The journey didn't take Xue Mo and Lu Yao as much as they thought it would. Maybe because they had spent their time talking, they hadn't felt that one and a half months had passed.
Sharing their experiences and some personal topics, they noticed that the things they had in common were more than they had imagined, which helped to bridge the gap that appeared due to being unfamiliar with each other before their meeting.
Some of these similarities were the cold and stifling atmosphere that perpetually surrounded and kept people away from them. Besides that, there was also the hate to talk to people as they felt that it's something annoying and unnecessary. Through these small talks, they were able to learn more about each other, which helped solidify their partnership and made them trust each other, albeit lightly.
****
As soon as they had left the rift and set foot in the Hollow Sky Universe space, Xue Mo received a set of information that displayed itself in the shape of a blue-colored screen.
At first, Xue Mo ignored it as it might have been an illusion or another symptom due to space traveling that Lu Yao didn't know about. However, he found out that even after several minutes of moving, it hadn't disappeared; Xue Mo decided to give it some consideration.
Deciding to examine it, Xue Mo reached his hand out carefully towards the blue screen letting his hand pass through it as if it was an illusion, but what made him discard that idea was the change that happened after touching the screen.
A string of words started materializing on the front of the blue interface displaying to Xue Mo what was happening to him,
[Name: Unknown
Title(s):
Level: 1
Experience:0/10
Titles: Currently None
HP: 0 {Can't Calculate}
MP: 0 {Not Unlocked}
Soul: low-quality Soul {Evolvable}
Race: Unknown]
Looking at the weird Panel, Xue Mo saw a layout that he had no idea about, making him confused and doubt himself thinking, 'Is this a common thing to see?'
He didn't know what was happening, but seeing a change arise when his hand touched the screen before, he thought, 'Will it change again if I touch it again?' In the same careful manner that he moved his hand the first time, Xue Mo approached the screen slowly, making contact with it using his finger. And as he suspected, a change did occur as a new line of words expanded under the previous one.
[Stat]
Strength: Unknown
Stamina: Unknown
Agility: Unknown
Intelligence: Unknown
Wisdom: Unknown
Soul Power: (Low-quality Soul currently unidentified)
Elemental Affinities (Unknown)
Skills: (Unknown)
Right after looking at the last part of the weird expanded display, the screen automatically changed, putting Xue Mo on guard before a new layer of words appeared.
Ding*
[The system has identified the appearance of an unknown creature, initiating an automatic scan.]
[The system shall attempt the binding process. 1%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 99%, 100%.]
[No interference had been tried; the binding had been successful.]
[The Connection had established, readjusting stats and calibrating stats]
[Congratulation to the new host, You have obtained a few skills and a title.]
[In the future, for the usage of status windows, the host only needs to think about it or speak it aloud.]
[Calibrating stats]
Name: Xue Mo
Title(s): UNIQUE CREATURE
Level: 1
Experience: 0/100
HP: 1000
MP: 0 [Need to be Unlocked first]
Soul: Unknown?? [Evolvable]
Race: Shadow Light Parasite?
Bloodlines: [Evolvable/Upgradable]
[Stat]
Strength: 4
Stamina: 10
Agility: 6
Intelligence: 1000 [Unlock MP]
Wisdom: 100000
Soul Power: [Unknown]
Elemental Affinities: [Currently None]
Skills:
Active Skills: [Currently none]
Passive Skills:
Dark Soul: ???????????
Infinite potential [Level Max]: Your physique has the potential to evolve.
Language Comprehension [Max Level]: You can understand any language after hearing it automatically.
Race Skills:
Race Skills:
Acquire: [You can consume any living or dead being and turn it into power]
Shadow Light Possession: [You can possess any creature, absorb their knowledge, physiques, and any uniqueness that they have and shapeshift into it.]
Shadow Light Blessing: [You can gain EXP (Experience Points) and level up faster than anyone else by ten times.]
Finishing reading the display, Xue Mo was unmistakably surprised. Still, his experience accumulated over the years, instantly kicked in, while his mind started to speculate trying to wrap itself about what's happening.
"Hmm." Xue Mo had unconsciously released a sound that made Lu Yao, who had found the silence that suddenly ensued slightly stifling so with an opportunity to continue the conversation. Lu Yao asked: "What happened?"
At first, Xue Mo was going to reply 'nothing.' However, when he thought that Lu Yao might have answers, he stopped himself. Even if she didn't, he could downplay the matter by making an excuse such as, 'It must have been an illusion.'
With his acting skills, there is no way Lu Yao wouldn't fall for it. To not waste any time, Xue Mo asked Lu Yao, who appeared to be tired, "Do you see this blue screen?"
"Ah, I forgot that you weren't from the Hollow Sky Universe, so you don't know." Lu Yao said, making Xue Mo finally understand what's happening, 'It's because we arrived in this Universe? Does it mean that every Universe will have its own blue colored screen?' Xue Mo quickly discarded this thought, 'Of course not, if it did the Chaosverse would have one too. Then this leaves me with limited options: Either the Blue display is from this Universe specifically, or the Chaosverse didn't have one.'
Since Lu Yao seemed to know the answer, Xue Mo narrated what happened to her in detail before laying his thoughts on her.
"Amazing, to think that you deduced this much!" If Xue Mo could view Lu Yao's current appearance, he would see that her wolfy-fox furred face had an expression of pure astonishment. She had every right to be astonished. After all, how many could think of the possibilities that Xue Mo had thought about when they had no previous conception about the Hollow Sky Universe before.
Suddenly Lu Yao's vast body started swaying, making Xue Mo shut up and leave his questions for later. Looking at Lu Yao, Xue Mo saw how her body was slowly shrinking while her breathing became ragged and heavy before Xue Mo could ask what happened, he saw a mouthful of blood was released from her and disappeared in the void.
Noticing a yellow-colored planet near them, Xue Mo immediately told Lu Yao: "Let's land on this planet for now."
Being already exhausted and about to collapse, Lu Yao didn't find a need to question him. As soon as she found a direction to go to, Lu Yao, who was in a dilapidated state, shot forth with speed incomparable to her prior.
Xue Mo had been checking on Lu Yao's state every few seconds, but he wasn't a physician, so he didn't know what to do. But even if a physician were here, he would probably also not understand what's happening.
Lu Yao's body was slowly shrinking and changing by the second, and every time it did, she would sway and cough out a mouthful of black blood in succession. However, this wasn't Xue Mo's most significant concern. Instead, it was Lu Yao's body, and the strength that she had demonstrated before was slowly waning away, to the point that she couldn't handle his mass anymore. Not like he would fit there anymore, seeing that her body was shrinking ever so slowly.
Xue Mo didn't know what to do or how to react to this weird phenomenon, but he knew one thing: there was no time to panic. Although he didn't know where this bizarre emotion sprouted out from or who it was directed at, he knew that it happened after his fusion and meeting Lu Yao, leaving them as the prime suspect to his strange experience.
Fortunately, though in a critical and almost near-death state, Lu Yao was able to enter the yellow Planet skies without mishap. Yet, before she could descend, her body finally gave out on her, making her form deflate to a regular fox kit size, and collapse.