Lu Mingfei knelt in the icy shallows, cradling a girl in his arms.
At last, he had found his girl again.
Erii was so light, light as a leaf, like a flower blown down by the wind, like a dream that could vanish at any moment.
Her skin was cold, stripped of a living person's warmth. Her wet red hair clung to her face, making it look even paler.
Lu Mingfei held her, the excitement in his eyes nearly overflowing.
"Erii, I'm sorry." His voice trembled, but he tried to make it sound steadier. "I came a little late."
Erii weakly raised her hand. Her fingertips gently touched his cheek, brushing against the scales covering his face. Then they moved inch by inch along his features, as though she were reacquainting herself with his face by touch, confirming that it was really him.
She did not say a word. She only smiled.
There was the joy of reunion in that smile, the relief of finally being at peace, and the certainty of I knew you would come—
Her body was decaying, like a flower that had been picked too long ago. The petals began to wither at the edges, curling and turning brown before falling away one by one. Her skin lost its luster, her hair lost its color, and her body grew lighter little by little.
"Erii, what's wrong? Erii, don't scare me."
Lu Mingfei was at a loss.
"Do Not Die."
He remembered that Spirit Word and shouted it, but Erii's withering did not stop.
"Do Not Die."
He said it again, this time with more force.
"Do Not Die!"
Lu Mingfei became hysterical—the Spirit Word that had never failed him had failed.
Do Not Die required consuming the target's own life force to save them, but there