After returning from the sealed chamber beneath Kami's Lookout, Ji Ming had gone several days without a proper night's sleep.
It was not the kind of insomnia caused by nightmares, but the lucid wakefulness of a mind that could not stop turning once it started. Again and again, he broke the footage from the recording orb into countless frozen frames and replayed them in his mind—the ancient starfield burning, the tall, thin figure, the edges of his white cloak curled black by licking flames, his hands clasped behind his back as he overlooked an entire dying river of stars. And those words, spoken so softly and lightly, as though he were talking to himself, or explaining something to someone who no longer existed. "Father valued him more. He even drew my evacuation route through his jurisdiction. But it doesn't matter. There is still plenty of time."
Ji Ming had known Whis for many years. Since first meeting the ever-smiling angel at God of Destruction Beerus's temple, Whis had never shown even the slightest loss of composure, under any circumstances or on any subject. He was unhurried, sharp-tongued, and so calm in any sudden crisis that one could almost believe he had known everything beforehand. But the wording of Whis's reply this time made Ji Ming read it over several times—"Zhaermu is indeed the Grand Priest's brother. After the Old God Order fell, he chose to leave the Zeno system, and his whereabouts later became unknown. The Grand Priest has never made any comment on the matter. I have no knowledge of the record beneath Kami's Lookout. However, since the recording orb was activated, it means he is no longer concealing his existence. I will closely monitor further developments."
"Has never made any comment on the matter"—that was not Whis's style.