Worsening Eyes

The brush tip descended. No golden light soared into the sky, and no deafening roar rang out.

Holding Big White Cloud, Jingxing lowered its tip an inch above Robin's wound and made the first stroke, as though he were painting.

The scattered Imaginary Energy slowly gathered beneath his brush. The layer of "silk" enveloping Robin, burned through with holes, was being mended stitch by stitch.

With every stroke, something warm flowed from the brush shaft, along his wrist and toward the tip. It was as though he were using Imaginary Energy as ink, harmonizing the energy backlash and rampage caused by Robin's gunshot wound.

Though he had only become a Pathstrider minutes ago, Jingxing found that he could wield Imaginary Energy almost as easily as his own limbs.

He had no need to adjust to using the energy he could finally control. Jingxing had spent over a decade painting; composition, empty space and brushwork had long been ingrained in his bones.

In his eyes, Robin, the Imaginary Energy inside her running rampant, was like a long scroll painting someone had torn apart.

He could tell at a glance where the flawed strokes were, where the flow had been broken, and where the focal point of the whole painting lay hidden.

He did not need to think about how to handle it. He only had to rely on instincts built up over decades to repair it.

The second stroke, the third... The tear the military doctor could not stitch shut, the energy Robin could not suppress herself, all fell into line beneath Jingxing's brush like a tangled skein of thread being smoothed out.

But his eyes hurt too much.

Golden Imaginary Energy surged before Jingxing's eyes, denser than ever before. The longer he stared at Robin, the fiercer the burning pain in his eye sockets became, as though someone were driving red-hot needles into his eyes one by one.

Tears streamed from his eyes. Jingxing could only blink hard and search through the gaps in his tears for the places he needed to mend.

Don't close your eyes, he told himself. Hold on a little longer.

It was only pain. If he could endure it, he could save Robin's life. It was far too good a bargain.

Jingxing kept his eyes open, tears streaming as he painted.

But when the tear beneath his brush was half mended, the brush began to "dry."

The warm power in his body was growing thin, like the receding tide. No matter how tightly Jingxing gripped the brush shaft, it refused to surge forth again.

Jingxing clenched his teeth and grasped the problem at once: he was only a novice who had just set foot on the Path of Beauty, and he could command a pitiful spoonful of Imaginary Energy.

How could he possibly mend an entire torn scroll painting with ink ground from a spoonful of water?

"Is all my effort going to come to nothing?" Jingxing bit his lip and made a choice.

Since he could not mend it all, he would mend only the most crucial spot.

His gaze swept over the whole "painting," and a painter's instinct picked out the point where Robin's neck had been pierced from among the countless details.

All the chaotic Imaginary Energy had burst forth from there. It was the focal point of the entire painting. If the focal point was destroyed, all would be lost; if he saved it, the remaining Imaginary Energy would always find a way out.

Jingxing took a deep breath and pressed the last of his strength into the brush tip. "Gather!"

The final stroke fell.

The next second, everything went black before Jingxing's eyes, and the brush dropped from his hand. He pitched forward. Before his consciousness faded, the last thing Jingxing saw was that strand of golden light slowly, steadily joining back together where his brush had fallen.

He had done it.

Jingxing did not know how long he had been unconscious before the sharp smell of disinfectant woke him.

An unfamiliar ceiling hung overhead, and a hard bed lay beneath him. He tried moving his fingers, and his whole arm ached as though its bones had been pulled out.

But what he noticed first was not any of that. The world before his eyes had not returned to normal.

Faint traces of light floated in the air. Morning sunlight slanted in, and dust trailed fine lines through the light. A single glance brought the burning pain sweeping through his eyes again.

I'm done for. Even without looking directly at Robin while she's using her ability, just watching the Imaginary Energy flowing through the air makes my eyes hurt now. Realizing how serious the problem was, Jingxing felt his heart sink.

"You're awake."

Robin's voice came from beside him. Jingxing turned his head. She was sitting in a chair by the bed, gauze wrapped around the side of her neck. Her face was still pale, but she looked much better than before he had passed out.

The Celestial Ring shone steadily above her head, no longer flickering, and the fingertips resting on her knees no longer trembled.

"...Are you better?" Jingxing asked hoarsely.

"Much better." Robin looked at him. "Yesterday, an unfamiliar power pushed the Imaginary Energy running wild inside me back into place, little by little."

She paused. "Like someone took a brush and mended it, stroke by stroke."

"I'm glad you're all right." Jingxing looked away. Even though Robin was not using her Path abilities now, his increasingly sensitive eyes still could not meet hers.

"Thank you." Robin's gaze fell on Big White Cloud beside Jingxing's pillow. "I'm so glad I met you. Deciding to travel with you was the best decision I ever made. If you hadn't helped me harmonize that energy..."

"Don't thank me," Jingxing interrupted her. "If anyone should be thanking someone, it's me. If it weren't for you, I might never have taken that step."

Robin raised her eyes, something indescribable in their emerald-green depths. "Jingxing, have you set foot on the Path of Beauty?"

Jingxing nodded gently. "Yes. Idrila glanced at me."

Robin quietly shared what she knew. "The Aeon of Beauty hasn't appeared for many Amber Eras. Last night, the corporation's headquarters bombarded Ofila with calls. The entire galaxy observed her manifestation. If nothing unexpected happens, the Knights of Beauty and the Mirror Holders should both be on their way."

"The whole world is looking for 'the person favored by an Aeon' now." Robin looked at him. "And that person is right in front of me."

Jingxing tensed. Seemingly noticing his growing anxiety, Robin could not help laughing. "I used a little power to make Ofila keep quiet. Apart from her and me, no one knows you're the one the goddess Idrila glanced at."

"Is that so... Thank you." Jingxing relaxed.

"So, your eyes...?" Robin, who had noticed Jingxing squinting the whole time, continued.

"Idrila told me she altered my eyes so I could see Imaginary Energy. The denser the Imaginary Energy, the more my eyes hurt." As he spoke, Jingxing glanced up at her instinctively. Just one look brought that familiar burning sensation to the depths of his eye sockets.

He looked away.

"Do they still hurt?" Robin's voice softened.

"...Yes." The pain brought cold sweat to Jingxing's brow.

"Then how did you do it yesterday? Just looking at me hurts so much." Robin reached out and wiped Jingxing's temple with a handkerchief.

"I just had to endure it," Jingxing replied. "What I paid was pain, but in exchange, I got your life back. That's enough."

Robin said nothing. She lowered her head and looked at the hands resting on her knees for a long, long time. When she looked up again, her eyes were a little red, but she only smiled and did not ask why he had not given up.

She asked something else instead. "What are you going to do from now on? You can't just leave the problem with your eyes alone."

Jingxing fell silent. He had thought about that question.

"I need to find somewhere to solve the problem," he said. "Once I'm back in Klimt, I plan to ask my teacher if there's a way."

Robin thought for a moment, then made a suggestion. "How about going to the Herta Space Station? Number 83 of the Genius Society works with the corporation. She might be interested in your eyes too. Besides, I've met Ms. Herta, and she's much kinder than the other members of the Genius Society."

"The Herta Space Station..." Jingxing looked thoughtful. "I'll pay it a visit later."

"Good!" A smile appeared on Robin's face, and she stood up. "Get some rest first, then. I won't disturb you. Once you've recovered, we'll leave here together on a corporation spaceship."

"Oh, right!" Jingxing finally remembered what he had overlooked. "What's it like outside Rovini?"