It was a blue fla.
Azure, steady, flickering.
She reached out instinctively, and her bracer went dark for a heartbeat.
Then it blazed.
A rush of heat filled her limbs, but it didn’t hurt. Her fingers glead faintly with light. Her pupils, for a second, flickered silver.
"What the hell..." Yu Song stared. "Did you just?"
"I didn’t an to."
"Oh hell no.." Mora said, jealous. "I flap around for ten minutes and get a flying squirrel upgrade. She breathes and becos a jungle ghost. That’s not fair."
Qingran flexed her fingers. "It’s just a costic change. Don’t worry."
But even she wasn’t convinced.
The group continued onward, more focused now. The environnt responded to them, glowing brighter when they worked together, darkening when they bickered.
It wasn’t just a simulation. It was interactive ecology.
The Garden was listening and it was nice escape from their dreadful reality.
They crossed a bridge of woven roots that pulsed like veins and entered a fog-filled canyon.
A beast’s roar echoed ahead.
"Does it eat people?" one of the younger kids asked, grabbing Xu Tianming’s hand.
"No real danger, rember?" he said, then glanced nervously at Qingran. "...Right?"
Yu Song groaned. "Translation: It’s a therapy boss fight."
As they stepped into the clearing. The Heart Tree stood at the center.
Massive. Ancient and covered in bark that shimred like obsidian and gold.
It’s roots coiled into the earth like a sleeping leviathan. At its base stood a beast, a towering chira of feathers and stone, eyes closed, breathing deeply.
The beast opened its eyes.
And it looked straight at Qingran.
Everyone froze and waited to see what she was going to do.
Yu Song whispered "Does it... know?"
But Qingran stepped forward, eyes steady. "I don’t know if it’s real," she said softly, "but I’m not afraid of it."
She placed a hand over her chest. "I protect people. Even when they don’t deserve it and because there’s soone waiting for , he’s the one I want to protect the most, so we can be together."
Her bracer glowed again.
The beast lowered its head.
And one by one, the others followed suit. Each child. Each teen. Mora, ng Nian.
Yu Song, lips pressed into a line.
Xu Tianming, fists clenched.
They each gave their reasons. So were selfish. So were innocent. So were still searching.
And the Heart Tree listened, like it could give them their heart desires.
Its bark began to shift. Petals blood along the roots. A pulse of light surged up its trunk like a heartbeat, and from the crown of the tree, a flower opened, it was colossal and radiant.
A single fruit dropped into Qingran’s hands.
It was smooth, gold-skinned, glowing faintly.
The jungle dissolved in sparkles.
And when they returned to the real world, blinking, slightly breathless, but they were still smiling.
Even the kids who’d barely spoken before had lit up, chattering about transformations and trees and glitter-bugs.
"Sa ti tomorrow?" Mora joked, flopping down on a beanbag.
"No.." Qingran said, but she was smiling too.
Even now, she could feel it, the faint ember of that blue fla. Not just in her hands. In her heart.
[I hope everyone enjoyed themselves. I shall give you all reward. What to you say to a nice buffet?]
The words weren’t spoken aloud, but they rang through every head like warm chis. A collective shiver passed through the room as the walls shimred again, this ti not into a jungle, but into a softly lit dining space.
Long tables extended from the ground, draped in white and pale green linens that sohow felt both elegant and playful. The air was fragrant with spices and warmth. The lighting adjusted to a llow gold, like early evening in spring.
The kids gasped.
Even Mora stopped mid-lounge, eyes wide as dishes began to appear. First, there were the familiar western comforts, chicken tenders, curly fries, mac and cheese in cute little rakins, an ice cream machine already swirling into motion.
But it didn’t stop there.
With a gentle flourish, the next wave arrived: real Chinese comfort food, appearing in plus of gentle steam.
There were trays of mapo tofu, vibrant with chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns; braised pork belly with glossy skin and lt-in-your-mouth fat. Xiao long bao, their delicate folds quivering with hidden broth, sat in round bamboo baskets.
Tomato and egg stir-fry made its entrance beside platters of dry-fried green beans, glistening with garlic. There was a northern-style beef noodle soup station, bowls ready to be custom assembled with pickled mustard greens, chili oil, and scallions. Beside it, stead buns in different shape, so shaped like pigs, so like peaches.
"Oh my god," Xu Tianming said under his breath. "They even got the dipping sauce ratios right."
Lotus leaf sticky rice sat in neatly wrapped triangles. Red bean pancakes, egg tarts, and mango pudding waited at the dessert station. There were even youtiao, crisp and golden, next to dispensers of hot soy milk, unsweetened, sweetened, and salty variants alike.
A quiet hush fell over the survivors.
Then.....
"I’m crying," whispered one of the younger girls, clutching her tray like it was sacred. "It slls like ho."
Yu Song sat down slowly, staring at his bowl of noodle soup. "This looks exactly like the one from that shop in my old neighborhood. The one that closed before the apocalypse..."
"It’s mory-based," Qingran said softly. "Lingquan rembers. That’s what Emotional Echoes ans. It pulls what comfort looks like to you."
Follow current novℯls on f(r)eewebnov𝒆l
Reviews
All reviews (0)