Jormungandr

“So, where are we?” Li Yue spoke softly, the darkness before her eyes bringing a sliver of unease.

“On a small path in the fields,” Clo answered, gently holding Li Yue’s small hand.

Li Yue’s hand was cold, so she could clearly feel the warmth coming from Clo’s touch. She felt as though she had forgotten some things, but fortunately, she still remembered where she came from. However, she wasn’t sure when these memories might fade away.

Warm sunlight caressed her shoulders; even through a layer of silk, she could still feel its glow.

The wind carried the scent of spring, and she could sense the life currently germinating, waiting for the height of summer to burst forth.

Clo stroked the white silk over Li Yue’s eyes, carefully unwinding it loop by loop.

“Alright, open your eyes slowly. You’re perfectly fine now.” Clo used her hand to shield Li Yue from the direct sunlight, prepared to witness these reborn eyes.

They were blood red eyes, more translucent than any carnelian Clo had ever seen, more seductive than any rose, deeper than the abyss, colder than death, more twisted than fate, and more complex than life itself.

The pupils seemed to follow a certain rule; deep darkness formed a square rhombus, embedded within those crimson blood diamonds that were thicker than blood.

For a moment, Clo forgot everything, simply staring at those eyes in silence. Suddenly, a pair of hands touched her face, making her shudder uncontrollably.

“What is it?”

“I can’t see you clearly... I’ve almost forgotten what you look like.” Li Yue squinted with effort, only to find that the world seemed to be slowly fading, turning into nothing but black, white, and blood red, with human faces blurred beyond recognition.

“I see...” Clo gently took Li Yue’s hand, guiding it first to her elegant nose, then to her eye sockets, her brows, and her lips...

A image of the blue haired girl with a radiant smile gradually formed in Li Yue’s mind. This was a face he had only ever seen in fantasy works on the internet before.

Li Yue closed her eyes, sensing gently.

She felt Clo’s warm forehead press lightly against her own. A pair of small hands covered her eyes, and a clear, colorful image appeared in her mind.

Clo, draped in a pure white robe, wore a magic hat adorned with a golden star. Sitting opposite her was a girl with hair as white as snow, dressed in a dark gown with red magical runes forming a rose on the hem.

Is this me? Li Yue asked this question silently in her heart.

I didn’t used to be like this.

She struggled to recall her past. She couldn’t remember the black haired, red eyed version of herself that had accidentally fled into the castle; she only remembered a refined, scholarly young man who had scraped by for a living under a black sun and dim starlight.

She suddenly pushed Clo away.

I shouldn’t be here. I want to go back!

She looked at the world outside, a world that remained bizarre even in its faded state.

This is another world. I’ve transmigrated. But why am I here? I think I encountered some kind of danger, but damn it, I can’t remember.

Her memories held nothing but that blood red abyss. She reached out to touch the left side of her chest. Clo’s small hand trembled, and a moment of hesitation cost her the chance to stop her.

Aside from a soft touch, there was no movement.

Yes, there was no heartbeat. But beneath her neck, there was something—a rhombus shaped object that seemed embedded in her body, serving as her heart.

“Why... is there nothing...” Li Yue murmured in a low voice.

“I’m sorry. You were already like this when I found you.” Clo gently stroked Li Yue’s left shoulder, wanting to offer a bit of comfort to the despondent girl.

“Don’t touch me...” Li Yue trembled. She was breaking down because she couldn’t even feel her own internal collapse. She couldn’t accept the fact that she had so brazenly accepted becoming female, nor the fact that she couldn’t even be considered human anymore.

“Don’t be sad. There must be magic in this world to restore a heart.” Clo wanted to give Li Yue a hug, but was gently pushed away.

“Restore a heart?” Li Yue laughed self deprecatingly. “Is there a way to cross worlds?”

“Worlds? Isn’t there only one?”

“No...” Li Yue’s emotions stabilized. She could feel that her emotions had become very difficult to stir; sadness or joy could only last for a very short time.

“I am a transmigrator from another world. I come from a technological world without magic.” Li Yue sighed, seeming to feel a bit more relaxed.

“Another world? Without magic, life must be very difficult. The attacks of wild beasts, the changing climate...”

“No, technology is the magic of that world. Without magic, humans can still rule the world and reach the stars in the heavens.”

“No magic, no magical beasts, yet possessing things comparable to magic... that truly sounds like a beautiful world.”

Li Yue remained silent, waiting for Clo to digest this information.

“So, you want to go back?”

“Yes.”

“Can you take me with you? I want to see it too!” Clo suddenly grabbed Li Yue’s hand, only to be shaken off.

“I’m sorry... I don’t know how to go back. And please, don’t touch me...”

“In that world, I was a failure. Even if you went there, I couldn’t support you.” Li Yue leaned back against the jolting carriage, her arms wrapped around herself.

“And besides, I’m a man.”

“Are you serious? Someone this beautiful is a man?” Clo once again felt an uncontrollable urge to grab Li Yue’s hand.

“I’m not now, but I was before. So, stop touching me.”

“Are you afraid of women?” Clo blinked. “Does becoming a woman make you feel like death would be better?”

“No, don’t you find it uncomfortable?” Li Yue shrank back slightly.

“You mean physical contact? You’re afraid of taking advantage of me.” Clo smiled. She suddenly found the girl before her quite cute.

“It’s alright. When I touch you, I’m touching your body, not your soul.” Clo gave Li Yue a hug. The latter’s body trembled for a moment but quickly stabilized.

“The feeling of being forced to increase my self identity is terrible...” Li Yue sighed with some helplessness.

“Am I the only one who knows about this?” Clo smiled.

Li Yue nodded.

“Then you can’t go off and play with other women.” Clo laughed, unsure of how this unprovoked possessiveness had taken hold of her reason.

She wanted someone to save her, someone to appreciate those eyes; it felt like an arrangement of fate.

But the question remained: if a soul didn’t match a body, why would the two be so perfectly aligned? The degree of fit was even stronger than that of most people.

In this world, some people whose souls did not match their bodies required specialized magic to reshape their soul or body to achieve a perfect fit. Yet with this girl before her, Clo couldn’t even detect a ripple in her soul; the body and soul were more perfect than perfect.

It was truly strange. Magic to transmigrate a soul into another body existed, but compatibility had to be considered. A compatibility below seventy percent carried a massive risk of instant death.

It was virtually impossible for another body to have a compatibility of over ninety percent with one’s soul, even if one used their own body tissue to craft it according to the soul’s shape.

Ninety percent compatibility was the Divine Barrier of morphology; it was impossible to achieve.

Though she might be lying, the possibility was small. Regardless, she was so beautiful that it would be a loss not to be close to her.

Clo hugged Li Yue again.

“If it really is transmigration, then is Li Yue your original name?”

“It’s a homophone.”

“I see. No wonder it sounds so strange. At first, I thought you were from some very distant country, like the Royal Court or the No Man’s Land.”

“If you don’t mind, let me give you a name from this world.”

Li Yue nodded.

“I am Clo, full name Chronos. I have a name here, Valkorath. Do you want it?”

“That sounds so weird. Is this what an otherworld is like?” Li Yue felt a bit helpless. “It’s a bit too long.”

“It’s fine, I can call you by a nickname.”

“This name doesn’t sound good when shortened.”

Li Yue pouted slightly, watching helplessly as Clo enthusiastically tried to name her, scribbling away on a parchment scroll with a quill.

“Ouch!” Clo’s hand was suddenly repelled.

“What happened?”

“The name isn’t compatible. It’s fine! Let’s try another.”

“Nidhogg! No. Apophis! No. Then Fenrir! No. Typhon! No.”

That’s not right. Why aren’t any of these symbols working? These should all be compatible with that sword. Could it be related to her personally? Could her fate actually rival that sword? That’s impossible.

“...Jormungandr?”

The parchment scroll flashed violently, and a name vanished from it. Li Yue felt as though she had been defined somewhere, as if she had suddenly acquired a new title.

The Mortal World, Destruction, the End and the Beginning.

What does that mean? The body represents the mortal world, the sword represents destruction... but what does the end and the beginning mean?

Does it have to do with me? But I don’t fit this name at all.

That fate... no, fate only flows toward the future; it’s impossible to return to the beginning.

“Clo, that name is also very strange. It doesn’t sound like something a person would be called.” Li Yue hugged her knees, feeling a bit dissatisfied and aggrieved.

“That name indeed isn’t meant for a person.” Clo was a bit dazed, absentmindedly following Li Yue’s lead. When she realized what she’d said, she met Li Yue’s slightly resentful gaze.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Let’s just use a nickname.”

“Then what about that name?”

“Oh, you won’t need it in daily life. Look, I just go by Clo.”

“Alright. What should you call me then?”

“I’ll call you A Yue as a nickname.”

“That’s also very strange... and won’t it seem too intimate? People might misunderstand if they hear it...”

“Then only I am allowed to call you that. Don’t mention the other name to anyone else. Li Yue or A Yue will be fine.”

“Li Yue is fine...”

“Is the other one okay too?”

“Not really...”

“But you’ve already told me your biggest secret.” Clo feigned grievance, and Li Yue, who had little experience with women’s tricks, was instantly defeated.

“Yay!”

The girl cheered and gave Li Yue a hug.

After being happy for a while, Clo looked into Li Yue’s deep, blood red eyes and suddenly remembered something.

“Right, one more thing. Next...” Clo gently wrapped the gray black silk around Li Yue’s eyes. The latter did not resist; in her eyes, the world was already colorless. “You must use your body to feel the world.”

“When I’m not around, your eyes will have a massive impact on others. Even when I am here, the world you see will have a significant negative impact on your psyche.”

Because both your eyes and your name represent destruction and death, Clo added in her heart.

Clo softly chanted an incantation that drifted into Li Yue’s ears on the breeze. A world of many colors appeared before Li Yue’s eyes once more.

“This is the Heart’s Window magic. You can use it to see more clearly. Even without it, your body can feel this world and sense the outlines of all objects. Heart’s Window simply supplements and adds color.”

“This is the ‘Flow of All Things’ and the ‘Heart’s Window.’” Clo gently touched the blood red rhombus gemstone embedded below Li Yue’s neck, which was now Li Yue’s heart.

“It is what allows you to see clearly using only your body.” Clo whispered into Li Yue’s ear. “But a faded world cannot be colored; the colors have been stripped away in your eyes.”

Li Yue nodded, suddenly feeling a wave of exhaustion. Whether it was the magic or some other major influence, her spirit felt a heavy sense of weariness.

“Sleep. I’ll watch the scenery.”

Li Yue lay down gently and drifted back into a dream. Clo moved her gaze back from the distance, letting it rest on Li Yue’s sleeping face.

With no desire for sleep, she simply watched in admiration.