As soon as the light faded, Xu Tao found himself greeted by an oddly familiar yet strangely unfinished sight.
He was standing atop a half-constructed tower.
Work had clearly stopped in the middle of progress—piles of cut stone lay to one side, mortar and plaster sat in a neat heap, and scaffolding rose like skeletal ribs against the moonlit sky.
Through the gaps in the incomplete walls, a sea of clouds rolled gently beneath them, silvered by the steady moon. The scene felt oddly peaceful, and the softness of the cloudscape eased the tension in his shoulders without him meaning to relax.
"Sir Tao!"
"Huh?"
A heartbeat later, a figure lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Jehanne—breathless, with cheeks flushed—had arrived before him.
She clung to him like a relieved child.
