Chapter 255: The Arcana Heart

If fate exists in this world,

their meeting

ought to be called fate.

……

"There is a bond that, even across time and beyond space, cannot be severed."

Biologically, if you can smell a person's natural body scent without perfume, it proves your genes chose them.

In the realm of quantum mechanics, if someone shares sufficient destiny with you, they can reach your dreams—even if the probability is infinitesimal, approaching zero, it remains possible.

Compared to other technologies, the Moon Capital has achieved greater success in quantum fields, largely thanks to the Moon's former genius—before her cerebral hemorrhage—and her disciple, Wanyue Fengji, who wields the power of Mountain and Sea.

Thus, they discovered that the person lying in bed was not conscious here.

Jia Ji rarely dreams; this was perhaps only the second time in years, yet as Fengjian Youxiang said, he was dreaming—and a dream that was not his own.

First, darkness.

This darkness resembled the primordial, unformed state within the mother's womb during gestation, brimming with generative power.

With chaotic information came indescribable distortion; his will, for the first time, fell utterly silent and linked to another dimension.

Jia Ji was falling.

Falling, falling, endlessly falling.

By an irresistible, absolute force, as if pulled by some immense gravity, he plummeted rapidly toward a certain direction.

He lost all sense of time; his thoughts grew calm yet agitated until he plunged into a new halo of light.

A crushing sensation of weightlessness, as if his body would be crushed into pulp.

"Poh!"

Jia Ji lay sprawled on the ground in a "big" shape, his eyes snapping open, filled with confusion.

His body felt illusory, yet tangible, with real sensation.

"An unfamiliar ceiling…"

He was unaware of the changes happening to him, nor did he realize he was being treated with a Grand Success-level healing by Chunhu.

Does a dreamer know they are dreaming?

Perhaps, perhaps not.

But clearly, he was not having a lucid dream.

So Jia Ji did not know he was dreaming, nor did he know who he was or where he was.

As the world's distortion faded, his vision sharpened, revealing walls covered in white plaster, the floor becoming dry and solid.

Fluorescent lights on the ceiling illuminated the room.

But it was dull—beyond indicating someone lived here, there was no extra decoration.

He felt a dull pressure in his chest.

"Don't be stupid, okay!"

As he stared blankly, a bright, energetic girl's voice suddenly rang out—familiar, as if he'd heard it somewhere before.

Jia Ji scanned the surroundings, but found nothing but oppressive, cage-like white walls.

Thud!

His knee was struck sharply—painful enough to draw his attention. He looked down and saw the full figure—

Around ten years old, height roughly one meter… no, at most one point one meters.

Golden hair, long enough to reach her ankles, slightly forked at the ends.

Eyes like gemstones, glowing orange-red, revealing faint irritation from having to look up at him—and from his unintentional neglect.

As for her attire, it was minimalist, even shabby.

She wore only a white shirt, far too large for her, wrinkled and long-worn; though buttoned, it still slipped down, exposing her delicate collarbones and half her shoulders openly.

In her hand she held a pillow-shaped doll resembling a Beedrill with a long beard; her pale bare feet were curled slightly on the floor.

Her slender limbs and frame together were no bigger than Jia Ji's arm.

More like a little girl than a girl…

"Who are you…?"

If Jia Ji could have recalled the fleeting figure that crossed his mind when he spoke of the support system with his fellow disciples, and the final voice he heard during his battle with Houyulu Di, he might have connected it to this self-assured little creature before him.

But his memory was gone—he could not.

"Baka~~"

Standing on tiptoe, eyes wide, the golden-haired girl crossed her arms and declared with full Qishi:

"Hmph~ My name is Angelia Avallone—remember it, okay!"

Though she knew Jia Ji would forget everything upon waking, the doll-holding girl leapt up, yanked his hair, and growled fiercely, her eyes deadly serious.

"Forget it, and I'll execute you, okay!"

Yet no matter how stern her tone, her peculiar speech quirk, combined with her appearance, made everything she said seem adorable…

"Okay, okay~ I got it…"

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Jia Ji sensed a hint of loneliness in her actions.

"Strange… am I really this attuned to a girl's heart?"

Muttering to himself, Jia Ji reached back with his large hand—big enough to engulf her entire head—and unconsciously wanted to stroke and smooth her wild, lion-like pale-gold hair.

Then his hand met empty air.

"What are you doing, okay~!"

The self-proclaimed "old lady" sprang like a swallow, dodging his head-pat with agility, then launched a fierce leap.

With a sound like space cracking, a violent whirlwind erupted around her, and her tiny form became a drawn arrow.

Little Earth Kick!

"Guhh—!"

Due to her height, the super-kick struck Jia Ji squarely in the abdomen. The impact—vastly exceeding expectations by hundreds of times—crashed into him with force incongruous to her size; instantly, he was thrown backward, his body arching in shock.

The extreme size disparity made the blow visually staggering—making one fear her slender, fragile legs would snap as they violently caved in his abdomen.

Boom boom boom boom boom!!!

His eyes bulged, his body curled into a shrimp shape, his back shattered through barriers, crashing through something as he flew backward.

—"Are all little girls monsters now?"

That was the only thing he remembered after waking.

(End of Chapter)