Lin Tian woke to the sound of leaves breathing.
The moss beneath him pulsed with a gentle rhythm, like a heartbeat, rising and falling in time with his own. He sat up slowly, feeling the bond in his chest—green and gold and alive, humming with energy that hadn't been there before.
Linle lay beside him, her skin warm and glowing, the black veins completely gone. She stirred, blinking up at him with a soft smile.
"You're awake," Lin Tian said softly, his voice still rough with sleep, barely more than a murmur in the quiet morning air.
The corners of her mouth curved upward. "So are you."
She pushed herself upright, and the forest responded to her movement as though it had been waiting — the canopy overhead shifting, dappled light pouring through in golden shafts, the leaves around them stirring in a gentle, welcoming rustle that had nothing to do with the wind.
Lin Tian watched it happen and felt it too, that same subtle acknowledgement rippling through the moss beneath him.
