The background inside the mirror began to change.
There was nothing in the stark white space. The Puppeteer sat at ease in an armchair in the center, with a small table beside him and a bottle of red wine on top.
There were no lavish furnishings, but everything about it was deeply familiar to Shen Ru.
The setting around the Puppeteer was the Settlement Space Shen Ru entered whenever he finished an instance.
"Look familiar?"
The Puppeteer gave him an exceedingly friendly smile and leaned back, relaxed, with his elbow propped on one armrest. His long fingers traced arcs through the air that held meaning only for him.
"This is actually the space where I first created the game. But I felt an instant connection with you, so I gave it to you."
At that, the Puppeteer's smile widened. His fingers stopped moving through the air and settled on the edge of the armchair, slowly stroking it as though he wanted to feel every groove.
Shen Ru felt his temple twitch.
Was his Settlement Space different from everyone else's? Shen Ru had never bothered to consider that question. After all, a place so simple, straightforward, and easy to replicate had seemed... perfectly reasonable.
So he had been sharing a space with the Puppeteer all along???
This freak had known about him from the very beginning?
Shen Ru raised his gaze. Defiance lingered at the corners of the dark-haired young man's eyes as he met those smiling golden ones.
"I'm almost flattered. Don't tell me you have a crush on me, Puppeteer?"
Shen Ru was provoking him.
A freak like this couldn't possibly know what it meant to like someone.
What Shen Ru wanted now was to figure out how the Puppeteer regarded him, and why he wanted Shen Ru to