"Lin Ze!"
"Master! Master!"
"Lin Ze!"
The anxious calls pulled Lin Ze back from the darkness.
He snapped his eyes open, gasping for breath.
Before him were the worried faces of Tagitsuhime and the other two, and around him was the familiar underground laboratory.
The midsummer sea breeze blew in through the doorway. Where was there any snow?
"I... I just..."
Lin Ze held his forehead, his back drenched in cold sweat.
Ryōta frowned.
"You suddenly passed out."
"Right after you finished speaking, you stood there motionless, then fell straight backward. I hurriedly carried you inside."
Tagitsuhime wiped the sweat from Lin Ze's forehead with a damp towel, her eyes full of worry.
"Master, your body is so cold... What happened?"
Lin Ze struggled to sit up. Only after feeling the warm life force of the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon slowly flowing through his body did he feel a little reassured.
Was it a hallucination?
No.
That sensation had been far too real.
The agonizing pain of being pierced by a trident, the weakness of having his essence extracted, the despair of his consciousness sinking into darkness...
Especially that final indifferent voice and its whispered words.
Lin Ze took a deep breath, suppressed the tremor in his heart, and said:
"I'm fine."
"Maybe I've been too tired lately and got a little dazed."
Tagitsuhime and the other two exchanged glances, clearly unconvinced, but since Lin Ze did not want to talk, they would not ask further.
"Get some rest."
Ryōta stood up. "I'll go back and familiarize myself with the Eternal Eye's abilities."
"All right."
Lin Ze nodded. "Remember what I said. Your abilities... don't tell anyone about them."
"I understand."
Ryōta turned and left.
Tagitsuhime and Kabuto still wanted to say something, but Lin Ze waved a hand.