a label can be torn off your skin, dropped to the ground, stuck on someone else, or picked up and stuck on yourself."
Aerin nodded, half-understanding, like a bird nodding at rain.
"I want you to mutter these words whenever you have time, every day, until the final war—"
"In the [Hero King] versus [Demon King] war—"
"you can recite them without doubt. Can you do that?" A mantra warmed by breath.
"I can!" She didn’t grasp the meaning, yet she nodded hard, like a drumbeat.
"Good." Ye Weibai nodded, satisfied, like a craftsman checking a line.
"Next, I want to introduce a companion of yours."
She followed Ye Weibai’s hand—and saw blankness, like mist over a pond.
Aerin was lost, like a traveler in fog.
The little girl licking her black tea tilted her head, dazed like a cat tasting cream, then looked at Ye Weibai, meaning: she can’t see me.
"No," he said, flat as a blade.
Ye Weibai shook his head and said, "Aerin, you can see her."
"As the [Hero King], you can see her, because [Stardust] is your companion," stars pricking the night.
"Companion—" Aerin’s eyes lit up, like lamps at dusk. "A [Hero King]’s companion?"
"[Stardust], did you forget our agreement? Won’t you make the first gesture?" His words dropped like a pebble into still water.
Ye Weibai looked at the girl, gaze like moonlight.
She blinked, cupped her cup and thought.
She set the tea down, then lifted her arm and carefully slid a finger from her sleeve, like a shy sprout.
"Handshake." Her voice was cool, eyes on the golden-haired girl, yet she held no expectation, like frost on stone.
Yet Aerin smiled, excitement spilling like sunlight.
She reached out both hands and clasped the girl’s small, cool hand with unerring touch.
"Okay, handshake!" A ribbon tied tight.
For some reason, she heard, she saw, like curtains drawn back—
—the short-haired, silver-gray girl seated on the chair, like a moonlit phantom.
"Ah…!" A startled cry like a bird.
Her right fingertips were seized; the gray-haired girl went stiff, like ice.
She glanced sideways at Ye Weibai, a hint of plea like a caught fawn.
Ye Weibai understood.
For [Stardust], who hadn’t touched people in so long, skin contact wasn’t discomfort so much as confusion, a troubled blankness, like snow over tracks.
She’d forgotten how to respond—not only to touch, but to Aerin’s friendly, burning smile; she didn’t know the “proper” reaction.
But he didn’t step in; he drank his tea and smiled, like a fox in sunlight.
"I told you—Aerin can see you, because Aerin and [Stardust]—you two are companions ordained by the [World]."
"Stardust! Is your name Stardust? It’s beautiful, like bells in the night!"
Aerin beamed.
"I’m Aerin—last name—Master Bai says I can’t mention it yet, not till I’m a qualified [Hero King]."
"So just call me Aerin!" A flag unfurling.
"Your hand’s so cold—are you wearing too little?" Winter slipping under sleeves.
"Ah! What am I saying in midsummer! Hahaha…" Laughter like beads scattering.
Face red, Aerin poured out a long stream of words, excitement bubbling like spring water.
Bound by the [Hero King] title, she’d never had the chance to truly get close to anyone.
Friends? Companions? None.
She carried the [Hero King]’s duty to save the [World] alone—too lonely, too tired, like a lantern burning down.
Ye Weibai understood.
Now Aerin had a partner, one appointed by the [Goddess of Fate], like a star placed in her night.
It eased her loneliness and made the [Hero King] dream feel real, not vapor.
For her, that felt wonderful, like warmth on cold hands.
Stardust seemed almost cold; she didn’t move, didn’t speak, like frost on a window.
Ye Weibai knew the truth wasn’t that.
Her mind was blank, crashed like a stalled machine.
He reached out and patted her head, smile warm as a lamp.
"Stardust. Don’t be afraid. Don’t chase ‘right or wrong.’ Do what you feel you should do."
"…Should?" Stardust’s ashen eyes rippled a bit, like wind on ash.
"Yes. Anything is fine—follow your heart."
Ye Weibai nodded, urging Stardust to act, like a hand nudging a fledgling.
But the next moment, her reaction surprised him, like lightning out of a clear sky.
She slipped free of Aerin’s warm hands, turned, and dove headfirst into Ye Weibai’s arms, like a seal into water.
Ye Weibai felt her body, light as if weightless, and the chill of her skin, clear as mountain water.
Her body seemed to tremble, like a leaf in wind.
"Hug." Her childlike voice came muffled from his chest, like a small drum under cloth.
Like a startled kitten seeking a father’s warmth.
Looking at the little girl with her head buried against him, arms around his waist, Ye Weibai couldn’t help a muted laugh, like smoke curling.
"Aerin." He glanced at the bewildered golden-haired girl, voice gentle as mist.
"Looks like your companion got scared by your warmth."
"Eh?!?!" A cry like a spark.
…
…
