The warm scent of boiled corn pierced Ye Lin's awareness more deeply than any blade ever could. His half-ghost hand gripped the wooden bowl, feeling its warmth seep through fingers that were beginning to solidify again.
This isn't an illusion.
Outside the rickety hut the last structure standing in his inner world a storm of energy surged. The purple sky, where the First Keeper still lingered, sent wave after wave of shock, making the hut's walls creak like chattering teeth.
"[HE'S LOOKING FOR US]," whispered the iron butterfly, now no larger than a palm, clinging to Ye Lin's shoulder like a rusted metal brooch.
The small shadow in the corner lifted its head. Its face, still blurred, slowly began to resemble young Ye Lin the version of him that still believed in the goodness of the world.
"I don't want to be eaten," it said, in a voice that made Ye Lin's ghost-heart stir.
Three things happened at once:
The hut's floor began to tremble, cracks forming in the shape of a ritual diagram—one eerily similar to those of the Venom Leaf Sect.
The corn soup began to glow with golden light, unlike the dark energy of the inner world.
The small shadow suddenly had a heartbeat, the sound echoing strangely in the cramped space.
Ye Lin looked at his palm. The usual black energy lines were now threaded with gold—exactly the same hue as the light from the soup.
"Lin'er," his mother's voice rang out clearly, "The greatest power isn't the one that takes—but the one that gives."
Outside, the First Keeper's scream was abruptly cut off.
[WARNING: INNER WORLD LAWS ARE SHIFTING][BOUNDARY KEEPER SYSTEM: CORRUPTION 37%][NEW ENERGY DETECTED: ???]
The iron butterfly quivered in fear. "[WHAT ARE YOU DOING?]"
Ye Lin didn't answer. He poured the corn soup into the cracks on the floor.
The world stopped spinning.
And then began to pulse—to beat—with a new rhythm.
The wooden walls of the hut glowed with golden veins, growing like roots piercing through the darkness. Outside, the last glass flower bloomed violently, its petals tearing into overlapping dimensions.
And most terrifying of all
The First Keeper appeared at the doorway, his face of a thousand mouths writhing. But he could not cross the threshold.
"IMPOSSIBLE!" he shrieked, his voice fracturing into a thousand tones. "YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CREATE YOUR OWN LAWS!"
Ye Lin raised the empty bowl, now glowing like a miniature sun.
"I'm not creating," he said softly. "I'm remembering."
The small shadow in the corner leapt into his arms, merging with the golden light. The iron butterfly screamed in terror before melting into black ink forming a tattoo on Ye Lin's arm.
And on the wall of the hut, a family photo that had never existed before suddenly appeared a picture of a smiling mother and child standing before an intact home.
The inner world was no longer a hollow void.
There was now soil beneath the hut.
And soil needs seeds.