The shattering sound of the mirrors colliding gave Lidien time to think.

Then he smiled and stared directly into Lady Rose's crimson eyes.

"An entertainment... for the people who think they could make fun of me."

Lady Rose could hardly believe her ears, as she remembered that the old Lidien would not be capable of the things he was doing now.

However, Lidien had suddenly changed his attitude when Lily died...

He became more cunning, calculative... and could control his Demonic nature, as if he were not a Demon to begin with.

An experienced way of thinking that was not possible for a thirteen-year-old child, no matter what hardship he experienced during his time.

That even the books in the Knowledge Spire wouldn't cause such an abrupt change in him.

As she stared directly into his eyes, she saw it... the unnoticeable change that wasn't from a Demon.

She tried to say her guess, however Aria and Kyer came from outside the Rift.

Lady Rose cancelled her oppressive aura, allowing Lidien to stand, but he didn't... he maintained his kneeling position, waiting for her orders.

"Lidien... come to my room tonight."

Then she was gone, just like that.

Aria went to Lidien's side and helped him stand; she even brushed his knees, removing the dirt.

"What? Why did Mother ask for you to visit?"

Lidien shook his head, for even he didn't know the answer.

Then Kyer put his hands on Lidien's shoulder and made his signature gesture... a thumbs up.

Lidien offered a helpless smile, but his mind was already racing, turning over every possible meaning behind his mother's command.

As the three of them proceeded toward the castle on the floating island, the weight of the coming night settled on his shoulders.

After dinner, Lidien proceeded to his room and sat on the bed.

As he glanced at the books still piled up, he sighed as the memory of Nyomi's reading session overlapped in his vision... a memory that made him helplessly smile.

'I can't let Mother wait for me till midnight... maybe I could try to cheat time by entering Dreamflow to think my next move.'

Lidien slowly lay down on the bed and closed his eyes.

As he breathed rapidly, his heartbeat racing without the focused control of Incite of Blood, Lidien felt the back of his head burning, as the blood vessels constricted the flow of blood towards his brain.

And when he felt like passing out, Lidien focused all his force to his chest and diaphragm, pressing with his muscles, making him feel his head like bursting.

Feeling his heart shift from rapid beating to a forced slowing down, he drove his fist one over the other towards his chest, stopping its beat for a fraction of a second.

Lidien felt a profound pulling sensation from the core of his being, as he felt himself released from gravity, falling in reverse.

Splash!

The sound of the purified essence dripping into the ocean of verve made him realize...

He was now inside the Dreamflow.

A genuine smile touched his face, for he did not experience a dream of a supposed-to-be life he wished for.

Even the God of Death wasn't standing in front of his Crimson Shard that now looked like a massive ruby and not a TV--replaying his past life.

Lidien walked towards his Crimson Shard and stared at the three runes engraved on it...

The Blood Essence Rune was still the same, the light coming from it still dim, like before... and the Necrotic Essence Rune engraved shone more like an emerald, unlike last time when it had looked moldy.

'It's the Necrotic Essence I took from Nyomi's corpse...'

But when his gaze fell upon the Soul Essence Rune, he froze. Two wisps now orbited the core, their grey light shining with a distinct, unfamiliar pulse.

"Surely... these are the souls of Nyomi and the other woman..."

Lidien laughed when he realized the Soul Essence he took from Nyomi and the ghost hadn't been purified.

As he stared toward the starry skies, he reached a conclusion...

A Soul Essence that came from ghosts was different from the Soul Essence present in the cosmic void.

"Do fragmented souls purify into verve simply because they're broken? What purpose might a whole, intact soul serve?"

Lidien shook his head, for he knew that without sufficient knowledge, he could only experiment himself.

Sighing, he stared at the fragmented, shattered shards of the old Lidien still orbiting the Crimson Shard.

"And what could I do with these? The memories of the previous owner aren't useful to me now..."

Since the time the old Lidien's shattered shards had been purified, they now acted like the Crimson Shard, drawing essence from the starry skies and purifying it into verve... unlike before, when they had generated Profane Essence from within themselves.

Lidien then lay on the ocean of verve and stared at the starry skies as he thought about his possible conversation with Mother after he exited the Dreamflow.

Since time inside the Dreamflow passed much faster than in the world outside, Lidien could consider tens of different outcomes, using his time efficiently.

However, his thoughts sometimes wandered during the long passage of time.

"What if I could use Dreamflow during fighting? Isn't that the same as stopping time?"

He laughed at his own thought, as the only possible outcome was dangerous.

Being stuck inside the Dreamflow in the middle of a fight would make him forget the current details of the battle; that simple position, that simple projectile... coming towards him would be dangerous if he suddenly came back to his senses, still thinking about what was coming next.

Unless he could actively cancel his Dreamflow while his senses remained active outside and not inside of it.

Lidien spent his remaining hours inside the Dreamflow planning, reminiscing, and thinking of his past... until he felt the pulling sensation waking him up to the outside world.

He opened his eyes, a look of complexity and uncertainty touching his face as he thought about his future.

'Will you finally be a mother to me, or forsake me completely?'

Lidien smiled, a faint but genuine smile.

'The choice is yours... Mother.'

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