The Past

Behind the towering shopping mall billboards, the night breeze at three in the morning carried a hint of coolness.

Lu Yan's strong and powerful heartbeat, transmitted steadily through their pressed chests, reached Aemeath's ears, gradually soothing her nerves that were on the verge of collapse.

Despite Lu Yan's repeated assurances that he was alright and his display of extraordinary perception, a hint of panic still lingered in Aemeath's eyes.

"No." Aemeath sniffed her reddened nose, and her small hands, which were originally tightly gripping Lu Yan's clothes, not only did not loosen, but gripped even tighter.

She looked up, her eyes veiled with tears, and stubbornly gazed at him. "I'm still worried. 42 degrees is terrifying... We have to go to the hospital for blood tests, X-rays, and a full checkup before I can feel at ease!"

As she spoke, she tried to stuff Lu Yan back into the thick quilt, as if to say, "I don't care if you agree or not."

"Little Aemeath, stop, listen to me."

Lu Yan quickly grasped her hands in return, enveloping her soft hands in his palms.

He gazed at her with tender yet firm eyes, his voice deep and resonant in the night breeze. "I'm really fine, I'm not sick. The reason I suddenly developed a high fever is..."

Lu Yan paused, a hint of heartache flashing in his eyes. "It's just because I had a dream. A... dream about you."

"About my dream?" Aemeath was stunned, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, looking both adorable and pitiful.

Lu Yan gently wiped away the tear stains from the corner of her eye with his thumb, a reassuring smile playing on his lips, "Yes. The dream is over, the fever will naturally subside."

"And I feel better than ever before. If I went to the hospital now, the doctors would probably just think we were nitpicking."

He casually draped the loose blanket over Aemeath's shoulders, wrapping her up completely. "Besides, if you go to the hospital dressed like this and get photographed, tomorrow's headlines might be 'Mysterious Pink-Haired Cosplayer Kidnaps Man to Hospital.' Let's go home first, okay?"

Aemeath looked down at her combat uniform, then at Lu Yan's face, which had indeed regained its rosy hue and vitality. Her tense nerves finally relaxed completely.

"Then... if you feel even the slightest bit unwell, you must tell me immediately." She sullenly conceded.

"Yes, sir!"

On the way back, the two did not rush back as quickly as they had come.

Back on the surface, Lu Yan wrapped the blanket around her, Aemeath up in his arms, and carried her along the quiet, deserted street toward the courtyard.

The city outskirts were unusually quiet in the early morning.

Lu Yan held her in his arms, his steps steady, his breathing perfectly even.

The reassuring aura emanating from him, mixed with the lingering warmth of the blankets, made Aemeath feel as if she were back in her childhood, when A-Yan held her and comforted her.

Pushing open the gate to the courtyard, the motion-sensor floor lamp in the corner turned on, illuminating the map they had just cleared a few hours earlier.

Back in the warm bedroom, Lu Yan placed Aemeath on the edge of the bed. She had already changed out of her combat uniform and back into her pajamas. He then turned and went to the living room to pour a glass of warm water.

"Drink some water to calm your nerves." Lu Yan held the water glass to her lips, and only after watching her obediently drink from his hand did he sit down beside her.

A brief silence fell over the room.

The warm yellow light from the wall lamp bathed the two of them.

Aemeath held a warm glass in her hands, her golden star-like eyes gleaming with a complex light in the steam.

She couldn't help herself and turned to Lu Yan, asking, "A-Yan, you just said... you dreamt about me? What kind of dream could cause such a strong reaction in your body?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yan's smile gradually faded.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he reached out, took the water glass from Aemeath's hand, and placed it on the bedside table. Then, he casually put his arm around her shoulder and let her lean against his chest.

This posture seemed to be him building a safe fortress for her in advance of what he was about to say.

"I saw nothingness," Lu Yan said softly. "No light, no sound, just a deathly silence. I saw you crouching before the Tunneler like a small animal, hugging yourself tightly."

Aemeath's body stiffened the instant she heard the words "nothingness" and "Tunneler."

Her pupils suddenly contracted, and she instinctively gripped the fabric at Lu Yan's chest.

Lu Yan felt the girl trembling in his arms. He tightened his arms, holding her even closer, and rhythmically soothed her back with his hands.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here."

He continued to recount the disturbing scene from his dream.

"I saw you enveloped in that boundless darkness. You sat atop that enormous Tunneler."

Lu Yan's voice was slightly hoarse with heartache, each word seeming to be squeezed out with difficulty from his chest:

"Each stroke etched its mark into nothingness."

"One, two, ten..."

Lu Yan closed his eyes, and the suffocating scene from his dream reappeared in his mind.

The ever-domineering, charming, and vibrant Aemeath, in the endless void, is like a ghost forgotten by the world.

He should have thought of it sooner; after all, Aemeath was the best at pretending nothing was wrong, how could she not have felt anything after being behind the Tethys for so long?

The bedroom was deathly silent, save for Lu Yan's heavy breathing and Aemeath's slightly erratic heartbeat.

Lu Yan cupped Aemeath's face in his hands, forcing her to look up at him.

His eyes only showed heartache.

He gazed into Aemeath's eyes, his voice soft, asking each word carefully, "... Behind the Tethys, were you lonely? Were you sad?"

These words were like a sharp scalpel, precisely cutting open the scabbed scar in Aemeath's heart.

Aemeath was stunned.

Her eyes trembled slightly, as if her thoughts were being pulled back to the time behind the Tethys.

What kind of days were those?

There was no sound feedback, and no change in light.

Only endless darkness and that stopped Tunneler.

She watched as the marks representing the days increased day by day, and after sending out the coordinates, she slowly waited for hope.

But in the end, I still saw hope.

"Loneliness..." Aemeath's eyes reddened again, and the words she had suppressed for so long finally escaped her lips.

Aemeath's voice carried a weariness and vicissitude that transcended time, "A-Yan, I used to be so lonely, I had nothing..."

Lu Yan felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

He stepped back slightly and looked down at Aemeath.

Aemeath's expression was incredibly complex. Her stunningly beautiful face was a mixture of the pain of recalling the past, the lingering fear of certain events, and a heartbreaking vulnerability.

This sense of heartbreak made Lu Yan wish he could go back to that point in time Aemeath directly from behind the Tethys.

Just as Lu Yan was about to say something, the gloom and complexity in Aemeath's eyes miraculously dissipated, like a thin mist pierced by the morning light.

Aemeath looked at the person whose eyes were full of her, at his slightly disheveled pajamas worn to comfort her, and at the pain and self-reproach in his eyes because of her past.

I felt the warmth of his palm.

Yes, those things are in the past; she has now reclaimed her own light.

Aemeath's expression gradually brightened.

Those golden, starry eyes, which had been brimming with tears, now shone with a smile even brighter than the sunlight.

She stared intently at Lu Yan, then suddenly reached out and wrapped her arms around his strong back.

She pressed her forehead against Lu Yan's, the two of them so close that their breaths mingled.

"I was indeed very lonely before." Aemeath's voice became lighter, as if she was saying a final goodbye to her desperate past self.

"But... I'm not alone anymore."

Her eyes curved into beautiful crescent shapes, reflecting Lu Yan's clear face. "I've found you. The moment I found you, I was no longer alone. I am very happy now."

Her smiling words eased the heaviness in Lu Yan's heart.

All the heartache and pity transformed into the most profound love at this moment.

Lu Yan could no longer hold back.

He lowered his head and gently kissed those lips, which carried the salty taste of tears and a sweet scent.

He supported the back of her head with one hand, and gently patted her back with the other.

PS: Aemeath said she felt too lonely because the process of finding Lu Yan was too long and too lonely.

Lu Yan meant that Aemeath was too lonely behind the Tethys.

3.3 Lu Yan hasn't played yet. He always thought Aemeath came to this world through the Tethys.