When he blew out that breath, Xingyi's figure quickly faded, fading into a mist like starlight, which dispersed with the wind in the blink of an eye. Then, even the wind stopped, and only the last words she left still echoed in this empty world, lingering for a long time.

Ed stared at the empty rock, stunned. He didn't expect her to disappear so simply, without even leaving a chance for them to say goodbye.

He actually has a lot of questions...... But even if he called again, she probably wouldn't show up again—she had so readily given them what they wanted, and she wouldn't like them to bargain again.

The dice that fell into the palm of your hand seemed to have a little warmth. He carefully put it away and looked up at the distant starry sky.

He sincerely hoped that the stars would just look far away.

.

They stayed for a long time. Ed tried to figure out how to cast a spell in this strange environment—the heavy power in the air still wrapped around him like a layer of hard ice. It was water, almost endless, but if he couldn't melt the ice, he would die of thirst...... Or, until then, if he's not careful, it will also absorb all his heat, leaving him frozen into a dried corpse.

The ice dragon slept several times, until there was no scar on his body, and the new scales were hard enough. After flying around several times and making no new discoveries other than more rocks, it grew impatient.

"At least until I can cast the spell!" Ed advised, "once you start flying up, it's not like flying in the sea, you can find a small island to rest, and even if you fall, you will only fall into the water...... And we don't know how long we're going to fly!"

"Don't you know if you fly once?" the ice dragon was confident, "If I stay any longer, I'll be so hungry that I can't fly!"

“...... Are you hungry?" Ed thought it was strange, he didn't feel hungry at all. He even felt that time here was somehow static.

"Hunger for the soul!" the ice dragon's voice still sounded legitimate...... But he refused to look at him and speak.

Ed crossed his waist and laughed angrily.

"Besides," the ice dragon rolled his eyes, convincing him for another reason, "you may have to be cornered before you can cast a spell...... You do this all the time, don't you? If you wait like this, you will only feel more and more that we can't do it...... I swear, that guy is just waiting to see our jokes!"

Ed thought for a moment - it seems to make some sense, too?

He had tried to fit in with the world as he had done last time, but it didn't work. He knew that he was subconsciously afraid of that ...... It is as if the "self" will disappear completely.

He was afraid of the irresistible temptation of the power he could wield.

In his momentary hesitation, the ice dragon grabbed him and flew into the sky.

As it circled upward, Ed resigned himself to giving up the struggle. He looked down at the ground, the huge white bones curled up in a ball, as if sleeping peacefully under the protection of the black rocks.

He hoped that the great and vivid soul would have another good dream...... He hoped that they would give her more and more beautiful dreams.

The ice dragon flew so fast that Ed was a little worried, but he didn't say anything. He wasn't the one with wings, and Isk didn't need him to teach him how to fly. If it doesn't plan to conserve its stamina and take it slowly, what he should do is to be ready to replenish its stamina at any time, and this ...... Of course, you can't really expect an outburst when he is "cornered".

He curled up in the claws of the ice dragon and continued to do the little exercises. After failing again and again, he felt like a chick trapped in an eggshell, a new life if he could break out of the shell, and if he couldn't......

He shuddered and continued to try.

After a quiet and almost vertical upward speed, the ice dragon slowed down, circled in mid-air a few times and continued upward, repeating this frequency several times, and after repeating this frequency several times, the ice dragon hovered longer and longer.

"Think of Naria's roasted leg of lamb!"

Ed had no choice but to encourage it with words, "You'll be able to eat as much as you want when we get back!"

The ice dragon couldn't help but laugh muffled, and as soon as his wings stopped, he immediately fell down.

"Don't make me laugh!" it said angrily, flapping its wings vigorously.

"Okay. Ed sighed and shook the dice in his pocket, "Remember, she blew on the dice! She must have given us a whole world of luck! We're not going to fall!"

“...... I don't want her luck to blow!" The ice dragon snorted and snorted hard into a cool breath full of disdain.

- But I want to.

Ed was stunned as the thought crossed his mind, and there was a strange feeling in his heart...... An indescribable panic.

He vaguely understood why he blurted out the "if lucky" that angered Xingxi—he couldn't forget the broken corpse of the ice dragon in that gray world, and he doubted that he could really change that outcome.

He has already failed, perhaps more than once.

So he subconsciously pinned his hopes on "luck...... And Xingyi gave it to him?

He reached into his pocket, grabbed the dice, clenched and let go.

How the hell is this going to be used? Pray to it? After all, Xingyi is actually a god, right?......

While he was in a daze, the ice dragon jerked its head and began to climb again.

Ed came to his senses in an instant and shook his head vigorously at himself. Has anyone ever told him that "luck" is the least reliable thing to count on if you really count on this...... And they were finished.

He stuffed the dice back into his belt pocket and began rambling on his laurels. When the ice dragon was too tired to bother to reply to him no matter what he said, he could finally get a wisp of wind coiled around his fingers, swaying with his will, like a well-behaved little snake, neither dangling and disappearing into thin air, nor trying to break free from his grasp.

He let out a low cheer and raised his hand, the wind whistling in his palm, growing bigger and bigger, and when it was big enough to hold the dragon's wings, the ice dragon was finally able to relax a little.

A trace of warmth flowed through its almost exhausted body, dispelling the heavy exhaustion, making it feel as comfortable as sinking in a hot spring, and even involuntarily feeling a little sleepy.

“...... How did you do that?" it couldn't help but ask.

The power here is of the same origin as it, so it has been able to hold on until now. But Ed ...... It's just a human after all.

"I can be a world of my own, Is. Ed smirked up, "I can have my own rules, too." ”