Light Core
As Long Tian disembarked, the bioluminescence beneath the sea surface was slowly brightening.
He didn't bring any extra equipment; he left his suitcase in the cabin. Wearing only his old, close-fitting shirt, he felt the fluorescent light forming a thin film about an arm's length below the surface when he entered the water barefoot. Passing through the film, he felt a slight warmth, like a thin veil soaked in warm water sliding across his skin. As he continued downwards, the temperature returned to normal, cold water.
The Dragon Shadow automatically adhered to his back after he entered the water, its wing membranes retracting into narrow strips suitable for underwater movement. The light layer on his forehead, visible through the fluorescent water, was actually brighter than it appeared outside, as if activated by the same source of light and adjusting its brightness level automatically through continuous sensing. Long Tian followed the path beneath the light membrane downwards and, at a depth of about three zhang, saw the Light Core suspended in place, exactly in the same position as three months ago.
The brightness of the Light Core's surface was higher than three months ago, exhibiting a stable grayish-white luster in the dark seawater. It remained suspended without drifting, enveloped by an extremely thin, transparent shell. A very narrow gap separated the shell from the Light Core, as if it were being continuously fixed while also providing a buffer space. Long Tian stopped in front of the Light Core and extended his palm towards the shell's surface. The aura of the Origin Return Pearl flowed through his palm, touching the shell's surface and spreading along its curved surface. After covering the entire shell, it did not spread further nor bounce back, remaining in a stable and neutral state, like a checkpoint that had confirmed the visitor's identity and was awaiting further instructions. He maintained a continuous output of aura while simultaneously adjusting the light layer on the vertical line on Dragon Shadow's forehead to the frequency closest to that of the Light Core.
As the two layers of light continued to approach, they gradually drew closer. At the moment of contact, a thin crack appeared on the surface of the outer shell along its thinnest area. The edges of the crack were smooth and neat, without any debris or burrs, as if it had been pre-cut. The outer shell parted to both sides along this crack, then contracted back a certain distance before stopping, revealing the inner core of Light Core.
Long Tian placed his palm close to the surface of the Light Core. The pulsation of the Origin Return Pearl was transmitted along his palm to the interior of the Light Core, forming a connection with the Light Core's own pulsation. During the connection process, the two pulsations maintained their original rhythms, like two different rivers maintaining their own flow directions at the confluence, advancing side by side, without interfering with each other, but moving forward together.
During this docking, he observed the internal structure of the Light Core —it was not just a uniform ball of light, but contained a core structure encased deep within the light layer, like a fruit kernel wrapped in layers of cocoon shells. Each layer of cocoon shell had a different texture and pattern, gradually becoming denser and stronger from the outside in. The outer layer had been fully penetrated by the pulsation of the Origin Return Pearl, and the middle layer had been mostly penetrated as well. The innermost core still maintained an independent operating state and had not been fully connected, as if it had been reserved as a final layer to dock separately at some point.
He didn't force the final docking. He withdrew his hand, floated in front of the Light Core for a moment to confirm its stability, then turned and floated towards the surface. As he passed through the fluorescent water layer, he felt that thin, warm film slide across his skin again before breaking through the water.
After climbing onto the boat, Long Tian squatted by the gunwale for a while, his breathing slightly deeper than usual, but the rhythm was steady. Yu Jin handed him a dry cloth from the cabin, which he took and used to wipe the water off his face and hair. He then draped the cloth over the gunwale, sat down on the deck, and recounted what he had observed underwater—the state of the outer layer of the Light Core, the fact that most of the middle layer had been penetrated, and that the innermost core was still operating independently.
The man at the stern didn't speak immediately after listening. He secured the rudder, walked to the ship's side, squatted down, and looked at the layer of fluorescence below the water's surface. After a while, he said, "The innermost layer isn't fully connected, which means it needs an additional triggering condition to complete the final docking. The pulsation of your Origin Return Pearl is the main channel, but what's needed for the final step—whether it's generated naturally inside the Light Core or triggered by some external condition—we'll have to confirm when you go down again."
Long Tian nodded. He picked up the cloth draped over the gunwale, wiped the remaining water from his knees, sat up straight on the deck, and gazed at the continuously spreading fluorescent surface of the water. Yu Jin squatted down beside him from the hatch, the light from the dark gray bead shining at his collar, reflecting off the fluorescent layer beneath the water through the deck. The two maintained a continuous and stable correspondence in brightness, like two lights tuned to the same frequency, each shining in the same space, neither obstructing nor replacing the other, each playing its proper role in its proper place.