Pillar of Yita

The days of April were accompanied by the gentle rain of Southern Kalin, washing the dust and sand off the window glass, flowing down slowly, and amidst this silent indifference, spring departed as summer arrived.

Fang Hong could almost hardly sense the passage of time, as the small world inside the narrow hospital room was always that small window, like the only link to the outside world. There was also the green, shadow-like vine outside the window, growing along the window frame, sprouting new branches. A spider wove its web in the shadow of the leaves, only for a storm to blow the web to tatters, and then the cycle began anew.

The people caring for him by his side also changed cyclically. Miss Ship’s Officer came the most, and she liked to open the window to let him breathe the fresh air outside, or give him a sweet kiss. The noble lady was detailed and thorough, like a beautiful dream.

Next were Miss Atira, Xiangzi and Tang Xin. At first, he did not get along well with his cousin, but gradually they restored their previous relationship, then along came Ai Xiaoxiao, chirping away and quickly hitting it off with Tianlan.

Due to being bound to remain on the ’ship,’ Luo Yu could not leave, but Xiangzi would often come to see him, then complain about when they could leave, as he was already sick of being there, and Xiangzi would bring along Papalarians; those were the liveliest moments in the hospital room.

During quiet times, he would occasionally ask Tata about Nini. The little girl, with a newborn’s confusion and a pair of golden eyes, was curious and uneasy about everything. Sometimes, she was like a little cat, liking to curl up with her tail on Fang Hong’s chest or nuzzle against his cheek, mischievously using her small hands to tease his eyelids and blowing on his eyebrows, followed by a string of laughter as clear as silver bells.

She would also touch her own horn, long and through the fluffy fiery hair, and curiously ask, ”Papa, why don’t you have horns?”

Yet neither of them could make sense of Nini’s origin. Perhaps she was born from a fragment of Nikopolas’s soul, but to say she was evil, Fang Hong could never believe, ”Nini is just Nini,” he said to Tata.

The Little Dragon Soul was licking Tata’s face with its tongue, and Miss Fairy was somewhat disdainfully pushing her away, making her emit a stuttering sound similar to ”Sister hug—”. She quietly nodded, indicating her approval of Fang Hong’s judgment.

However, a dragon soul must rely on a dragon crystal, and the Zero-Type Crystal obtained from the Elf Ruins already contained Tata. It’s basic knowledge that there can only be one dragon soul within a dragon crystal, and although the Zero-Type Crystal can contain multi-attribute magic power, it is almost exclusively suitable for non-attribute dragon souls.

Fang Hong had always been clueless about Nini’s dragon crystal. Until one day, he actively brought up the topic, realizing that Nini did have a concept of her home. She wobbled towards the bedside and placed her hand on Fang Hong’s backpack.

Then she looked up and replied in a childish voice, ”Papa, Nini lives here.”

Fang Hong hesitantly opened the backpack, discovering a radiant crystal within, shimmering with a myriad of colors. He was stunned for a long while before recalling the origin of the crystal; it was something Miss Sicape had given him.

Not long after, Sicape listened to his query through the communication screen, showing an incredulous look, ”That’s a dragon crystal?”

And when she saw Nini, she was even more speechless, ”What are you saying, a second dragon soul? You little fool, has your brain overheated?”

Her voice was so loud that it startled Elsa, who stumbled and knocked over the table, causing plates and cups to crash to the floor. Sicape turned around and scolded, ”Elsa, are you sleepwalking again?”

”I’m sorry, Miss Sicape,” the little girl trembled in fear, ”Elsa definitely didn’t stay up too late playing games last night.”

”You just keep fooling around with those idiots—” Sicape retorted angrily.

Fang Hong found her demeanor amusing.

Although the Morning Dawn Star had returned to Stargate Port, it seemed that nothing had changed, and everyone remained the same.

”Is it funny?”

”No, no,” Fang Hong hurriedly shook his head, ”Miss Sicape, what is the origin of this crystal?”

Sicape frowned, ”How would I know? Didn’t I tell you, it was something that Kroid and I accidentally found during our early adventures. Who would’ve known it was a dragon crystal? Had I known it was a dragon crystal, it wouldn’t have ended up with you. I would’ve sold it for a good price by now; dragon crystals are worth a fortune.”

She continued muttering. However, Fang Hong could detect that she was hiding something. He was quite aware of the lady’s reactions when she was lying, ”Do you remember where you and Mr. Kroid obtained this dragon crystal?”

”Who remembers such ancient things? Maybe it was in the Rusty Light Swamp area, who knows?”

”Doesn’t Mr. Kroid remember either?”

”Alright, alright, I’ll find time to ask him for you. You’ve been getting more and more annoying lately, you know that? Is there anything else?”

Fang Hong saw her yawning and knew Sicape couldn’t be bothered to deal with him. However, from the start, he had felt that she seemed somewhat weary lately, so he suddenly asked, ”Has anything happened recently?”

”Stargate Port is a mess,” Sicape blurted out, then realized something and shot him a fierce glance, ”You sly little devil, the second phase of the Stargate Port project is about to be completed. Also, your cousin might not be able to come back anytime soon, so you’ll have to manage on your own.”