The awakening procedure finished, and the pitch-black space was immediately flooded with light.
It illuminated numerous large, sophisticated instruments of unknown function. In the Hibernation Pod at the center, connected to all of them, the faintly blue liquid had already drained away.
After the cylindrical pod walls lowered as well, the warm-air drying system activated.
It revealed a figure kneeling amid the remaining liquid.
Dressed in white, she looked like a young little girl. Her light golden hair clung wetly to the skin of her shoulders. One arm pressed against the edge of the base to support her body as she slowly adjusted her breathing.
It seemed she had yet to grow accustomed to waking from a dream.
Only when her damp lashes fluttered and her pale golden eyes opened slightly did she hear the voice of the Artificial Intelligence she had left behind.
"Master, you are awake."
Ling slowly came back to herself from the sunset in Verona, where she had been napping against someone's embrace.
"Status. Report."
Pressing a hand to her forehead and temporarily shaking away the scene that felt as though she had experienced it only a second ago, Ling spoke weakly with the frailty of someone who had just awakened.
"Understood. Since you entered hibernation, 53 natural days have passed, for a total of 1,278 hours."
"All instruments operated normally. The soul fusion process proceeded as expected."
"Through the unexpectedly acquired 'nonexistent memories,' your soul and body adapted to one another ahead of schedule."
"The first-stage objective has been completed. A detailed report has been generated."
For the soul and the reconstructed body to merge, they needed to match to a certain extent.
Ling's soul was that of a Wandering Night Angel who had lived for a century, while her body was only that of