In the winter of their one hundred and thirtieth year, the charcoal fire burned through the entire night.
Su Li sat on a low stool between the two beds, holding Saina's hand in his left and resting his right on Elena's wrist. Both were asleep, their breathing so shallow it was like wind passing over paper.
Something flickered in his field of vision.
Not firelight. It was that transparent panel only he could see.
It had not appeared for many years. The last time had been the day he broke through to the fifth tier, when the panel had displayed the words "Solid Core Generated," then fallen silent for decades.
Now, it lit up again.
[Special Bond Target Detected: Saina.] [Bond Level: Etched into Bone, Engraved on Heart.] [Special Bond Target Detected: Elena.] [Bond Level: Etched into Bone, Engraved on Heart.]
Su Li stared at those two lines on the panel for a long time.
Etched into bone, engraved on heart. They had spent a lifetime together, shared the same blanket in life and the same grave in death—such feelings were enough to leave their mark upon the river of time.
His right hand unconsciously tightened slightly, and Elena's wrist bone pressed against his palm.
The panel continued to scroll.
Su Li closed the panel.
He lowered his head and looked at the back of Saina's withered hand. Her skin hung loose, blue veins stood out, and every knuckle was sharply defined.
This was not a final farewell.
Those words circled through his mind again and again. Then, the cord stretched taut within him for decades suddenly slackened.
This was not a final farewell.
He tucked Saina's hand back beneath the blanket, then rose to boil water.
That afternoon, Elena woke up.
The time she remained conscious