The false Ling Wei froze.
His sword slipped from his trembling fingers.
**CLANG.**
The weapon struck the endless white floor.
For a single heartbeat—
nothing happened.
Ling Yue frowned.
"...?"
She had expected him to dissolve.
Like every beast.
Like every construct before him.
Instead—
blood slowly spread across the front of his robes.
Dark.
Warm.
Real.
His knees buckled.
**THUD.**
He collapsed onto one knee.
A wet cough escaped his lips.
"*Cough...*"
Scarlet droplets splashed onto the endless white ground.
Ling Yue's eyes widened.
"...No..."
The figure slowly lifted his head.
His face had grown noticeably paler.
His breathing had become shallow.
"...Yue..."
The familiar voice was weak.
Painful.
Exactly as she remembered.
Ling Yue stood rooted to the spot.
Her fingers loosened around the hilt of her sword.
"...Big... Brother?"
The wounded man gave her a faint smile.
A weary smile.
One filled with guilt.
"...I'm sorry."
Another cough interrupted him.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"I... had to make you do this..."
His breathing trembled.
"...It was the only way... I could think of..."
Ling Yue's pupils shook violently.
"No..."
"...With this..."
"...You'll live..."
Silence.
The endless white world seemed to disappear around her.
She could smell the blood.
She could hear his breathing growing weaker with every passing second.
She could see his body trembling as life slowly slipped away.
Nothing about it resembled an illusion anymore.
The wounded man looked at her one final time.
A trace of warmth lingered within his eyes.
"...This brother..."
He smiled weakly.
"...is truly sorry..."
"...I can't..."
"...protect you anymore..."
His voice grew quieter.
"...So..."
"...stay strong..."
"...Alright...?"
The final words faded into silence.
His head slowly lowered.
His body went completely still.
Not a single movement remained.
Ling Yue stood frozen.
"..."
"...Big Brother?"
No answer.
She took a hesitant step forward.
Then another.
Her sword slipped from her grasp.
**CLANG.**
It struck the ground beside her.
She collapsed to her knees next to him.
Her trembling fingers reached toward his shoulder.
"...Big Brother..."
Nothing.
She gently shook him.
"...Wake up..."
No response.
She shook him harder.
"...Stop joking..."
Silence.
Her breathing became ragged.
"No..."
"No..."
"No..."
Her voice cracked.
She clutched desperately at his bloodstained robes.
"...Please..."
"...Please wake up..."
Nothing changed.
The warmth she had felt only moments ago was already beginning to fade.
The blood remained.
The body remained.
The silence remained.
Ling Yue finally collapsed over him.
Tears burst from her eyes.
"...BIG BROTHER!!"
Her cry echoed endlessly throughout the white dreamscape.
Again.
And again.
And again.
She clung to him desperately, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.
"I..."
"I'm sorry..."
"I didn't know..."
"I thought..."
"I thought you weren't real..."
Her words dissolved into uncontrollable sobs.
The endless white world answered with silence alone.
Far above—
Lizarius floated without expression.
His ancient golden eyes observed everything.
The tears.
The grief.
The trembling.
The collapse of certainty.
He neither interrupted nor spoke.
He simply watched.
Recording every reaction.
Every fluctuation within her dream.
Every emotional shift.
To him—
this was another observation.
Another experiment.
Another opportunity to better understand the relationship between emotion, memory, and the subconscious.
Ling Yue slowly raised her tear-filled eyes.
They settled upon the small white-scaled lizard hovering silently above.
For the first time since meeting him—
there was no reverence in her gaze.
No gratitude.
No admiration.
Only raw grief...
and anger.
Her voice was hoarse.
Barely louder than a whisper.
"...Why?"
The single word echoed throughout the empty dream.
Lizarius remained silent.
His golden eyes simply met hers.
The white dreamscape remained perfectly still.
No wind.
No sound.
Only Ling Yue's ragged breathing disturbed the endless silence.
She continued clutching Ling Wei's motionless body.
Tears dripped freely onto his bloodstained robes.
"...Why..."
Her voice trembled.
"...Why would you do something like this...?"
High above—
Lizarius hovered silently.
His golden eyes remained fixed upon her.
Several long moments passed before he finally answered.
"...To observe."
Ling Yue slowly lifted her head.
"...Observe?"
The little lizard gave a small nod.
"Your reaction."
Silence.
Those two words struck her harder than any blade.
"...My..."
"...reaction?"
"Correct."
His voice remained calm.
"I wished to determine whether, after identifying the deception, you would prioritize emotion... or reason."
Ling Yue stared at him.
Unable to believe what she was hearing.
"You..."
"You did all of this..."
"...just to test me?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
No shame.
No remorse.
Simply a straightforward answer.
Ling Yue laughed.
A quiet laugh.
Broken.
Disbelieving.
Moments later, the laughter dissolved into another sob.
"...You're..."
"...You're unbelievable..."
She lowered her head once more.
"...Do you..."
"...Do you even understand what you've done?"
Lizarius considered the question.
Several seconds passed before he answered honestly.
"...Partially."
Ling Yue slowly looked back at him.
Her eyes were swollen and red from crying.
"...Partially?"
The lizard nodded.
"I understand that you are grieving."
"I understand that the individual resembled your brother."
"I understand that your emotional response greatly exceeded my initial estimate."
A brief pause followed.
"...I do not yet fully understand why."
Silence.
Ling Yue simply stared.
She searched his face.
His eyes.
His voice.
Looking for mockery.
For cruelty.
For satisfaction.
She found none.
Only genuine confusion.
As though he truly could not comprehend why the outcome differed from his expectations.
That realization frightened her more than anything else.
"...You..."
"...You really don't know..."
Lizarius remained silent.
Ling Yue slowly wiped away her tears.
Her breathing gradually steadied.
Though her voice still trembled.
"But..."
"...That wasn't just an illusion anymore."
She looked down at Ling Wei's body.
"He spoke."
"He bled."
"He apologized."
"He..."
Her voice broke once again.
"...He died."
The lizard's gaze shifted toward the motionless body.
"...Yes."
"I observed that."
Ling Yue slowly clenched her fists.
"No..."
"You observed a person."
"You observed me killing my own brother."
Lizarius answered immediately.
"...No."
She froze.
"The real individual remains outside this dream."
"The one before you is merely a dream construct."
Ling Yue slowly shook her head.
"...I know that."
"I know Big Brother is still alive."
"But while..."
She placed a trembling hand upon the body's chest.
"...while all of this was happening..."
"...this one believed he was my brother."
"He remembered me."
"He protected me."
"He apologized to me."
Fresh tears welled within her eyes.
"...Tell me..."
She looked directly into those ancient golden eyes.
"...If someone possesses the same memories..."
"...the same personality..."
"...the same feelings..."
"...at what point do you stop calling them fake?"
Silence.
The endless white dreamscape offered no answer.
Ling Yue continued staring at him.
Her face was soaked with tears.
Her breathing remained uneven.
For a long while—
Lizarius simply looked back.
Then he spoke.
"...All of that was an illusion."
His voice remained calm.
Steady.
Unchanging.
"You entered a construct created from your own memories."
"It merely imitated the real individual."
"It was nothing more than that."
Ling Yue's fingers tightened around the bloodstained robes.
Lizarius continued.
"You overreacted."
"You allowed emotion to override reason."
"You lost yourself."
Silence.
Ling Yue stared at him.
Several long seconds passed.
Then—
a hollow laugh escaped her lips.
"...A construct..."
She lowered her head.
"...An illusion..."
Slowly—
she looked back toward him.
Her eyes no longer held only grief.
There was something else now.
Something far deeper.
Fear.
Not fear of his overwhelming strength.
Not fear of death.
But fear of what he truly was.
Her trembling lips parted.
"...Demon..."
The single word barely escaped her mouth.
"...You're a real demon."
Silence.
Lizarius neither frowned nor showed the slightest hint of offense.
He merely looked back at her.
His ancient golden eyes remained as calm as ever.
After a brief pause, he answered.
"...Perhaps."
He tilted his head slightly.
"But it is time for you to return."
He continued in the same even tone.
"Your emotional state has become unstable."
"If your subconscious continues to deteriorate..."
"...your soul may suffer damage."
The words had barely left his mouth—
when the white world began to dissolve.
The endless expanse fractured apart.
Light dimmed.
Darkness spread in from every direction.
Ling Yue instinctively reached toward him.
"...Wait—"
Her voice vanished into the encroaching darkness.
Everything around her unraveled.
The white dreamscape disappeared.
The dream collapsed.
---
Her eyes snapped open.
"Gasp!"
She drew in a sharp breath.
Cold air rushed into her lungs.
Her entire body jolted upright.
Tears were still streaming down her face.
She remembered everything.
Every word.
Every strike.
Every drop of blood.
"...Yue!"
A familiar voice called out.
Ling Wei.
He was kneeling beside her.
Both hands rested gently upon her shoulders.
His face was filled with worry.
"Yue!"
"Can you hear me?"
"What happened?"
"You suddenly started crying after Senior moved."
His voice was urgent.
Filled with concern.
Ling Yue stared at him blankly.
Alive.
Breathing.
Warm.
Without thinking—
she threw herself into his arms.
"...Big Brother!"
Ling Wei froze.
"...Eh?"
She buried her face against his shoulder.
Still crying.
Still trembling.
Her grip tightened as though she feared he would disappear the moment she let go.
Ling Wei blinked repeatedly.
Completely bewildered.
"...Yue?"
"What happened in there?"
"...Did you see something?"
No answer came.
Only quiet sobs.
Ling Wei slowly lifted his gaze.
Looking past her shoulder—
toward the floating white-scaled lizard.
Lizarius hovered silently before them.
His expression had not changed.
His golden eyes calmly observed the siblings.
He watched Ling Yue cling desperately to her brother.
He watched Ling Wei awkwardly pat her back, still trying to understand what had happened.
Neither gratitude.
Nor resentment.
Nor confusion.
Not a single emotional response escaped his notice.
He recorded each one in silence.
*Interesting.*
The dream had ended.
Yet the emotional response remained completely intact after awakening.
The boundary between dreams and reality was far thinner than he had initially anticipated.
That, too—
was valuable information.