‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍Ryle was slowly eating berries opposite of Syin who was trying his best not to feel uncomfortable. He would occasionally raise his head only to find Ryle's eyes burned on him as a result he would lower his head back down.

Though Ryle looked extraordinarily bold , he was trying to get Syin to blurt out why he has been avoiding him all this time. Right now according to Syin's newly developed skill of avoiding Ryle, he would have walked away but he is still seating.

As for Syin he wanted to run away but his legs felt so hot and his member was tense to the point of discomfort. He was trying his best to calm down but the sweet smell of berries and Ryle's gorgeousness was being a perfect catalyst for Syin's failure. Maybe after a few minutes, his temperature and muscles would have subdued allowing him motion but he knows that as long as Ryle is nearby, things will only escalate from bad to worse.

For no reason, Ryle raised the berry to Syin's lips who declined by shaking his head no. However Ryle didn't stop or retract his hand. He wanted for Syin to decline while looking at him in the eyes so seeing this he moved even closer. Through Syin's peripheral vision, he could see the traces of juice on Ryle's fingers ,where his lips traveled. If he accepted the berry it would be identical to him sharing a kiss.He slowly parted his lips to welcome the berry but out of the blue, Herim emerged and snatched the fruit from him.

Ryle's eyes changed to purple showing that he was either becoming a full wolf or an ice beast. As of Herim , his composure didn't change and thus he remained stagnant which made Ryle even more furious.

Syin felt the tension brewing and decided to stand up to leave when suddenly Ryle grabbed his wrist sending chills through Syin's arm. Syin shuddered to the cold which would naturally have made Ryle let go but he didn't as to him it felt like he was losing to Herim.

Herim yet again took the initiative to be bold. He yanked Syin's arm from Ryle. Before Ryle could react to that , Herim dramatically plet the berry drop from his hand and he used his boot to aggressively smash the fruit to a pulp.

Ryle's eyes raised from the berry and to Herim's who was already staring at him. He looked at his fist that was shaking and he smirked. Next he processed to pick the plate Syin was using and threw his arm around Syin's shoulder. They walked away together.

Ryle hyperventilated before he blast off to cool down.

Joln was observing the scene indifferently when Valian called him off. Herim and Syin were heading towards him when he suddenly looked at them being intimate. As Syin went away Herim was left looking directly at Joln.

Thinking that Join would head off, he instead walked towards Herim .

The cool air misbehaved .Herim watched as Joln strided towards him. Every foot step , every breath and every blink somehow magnified presenting itself as nearly a hundredfold its weight. His hair danced as he walked , his scent lingered as he swayed and his beauty screamed as he glided. All in all he looked like someone ascending to the celestial throne or an angel walking through the altar.

Herim was ready to embrace him. His body was prepared to feel Joln's entirety. His heart was ready to paint this memory on its walls while the brain was ready to receive a tattoo of a lifetime. He could almost feel him in his hands , almost feel his breath, almost taste his lips. He could already feel that . Like the millions of times he had seen Joln walking in a straight line, this is the first time he had seen him walking towards him yet felt like he himself was disappearing into nothing

Joln walked right past Herim!

Shattered, Fooled, Disappointed and Self-hatred ! A painfilled avalanche of emotion kicked him in the gut before they colonized and paralyzed him. In response , Herim's body responded by having his neck decorated in blue veins.

He thought he responded by raising his arm but in reality he undoubtedly hesitated to touch him so he just walked right off.

The only thing left to do was to pretend nothing happened. So he like Joln set sail .

****

Deliw had his head buried on Jakhyer's chest. He had been like that after Jakhyer narrated the whole plan.The best part was that he wasn't crying but the bad part was that he was quiet throughout and only stayed like this.

Reed had packed everything and had the bag on his shoulder. He was just waiting for Deliw to get a hold of his emotions.

Jakhyer told Reed to go make sure that everything is set , for the tenth time and he innocently agreed. After he left, Jakhyer pulled Deliw off his chest and looked at him. Deliw looked so generic , a lot less like his former self but still arguably appealing.

He couldn't understand this look on Deliw's face, not that he could understand the previous ones he had seen. But it makes a lot of sense why he would be in this predicament. If Jakhyer had to miss the birth of Adrian for something else , he would hate himself. But then again, Jakhyer didn't have anyone such as himself nor was his marriage as business-minded like that of Deliw's.

" Am I a bad guy?", He sulked and Jakhyer nodded yes.

" But how about you give offerings to a celestial cultivator by having fun with this since regret is the retreat of cabbages and you don't look like a field crop?",

Deliw chuckled. Jakhyer would never comfort him with a lie but the jokes he makes to melt the tension are always amicable and adorable . The icing on the cake is that Deliw is the only one who ever witnesses them .

" Which face is more handsome? The one I was born with or this one?",

" The one that lights up at the mention of my name and guess what , this one does so too ", he pulled Deliw's chin making him bury his face blushing.

Deliw isn't shy at all just that at this moment he wants to vulnerable in Jakhyer's arms . Jakhyer took the initiative to hug Deliw when he awoke to minimize the shook and it worked far better than expected. As long as he held onto Deliw, he seemed to forget every single worry in his mind.

Jakhyer took in a deep breath and left the embrace . Deliw pulled him back and hung onto him. The tables had shifted as instead of Jakhyer's arms over Deliw , it was Deliw's over Jakhyer's jade waist. Additionally instead of Deliw blushing, it was Jakhyer's heart thumping.

" I used to think I am walking in the dark reaching for a light that is miles away but now I realize that the light wasn't running away from me", Deliw mumbled

" Are you trying to say thanks? ", Jakhyer was blunt

" I am confessing", he screamed and Jakhyer pretended he couldn't understand which made Deliw more angry.

Reed ,who was outside by the door chuckled at this because it reminded him of the king when he refused to take the medication.

****

Chulee was beyond disfigured and grotesque , he looked far worse in daylight especially thanks to his skull that has been sliced off in a forty-five degree angle , resulting in a black smoke emitting endlessly through the slash. On his face ,only the skin around his one remaining left eye remained, while the rest was diffusing facial skin hanging off bones and corroded muscles. His very neck had no flesh and everything was exposed to the air. As for his torso, all that remained were pieces of meat on scorched bones since he had no organs at all. His legs had nothing except brittle looking femurs, tibia and fibula , all which had multiple cuts and deep fractures. Basically he looked like hell on toes. A crooked blurb of dark red mud floated next to him while they stood in the passage between two remote worn-out and abandoned houses. He looked at the wolves running helterskelter but he couldn't care

" Master, I used that wolf's body when the mysterious cultivator found me. Soon or later he will realise that the wolf isn't himself . ", The mud piece spoke with a chilling voice

" Personality changes thanks to many things. That wolf is no exception. Given his conduct, him following the cultivator won't be suspicious. Just make sure they take you along",

" master, I can't keep the puppet for long periods. I need to feed in intervals",

" What are you doing? ", Adrian spoke behind

The blurb exploded and quickly threw a sleep-spell to Adrian before he turned to witness him

Adrian stood frozen and staring into space.

Chulee walked closer to him and he scanned his face with supreme caution . He felt a sense of recognition gazing at Adrian and so he raised his tallons to touch his hair, which responded by changing to white.

" Ahhh, I have seen you in the cave multiple times. Some of the obstacles were even my modifications. Because I only saw you at night or in the dark , I didn't think you would look like this ", he continued to play with his hair .

He then traced his razor sharp nails over Adrian's nose .

" Sir, do you want to go along? This cultivator doesn't seem to loathe the ugly wolf . I can use myself as a skin to help master look like the beast. They can take master along and lead him to the king's side where master can absorb the most power", it spoke and Chulee nodded .

In no time , the blurb clamped onto Chulee's body and he looked exactly like Mars. Next he pulled Adrian onto his back before freeing him from a trace so that it looks like Adrian fell asleep on his back.

" Mr Spring-cultivator, you fell asleep. Though it seems like you were uncomfortable around me , your body seems like to like mine", he giggled and he heard Adrian scoffing.

" You don't believe it ?", Chulee asked as he started to walk in circles

" Shouldn't I be snow because of my hair?", Adrian had became comfortable on his large body.

" Shouldn't you be angry that I said you like me?", Chulee posed a point

" Why should I be angry over a lie?",

" Why shouldn't I name you akin to a beautiful season ?", Chulee sounded bothered than sweet

" So other seasons are ugly? ",

" The point is everyone resembles a season . Wolves resemble them exactly while you only resemble their beauty ! ",

" Don't talk about my face! ",

" Don't tell me what to talk about ! ", Chulee scolded him making Adrian, keep quiet

Adrian tried to jump off his back but Chulee pressed further to limit this action. He rested further Adrian onto his back as he was making the fourth circle.

" Don't you feel tired from carrying me?",

" I do, but I think you like it so I don't mind", Chulee lied and Adrian snuggled.

" You smell different! ", Adrian inhaled more of Chulee's menacing aroma

Chulee didn't respond because the smell on his body was that of decaying skin and the muddy blurb that goes about killing wolves . Judging from how indiscriminate Adrian is , he doesn't seem bothered by it which is awfully strange but makes sense given that Adrian could have adapted to it while he was training in the caves.

' If you saw what I looked like, would you be like this? ', Chulee thought to himself when his skin broke and revealed his hollow ocular cavity , flowing of dark energy that was so saturated, it was opaque.