His words came in ragged bursts, each one draining all his strength.
"Heh…"
A faint chuckle seemed to come from the luminous figure, its tone betraying neither pleasure nor anger.
"Your Highness is wise to the greater good. I… am most gratified."
The moment the voice faded, the Crown Prince of Nanyin suddenly felt an incorporeal, formless hand—one that seemed to encompass all of creation—descend from the supreme heights of that Infinite Light and gently sweep across the crown of his head.
"TSS…"
A sound, faint and almost imperceptible, like a single thread being drawn away, registered in the depths of his consciousness.
'Was that… a thread of karma?'
Before he could make sense of it, the vast, luminous world began to rapidly fade and collapse.
The Infinite Light receded like a tide. The scene of the Broken Spirit Mountain, the chill of twilight, the acrid, scorched air… all flooded back into his senses.
THUD!
