Shawn knew his injuries would take time to heal, so he decided against moving.
Although the snow beneath him was freezing, the cold no longer made him shiver. His body felt strangely awake.
Taking a slow breath, he closed his eyes and let the outside world fade away.
Light returned.
Ever since he had lost his eyesight in the real world, this inner space had become his refuge, the only place where he could truly see again.
A small figure suddenly shot through the darkness.
"Shawn!" Eva exclaimed as she leaped onto his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you! I thought you weren't coming back!"
Shawn glanced at her with mild amusement.
"We've been talking the whole time."
She puffed out her cheeks and floated back a little.
"That's different!"
He chuckled and lightly tapped her forehead.
"You really are impossible."
Eva rubbed her forehead dramatically, stuck out her tongue, then floated back beside him.
Shawn shifted his attention inward.
The last time he had entered this mindscape, his soul had been in complete chaos, with the three bloodlines struggling against one another. Now, everything felt different.
The turmoil was gone.
In its place was a strange, almost unsettling peace.
As he examined his soul, he found perfect order where there had once been conflict.
The three bloodlines no longer clashed. Instead, each occupied its own distinct pathway, separated by invisible boundaries that prevented them from interfering with one another.
Shawn stepped toward the first pathway.
A soft white current flowed through it in a steady rhythm. It was neither aggressive nor gentle. It simply moved with unwavering certainty.
Watching it filled him with an inexplicable sense of confidence, as though nothing in existence could truly obstruct its path.
He turned toward the second pathway.
Deep green energy flowed through it with effortless grace, gliding without the slightest hint of resistance. Merely observing it eased his thoughts, leaving his mind calm and strangely refreshed.
Finally, his gaze settled on the last pathway.
Deep violet light pulsed quietly within it.
The instant he focused on it, discomfort washed over him.
Every instinct screamed that he was standing before something incomprehensibly vast.
He felt impossibly small.
Then, just as suddenly, the feeling disappeared.
"...None of them are normal," Shawn murmured.
Eva floated beside him, her eyes sparkling.
"They're beautiful! I've never seen anything so colorful!"
Shawn lowered his gaze to the center of his chest.
His core glimmered like a transparent sphere.
Three great vessels extended from it like the roots of an ancient tree, each carrying a different current of energy.
White.
Green.
Violet.
The three streams flowed toward the core together, yet they never mixed.
Each current approached the sphere before gently curving away, orbiting the others in perfect harmony.
There was no collision.
No struggle.
No conflict.
It was as though an unseen force maintained a delicate balance between them.
Against all odds, the awakening had succeeded.
Despite the danger those three bloodlines posed to his body, his core had become the anchor that kept them in harmony.
He observed the flowing currents for a while before his attention drifted toward the endless darkness surrounding them.
There were no mountains.
No rivers.
No sky.
Only an empty void stretching farther than his eyes could reach.
"This place feels a little gloomy," Shawn said.
Eva blinked innocently.
"I like it. But... you don't visit very often."
Shawn sighed.
"Eva, this place could really use some improvement."
Her eyes immediately lit up.
She began circling his head excitedly.
"Are we building a home?"
"Whoa, slow down," Shawn said with a laugh. "I haven't even figured out how to change the scenery yet."
She stopped, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
Then her face brightened.
"This is your mindscape, Shawn. You decide what's here."
His eyes widened slightly.
Of course.
This was his soul.
There was no reason he shouldn't be able to shape it.
Taking a slow breath, he closed his eyes and spread his awareness throughout the endless darkness.
The entire mindscape trembled.
Shadows rippled like the surface of a lake disturbed by a falling stone.
Slowly, solid ground formed beneath his feet.
Ahead of him, wooden planks emerged from the darkness.
Boards fitted themselves together.
Walls rose.
A roof settled into place.
Within only a few minutes, a small wooden house stood in the middle of the endless void.
There were still no mountains or rivers.
Only a single home standing quietly against the darkness.
Shawn opened his eyes and smiled faintly.
"Not bad."
The words had barely left his mouth when a sharp headache struck him.
His vision blurred.
His knees gave way beneath him.
Eva rushed forward and caught his arm before he could fall.
"Shawn!"
The violent throbbing gradually subsided.
His breathing steadied.
After wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Shawn let out a weak chuckle.
"Looks like building inside a soul isn't easy."
Eva pouted, tightening her grip on his arm.
"You scared me."
"I'm sorry," Shawn said softly as he patted her head.
"Thank you."
Her smile returned immediately.
Together, they looked at the small wooden house standing alone within the endless darkness.
It was simple.
Quiet.
Unremarkable.
Yet somehow...
It felt safer than anywhere Shawn had been since the fall of the Starborn Clan.
He slowly walked toward it.
Reaching the entrance, he wrapped his fingers around the doorknob and gently turned it.