232 Calm Before the Storm

Here within MingYu's mind and memories, the sky was stormy grey. The lush branches of trees extended like spider legs, reaching out far above Wang ZhiYi. From below, it looked like a spiderweb carefully camouflaged with leaves. Having lived centuries, there were no forests that ZhiYi had not visited, nor a land that he had not walked. Yet standing among these lush trees, with soft and fragrant grass beneath his feet and moss peppering the large stones nearby, ZhiYi knew, he had never been here before. 

MingYu's mind, his thoughts had always raised a sense of familiarity and home for ZhiYi, the scents ever pleasant and fleeting, just like the memories that they had made together.

But now - now it felt so cold and distant. Unfamiliar in its entirety, repulsive in its fabricated details. The scent of wet grass and moss almost assaulting, sickening in its overwhelming earthiness. The trees stood still, without a single leaf swaying.