When Xie Xie opened his eyes again, he was standing on his own atop that expanse of water.
The surface was flat, without a single ripple. Beneath his feet, it dipped slightly but did not break. Silver-purple blades floated around him, each no larger than a fingernail, their edges gleaming with the finest threads of light. At his command, they took on all sorts of shapes, gathering into a short dagger with a paper-thin edge, scattering into a flock of birds whose wings traced tiny arcs through the gray-white air, then forming the outline of a shield, dark-purple patterns of light flowing across its surface.
"Awake?"
The God of Destruction stood nearby with his hands behind his back.
His figure was clearer than before. The dark-purple halo had stabilized, and his outline was no longer so blurred. The curve of his shoulders was visible now, as was the line of his straight back. His hands rested behind him, his chin slightly raised, the blades floating around Xie Xie reflected in his deep-purple eyes. Beneath his feet was a gray-white stone with a flat surface, brought over from some corner of the Sea of Spirit. Only with that could he stand at Xie Xie's height.
"How long... was I meditating?"
"Compared to the passage of history's long river, the time you have lost amounts to nothing."
The corner of Xie Xie's mouth twitched. Would you just talk properly? But he still lacked the courage to say it aloud. What if he got sent flying again? He swallowed, forced the words back down his throat, then glanced at the stone beneath the God of Destruction's feet.
"I don't think this... style suits you."
"Oh? Are you saying I lack dignity, boy?"
"You have it... Master. You do..."
"Mm~"
Little Purple happily planted