She didn't want to live like this anymore.
Not as a follower.
Not as someone else's shadow.
Not as the girl who looked to Quinlan for direction and validation every step of the way.
She remembered her promise.
That day, when Quinlan had gently yet firmly turned her down, he told her she needed to find her own path.
She had vowed she would.
Yet here she was, still chasing after him like a lost puppy, waiting for scraps of attention, pretending that was enough.
"I really am a disappointment…" she whispered.
The watery reflection smiled faintly. Its eyes turned soft for the first time. "No," it said, voice gentle.
"You're a work in progress."
The watery world convulsed violently around Feng.
Waves rose like screaming walls, surging violently. It was as if the reflection's gentle words had detonated the entire ocean.
The voice echoed in her mind, no longer calm but otherworldly in how piercing, deeply resonating it was:
"What is it that you want, Feng Jiai?"
