The chamber smelled of wet stone.
Water streaked the floor in uneven lines, collecting in shallow pools between the tiles. The wind was gone, but its presence lingered in the slick surfaces and darkened seams, like something powerful had torn through and only just withdrawn.
Kaireth stood several steps away.
His posture was loose, almost careless. Water slid from his hair, traced the line of his jaw, and disappeared into the collar of his clothes. He didn't look tense. If anything, he looked like he had been waiting for things to settle.
Across from him, the beast hung suspended.
A sphere of water held it above the ground, the surface trembling each time it struggled. Whenever it thrashed too hard, the water closed in, tightening until even its attempts to breathe pulled the barrier closer.
Yao Yao tensed without realizing it.
Elyas's gaze shifted once—from the beast to Kaireth.
"I would appreciate it," he said evenly, "if you didn't torture it."
Kaireth glanced over, lips curving faintly. "I'm not," he said. "Just holding it."
The beast lunged again. The water constricted immediately.
Kaireth sighed and dragged a hand back through his wet hair, scattering droplets onto the stone. "Alright," he said after a moment. "Maybe a little." His eyes flicked briefly toward Yao Yao. "It annoyed me earlier."
He paused, then added, almost casually, "Guess it picked that up from its master."
The pressure eased.
The sphere collapsed and spilled across the floor. The beast hit the stone hard, claws scraping as it sucked in air. Its body shook with the effort of breathing, wings sagging at its sides. It didn't try to rise.
Kaireth straightened, unbothered.
Yao Yao glanced up at Elyas. She was still caught in his grip, her boots barely brushing the ground, and for a moment she couldn't tell whether she was meant to explain herself or pretend she wasn't there.
"I—just to be clear…" she started.
She stopped, then rushed on before either of them could interrupt.
"He didn't really help me. I mean—okay, he did, but not like that. He just showed me how to use the magic, and maybe he saved me once or twice, but the beast—" She waved vaguely behind her, nearly smacking Elyas's arm. "—I got past it myself. Mostly. Completely. It wasn't easy, but I didn't cheat or anything. It's not like he carried me through or—"
She ran out of breath, chest lifting too fast.
Kaireth's gaze moved between them, one brow lifting slightly.
That was when Yao Yao realized she was still clutching Elyas's wrist. She let go, hands dropping awkwardly to her sides.
"I'm just saying," she added more quietly, "I still did it myself…"
"It doesn't matter," Elyas said.
And it didn't.
The explanation lost its shape the moment he saw her standing there. Whatever distance he had put between them, whatever he had set in her way, it hadn't been enough to stop her. Help or not, skill or chance, she had still reached him.
As if, from the moment she stepped into this realm, everything had been moving toward this point.
"I need to speak with you," Elyas said, already turning to Kaireth.
For a brief second, Kaireth looked surprised. Then the expression smoothed away. He inclined his head, water still slipping from his hair.
"That was why I came," he said. "Just didn't expect you to say it first."
***
An hour later, Yao Yao stood outside a door.
The spirits had brought her up not long after she left the chamber. Until then, she'd assumed the palace was empty, that it was only Rui and Elyas here. She hadn't seen anyone else since the day she arrived.
She'd been wrong.
Once they reached the upper levels, Elyas set her down, passed her into the spirits' care, and walked away with Kaireth without explanation. Only then did she notice how many others moved through the halls.
They weren't human.
Cats. Rabbits. Creatures shaped like people but clearly not. Two legs, familiar hands, unfamiliar faces. They spoke little, if at all, as they led her into a room, drew a bath, and laid out towels. One dabbed gently at the cut on her cheek. Another left a tray of food beside her bed, more than she could finish.
No one asked questions.
It should have been comforting. Instead, it left her with the uneasy sense that the palace had always been like this—just out of sight—and was only now letting her see.
Her thoughts kept circling back to Rui.
The last image she had of him was still stuck there—tied to the tree, cheeks stuffed with paper. The thought resurfaced between spoonfuls of soup and the warmth of the bath. Had someone untied him yet? Or was he still arguing with a rabbit who refused to stop feeding him pages?
Whenever she tried to ask, the spirits only dipped their heads.
And now she was here.
They opened the door for her and stepped aside. When she walked through, it closed behind her. The spirits didn't follow.
The space beyond was long and narrow. No windows. No side passages. Just stone walls lit brightly enough to show every seam and line.
She only noticed the ceiling when she reached the middle.
Above her, stone gave way to a painted sky—deep blues layered in uneven shades that made the ceiling feel farther away than it was. Constellations traced faint paths across it, each star holding a soft glow that pulsed slowly. The sight held her long enough that she forgot where she was going until the door at the far end pulled her attention back.
It was larger than the first, its surface carved with twisting vines that climbed the frame and looped over one another, thick enough to resemble roots pressed into wood.
She stopped a few steps away, her fingers had just curled around the handle when a voice rose from the other side.
"—you can barely hold your magic together, and you're still talking about leaving the castle?"
Yao Yao froze.
That was Rui. His voice was sharper than she had ever heard it, stripped of patience.
Another voice answered, lower. Elyas.
"It won't be far."
"Far?" Rui let out a short, humorless laugh. "You collapsed in front of me the other day. You think stepping outside these grounds is 'not far'?"
Yao Yao's grip tightened around the handle. She knew she shouldn't listen, but her feet didn't move.
"You're exaggerating," Elyas said.
"I'm not," Rui snapped. "Your magic hasn't settled since you woke up. You can't even keep the corruption from cutting into you, and you want to walk out like it means nothing."
Something shifted against the door. A step. The brush of fabric.
"If I stay here, nothing changes," Elyas replied. "You know that."
"I know you're alive if you stay here," Rui said. "That's what I care about."
Yao Yao had never heard him speak like this. He had pushed back before, talked over Elyas once or twice for her sake, but there had always been restraint. Now there wasn't. The anger sat too plainly in his words, and something else that sounded like fear.
"I'm not asking," Rui continued. "I've watched you burn yourself out for longer than she's been alive. You can't keep pretending you're still at full strength. You're not. And if you keep acting like nothing's changed, you're going to die, and I am not—"
His voice broke off.
Yao Yao's chest pulled tight. Without realising it, she leaned closer and closer until her ear was almost pressed to the wood. Her forehead rested lightly against the door as she waited, barely breathing.
For a second, she wasn't sure if the silence meant more was coming. She leaned in just a little—
—and the door opened.
Yao Yao stumbled forward with it, a startled sound slipping out as she lost her balance—only to be caught.
"Careful," Kaireth said lightly, steadying her with one arm.
Yao Yao straightened, heat rising in her face. Her eyes went to Elyas instinctively, and the room followed after.
Vines covered the walls, their glow shifting through soft hues that pulsed together, threading the chamber with a slow, shared rhythm. They climbed without order, clinging to stone or looping overhead in wide arcs.
Behind Elyas, they gathered around something suspended—a cocoon of growth wrapped tight around a core of light.
No one spoke.
Rui stood off to the side with his back turned, shoulders held tight, gaze fixed somewhere past the wall instead of her.
The sight tugged at her chest.
He still wouldn't look at her. Not earlier, not now. She found herself wondering whether she'd done something wrong without realizing it, whether his anger had somehow shifted toward her.
The silence stretched until Kaireth exhaled. "I suppose we're done here." He turned to Elyas, expression already settling back into its usual calm. "By the way, I'll expect the favour returned one day."
Elyas didn't respond.
Kaireth didn't wait for one. He pushed the door open, then paused and glanced back at Yao Yao.
"Just one last piece of advice," he said, leaning down and ruffling her hair lightly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Don't rely on spells. Always shape your magic yourself."
Then he straightened and left, the door closing behind him.
Yao Yao lingered where she was, her gaze fixed on the closed door as Kaireth's words settled slowly in her mind. Slowly, she turned around.
Elyas was already watching her.
"You're going home," he said after a pause. "Come."
Her heart jumped at the word. Home. Her feet moved before she could think, following him as if the choice had been made the instant he spoke. It wasn't until a few steps later that she slowed, the meaning finally catching up to her.
"You're coming with me, right?" she asked. "As my spirit."
The question came out too quickly, pressed by the fear that if she didn't say it now, he might leave her behind again.
"…Yes." Elyas said, already turning away.
The tightness in her chest eased. She turned her head, her gaze drifting toward Rui.
He still wasn't looking at her. His back was to her, shoulders drawn tight, the crease between his brows refusing to smooth out. She hesitated, then stepped closer and stopped at his side. Her eyes flicked briefly to the dress she was wearing before she reached out and tugged lightly at his pant leg.
"Rui," she said. "Are you angry at me?"
Rui frowned, as if the question itself weighed on him. "I'm not angry at you," he said. "I'm just—"
He stopped, let out a breath, and glanced toward Elyas, who was already waiting with his back turned. After a moment, Rui knelt in front of her, bringing himself to her level.
"I'm not angry at you, Yao Yao," he said again.
His gaze flicked briefly to the dress, then returned to her face. "Take care," he added. "And take care of Elyas for me, will you?"
Her eyes stung before she could stop it. She scrubbed at them with the back of her hand and nodded, swallowing hard.
"Come visit me when you're free," she said.
Rui let out a breath that almost became a laugh. "I can't. I can't enter the human realm without a bond."
She nodded, then lifted her chin. "Then I'll come visit you. One day. And I'll show you how strong I've grown."
Her hand dropped to her dress, fingers brushing the fabric without thinking. "Thank you for this. It protected me really well. I'll cherish it."
Rui didn't answer. He just nodded.
"Go on now," he said quietly. "Go home."
Yao Yao walked back toward Elyas and stopped beside him, then turned around.
Rui was still watching her. The sharp edge from earlier had faded, leaving behind the familiar calm she had grown used to—the Rui who had fed her, carried her, worried over her more than he ever said aloud. He lifted a hand and gave her a small wave, meant just for her.
Her chest tightened.
She hadn't expected it to feel like this. The realm had been chaotic and dangerous, yet she had felt safe with him, cared for in ways she hadn't noticed until now. The realization came too fast, and she hated how easily it shook her, how quickly this small body formed attachments she didn't yet know how to hold.
She wiped at her eyes again before anything could fall and turned away.
Beside her, Elyas moved.
He reached toward the cocoon at the center of the chamber, and the vines responded immediately. Light swelled beneath his hand, magic rolling outward in slow waves that filled the air. The glow inside the structure brightened, leaking through the gaps as the vines awakened.
That familiar pressure bloomed in her chest as space bent around them. A ripple formed before the cocoon and widened into a portal, wind rushing through the chamber and tugging at her hair.
When the portal steadied, Elyas reached for her out of instinct—then stopped. His hand shifted, turning open between them, and he held it there.
Yao Yao's eyes followed the movement. The wind tugged at her sleeves, the light pulsing softly at their backs, and he remained where he was, waiting.
Then she took his hand.
His hand tightened around hers and he stepped ahead. She followed, light rising until the room began to slip away. At the last moment, she looked back and saw Rui still standing there, silent, before everything folded shut.
There was no stretch of weightlessness this time, no sense of being pulled apart. Yao Yao barely registered it. One moment there was light and wind and Elyas's hand holding hers—and then she blinked, hard, and sunlight flooded her vision.
Stone stretched beneath her feet. The arena opened around her, wide and bright, its familiar lines feeling oddly distant after the enclosed chambers, as though she were seeing the place again for the first time.
She lifted her head slowly, still dazed.
Then she saw him.
At the edge of the arena, a slim figure stood frozen, eyes wide as they fixed on her.
"Yao… Yao?"
Shang Jun's voice carried across the space.
That was enough.
Whatever she had been holding together slipped all at once. A broken sound tore out of her, and she burst into tears, loud and unrestrained, clutching Elyas with one hand while wiping furiously at her face with the other.
Elyas looked down, surprise crossing his expression for a moment, as if the sudden collapse had caught him off guard.
Across the arena, Shang Jun's gaze shifted—from her to Elyas—and sharpened.
Elyas followed it, irritation flashing briefly across his expression before he clicked his tongue under his breath.
"Tsk."