Chapter 112
Yo. The Library of Van Shi Tong.
Two pairs of eyes were fixed on the story of a young girl who decided to join the army in place of her aging father. At that very moment, an illusory Mulan swept through Celine and me, making us swivel our hips slightly to take in everything happening.
"The cartoons back then were so stylish!" Maybe I'm a bit old-fashioned, but I believe *The Lion King*, *Mulan*, *Tarzan*, *Balto*, and other cartoons from the '90s and early 2000s are the best. "I think some people will agree with me," I said, glancing at Celine, who seemed to be staring without blinking.
Recently, Van Shi Tong created an illusion room, which I simply called a cinema. It all started when I began telling Celine fairy tales. The storytelling was accompanied by ice, fire, or stone figurines of the characters and locations. For my daughter, of course, I didn't mind summoning one of my selves for an hour or two.
Sometimes I was busy and couldn't act as the storyteller. Then the role fell to Driya and Gaia, who, however, couldn't fully satisfy Celine's desires. So, the little, uncommonly intelligent girl went to Van Shi Tong, whom she calls Uncle Owl, asking him to tell her something interesting. He probably found it easier to solve the issue once and for all than to wait for the little visitor every time. That's how the room we're sitting in now was created. Here, all the cartoons I've ever watched are loaded. I'd hang out here all day myself, but even good things should be enjoyed in moderation.
Besides, my memory vividly reminded me of the "TV show binges" I used to have in my past life. I don't want to repeat that now. Maybe when I'm a bit more confident about the future...
"Well, that's it for today," I said after the Disney cartoon ended. "Don't make that face, you know I don't make the rules here, and you can't win against two moms," I continued, avoiding my daughter's face—I might not hold back otherwise.
Yes, she has two moms—one is Driya, and the other is Gaia. Of course, we tried to explain that it's not like that. But then we thought about it and acknowledged the truth: Gaia, even though not her biological mother, plays just as big a role in her life as Driya and I do. So, it wouldn't be right to push her aside. Gaia walked around with a happy smile for a whole month.
"O-kaaay, let's go to bed," she said with a yawn, seeing that her plea didn't work. "Dad, why is it so unfair? Unlike humans, spirits don't need to sleep, they hardly get sick, and they can live for a very, very long time..."
"But they don't have life energy, and at first, they're too tied to their element," I continued with a smile, gently stroking her flower on her head. Her complaint was understandable—who among us didn't want to stay up just one more hour in front of the TV or computer as kids?
Celine inherited a lot from her human side: the need for sleep, food, air, and water. But she also took something from Driya—for example, Celine hasn't grown an inch in the past months. We didn't panic immediately since the same was true for her mother, who only grew older after reaching a new rank. The thought was correct, but Van Shi Tong added a bit more. According to his observations, she needs not only a certain rank but also a corresponding level of life energy to grow up. And honestly, I really want her to stay this small and sweet for as long as possible...