“Where is this...?” Tangxue blinked, groggy, as if waking inside green, transparent water. She stared, and the liquid dissolved like mist.

She felt herself floating, light as a leaf. Yet the scene said she lay flat against an unseen floor.

“More awake now?” Hualuo Jingqing sighed, a soft breeze through bamboo. “While you can still hear me, I’ll tell you the gist... though when you wake, you might not remember for a long time.” She lifted a pale hand. The world flipped. Clouds billowed, and a towering evergreen hung in the sky, impossibly steady.

“We’re inside the World Tree. This place is both true and false. True, because every plane’s root springs from the World Tree, so what it shapes truly exists. False, because nothing here can be carried out.”

“The Evergreen Fruit can only be taken here. You didn’t know that...?” Hualuo Jingqing tilted her head, leaned close, and waved before Qingsheng Tangxue’s eyes. Tangxue’s awareness was already a blur.

“You wondered how I knew who you are, didn’t you? I do. I know where you came from. I know who your true mother is.”

“Qingsheng Tangxue... It’s a good name. If you like it, keep it.” She settled into a cradle chair. A cup formed in her hand, filling on its own with clear wine tinged cherry pink.

After a sip, Hualuo Jingqing continued. “Your birth mother was the Sea Deity’s younger sister, thousands of years ago. Sea and Water are the same, just different names. They’re elemental sovereigns who shaped the world. Water and ice share one source. As primordial goddesses, they could conjure water from nothing and command it.

“Compared to the Sea Deity, her younger sister was weaker. Yet she held dominion over ice her elder couldn’t reach. It’s not that the Sea Deity couldn’t guide temperature—she simply couldn’t reach her sister’s depths.”

“As for why I know this—our Elf Clan passes memory through the World Tree’s source. My ancestors’ memories still play clear in my mind, like lantern-shadows on water.”

“That Sea—or Water—Deity’s sister lost control of her emotions. You’ve seen the hard, unmelting ice on the firmament, haven’t you? It’s a byproduct formed before absolute zero takes shape.

“In this world, only that goddess could reach absolute zero. The price was her soul’s annihilation.

“If absolute zero fully forms, every visible living thing and every unseen strand of magic will be sealed in perfect frost. No one can undo it. It’s an absolute law forged at the cost of a supreme deity.

“Peers and higher gods can’t break it. The Divine Realm had to abandon the region before absolute zero’s erosion spread.”

“And you... were her solace during seclusion. She shaped you from Primordial Dew, mixed with her divine marrow and blood. You are her own child.

“Her blood runs in you. In nature and power, you’re scarcely different from her.

“Which means only you can resolve the plane’s crisis.”

“Because the Ice Deity defied the laws of Creation, you carry the power to change your race again and again. As a godchild, you have the right to choose your identity. Your mother left that gift for you.

“As for how my ancestor knew—she was one of the few who could truly be called your mother’s friend.” At this, Huaruo Qingqing couldn’t help a soft sigh.

“So, at first, the Ice Deity meant to entrust you to us for care. Later, for certain reasons, it fell through. You stayed there and wouldn’t come out...”

“But now that you’ve come here on your own, I can’t just do nothing.” Huaruo Qingqing’s smile curved like a crescent moon. “At least until you finish the Evergreen Fruit and regain awareness, be our family, okay?”

Tangxue stayed prone, half-lidded, unmoving, until Huaruo Qingqing finally left.

Darkness ate the edges of the world. After who knew how long, Tangxue finally felt a little strength return.

“So sleepy... My eyes won’t even stay open.”

‘Open or closed, what’s the point? It’s all black anyway...’

‘I can’t move. I can’t breathe. Everything’s sticky. Did I fall into syrup?’

...

‘I’ve been drifting for so long. It feels like days. Something’s stirring in my head... Right. My name is Qingsheng Tangxue.’

‘So that’s what I’m called... My memory feels less fogged. I should be able to write my name, with a pen, neat and clean... But after all these days, I can only twitch a finger.’

‘All day, I only managed a few flickers of my index finger. Mm... Sleepy again. I’ll think more tomorrow...’

‘Today... strange. Why isn’t my belly hungry? Humans... go hungry without food, right? I think I’m human, but...’

‘Another day. My ears can move now. They don’t tire like my fingers.’

‘Ugh... If I wiggle them too much, my face gets hot! Better not do that again. It’s uncomfortable...’

‘All five fingers can move now. The other hand listens too. Pity... I still can’t touch my own face.’

‘I think I have legs... I can feel them clearly. Wait! Why did I instinctively think I had none??’

...

‘More days went by... My hand can reach my navel. I think I’m a girl... How odd.’

‘Where on earth is this? I don’t want to stay here. I’m so bored... I want to go out and look. Outside...’

‘Grass, sunlight, a sea of trees... The world outside must be brilliant, right? I don’t want to stay here!’

...

‘I can’t get out... Most of me can move now, but I still can’t muster strength.’

‘I used to be... impressive, didn’t I? So why am I like a baby now...’

‘My strength seems bigger now. Maybe in a few days, I can stand!’

...

‘I stood up... and didn’t. There’s no ground at all. I think I’m floating?’

‘I tried opening my mouth today. My voice was hoarse; no words came. Maybe silence is better... But it’s all liquid around me. I opened my mouth and it rushed in—glug.’

‘My memory’s clearer again. My body can curl up now. The day I get out shouldn’t be far, right?’

...

‘Out...! I’m leaving!’

Her right hand stretched forward, feeling through the viscous dark. Soon, she touched something like a bubble, smooth and taut.

‘If I pierce it... I should see sunlight, right?’ Her thought sparked. Her fingertip formed a sharp ice spike. One light scrape, and a sudden suction whooshed Qingsheng Tangxue straight out.

!

“Careful... A fall from this height hurts.”