Mr. Crow asked quietly, "Are we aborting?"
Lana opened her mouth to answer yes... because logically, that was the safest course of action, but the creaking sound of the mansion door interrupted her. A figure stepped into view.
It was Naina. The same Naina Lana had just seen through the vision.
Mystic cultivators always received the appearance of the mission issuer beforehand to prevent unnecessary misunderstandings, but the difference between a photograph and reality was striking.
The woman standing before her now was a shadow of her former self.
The cheerful girl in the mission file had once carried the brightness of someone who dreamed of helping others.
Now she looked as if she were walking on the thin boundary between life and death.
Her cheeks were hollow. Her collarbones pressed against her skin as though her bones were trying to break free. Her eyes, deep and tired, still held a gentle warmth that felt painfully fragile.
