White… an endless expanse of white.

Tian You stared blankly at the pallor that seemed to swallow space and time. Yet no emptiness filled his heart—only a faint, gentle warmth, as if this place were the softest corner of his memories.

“Are you… here?”

Gazing into the boundless white void, Tian You whispered to the emptiness in his gentlest voice.

“Mm…”

An equally ethereal, tender voice drifted through the air. Unlike Tian You’s clearly masculine tone, this one was dreamlike, genderless.

A faint smile touched Tian You’s lips.

The first time he’d come here after arriving in this strange world—upon hearing that voice—guilt had surfaced.

The second time, seeing those silver-gold strands, the guilt had seeped deep into his bones.

But now… returning to this white expanse, six parts of that guilt had faded. In their place: three parts warmth, three parts peace.

“May I… see you?”

Without knowing why, the thought rose in his heart. His violet eyes held a hint of hope as he softly asked the void once more.

“…”

Silence reclaimed the white space. Tian You simply stood still, wearing a gentle smile.

“Huh…”

After a pause, the ethereal voice sighed with quiet resignation. “You chose to begin anew… so why cling to what’s past?”

“I don’t know what I lived through before. But my heart tells me now—you are the one I must seek and make amends to. It has nothing to do with the past.”

“…‘The one’? Hehe. You truly remember nothing.”

As the words faded, the white radiance around them seemed to awaken. It swirled violently, converging less than three meters before Tian You.

Moments later, as the pure white space dimmed slightly, the light stilled.

A faint silhouette appeared—shifting from mist to substance.

He couldn’t see its face.

But he saw hair like liquid silver-gold, shimmering with silvery brilliance.

No—not entirely silver-gold. At the very tips flowed a strand of crimson, pure as blood, like the crimson spider lily.

“May I call you… Silver Bloom?” Tian You asked, as if he hadn’t noticed the crimson at the ends.

The silver-gold figure with crimson-tipped hair hesitated. Even the ethereal voice trembled slightly: “Mm…”

Watching the figure’s gently trembling back, tears welled in Tian You’s eyes. Almost without thought, he whispered, “Then, Silver Bloom… Since I’ve forgotten the past… will you walk this new path with me?”

“As you wish.”

Tian You smiled—a truly happy smile. He couldn’t see Silver Bloom’s face, but he knew, with certainty, their hearts beat as one.

---

---

“Awake~?”

Hua Zhaoxue’s tender voice reached his ears. A supremely soft cushion cradled the back of his head.

Tian You slowly opened his violet eyes to meet her shimmering, tear-bright gaze.

“Yes. Awake,” he murmured with a gentle, ambiguous smile.

Hua Zhaoxue had never seen Tian You wear a smile so tender, so full of release. For a moment, her breath caught, words lost.

Tian You said nothing. He simply lay on her soft lap, lifting his pale, slender hands.

Noon sunlight filtered through his fingers, gilding his exquisite features. The boy smiled into the light.

“Silver Bloom…”

The carriage raced onward—speeding down the road to Heartdance City—