The first thing Lin Mo noticed—
was that the warmth wasn't the same.
It flickered, uneven, like sunlight through broken glass.
Not steady. Not predictable.
Something about it made him pause, just a fraction longer than he meant to, and his fingers itched as if they knew something he didn't.
He didn't fully understand it. Not yet.
But he could feel it. Close—closer than he wanted to admit.
Something soft brushed against his face.
Warm, like sunlight on damp skin. Careful, like a cat testing each step.
A voice followed, low and hesitant.
"Hey… it's okay… I'm here…"
The sound didn't register right away. But the feeling did. That presence—it came from her.
And for a moment, he wavered. Could he? Should he? Wait—no, that's silly. Or… maybe not.
Lin Mo didn't think. He didn't hesitate—though a tiny, nagging voice whispered in his mind: maybe wait… maybe not…
Just like before—he reached for it.
It responded instantly. Trembled. Shifted. Then—slipped.
It moved from her into him, softly, cautiously.
Not all at once. Not violently. Just enough to make him pause, heart twitching with unfamiliar awareness. A shiver ran down his spine, even though the air wasn't cold.
Something inside him settled, just a little, as if a gap he hadn't noticed was quietly filled.
And yet… something pricked at the edge of his mind, a quiet warning he didn't want to hear.
That presence weakened. Not gone. Just… dimmer.
Her hand faltered slightly.
The voice above him paused.
"…ah—"
"…that's strange…"
Lin Mo didn't move—couldn't.
And yet, somehow, his awareness sharpened anyway.
He caught the faint scrape of a shoe against the floor—ignored it immediately, but it lingered in his awareness.
Something was off. That presence in her hadn't just shifted. It had been reduced.
Not entirely right—though maybe not wrong, either.
His gut twisted, warning him to stop. Curiosity hummed louder.
Then another sensation.
A faint, controlled energy pulsed nearby—structured. Layered. Controlled in a way that made his muscles tense, reflexively, before he even realized.
Something existed that he could sense…
Something he wasn't meant to touch yet.
"Interesting."
The voice was quiet. Calm. Almost thoughtful.
Lin Mo flinched slightly at the tone. His chest tightened. His heartbeat skipped, a tiny twitch.
He didn't understand what it meant, but he knew it mattered.
The sharpness faded.
The room settled back into what it had been. Soft, uneven, warm—but not the same.
Lin Mo remained still, senses stretched.
The warning lingered.
That presence could be drawn in. Easily.
Some things, though… resisted.
And for the first time—something existed that his instinct refused to touch.