Before he set foot outside the room, Yue zihan looked at himself in the mirror by the large door. He had grown like Alot.
" did I just have a grown spurt already," he murmured looking at his face that carried traces of both his parents.
White hair spilled over his shoulders like moonlight turned liquid. One eye burned crimson while the other glowed ice Blue . Heavens least compatible colors forced to share a soul. They pulsed faintly, making the mirror ripple as if reality itself were a nervous servant.
He sighed
" Terribly inconvenient," he muttered " all I do is blink and the furniture starts philosophizing about existence,."
He reached for the strip of black silk resting on the table the one his mother had personally made.It shimmered with faint runes he had created himself .
Due to his power the black silk given to him by his mother could not hold on he had to add the ruins in order to preserve it. It gave him a sense of security and stability to know that he had parents who loved him.
The silk was a weave of chaos and order he had locked in a truce only he could maintain. This silk was his will .
He smiled a soft crooked thing," a prince who hides his eyes so the world doesn't melt , what a romantic tragedy. I'm definitely a protagonist this time. "
With careful precision , He tied the blindfold across his eyes . The world fell silent , folding inwards. He didn't need sight his awareness spread farther than light dared to go. It was better to read the souls of people rather than look at their faces.
( System log: sensory suppression initiated)
(Power output: concealed -99%)
( Visibility to heavens will : none)
Outside the door, the palace was hashed. The tall door opened and chaotic qi leaked out as it opened. In front of the door two figures waited.
His mother, Empress chu , moved first. She had not changed at all. She was as beautiful as always and her eyes carried the same warmth he remembered .Besides her stood his father Emporer Yue chenxi , taller than he remembered,or perhaps he had stopped seeing his father as a mountain.
" Zihan," his mother breathed.
For a heartbeat, no one moved. Then he smiled a small dry thing, but real .
" Father, mother you waited this long just to see how tall I have grown?"
Emperor yue laughed out loud , shacking his head, " you left a boy, you returned a man . Taller, certainly. stranger ,absolutely ."
Lady chu stepped forward and stopped just short of touching him, " were Soo worried about you, we couldn't even get a message from you just to know you were still alive. It's been fourteen years since you entered. Longer than necessary. We were Soo worried for you."
" I was…mediating," zihan said as if the words could explain everything. Then, crooked grin," you wouldn't believe how exciting it has been"
His mother's eyes watered ," you've changed."
" only in ways that make dinner uncomfortable,"
He felt her hand hover near his cheeks finally rested there, gentle and trembling," you are cold."
" I prefer the term comically adjusted," his tone was teasing but his head tilted into her touch, slightly.
" I've missed you both,alot," he said his head still leaning towards his mother's touch.
His father stepped closer, studying the blind fold," you can't see us?"
" oh, I can ," Zihan said lightly ," I just choose not to scorch the furniture or bend the servants into knots of existential confusion. It's a lifestyle choice,"
The family stood in silence through the open windows, dawn began to rise , the first light brushing against zihans white hair . The sight made lady chu's breath hitch because for all his changes, he still looked like the boy who once chased fireflies in the very halls.
" You are home now," she whispered.
" yes I am," he replied with a gentle smile.
Later in his chambers , he loosened the silk just enough for the faintest leak of power to escape . The air bent around him
He sighed in satisfaction. " still works. still mine ." then he retied the blind fold and smiled at the night.
(System log: power suppression stable -98%)
(Note : Host ego dangerously entertained)
He chuckled," oh don't start moralizing, system. I'm not hiding because I'm afraid… I'm hiding because the world is boring."