Phantylia's words left Chu Mu dazed for a moment.
He knew Tingyun so well, yet she also seemed like a stranger.
He knew her because they had truly spent an entire year together. Back then, Kafka and Silver Wolf had been absent, and he hadn't trusted Sampo. Tingyun had seemed to be the only person he could trust.
During those grueling days on Sand Sea Planet, Chu Mu had protected Tingyun, but hadn't Tingyun supported him, too?
Even now, recalling that time left Chu Mu shaken. He could feel how, in that environment, he had gradually grown cold-blooded.
Indifference might have been a defense mechanism in the face of danger, but what if it continued indefinitely?
In that unfamiliar place, Chu Mu had felt that anyone might harm him. Sampo had undoubtedly been the most suspicious, while Tingyun alone had been harmless.
And so, Tingyun had been like an anchor, keeping Chu Mu's humanity in place.
Without Tingyun, Chu Mu probably would have become just like the other people on Sand Sea Planet: utterly cold-blooded and selfish.
In fact, Chu Mu had already been part of Sand Sea Planet by then. He had died in the Warp accident, and the more humanity he lost, the harder it would have been to return.
It was precisely because Tingyun had anchored that part of his humanity that Chu Mu had been able to make the crucial choice at the end: to let the Ambrosial Arbor grow and send Old Friend away.
During those years trapped in the remains of the Ambrosial Arbor, Chu Mu had often recalled the few experiences he had accumulated in his life. The year he had spent with Tingyun was one he could never skip over.
He knew Tingyun so well.
Though his blindness had kept him from