Not long after she accepted Kolun's gift, Kolun's figure turned into an ice-blue streak of light and vanished into the horizon.
Long Aoshuang withdrew her gaze, her fingertips lightly rubbing the shimmering new leaf of the Elf Tree.
She did not put it away at once. Instead, she turned her head and looked at Xilos, who stood silently beside her, the corner of her lips curving in a faint, ambiguous smile.
"Xilos, the people of your Elf race really are..."
"Purely interesting." Long Aoshuang's voice was not loud.
"You're clearly of the same race, yet just now you acted like an outsider, playing along with me, subtly guiding Kolun so that, on a subconscious level, he would be more inclined to obey Lord Shen's requests and understand more clearly his future position and what he should do."
"In fact, that whole performance of yours just now was so 'brilliant' even I found it impressive. If your people knew you schemed against them like this, would they still respect you so much?"
With a faint chuckle, Long Aoshuang looked at the silent Xilos beside her. Only, in her once utterly calm gaze, there was now the faintest hint of wariness.
Xilos was silent for a moment. In those eyes that seemed to contain eternal flames, a complicated helplessness flashed.
She gently shook her head, her hair stirring in the breeze and carrying with it a pleasant fragrance.
"This is not what I want."
"Long Aoshuang..." Xilos's voice was calm, yet it carried a deep fatigue and clarity.
"It is precisely because I am the Elf race's... former Clan Leader that I have to do this."
She looked in the direction Kolun had left, as if she could see through space itself and glimpse the new king in the midst of transformation.