When Levi opened his eyes again, what came into view was a pair of black southern hemispheres.
The softness beneath his head made his mind drift for a moment, and he almost fainted again.
Rover gently rubbed his fluffy head, the warmth in her palm passing through his hair, as warm as sunlight, as gentle as flowing water.
"You're awake?"
Her hand brushed over his face. Smooth black hair like satin fell from her temples, casting a thin shadow across Levi's face.
Her original combat outfit had been replaced with a light black dress. Beneath the thin gauze, her fair skin gave off a jade-like glow.
"What time is it now? How's Cameliya? And that star chart…"
A soft sigh cut off Levi's questions. Then a slender finger pressed against his furrowed brow.
"You're already like this and you're still worrying about others? It's two in the morning now. You've been asleep for a full day. The star chart has been secured again."
"Cameliya is fine. The doctor checked her body, and she's perfectly healthy now. Not even the aftereffects of overclocking have appeared…"
As she spoke, Rover suddenly paused. The gentleness from before disappeared, and her gaze toward Levi turned sharp, piercing straight into his heart.
"Go on. Did you do something?"
"Uh…"
Levi let out an awkward laugh and turned his eyes away, not daring to meet those soul-stirring golden eyes again.
In front of her, any lie would be torn apart.
The only thing he could do was avoid looking at her.
But was it really that easy?
Seeing Levi stubbornly refuse to admit anything, Rover narrowed her bright eyes, the corner of her lips lifting into a faint, tempting curve.
"According to the doctor's examination, aside from the burns you got during the battle, your body clearly doesn't have a frequency, yet symptoms of overclocking appeared, and more than once."
"Someone who shouldn't have anything to do with overclocking unexpectedly shows overclocking symptoms."
"What exactly is going on? I wonder if our self-sacrificing great hero Levi can give me a proper explanation?"
Even though Rover was smiling as gently as a spring breeze, Levi only felt a chill run down his spine.
After all, it's not impossible for it to snow in spring.
"Well… I don't know either?"
"You don't know?" Rover let out a scoff. The hand on his brow pressed down slightly. But in the next second, those soft hands became gentle again.
After letting out a long sigh in her heart, Rover opened her eyes. The tenderness like water returned to her expression.
"I know what you were thinking. You didn't want Cameliya to get hurt, so you used some method to transfer the abnormal frequency produced during Cameliya's overclocking into your own body?"
Hearing Rover's guess, a few more beads of cold sweat formed on Levi's forehead.
In fact, she wasn't wrong. The essence of overclocking was that a Resonator overuses their resonance ability beyond their limits, eventually losing control, which leads to a series of disasters.
And he had used the magic-absorbing ability granted to his right hand to absorb the part of Cameliya's resonance energy that she couldn't control into his right hand.
Levi's subconscious movements naturally didn't escape Rover's constantly watchful eyes. With how well she knew him, she almost instantly figured out the entire sequence of events,
First, in the karst cave where the relics of the "Flower Maiden" were stored, Levi discovered that Cameliya's overclocking state was extremely unstable.
And according to Cameliya herself, the more she recalled, the worse the overclocking symptoms became.
In that situation, he first absorbed the uncontrollable resonance energy from Cameliya, then planned to deal with the star chart on his own.
But during the process, the star chart's core slipped away like a cicada shedding its shell. Then Cameliya, who had hurriedly tracked him down, ran into him and was lured into seeing the past of the "Flower Maiden," triggering overclocking.
In a moment of urgency, Levi once again absorbed the resonance energy Cameliya couldn't control.
This also caused his right hand to endure the tearing force of overclocking the entire time during his battle with the Impermanence Fiend Eagle.
After thinking everything through, Rover blinked, but an even bigger question arose in her mind, 'When did he gain this kind of power?'
She was certain Levi didn't have this ability before. So when exactly did it happen…
Ever since she met Levi, she had been with him almost all the time, except for when they were at Mt. Firmament, helping Changli break the chess puzzle.
'At that time, he seemed to be with Jue?'
Rover's eyes sharpened. It seemed it was time for her to make a trip back to Jinzhou.
Seeing that Rover didn't continue questioning him, Levi thought he had muddled through. He let out a long breath, then closed his eyes, indulging in the tenderness that belonged only to him.
At the same time, far away in Jinzhou, a certain young Sentinel who was holding a steamed bun suddenly shivered.
"That's strange. Can a Sentinel feel cold too?" Jue set down the bun and rubbed the two little buns of hair on her head. "Or did my physical condition get worse after turning into a human body?"
Just as Jue was wondering, a crisp knock sounded from outside the door.
"The Moon Chasing Festival is coming soon. What do you think…"
No need to guess. It had to be that soft and gentle Jinhsi.
Jue jumped off the bed, took two quick steps to the door, and pulled it open.
"How many times have I told you, call me sister!"
Jinhsi froze. She didn't understand why the Sentinel of Jinzhou insisted on being her sister, but since the Sentinel personally said so, as her Resonator, how could Jinhsi not comply?
"Then… Sister, do you have any requests for this year's Moon Chasing Festival?"
"Requests…" At the mention of the festival, even as the Sentinel, she had to take it a bit more seriously.
After everything that had happened, this year's festival definitely had to be a little more special.
Jue thought for a moment. Her gaze drifted to the half-eaten bun on the table. A strange glint flashed in her silver eyes. She then turned to Jinhsi, her expression firm, leaving no room for refusal.
"This year's Moon Chasing Festival, I want you to put down all your official duties and enjoy yourself properly!"
"What!?"
Jinhsi's eyes widened, her small mouth slightly open. She had already imagined every possible request Jue might make, like holding a memorial for the soldiers who died in the Threnodian battle, or reminiscing about the past and looking toward the future…
She had anticipated all kinds of situations, but she never expected Jue to make such a request.
"Are you confused?" Jue immediately saw the doubt in her Resonator's eyes. The pair of dragon horns on her head lifted high.
Her arms rested on her hips. Even though she looked like a little girl, there was a hint of elder-like authority in her posture.
"Since it's a festival, people should gather with those they love. No one should be left out. The people of Jinzhou are like that, the Midnight Rangers should be like that, and even you, as the Magistrate of Jinzhou, are no exception."
"But…"
"I know what you want to say." Jue waved her small hand, cutting Jinhsi off. Then she stepped forward, took Jinhsi's hand, and looked straight into her eyes as she spoke softly.
"Leaving everything in Jinzhou to you… you've worked hard. So this year's Moon Chasing Festival, please put down the burden of being the Magistrate, put on beautiful clothes, and go back to being that carefree girl, and go meet the person in your heart, alright?"
"During this time, leave everything in Jinzhou to me. Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm the Sentinel of Jinzhou."
As she spoke, Jue patted her chest. But after a couple of pats, she suddenly froze, then looked up at Jinhsi, then down at her own flat expanse…
'Maybe I should just have her lose some weight!'
But at this moment, Jinhsi didn't notice the little Sentinel's odd behavior. Instead, she turned to look out the window. In her bright gaze, the shadow of a certain person appeared.
"The person in my heart… will he come back…"
Seeing her Resonator's dazed expression, Jue immediately stomped her little foot in frustration.
"Don't worry. He'll definitely come back…"
'Even if it costs me this dragon life!'
She had a plan, one that would definitely bring Rover and Levi back together.
It was just that the consequences might be a bit heavy for a newly grown Sentinel like her.