Larger Than Life, Bigger Than Us

On the Master of the Valley's words, the guests started interacting with each other again, slowly, cautiously. They all could feel the situation was precarious. At some points, dancers came in the hall and started their routine, flowing with grace between tables like pretty butterflies, distracting them from the main table.

After observing a long while, the exotics movements of the dancers. The Grand Advisor spoke softly to the Master of the Valley.

"Son, at my age, there is not much left for me to wish and hope. I have seen and experienced a lot..."

The Master of the Valley interjected him quickly.

"Father, what you and sister wish for will not come to pass...There is no need to entangle sister further. As her brother, I swore to protect and cherish her but I refuse to go further."

Seeing the obstinate look on his son's face, the Grand Advisor didn't pursue the subject further.

"The human girl..."

"The human girl will be returned to her world when she is ready. Does Father no longer trust in me?"

"Father worries for you and this valley. is Father not allowed to?"

The Grand Advisor deflected the question.

"Son is grateful for Father's concerns and apologizes for burdening Father."

The Master looked at the Grand Advisor again, between Father and son, relationship had always been cordial.

Sensing the atmosphere turning sour, the Grand Advisor quickly replied.

"There is no burden, parent's duties are to worry for their children...Let's just enjoy the celebration..."

****

Back in her room, Lily was wondering what kind of training she would be subjected to. The whole evening, pacing her room from a side to the other, she was quite febrile.

As the memory unfolded, Lily was more and more intrigued by Ran Sheng's existence. What had happened to her? Where was she now? What would happen next?

A strange valley, an even stranger Master. Becoming a disciple. Lily sighed. She was thinking about her own life. Did she have a family? a lover? What about her friends? Was anyone missing her? She still remembered the face of the young man she saw at the debutante's bal. For some reason, her c.h.e.s.t was hurting, as if someone was pinching her heart. Then her mind swiftly shifted to think about the other young man who called her mistress.

Back to Ran Sheng's life, who was SongJae? How was it that in this memory there was no trace of him? As she was thinking, Lily had not been paying to Ran's memory. When she came back to, she was already in the bed, sleeping.

This feeling was quite unusual, she was able to see Ran's memories as if it was a movie at time and some other, she wasn't able to see anything besides what Ran was experiencing. And this was one of those moments where she was seeing Ran's memory as if she wasn't uninvolved.

In the room, she could hear Ran's peaceful breathing but also sense there were others. The hidden guards? The door of the room opened slowly. A man entered surreptitiously and stopped right by her bed. His hand brushed Ran's cheek lightly. He looked at her while shaking her head and left right after.

Then unexpectedly Lily's consciousness fell into a black hole.