Chapter 47: A New World

"Merge with the Under-Reality?"

Xia Jiuwei pointed at her white hair.

"But Lili already had me merge with it before."

"See? This is what changed afterward."

The moment Ashes heard that, a bad feeling settled in his chest. He fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again.

"...Don't tell me Lili never explained where the Under-Reality came from, how Domains are formed, or why the Lost sometimes awaken Abilities."

Seeing the identical confusion on both of their faces, Ashes pressed a hand firmly against his forehead.

"He really didn't tell you anything?"

Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an nodded at the same time.

"..."

Ashes let out a long breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"Fine."

"Then let's start from the beginning."

He looked at them.

"What do you think the Under-Reality is?"

Xia Jiuwei thought for a moment.

"A place where resentment gathers?"

"And my job is to slowly erase that resentment so it won't affect me."

Ashes nodded.

"That's mostly correct—but not entirely."

"The Under-Reality is actually a dimension made of emotions."

"It's just that resentment is the strongest of all emotions and the easiest to leave behind, so most of what you encounter there is resentment."

He paused before suddenly looking at Xia Jiuwei, a troubling thought crossing his mind.

"...Don't tell me you've been dealing with those resentments one by one this whole time."

Xia Jiuwei pressed her lips together without answering.

Seeing her reaction, Ashes already knew the answer.

"Silly girl."

He smiled helplessly.

"No matter how deep a single person's resentment is, it can never compare to the resentment of an entire crowd."

"Domains are what truly need to be dealt with."

"Domains?"

Xia Jiuwei frowned.

Ashes nodded and continued.

"When a large amount of similar emotions accumulates over a long period of time, they gradually condense into a Domain."

"The resentment contained within a major Domain far exceeds all the individual remnants you've been cleansing."

"So if your goal is to purify the Under-Reality, the most efficient method is to purify the Domains first."

He paused again.

"Once the overall resentment within the Under-Reality falls below a certain level, the burden of merging with it becomes much lighter."

Xia Jiuwei nodded thoughtfully before asking,

"Then what's the point of merging with the Under-Reality? And... what's with my white hair?"

Ashes glanced at her.

"Your current state is synchronization at best."

"It isn't true fusion."

"As for fusion..."

His expression grew more serious.

"It will make you unimaginably powerful."

"Far beyond anything you can currently comprehend."

"One day, you'll need that power."

With that, he stood and began walking toward the far end of the corridor.

"Wait."

Lu Nian'an suddenly called after him.

"Then where do Abilities come from?"

Ashes stopped but didn't turn around.

"That part is actually easy to understand."

"Some of the Lost don't accidentally fall into the Under-Reality."

"They enter it because overwhelming emotions shatter the barrier between reality and the Under-Reality."

"The energy of the Under-Reality responds to those emotions and grants them power."

"That's how Abilities are born."

He glanced back at the two of them.

"That's about everything I can tell you."

"As for the rest..."

"Go ask Lili."

"Goodbye."

With those final words, he pushed open the door and walked inside.

"Wait!"

Xia Jiuwei immediately hurried after him.

The moment she pushed the door open, she froze.

The room beyond looked almost identical to the wooden cabin in her memories.

The furniture.

The decorations.

Even their placement.

Everything was exactly as it had been in her grandfather's cabin.

Everything...

Except that no one was there anymore.

Xia Jiuwei slowly walked around the room before finally stopping in the middle, standing there in silence.

Lu Nian'an came to her side and gently supported her.

"He's gone."

Xia Jiuwei's voice was calm and slow.

"...Yeah."

Lu Nian'an simply stayed beside her.

After a long silence, Xia Jiuwei reached over and took her hand.

"Let's go home."

Back at the apartment, Xia Jiuwei lowered her gaze to the grayish-green bead resting in her palm.

She stared at it for a long time, searching for an answer that never came.

"...Sigh."

After letting out a long breath, it was as though she had finally laid something to rest. When she looked up again, a faint smile had returned to her face.

"Keep this Domain for me."

She held the bead out toward Lu Nian'an.

"Will you look after it?"

Lu Nian'an accepted it, studying Xia Jiuwei's unusual calmness.

"...Are you alright?"

Instinctively, she reached out through their connection to sense Xia Jiuwei's emotions.

What came back was unexpectedly complicated.

Nostalgia.

Regret.

Sadness.

And beneath it all...

A quiet sense of acceptance.

Xia Jiuwei gave a small smile.

"He wasn't my grandfather."

She looked down at her now-empty palm.

"He was only a copy that carried Grandpa's memories."

Then she turned toward Lu Nian'an, her gaze softening.

"Having you is enough."

"...Isn't it?"

Lu Nian'an nodded and gently took her hand.

"Yeah."

Silence settled between them once more.

After a while, Lu Nian'an spoke again.

"By the way..."

"Shouldn't we get the truth about the Under-Reality?"

"Ask Lili?"

"Mhm."

Xia Jiuwei nodded.

"Sure."

With a casual wave of her hand, the Under-Reality Management Manual materialized in midair.

The next instant, a tiny figure bounced out from between its pages.

"Hello, Master! Did you call Lili for something?"

Lili waved enthusiastically, wearing his usual bright smile.

But it didn't take long before he sensed something was off.

His raised little hand slowly lowered behind his back, and even his smile became noticeably guilty.

Xia Jiuwei looked straight at him.

"Lili."

"What you told me before about merging with the Under-Reality..."

"It doesn't seem to be right."

Lili instantly froze.

"...Eh?"

"Um..."

"Master, I'm sorry!"

He poked his fingers together nervously.

"Lili made a mistake before."

"What you experienced wasn't fusion."

"It was only synchronization."

"Synchronization?"

"Yep!"

Lili nodded vigorously.

"Real fusion means treating this world's entire Under-Reality as one enormous Domain and merging with it."

As he spoke, he stretched both arms apart dramatically.

"Remember how much stronger you became after merging with that S-Class Domain?"

"If you merged with the entire Under-Reality..."

"You'd become super, super, super powerful!"

"Wait."

Xia Jiuwei interrupted him.

"What do you mean by this world's Under-Reality?"

Lili blinked.

"The Under-Reality of this world, of course."

"...Don't tell me you didn't know there are other worlds?"

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an exchanged a glance before shaking their heads together.

"We didn't."

"...Eh?!"

Lili stood there completely stunned.

"You really didn't know?"

Ignoring his astonishment, Xia Jiuwei continued.

"Then what's the purpose of merging with the Under-Reality?"

At that question, Lili puffed out his chest proudly.

"Of course it's because one day you'll have to face something incredibly powerf—"

Halfway through the sentence, he froze.

His eyes widened as he clamped both hands over his mouth.

"..."

The living room fell silent.

Both Xia Jiuwei and Lu Nian'an stared at him.

Cold sweat immediately began running down Lili's face.

"Ah! Right, Master!"

He suddenly raised his voice.

"Recently, someone from another world accidentally wandered into the Under-Reality!"

"And it's a world full of zombies!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he stretched both arms out and began hopping around the living room, imitating a zombie.

"Uwaaah—"

"Uwaaah—"

The next second, someone grabbed him by the back of the neck.

Lili dangled helplessly in midair, his tiny legs kicking back and forth.

Xia Jiuwei lifted him until they were eye level.

Her voice remained perfectly calm.

"What were you about to say we'd have to face?"

Lili shrank his neck.

"Master... Lili can't tell you yet."

"But I promise you'll never be in danger!"

Without waiting for a response, he hurriedly changed the subject.

"So..."

"Would you like to visit the zombie world?"

Xia Jiuwei stared at him for a long moment before finally letting go.

"...Forget it."

"You can go back."

Lili blinked.

"You're really not going?"

"I'll call you when I feel like going."

"Yes, Master!"

His spirits instantly returned.

"As long as you want to go, Lili will be there anytime you call!"

With that, he happily bounced back into the book.

The pages closed.

The living room fell silent once again.

"Not going?"

"A zombie world sounds fun."

Lu Nian'an reached over and poked Xia Jiuwei's cheek.

"Not right now."

Xia Jiuwei leaned back against the sofa.

"I just want a little peace and quiet first."

"Alright."

Lu Nian'an scooted closer until their shoulders touched.

"Then I'll stay with you."

The two of them sat together in silence.

Before long, however, Xia Jiuwei's gaze drifted onto Lu Nian'an—and stayed there.

Lu Nian'an couldn't help laughing.

"What?"

"I think..."

"You should finish your work first."

Xia Jiuwei spoke with complete seriousness.

"Otherwise you'll sneak out of bed in the middle of the night to work again."

Lu Nian'an blinked before breaking into laughter.

"I've already taken care of most of the important stuff."

"I won't be getting up to work in the middle of the night anymore."

"I don't care."

Xia Jiuwei continued staring at her.

"Go finish the rest."

Seeing the determination written all over her face, Lu Nian'an raised both hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright."

"I'll do it now."

She paused.

"But it'll take a while."

It ended up taking more than five hours.

By the time Lu Nian'an finished organizing everything that had piled up over the week, the evening sun was streaming through the windows, bathing the living room in warm golden light.

She rolled her shoulders before looking toward the person beside her.

Xia Jiuwei had curled up next to her the entire time, barely leaving her side.

Lu Nian'an couldn't help smiling.

"If you're this clingy..."

"What are you going to do when classes start tomorrow?"

Xia Jiuwei immediately shot her a glare.

"Don't make it sound like I'm glued to you all the time."

"Oh?"

Lu Nian'an nodded thoughtfully.

"Then I must've misunderstood."

She stood, stretched lazily, and said in an offhand tone,

"I was thinking about going to class with you tomorrow."

"But if you're not that attached to me..."

"I guess I'll forget it."

Xia Jiuwei froze for a second before immediately sitting upright.

"Hey!"

"That's not fair!"

Lu Nian'an turned to her, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Hm?"

"I want you to come with me."

Xia Jiuwei declared without the slightest embarrassment.

Lu Nian'an finally burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright."

She reached over and ruffled Xia Jiuwei's hair.

"And you still insist you're not clingy."

The silky white hair was instantly turned into a hopeless mess.

Xia Jiuwei hurriedly covered her head with both hands and glared at her, looking just like a little kitten with its fur all puffed up.

The sight only made Lu Nian'an laugh even harder.