"Get up."
Violet rose effortlessly from the floor.
No push.
No shift in balance.
Not like a person standing.
More like gravity had briefly decided she no longer applied to it.
Neither Yè Yī nor Qiū Huà Bǐ noticed the exact moment her feet left the floor.
One second she was sitting cross-legged—
The next, she was already standing.
Calm.
Hands in her pockets.
Smooth enough to feel unnatural.
Qiū Huà Bǐ narrowed his eyes slightly.
"…You did that weirdly."
"Thank you," Violet replied casually.
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I know."
That ended the conversation for him for a second.
Before either of them could speak further—
The air folded.
Not dramatically.
Not with bright lights or explosions.
No dramatic portal.
Just—
Wrongness.
The room distorted.
The apartment vanished.
Air twisted around them like fabric being turned inside out.
Yè Yī felt the ground disappear beneath his feet.
Qiū Huà Bǐ felt his stomach drop.
Then—
Cold air.
Stone beneath their feet.
Pine trees rustling nearby.
Moonlight.
The three of them now stood in the middle of the Yè ancestral residence courtyard.
Silence dominated the courtyard.
Qiū Huà Bǐ stared blankly.
Then slowly turned toward Violet.
Then toward the courtyard.
Then back to Violet again.
"…Excuse me?"
Yè Yī's expression remained controlled—
But even he looked stunned.
Violet dusted nonexistent dirt off her sleeve.
"Problem?"
Qiū Huà Bǐ pointed violently at the surroundings.
"YOU COULD TELEPORT THIS WHOLE TIME?!"
Violet adjusted her sleeves casually.
"Yes."
"THEN WHY WERE WE RIDING BICYCLES BACK AND FORTH THE LAST TIME WE CAME?! YOU COULD'VE LET US TAKE A BUS AT LEAST?!"
Violet tilted her head.
"When was the last time you exercised?"
Qiū Huà Bǐ opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
Because unfortunately—
There was no answer.
Yè Yī rubbed his temple quietly.
For some reason—
He wasn't even surprised anymore.
That concerned him.
---
Without warning, Violet stepped toward Yè Yī, then casually reached into his coat pocket.
Yè Yī immediately frowned.
"…What are you doing?"
She pulled out the gold plaque.
"…When did you put that there?"
"You weren't paying attention."
"That's becoming a pattern and I don't like it.."
"Yes."
Its surface reflected faint moonlight now.
Old symbols etched across it shimmered slightly.
Its carvings seemed deeper at night somehow.
Older.
The air around it felt strange.
Not dangerous.
Just… heavy.
Qiū Huà Bǐ leaned closer.
"What's that?"
Violet walked straight toward the center of the ancestral courtyard.
The exact middle point.
She stopped there.
Turned.
Then tossed the plaque lightly toward Yè Yī.
"Stand there."
He caught it instinctively.
"…Why me?"
"You'll understand faster than him."
Qiū Huà Bǐ snapped.
"Excuse me?"
They both ignored him.
Qiū Huà Bǐ stayed near one of the stone pillars nearby, watching carefully now.
The atmosphere had changed.
This no longer felt casual.
---
Violet stepped back several meters.
The cold night breeze moved lightly through her hair.
Then she looked directly at Yè Yī.
Hands inside her jacket pockets.
Completely relaxed.
"Strike."
Yè Yī frowned.
"…What?"
"Attack me."
"With what?"
"Your Arm."
Qiū Huà Bǐ immediately moved behind a pillar.
"I support this training spiritually from a safe distance."
Neither of them acknowledged him.
Yè Yī frowned.
"You want me to attack you?"
"Yes."
"No."
"Why?"
"You're standing there."
"That is generally how targets work."
Yè Yī hesitated.
Even with everything he'd learned recently—
Attacking someone still wasn't natural to him.
Especially Violet.
Violet noticed immediately.
"Don't worry," she said calmly.
"I won't make it easy for you."
That somehow made it worse.
---
Yè Yī exhaled slowly.
Then raised one hand.
The temperature dropped instantly.
Frost spread lightly beneath his shoes.
A shard of ice formed beside him—
Sharp.
Dense.
Ice gathered sharply around his fingertips before forming into a jagged shard.
Unlike Nán Lín or Nán Xuě's cold—
Yè Yī's Ice felt quieter.
Sharper.
Like frozen silence.
Then—
The shard shot forward.
Fast.
Precise.
Straight toward Violet.
Cold air gathered instantly.
Qiū Huà Bǐ leaned forward.
Then—
Violet moved one finger.
Just one and that was all.
The ice shard changed direction instantly.
Like gravity itself had tilted.
SWOOOSH—
It shot upward into the night sky instead.
Far above the rooftops.
Vanishing into the clouds.
Qiū Huà Bǐ's jaw dropped instantly.
"…What."
Violet glanced at him.
"Don't get a fly in your mouth."
He snapped his mouth shut immediately.
"…What WAS that?!"
Yè Yī stared too.
Unlike Qiū Huà Bǐ, his shock stayed mostly internal.
Controlled.
He hadn't felt resistance.
She hadn't blocked the attack.
Reality itself had simply… obeyed.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Watching her more carefully now.
---
Violet folded her arms.
"Again."
Yè Yī frowned.
"You diverted it."
"Yes."
"That shouldn't be possible. It's like you moved it, but I didn't feel any shift in the atmosphere."
"I can teleport us, can't I ?"
Qiū Huà Bǐ groaned loudly.
" Your answers do not answer the question."
Violet ignored him.
Then looked back at Yè Yī.
"Now try not to strike me."
Qiū Huà Bǐ blinked.
"…What does that even mean?"
Yè Yī frowned harder.
"That makes no sense."
"Exactly."
Violet looked at Yè Yī.
"Your instincts lean toward Ice. Force. Shape. Direct attack."
Her gaze sharpened slightly.
"But that isn't all your Arm contains."
Yè Yī slowly lowered his hand.
Thinking.
Then closed his eyes briefly.
The first attack had intent.
Direction.
Target.
Attack.
But now—
He tried removing all of that.
No target.
No impact.
No desire to wound.
The air around him shifted strangely.
The plaque in his hand vibrated faintly.
The courtyard grew quieter.
The cold around him changed.
Less sharp.
Less physical.
Even Qiū Huà Bǐ felt it immediately.
The atmosphere became… heavier.
Like sound itself was dulling slightly.
Yè Yī opened his eyes again.
And this time—
He didn't attack.
He released.
Something dark flickered from his palm.
Not ice.
Not exactly.
Something thinner.
Cold—
But deeper than cold.
Void-like.
Darkness spiraled around his arm in thin wisps.
The air distorted faintly around it.
Like space itself disliked the existence of whatever was forming.
A black pulse shot outward.
Silent.
Echoing strangely.
As if another sound followed behind it half a second later.
Qiū Huà Bǐ's eyes widened.
The black pulse missed Violet entirely.
Instead—
A section of stone wall behind her silently disappeared.
Not exploded.
Not shattered.
Gone.
Like something had erased that piece of reality carelessly.
Silence.
Even Yè Yī stared now.
The darkness around his hand faded slowly.
Violet's smirks.
"There it is."
Qiū Huà Bǐ pointed at the missing wall.
"There is what?"
---
Silence followed.
Qiū Huà Bǐ stared.
"…That is definitely illegal somewhere."
Yè Yī looked at his own hand now.
Actually unsettled.
"…What was that?"
Violet walked toward the erased section calmly.
Touching the empty edge lightly.
The missing space distorted faintly around her fingers.
"Void."
She glanced back at Yè Yī.
"…with traces of Soul resonance."
Yè Yī frowned immediately.
"The Soul Arm again."
"Yes."
Qiū Huà Bǐ looked between them.
"Can somebody explain why reality just got deleted?"
Violet nodded slightly.
"Later."
"That is not comforting."
---
Violet turned toward him suddenly.
"Your turn."
Qiū Huà Bǐ froze.
"…No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"I'm a peaceful civilian."
"You hacked a global research organization just days ago."
"You made me do that."
Violet folded her arms.
"Qiū Huà Bǐ."
He groaned.
"Why do both of you keep saying my full name like disappointed parents?"
Violet pointed toward the courtyard center.
"Stand there."
Qiū Huà Bǐ sighed like a man walking toward execution.
---
The moment Qiū Huà Bǐ stepped into the center area—
The plaque reacted faintly.
A low hum echoed through the courtyard.
Qiū Huà Bǐ froze.
"…Did it just breathe?"
"No," Violet replied.
"That was you."
"THAT DOESN'T HELP."
Everything went wrong immediately.
The lights around the courtyard flickered violently.
The plaque vibrated harder.
The shadows around the estate stretched unnaturally.
Qiū Huà Bǐ blinked.
"…Why is it reacting to me like that?"
"Relax," she instructed.
"I am not relaxed."
Violet just stared at him.
"Focus," Violet instructed.
"How?"
"Stop thinking."
Qiū Huà Bǐ stared at her blankly.
"…Do you know who you're talking to?"
"Unfortunately."
Qiū Huà Bǐ tried to breathe calmly.
Then closed his eyes.
Then—
Thoughts exploded into his head.
Voices.
Echoes.
Whispers.
Faint.
Everywhere.
Qiū Huà Bǐ froze instantly.
The voices were back.
Except louder than ever before.
Hundreds overlapping.
Thoughts.
Fragments from nearby apartments.
Noise.
Random arguments.
Someone ordering noodles three streets away.
A child crying.
A dog barking.
Arguments.
Phone calls.
Laughter.
Pain.
Everything overlapping.
His own thoughts panicking about panicking—
"No."
He staggered slightly.
"…Why is there so much—"
His face paled slightly.
"Uh…"
Dark energy burst outward accidentally.
Lights flickered.
A lantern exploded.
A tree branch snapped clean off.
Qiū Huà Bǐ yelped.
"WHY IS IT DOING THAT?!"
Void energy spiraled wildly around him now—
Chaotic.
Unstable.
Unlike Yè Yī's controlled coldness—
Qiū Huà Bǐ's Void moved like noise given form.
The shadows around the courtyard began twisting unnaturally.
Yè Yī stepped forward immediately.
"Qiū Huà Bǐ?"
"I think…" he muttered weakly, "…something is very wrong."
"You think?"
Then suddenly—
BOOOOM.
Every window in the ancestral house shattered outward at once.
Violet immediately lifted one hand.
Gravity compressed the remaining energy back inward before it spread further.
The spiraling energy compressed inward instantly before it could spread further.
Then—
Silence.
Only wind.
Only breathing.
Qiū Huà Bǐ's hair slightly messy now.
Shaken.
Not physically injured.
But mentally overloaded.
Violet approached Qiū Huà Bǐ and stood before him.
"…I hate this."
He fell into her arms, conscious but unable to hold himself steady.
Violet caught him, then after much decision, patted his back slowly as if comforting a child.
"No."
Her half-smirk returned.
"You fear this."
Qiū Huà Bǐ looked away immediately.
Because annoyingly enough—
She was right again.
He exhaled.
Still shaken.
But something had shifted.
Small.
Important.
Not trust yet.
But recognition.
Violet turned slightly.
Eyes toward the courtyard edge.
As if she was listening to something neither of them could hear yet.
"…We're done here."
Qiū Huà Bǐ exhaled.
"Thank god."
Yè Yī didn't move.
"…Done what exactly?"
Violet didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"Confirmed. You're both awake now. Now you understand."
Yè Yī's voice was calm.
"…We don't understand anything."
Violet nodded.
"That's the point."
Qiū Huà Bǐ raised a hand weakly.
"I want a refund on reality."