Shuo sat on the ruins without moving for three whole hours.
He stayed rigid, his back ramrod straight, his eyes vacant. The Fragments formed a tight circle around him, all staring at him, barely daring to breathe.
Hand Princess Big crouched at the very front, the eye in its palm fixed unblinkingly on Shuo's face.
Hand Princess Small stayed beside it in exactly the same pose, every bit as tense; Hand Princess Three lay not far away, its toes twitching now and then, wanting to move but not daring to.
Hand Princess Four floated in midair, hovering so low it almost brushed the top of Shuo's head; Hand Princess Five's torso guarded the outermost ring, all thirteen eyes on its belly wide open, scanning their surroundings warily.
The smaller Fragments huddled together, pale as a cluster of frightened little mushrooms, shrinking back without daring to make a sound.
No one dared speak, because Shuo was talking to the uninvited guest inside him.
"Can't you fucking give it a rest?" Shuo spoke first, his tone irritated.
No one outside answered. The Fragments exchanged looks, having no idea who he was talking to.
The next moment, a muffled voice emerged from inside Shuo, as though burrowing up from somewhere deep, with a hint of belligerence. "Give it a rest? This is my body. Why should I?"
Shuo glanced down at his chest, where a faint trace of black light floated, pulsing gently, exactly like the light he had left inside Kaguya back then.
"This isn't your body." Shuo frowned.
"It is now," the other replied brazenly.
"You fucking..." Shuo was left speechless. He took a deep breath, couldn't be bothered to argue with it, and pulled out a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and tossed it into his mouth. The sweetness spread,