Almost no time passes before Xi Zirui regains conscience in the blank limbo space.
He shoots up to his feet in a panic, looking around the white area in disbelief.
How can this have happened?
"Ni Ni tried to leave Host alone in the world for as long as she could, but it grew too unstable to sustain," she says, her tone contrite.
Xi Zirui lets out a mirthless laugh. A life, a family, all gone, just like that.
He's too empty to grieve. Too hollowed out to rage at the injustice of being so callously plucked from such a happy life.
"Just answer me this," he asks, his voice ringing out through the empty space. "Is it possible for a male god to bear children? Will I ever see my babies again?"
Ni Ni is silent for a long time, and for each second she doesn't answer Xi Zirui's heart grows heavier.
Until finally, "It can happen," she says, tentatively. "There are ways, pills that exist and can make conception possible."