When the morning light finally leaped out of the sea, casting golden rays onto the wet deck, hovering above Seraphilia's palm was a creation completely different from all previous failures.
It was a bird the size of a palm, composed entirely of soft, milky-white Cloud Mist. Its form was clear, and one could even see the fine texture of feathers; a pair of small black eyes made of more condensed Cloud particles looked lively. It was no longer just a shape, but gave a strange sense of "life"—there was extremely thin, almost invisible mist exchanging slowly with the surrounding damp air, as if it were breathing slightly.
Most wonderfully, Seraphilia clearly felt a weak but tangible connection between herself and this little skylark.
It was not direct control, but a vague sense of direction and a shallow resonance of emotional state.
She held her breath, trying to send a very simple command to it in her consciousness: Fly.
The little skylark tilted its head, and then, it really flapped its wings made of Cloud Mist, left her palm, flew a small circle in the air shakily, and finally landed back on her fingertip.
Although it flew clumsily, this was autonomous action!
Success! But it was not enough. She needed it to fly across the ocean, return to the West Blue, and find Robin.
The beacon was... that Cloud stone pendant she had personally placed around Robin's neck.
Her spiritual energy and that pendant must be able to establish a weak connection based on the imprint of her own ability!
She brought the newborn, still very fragile little skylark to her eyes and, in a very low voice, as if injecting a soul's password into a newborn baby, said: "Go find her... find Robin. Sense that stone... I left the same 'Cloud' inside. Find her... and for me... stay with her."
Then, she walked to the ship's rail. The morning sun had fully risen, and the sea was shimmering with gold.
"Go," she said softly, raising her hand high.
The little skylark rubbed against her palm again. This completely spontaneous little action, filled with affection, made Seraphilia's nose sour, and she almost shed tears.
Then, it spread its wings and flew up, no longer shaking, seemingly clear of its goal, heading towards the West Blue, resolutely plunging into the vast sky and sea breeze, quickly becoming a small white dot, and finally disappearing into the azure horizon.
Seraphilia gazed at the direction it disappeared for a long time, her hand still maintaining the raised posture.
She could feel that the thread of spiritual connection had not been broken, but instead, like a kite string stretched long, clearly pointed into the distance.
The little skylark was flying steadily towards the West Blue, like a tired bird returning to its nest, following the guidance of the unknown.
This was a part of her soul; if it dissipated, she would also be hurt.
But she had no regrets.
---
West Blue, Black Iron Town, the seventh morning after Seraphilia left.
Robin woke up when the sky was just barely bright.
Without the familiar body temperature and embrace, the subconscious groping upon waking only caught the cold sheets. This feeling of emptiness had been repeated countless times in the past few days, and each time it was equally heart-wrenching. She sat up, hugging her knees, looking at the gradually brightening gray-white sky outside the window.
The little cabin was so quiet that only her own breathing remained, terrifyingly quiet.
Last night, several drunken vagrants had lingered at the entrance of the alley for a long time, making her unable to sleep all night, and she only dared to close her eyes until dawn.
Loneliness was like cold vines, wrapping around her, slowly tightening. Reason knew that Seraphilia's choice was right, but emotionally, she couldn't resist this panic of being abandoned in the boundless darkness.
She thought she had long been accustomed to loneliness, but Seraphilia had used two years of time to chisel an opening in her heart, pouring in sunlight and warmth. Now that it was suddenly withdrawn, what was left was an even more unbearable coldness and emptiness than before.
Just as she was staring at the Cloud stone pendant around her neck in a daze again, a very slight "tap" sound came from the window lattice.
Robin was instantly alert, her body tense like a bow, her pale blue eyes scanning the source of the sound sharply—not a person, but a... bird?
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