"Ah, sorry- I’ll be more careful with my teleportation." Putting his hand on the roof of the stall, he held it almost instinctively. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Again, don’t need to apologize for it, you know it’ll be fine for something this minor. If you hear me raise my voice, then that’s when it would be more likely to be something I find genuinely bad." A soft breath as she took one step back, only to notice her sandal came off, and the feeling of the cold stone as she wasn’t protecting the soles of her feet made it also vulnerable to the cold-

"A-" Catching herself, she moved her leg back, keeping on the sandal, though now more cautious.

"You are also very lucky because you don’t need to wear shoes."

"Well, I don’t wear them because it would be weird for my brain. Walking barefoot also just allows me to sense movement in the ground." Tilting his hand, he let go of the top of the roof.

"You know the structure of your body changes the more things you do differently, right?"

"Well, yes, I know that. I’m not stupid. Shoes are just more convenient, and I’m used to wearing them." Moving her hands, both palms faced right up towards the sky. "Anyways, I’ll be going since I need to look for an artifact. No, you are not allowed to come."

"Alright, I won’t go then. I was going to ask, but you got to it first." Blinking once, Caelus looked at the stall, noticing sweet food. Checking the cost, he instinctively looked up, staring at the sky to see what was going on, but, back to his senses, he dropped the exact amount he needed for one and handed it over to her: three balls of soft chocolate on a thin stick.

Once he gave it, Caelus left the Empire for a moment, going right to where he had been when fighting the corrupted animals, the bodies having been cleared, and the stains weren’t very visible to anyone with normal eyesight. Or even a cultivator.

The scent of blood came right after, which he could tell was from a body way older than now, so he was sure it was just something another animal had hunted and begun eating.

"Huh, I have been smiling and crying more. Normally, I would’ve hidden that; it was almost second nature to me."

[That’s because of a Dragon’s lifespan, all the things you did in your old world, which is about 19 years, would be a year and seven weeks old! Which is... A baby :3]

"Ah." Nothing more than that. Hearing the sound of movement, he turned his head, staring right at the bushes, his eyes shifting as he went from visible light to infrared. "Someone there? Looks like a teen or something."

His eyes went back to normal, shifting to see visible light. He didn’t approach the bush; he only looked away because he didn’t find it bad. They didn’t seem like they were going to attack. Continuing ahead.

He looked straight once more, taking it slow so he could relax. He could hear more brushing in the bushes, the footsteps of animals passing by, and the trees softly rustling in the wind.

The dirt below him was older than almost everything here, having the smell of fruit. "A tree could form here and be different from most other ones I’ve seen. The fruits they have, on the other hand, are weird, but it still tastes good."

Stopping once Caelus looked at his own hand, closing it and opening it, like he was trying to grip something, though there wasn’t anything important. Staring at it, he once tilted his head.

"Either they’re trying to get intel on me, or they’re trying to see how I act by myself."

Once he was done thinking. Caelus looked down, staring right at the ground as he let Mana drip down and ease through the ground.

After it covered a decent area, the entire place shifted in how the sky and ground looked; a pure white color spread out in a circle as it expanded, just fast enough that the person watching him got engulfed.

He turned, looking at them, though ready for an attack as Equilibrium was active. "So care to explain why you’re watching me... Young, Lady?"

Ready to attack, they heard Caelus speak, and their eyes widened in bewilderment. "I am not a lady. I don’t even-"

"You absolutely do, but anyways, apologies for getting that wrong, care to give your name so we can actually talk properly, and I don’t have to address you as a spy?"

"As if you probably won’t give your name."

"The name is Caelus. No last name like you humans have." A bit amused by their assumption, if they’d seen him before, he introduced himself to people who hated him. Well, most of the time.

His posture stiffened, his eyes darting around the white expanse, a disorienting area with no geometry or lines to see, nothing that could be texture or even a color change, other than Caelus or himself.

Masking the nervousness, he let out a haughty sneer, crossing his arms, though his hand was still ready to grab his sword. "Hmph, I’m Wang Zhuang, Disciple of the Celestial Emperor Sect, founded by the first ever Emperor in the world! I am not merely a Spy- I’m a disciple sent to investigate this place-"

Caelus continued to stare. "...Why did I need to know the founder? Well, probably just a way to show off, then. I hope he isn’t related to this Emperor." Interrupting Wang, Caelus finally replied.

"Too much information for someone who isn’t from your Sect. You’re lucky I have nothing to do with that information in the first place. I want to know why you’re following me."

"Well, because you might be the one corrupting the animals, especially since you’re a Dragon and your blood is weird."

"At least you got the Dragon part correct." A sigh with him looking away, keeping the barrier up. "Too many people keep calling me a Wyvern, but do you know what my Blood even does?"

"Not really, I know it’s poisonous, but I haven’t gotten more information on it yet. But why do you need to know what I think Dragon Blood is? Couldn’t you just tell me-"

"It corrodes. Anything touching my blood that isn’t a cultivator would die very quickly." Taking a moment, "Why does my blood even act like this? Aphro, is there an actual reason why, or is this something designed instead of evolved?"

[Everything about a Dragon is naturally evolved, the claws, talons, tail, brains, even your blood, stomach acid, and eyes. Nothing is purposefully added. The blood is there because of Dragons eating phoenixes and Wyverns. Phoenix’s regeneration made it extremely hard to kill, so the blood became more corrosive and acted as if it were conscious when it wasn’t. Phoenix ashes still have all the nutrients, so it wouldn’t matter if they became ash permanently.]

"Well, imagining that it seems gruesome, but I guess it’s expected." Caelus wasn’t fully content with the answer, but considering he wasn’t going to get a lecture on how it works while talking to someone.

His eyes narrowed in annoyance as he stared at Caelus. He tapped his foot on the empty ground. "So, you’re not the one corrupting the creatures here?"

"Nope, it was something up there in the mountain, but I already killed it, so the problem should be solved; it’s just dead bodies here." Keeping Eye contact, Caelus watched as their face began to sweat, trying to hold his gaze, but their eyes moved very slowly, as if they were shaking. Unable to see where Caelus was looking due to the entire thing being pitch black.

Wang suddenly fell, completely confused. He blinked, turning away with his eyes closed to make it so he wasn’t as disoriented. "Okay- First, can you get rid of this... Whatever area you made this in, I can’t focus! I’ll give-"

"Sure." Caelus absorbed the Mana back into him as the Void disappeared and the Terrain returned to normal. Wang stood up, opening his eyes with the change in how the world looked back to normal, though still unable to focus on Caelus’s eyes.

"Huh? Just like that- You weren’t gonna ask me for anything to get rid of it?" A little confused, Wang’s hand stayed at his blade, though his other hand was dusting anything off his clothing.

"Why would I? I don’t really know what you could offer, nor do I have a reason to ask for anything." Caelus tilted his head, blinking once. "Oh, yeah, my eyes, I forgot we read the eyes for intent, must’ve been disorienting."

"...So you aren’t a cultivator? Well, that’s a relief, that means I can-"

"Nope, I cultivate, I just don’t find a reason to take something from someone else." Shrugging, it was almost bewildering to him, "Stealing things from people after defeating them or doing something sounds like a novel thing, not a real-world thing. Only seen that in cultivation novels..."

"Whatever, I’ll be going, I’m not gonna continue talking to someone as weird as you." Turning away, Wang ran off fast, though still much slower than Caelus.

"Ah, he’s probably at Early Virtuoso? That makes the most sense since he isn’t that slow. Oh, wait, I forgot to eat-"

[Remember, you can eat from the Sun, don’t forget that, you can continue with what you’re doing now, you know that right?]

"Ah." He wasn’t that embarrassed; his memory just failed for a moment. He’d expected that to be natural, at least right now, so it wasn’t a big deal. "Well, I don’t really know where I’m going; I’m just walking around, if anything." Aimlessly, if I’m being honest."

No response from Aphro.

He continued forward; he had nothing more to say, so he’d continue with his day. Finally reaching what seemed to be a frozen landscape, he stepped into the area as the air brushed against him, cold enough that even his warm body could feel it. Coating himself with Mana lightly, it returned to the normal temperature for him.

"Hmmm, looks like some special place, might as well explore."

The snow squished beneath his feet, the crunch of snow almost audible as he walked past dead trees. Seeing a hill with what looked to be a lady sitting at the top, he slowly approached so as not to startle her. Finally getting his legs out of the snow, he felt the frozen grass and dirt. Finally reaching the top, he stood next to her, leaning forward. He turned to look right at the lady, who was currently meditating.

"A cultivator, she seems to be at Soul Formation."

Moving forward a bit more, Caelus sat down, his legs dangling off the hillside, as if he was ready to slide down, though his upper body stayed perfectly still. "I’d rather not get attacked, so I’m not going to interrupt her."

He sensed no other presence nearby. Something behind his eyes changed shape as he looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone there. Taking another moment, he looked back at the lady, examining her to see what she looked like. "If I do meet her again, I’d at least like to remember her face."

Looking at her head first. "Hmm, her eyes are closed so I can’t tell what eye color she has, but light blue hair fits the snowy place we’re at, and there seems to be... some teal on the tips of the hair, short hair though, that’s surprising, her clothing is... Very standard, I’d expect this from a cultivator... Or is that bias from what stories I’ve read."

She was sitting up straight, a single breath visible from the cold air around her. One eye opened as she felt his presence after letting her Mana fly out. He wasn’t attacking, but he wasn’t defending either. "Who is this...?"