Night deepened.
Bai Lan returned to the dormitory and pushed open the door. The room was quiet.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, spreading a layer of silver across the floor.
He walked over to the bed and sat down, ready to take off his coat and rest.
Suddenly, he froze.
The Contract Book appeared in his palm on its own.
He hadn't summoned it.
It had simply appeared by itself.
Its pages flipped wildly without a breeze, making a loud rustling sound.
Bai Lan's pupils contracted.
He had never seen the Contract Book behave like this.
"What's going on..."
Before he could finish speaking,
the pages stopped at the second and third pages.
The silver butterfly silhouette and the purple leopard silhouette burst into dazzling light at the same time!
The light was so bright that it filled the entire room in an instant!
Bai Lan instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes, but felt a powerful pull coming from the Contract Book.
The next moment, he was dragged inside.
Bai Lan opened his eyes.
He found himself in a strange space.
Ethereal and boundless.
There was no ground beneath his feet or sky above him. All around him, faint silver and purple light flowed slowly.
The Contract Space.
He had been here many times.
But this time was different.
Before, he had always been alone here.
Now,
Yinxing stood not far ahead. Her long silver-white hair drifted without a breeze, and a gentle glow radiated from her.
Confusion showed on her face as she stared at her hands.
Youye stood off to one side. Her purple-black figure almost blended into the surrounding shadows, but her deep violet eyes shone brilliantly.
She, too, looked down at herself, her brows slightly furrowed.
Both of them were glowing.
Behind Yinxing, the silver silhouette of the Void Butterfly Empress shimmered faintly, much clearer than usual. The patterns on her wings seemed to come alive, flowing slowly.
Behind Youye, the purple shadows of the Void Shadow Lord surged ceaselessly. The shadow beneath her feet spread like tentacles, tracing strange patterns through the void.
"Master." Yinxing spoke, a rare hint of panic in her voice. "The Contract Book is calling to me."
Bai Lan looked at her. "Calling?"
Yinxing nodded. "I can feel it... It's guiding me to... to her."
Her gaze fell on Youye.
Youye looked up at the same time, meeting Yinxing's eyes.
"Me too," Youye said in a low voice. "It's guiding me toward you."
The two of them looked at each other.
The light around them began to tremble.
Bai Lan lowered his gaze to the Contract Book in his hand.
The marks on the second and third pages were flashing violently.
Silver and purple light intertwined like two snakes, winding together and fusing on the pages.
He had never seen anything like it.
Just then!
A line of golden text appeared on the pages:
[Two Void-attribute Contract Beasts detected; conditions for same-origin fusion met]
[After fusion: years will be added together, abilities will be integrated, and a brand-new independent entity will be born]
[After fusion: the original Contract Beast slot will become vacant, allowing a new Soul Beast to be contracted]
[Notice: each type of same-origin Contract Beast can currently be fused only once!]
[Fuse?]
Bai Lan froze.
Same-origin fusion?
What the heck?
Why hadn't this appeared before?
Why now?
He looked up at Yinxing and Youye.
They were looking at him, too.
"Did you... see that?" he asked.
Yinxing nodded.
Youye nodded as well.
Bai Lan fell silent for a second.
Then he asked,
"Are you willing?"
Yinxing was taken aback.
A flicker of emotion passed through Youye's eyes.
Were they willing?
Same-origin fusion.
They would become someone else.
They would no longer be just themselves.
"Master," Yinxing said softly. "After the fusion... will I still be me?"
Bai Lan looked at the words on the Contract Book and considered it before answering,
"It says a 'brand-new independent entity will be born.'"
"But you should still be there."
He looked at Yinxing, his gaze earnest.
"It's just another way of existing."
Yinxing fell silent.
Youye was silent, too.
The light continued to flow around them, quietly awaiting their answer.
After a long while,
Yinxing smiled.
It was a small, faint smile, but a gentle one.
"Master," she said. "As long as I can stay by your side, any form is fine."
Bai Lan looked at her, warmth welling up inside him.
He turned to Youye.
Youye was silent for a few seconds.
Then she nodded.
"Me too."
"So many years of loneliness. So many years of struggling."
"After meeting Master, I finally learned what it means to be alive."
She looked at Bai Lan, and for the first time, a gentle light appeared in her deep violet eyes.
"As long as I can keep staying by Master's side."
"Anything is fine."
Bai Lan took a deep breath.
He looked at the two of them, at the trust and tenderness in their eyes.
Then he lowered his head and looked at the Contract Book.
"Then... let's fuse."
He confirmed it with a thought.
Boom!
Silver and purple light exploded completely!
The entire Contract Space filled with the two colors!
The light was so bright that Bai Lan couldn't open his eyes!
He could only feel everything around him trembling!
Space trembled!
Shadows roared!
Two completely different forces intertwined, collided, and fused frantically!
"Yinxing—!"
"Youye—!"
He shouted their names, but couldn't hear his own voice.
Through the light, he glimpsed—
Yinxing's body began to fade.
She turned into countless silver points of light, like stars falling from the heavens.
Each point glimmered softly, like Yinxing's final smile.
Youye's body faded at the same time.
She turned into countless purple points of light, like shadows rising from the abyss.
Each point was as deep as night, like Youye's final gaze.
The two colors of light met in midair.
The silver points gently enveloped the purple ones.
The purple points slowly melted into the silver ones.
They intertwined.
They spun.
They fused.
Silver within purple, purple within silver.
The light grew brighter and more blazing!
Then!
Boom!
All the light collapsed inward at once!
Bai Lan instinctively closed his eyes.
When he opened them again,
the whole world was silent.
The light faded.
The Contract Space had returned to its usual emptiness.
But it wasn't quite the same.
Because—
There was someone new.
She floated quietly in midair.
Her long silver-purple hair fell like a waterfall. Each strand glowed faintly, as if the stars and shadows had been woven together into it.
Her hair drifted gently without a breeze. Every so often, a few strands brushed her face, making her already breathtaking features even more stunning.
Her features were so exquisite she seemed unreal.
Her eyes and brows held both Yinxing's cool clarity and Youye's profound depth.
Yinxing's eyes were always clear as moonlight, while Youye's were always deep as the abyss. Her silver-purple eyes blended the two perfectly.
Cool and clear, yet profound.
Profound, yet noble.
And beneath that nobility was a tenderness that made it impossible to look away.
Her skin was fair as snow, yet seemed to shimmer faintly with silver-purple light, like fine mutton-fat jade steeped in moonlight.
Beneath her skin, delicate patterns could be seen flowing slowly—the forces of space and shadow surging through her body.
Her figure was slender and graceful, every curve perfectly proportioned.
The silver-purple gown had come from nowhere. Stars and shadows intertwined in the embroidery along its hem, glowing faintly with every breath she took.
She simply stood there.
The space around her warped on its own.
The light bent on its own.
As if bowing to her.
No.
Not bowing.
Submitting.
Bai Lan looked at her, unable to speak for a long time.
The woman looked at him too.
His reflection was mirrored in her silver-purple eyes.
Then she gently descended.
She landed in front of him.
She stood there, half a head taller than him.
She lowered her head and looked at him.
"Master."
Before you continue