Blind Box World - SSS-Rank Eye of Truth

Ethan didn’t go straight back to Spring Village.

After leaving the industrial complex, the three of them deliberately veered off the old path, following a chain of rocky mountains stretching south before looping back around. Ethan stopped now and then, standing still for a while to feel the fluctuations around him.

He no longer forced the Eye of Truth to give clear answers. His eyes only sharpened his senses, enough to tell that the Void energy that had been trailing him was gradually fading.

Over two hours later, Ethan finally relaxed for real.

Ryan was no longer nearby.

Whatever had pulled him into the Void hadn’t left any other obvious traces behind.

Only then did Ethan change direction.

Ruo Yan, walking beside him, noticed immediately.

She watched the familiar path gradually emerge between the hills, and the coldness that always sat in her eyes softened slightly. She said nothing, only quickened her pace a little. For Ethan and Laira, Spring Village was a place that had once given them shelter. But for Ruo Yan, it was the only place she could call home after being abandoned.

They hadn’t gone far before Ethan suddenly stopped.

His right hand gripped his left upper arm.

A burning sensation was spreading beneath the Primordial Armor.

At first it was just a dull ache, like heated metal being pressed against the remaining flesh. But within a few breaths, the Void Flame hidden deep inside reacted, sharp stabs of pain lancing from the missing section of his hand all the way up to the shoulder.

Ethan hunched slightly.

His breathing grew heavier.

"Ethan."

Laira’s voice shifted at once.

She was standing in front of him before he knew it. Her orange-red eyes locked onto his left arm, every trace of relaxation gone from her face.

"The pain again?"

Ethan moved to shake his head out of habit, but when he saw her eyes, he only exhaled.

"Yeah. A bit stronger than before."

Laira frowned immediately. She didn’t waste words. She took hold of his shoulder and pulled him down onto a boulder by the roadside. Her other hand rested on the Primordial Armor, which was growing warm. Solar Flame spread gently from her palm, like a layer of warm water enveloping the arm.

The moment the two energies made contact, the Void Flame reacted at once.

A few dark purple lines crawled up the surface of the Primordial Armor.

Ethan gritted his teeth.

Laira saw it, and her expression darkened further. She moved closer, nearly kneeling between his legs to hold his arm more steadily. Her long red hair slid off her shoulder and brushed against his knee.

"Stop trying to bear it alone. You already let it burn your entire arm off once. Want to try for a second round?"

There was a hint of anger in her voice, but the hand resting on Ethan’s shoulder was impossibly gentle.

"I know."

"You know, but you were still going to keep walking."

Laira lifted her head to look at him, her orange-red eyes reddening slightly with frustration. "Ethan, I don’t care how much pain you can endure. I just need you to stop pretending in front of me."

Ethan went still.

After a moment, he let out a quiet laugh.

"All right."

Laira clearly wasn’t satisfied yet, but at least the tension on her face eased a fraction.

Ruo Yan had been standing nearby the entire time.

She didn’t understand the Void Flame as well as Laira, so at first she only watched in silence. But when she saw Ethan’s right hand start to tremble, she finally stepped forward.

"Give me your hand."

Ethan looked at her.

Ruo Yan frowned.

"I said the right hand."

Ethan held it out.

Ruo Yan took hold of his wrist.

His skin was colder than normal.

She held it for a few seconds, then her hand slowly tightened. Her expression stayed cool, but clear displeasure showed in her eyes.

"You’re in so much pain that even your right hand is shaking, and you were still going to keep walking?"

"I can still walk."

"I didn’t ask whether you can."

Ruo Yan pulled his hand down, then very naturally sat close to Ethan’s left side. Their shoulders touched. "Stay put. If you collapse on the road, Laira and I will have to carry you back. Don’t make more work for us."

Laira heard that and let the corner of her mouth curve.

"I’m starting to like you."

Ruo Yan glanced at her.

"I don’t need you to like me."

"But I do anyway."

Ruo Yan was about to retort, then let it go. Her hand stayed on Ethan’s right wrist with no intention of letting go.

Ethan looked at the two of them for a while, then gave a quiet sigh.

"I’m the one who’s hurt here. Why are you two starting to argue?"

Laira tilted her head and casually rested her chin on his knee.

"Because watching you in pain makes me miserable."

Ruo Yan was silent for a few seconds, then said flatly,

"Same."

This time Ethan truly had nothing left to say.

The pain was still there.

But strangely, it seemed a little easier to bear.

...

Nearly an hour later, the three of them set out again.

As the sun began tilting westward, thin wisps of smoke finally appeared behind the line of hills.

Ruo Yan stopped.

From where they stood, the low houses scattered through the valley were already visible. A few figures moved among the vegetable patches, and further away several Partner children were chasing each other along the dirt road.

Everything looked exactly as it had the day she left.

But Ruo Yan herself was no longer the same.

She stared at the village in silence for a long time.

Her hand unconsciously touched the storage space.

The three Puppet Cores were still there.

The three puppets that had followed her for years no longer stood behind her.

In their place was a towering Necromancer and a new bond connecting her to Ethan.

Ruo Yan didn’t know how everyone would look at her when she came back.

A Partner who had once been abandoned.

Someone who had once despised the Awakened.

And now she had become the Partner of an Awakened herself.

"Worried about something?"

Ethan’s voice came from beside her.

Ruo Yan startled slightly.

She turned to look at him.

"No."

Ethan didn’t call her out.

He simply stepped forward, his shoulder brushing lightly against hers.

"Let’s go."

Ruo Yan looked at him for a few seconds.

Then gave a small nod.

The three of them walked down the hill.

They had barely reached the edge of the village when a figure appeared not far away.

Vesna.

She looked the same as the first time Ethan had seen her. Skin the color of moonlight, soft tendrils cascading down her back in place of hair, the two thin structures like butterfly wings at her temples trembling softly.

But this time, when she saw Ruo Yan, her silver eyes immediately curved upward.

"You’re back."

Just one simple sentence.

Ruo Yan had prepared so many words.

In the end, she couldn’t say a single one.

The corners of her eyes reddened slightly.

After a while, she managed a quiet reply.

"Yeah. I’m back."

Vesna stepped forward.

She didn’t ask what had happened, why the three puppets were gone, or about the new bond on Ruo Yan’s body.

She simply opened her arms.

Ruo Yan stiffened for a moment.

Then slowly wrapped her arms around Vesna.

The gesture was a little clumsy at first, but after just a few seconds, her arms tightened.

Ethan stood behind them, watching.

Laira very naturally hooked her arm through his right, leaning nearly half her body against his shoulder.

"She missed this place."

"Yeah."

"Did you miss it too?"

Ethan looked at the low houses ahead.

"A little."

Laira lifted her head to look at him, the corner of her mouth curving.

"Me too."

She shifted closer, her soft chest pressing gently against Ethan’s arm without any attempt to avoid the contact. Ethan didn’t push her away either. After everything they had just been through, a bit of touch like this made him feel reassured rather than awkward.

Before long, the news of Ruo Yan’s return spread through the village.

Partners appeared one after another.

Some called her name with joy. Some stared in shock at the Necromancer. A few immediately sensed the new bond that existed between Ruo Yan and Ethan.

Their gazes unconsciously shifted to him.

Ruo Yan tensed slightly.

Ethan felt it.

He said nothing. He simply reached out with his right hand and took hers.

Ruo Yan froze.

Ethan’s hand was perfectly natural.

No hiding.

No sneaking.

Right there in front of everyone’s eyes.

Ruo Yan looked at their interlocked hands, then up at him.

Ethan was as calm as if there were nothing remarkable about it at all.

The tension inside Ruo Yan vanished.

She didn’t pull her hand away.

She held on tighter.

Vesna stood nearby and saw everything.

The thin wings at her temples fluttered softly.

A very gentle smile appeared.

...

That night, Ethan and Laira were given back the same small house as before.

Ruo Yan had her own house in the village, but she had barely sat down before sounds came from outside.

Laira practically ran in.

"Ruo Yan."

The dark-haired girl frowned.

"What?"

"Ethan’s in pain again."

Before Laira could finish, Ruo Yan was already on her feet.

When she entered the small house, Ethan was sitting propped against the headboard. His upper clothing had been removed, exposing his left shoulder and the area where the Primordial Armor encased the severed section of his arm.

Dark purple lines crawled beneath the layer of metal.

Sweat covered Ethan’s forehead.

Laira knelt beside him, one hand on his chest to keep his body steady, the other channeling Solar Flame into the left arm.

Ruo Yan walked straight over.

She didn’t ask.

She only sat down on the other side, pulled a clean cloth, and wiped the sweat from Ethan’s neck and chest.

Her movements were very careful.

When the cloth passed over the taut muscles of his chest, Ethan glanced at her.

Ruo Yan immediately frowned.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing."

"Then close your eyes."

Ethan gave a quiet laugh.

"I haven’t even said anything yet."

"I know what you’re about to say. ’It’s fine.’ ’I can handle it.’ ’It’ll pass in a moment.’"

Ruo Yan mimicked his calm tone, then looked at him coldly.

"If you say one more line like that, I’ll have the Necromancer hold you down."

Laira couldn’t help laughing.

"Good idea."

Ethan looked at the two of them.

"I feel like my standing is dropping very fast."

Laira leaned closer, her red hair falling across Ethan’s chest.

"Then behave when you’re hurting."

After saying that, she lowered her head and pressed a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Not a fierce kiss.

Just a gentle touch, lingering a little longer than usual.

Ethan went briefly still.

Laira pulled back, her orange-red eyes curving.

"A reward for being obedient."

Ruo Yan, sitting right beside them, saw all of it.

Her gaze rested on Ethan’s lips.

She didn’t look away.

She didn’t blush and turn aside the way she might have before.

She only narrowed her eyes slightly, as though thinking about something.

After the Void Flame finally subsided, Ethan was nearly spent. He lay down on the bed, and the moment his eyes closed, he sank quickly into sleep.

Laira stayed beside him.

Ruo Yan didn’t leave either.

In the middle of the night, Ethan woke.

Only moonlight came through the window.

Laira lay pressed close to his right, one arm draped across his waist, her face resting on Ethan’s shoulder. She was deeply asleep, her even breaths brushing against his neck.

On the other side, Ruo Yan had slumped forward on the edge of the bed.

One of her hands still rested on the Primordial Armor.

As if the slightest rise in temperature from his arm would wake her instantly.

Ethan looked at her for a long time.

Finally, he slowly reached out with his right hand, slipping it beneath her knees and behind her back, and lifted her up.

Ruo Yan stirred faintly.

But she didn’t wake.

Ethan set her down on the empty space to his left.

Then pulled the blanket over her.

He was just about to withdraw his hand when Ruo Yan, still asleep, unconsciously caught hold of his collar.

Her whole body shifted closer.

Her forehead came to rest against his shoulder.

Ethan went still.

On his right was Laira.

On his left was Ruo Yan.

Two soft bodies had him pressed between them.

Ethan stared at the ceiling for a while.

The corner of his mouth finally curved up.

For the first time in many days, he fell back asleep without needing to wonder whether someone would be trying to kill him come morning.