Asura took one steady step after another, making his way towards the center of the Forbidden Domain. His company comprised of his little lover - Xia, and their master - Nayi.
The place where they crossed the boundary differed from before, as currently there was neon-green light rising from it instead of blood-red. However, the neon-green light had only replaced three meters of blood-red light, proportional to the three drops of blood Asura had supplied. The rest still continued being blood-red.
Asura believed that if he wanted total control over this region, including but not limited to the curse, he would need to supply his blood along the entire length of the blood-red boundary of light. He couldn't affect or break the curse unless he turned the blood-red color into neon-green fully.
Asura and Xia held hands as they continued walking through the vast field of vegetation.
Plants, herbs, grass, and trees—hundreds of natural inhabitants coexisted within the Forbidden Domain's boundaries.
The current Forbidden Domain was the polar opposite to what they saw in the illusory world—a stretch of desolation.
"Whoa... what's that?", Asura inquired, his eyes widening as he pointed to a swaying black flower whose lattices contained countless shiny lights.
The flower boasted with a slew of threads dangling from its receptacle, each of which was shaped by unseen air currents and shone in the nightly scenery.
Nayi cast a look at the flower that had piqued Asura's interest, as a faint smug grin spread over her lips. "Now is the time for me to establish my seniority.", she thought as she coughed and cleared her throat.
"That's a Star-Reflecting Night Flower. It's a one-of-a-kind flower that only grows here.", Nayi explained with confidence. "Each of the threads hanging from the flower is very sturdy on its own.
During the night, its fragrance will aid those who inhale it in gathering the energy of the stars, but be careful because it is highly potent. A sniff for the current you and you'll face an endless onslaught of a powerful energy - as to whether you'll be able to bear it, who knows."
Nayi's hands moved as she narrated, demonstrating her immersion in the process.
"There's a reason it has the word 'Star' in its name, you see. However, as previously said, its fragrance is very potent, so keep your distance. I recommend that you two don't get too involved in activities here on your own—there are lots of unknown threats. Wait until you've memorized a book or two about this land before venturing off on your own. Understood?"
Asura and Xia nodded as they both looked at Nayi, who calmly and attentively conveyed her wisdom with a stern face while attempting to conceal the concern in her eyes.
The boy had a newfound respect for his master—not only was she an intellectual, but she also seemed to have a wide range of experience and knowledge in this field.
Asura's expression changed into that of a curious boy as he inquired, "Do you take care of the plants here on a daily basis, Master? Also, how did you come to know so much?"
Nayi looked self-satisfied for a moment after Asura complimented her... and then her brows furrowed. "Did this brat actually praise me on purpose to make me feel self-satisfied?! Moreover, did I simply fall for his ruse like a gullible child?"
She instinctively gazed into the depths of Asura's eyes, but she couldn't see any underlying sentiment, which puzzled her. "What's the deal? Is he just complimenting me? Wow... incredible! He sure seems like a cute kid in this case, if only I didn't know him better ... what a scary kid."
Her eyes jumped to Xia for a moment, looking at her confused eyes as she tilted her head and stared in the distance, all the while holding Asura's hand as if she was glued to it. "This girl ... sigh. Isn't she way too silent? I only heard her talk when it was something related to this little white-haired devil."
"Master?", Asura's soft inquiry broke Nayi's train of thought and caused her eyes to shift from Xia to him.
Whenever the two's eyes met, the surroundings changed slightly—as if some kind of invisible psychical standoff took place between them. Neither Nayi nor Asura noticed this, but from another person's perspective—such as Xia's—it was clear as day, and it also represented the reason why Xia was always attentively looking at them whenever they conversed.
She felt admiration for both, Asura and Nayi. Only, Asura enjoyed something else other than admiration—a kind of love reserved only for him, which gave his words more impact than Nayi's.
Nayi coughed once to clear her throat, "I know all this because I spent most of my time here, wandering around the place and observing the changes. You can say it's my daily routine to scale this area on foot, sort of."
"Heee ... Say, master—do you usually not go out of the Forbidden Domain?", Asura asked as his eyes filled with a certain premonition.
Nayi shrugged with a deep, lamenting sigh. "Well, sort of. I've never had any reason to leave this place so ... yes."
Asura's eyebrows that were already filled with suspense furrowed as his gaze turned mildly serious which gave it a piercing component, making Nayi slightly tense. She wasn't aware of this herself, but Asura's eyes could influence her behavior every time, as if she was playing to his tune every time she gazed at his eyes.
"Say, master ... I know this might sound disrespectful from my side and I know that this isn't something to ask of a lady but ... how old are you now?"
Asura carefully trod these waters as he didn't know what Nayi's reaction would be so he had to be extra-polite and extra-careful, observing her every movement in order to get to know more about his master. He silently steeled himself to be launched in the air or reprimanded, but none of those happened.
Instead, after a moment of pause, Nayi sweetly chuckled. That very chuckle soon turned to mild giggle as her hand rose and fell on Asura's head, immediately following up by ruffling his white hair. "Silly boy, where did you even learn that? Didn't you say you were only one day old ... was that a lie?"
Asura then realized that he got himself covered in a pile of sh*t by his own actions and sighed. "You got me there ... Okay, here's a deal; If you tell us about your past, I will tell you all about mine. An equal exchange, what you say?"
Nayi brought her hand to her chin and gave the white-haired devil a gaze overflowing with intrigue, "I didn't think I would meet someone like you honestly. Fine. Let's first get to your new home, then we'll sit down and discuss our pasts. Deal?"
Asura didn't hesitate and nodded while extending his hand at the same time. Nayi initially glanced at his hand with confusion, not knowing what he wanted to do. Then, as if she had thought of something, she turned her hand and grabbed Asura's outstretched hand while coming next to him. This action brought a smile on Asura's face as he barely contained himself from laughing out loud, "She actually ... held my hand. Does she not understand the concept of handshake?"
What Nayi had done was actually the same thing as Xia—she held Asura's hand and stood on the opposite side. Asura was internally screaming at this moment, "She's so innocent, waah! To think that she wanted to hold hands with someone, hahaha ... This master of ours—she's truly a unique individual!"
After suppressing the thoughts that would definitely earn him a round of beating, Asura's face manifested a beaming smile as he glanced at Nayi meaningfully, as if wanting to say, "Lead the way."
Like this, the trio proceeded on their path as the newly crafted bonds between them deepened even more. This was one of the dearest memories branded in the lives of Nayi, Xia and Asura.
>>>
The current scenery had taken a drastic change from what it previously was. If the entrance to the Forbidden Domain could be described as dangerous and beautiful, then this place could definitely only be described as breathtaking. The scene was truly eye-catching and unique to the point that even Asura, who had seen many different fantasy settings in games, found the current scene way more breathtaking than he expected to find in this world.
Simply put, the feelings in his heart at this moment could very well rival those of the moment he had seen the white-colored claw destroy an entire mountain range in a blink. Because of this, Asura's amazement took a form of a drawn-out sound that seemed like a sigh, "Whoa— this! This is—something like this actually exists?! This is way too beautiful to be real! Master, is this another illusion?"
Nayi's brows twitched at the word 'another'. "Was there any illusion before this?", she wondered. This gave her a reason to believe that something must've happened when the two passed over the boundary and her belief strengthened when she recalled their soulless eyes at the time. "So that was it! I wonder what they saw ... should I ask this brat later? Hmm ..."
Judging from the astonished expression on Asura's face, he didn't notice that Nayi had caught onto something from his thoughtless remarks. However, since he didn't get the answer, Asura turned to the side, which Xia immediately mimicked, and made it just in time to see Nayi's brows relax. The golden mirrors reflected their silhouettes and absorbed Asura's attention, which resulted in a slightly awkward scene.
When he caught himself in the middle of this awkwardness, Asura let out a dry cough as his cheeks turned slightly rosy. Nayi's eyes narrowed a bit at this scene as her mouth morphed into a teasing smile. This was the first time she had won a silent standoff against this troublesome little opponent. "Nnn ... he's cute when he's all shy! Waah. What is this? He looks like a girl right now! I wonder how he would look in the girl's clothes."
At that instant, Asura felt a chilly feeling spread from his back which made him shudder. He felt his dignity suffer a setback, but more importantly—he felt an unknown danger. However, this helped him recollect himself from the impact the beauty of the scenery had on him. Taking this chance to shake off the weird feeling, Asura gazed at the scene once more and couldn't help but sigh in admiration. "Yup! This is definitely far too amazing."
His head cocked back as he gazed at the stars in the sky. The stars brought back the scene of desolation which helped him calm down and clear his thoughts.
Looking at a beautiful villa in front of a rainbow-like lake full of shining stars, Asura let out a silent remark.
"So this is it, huh—our new home?"