The glassy water rippled under Ines's feet as she stood again, dusting her hands like she'd just finished some light housework. The boy lay flat on his stomach, face smushed against the floor of heaven, tiny fists clenched in silent, wounded rage.
"Your my what now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
The boy slowly lifted his head, hair tousled, cheeks pink from righteous fury and little tears threatening to fall.
"You—You barbarian!" he cried out. "You dare defile the sacred form of the Spirit Gate Guardian?!"
Ines shrugged her arms. "If the sacred form is that of a delinquent child, then sure, it can be said I defiled it."
Ines gave the boy in front of her a once-over. He couldn't have been older than ten, swaddled in a golden, drape-like robe that made him look even smaller than he was. His face? Ridiculously adorable. With tousled red hair and a pair of big, watery crimson eyes, he looked like a freshly steamed bun—soft, round, and practically begging to be pitied.
If it weren't her staring at him, maybe someone would have actually felt bad.
"You're lucky I've evolved past petty revenge," he grumbled, dragging himself upright with the dignity of a soggy raccoon. "I am a being of order. I do not engage in petty—"
Splash.
Ines flicked water at his face.
The boy froze mid-sentence.
"…You have a death wish."
"I have a question," Ines said, ignoring the growing murderous aura radiating from a child with the body of a Build-A-Bear. "Where am I, what is this place?"
The boy wiped his face dramatically, like she had spit molten lava on him. "You're within the First Gate—the Threshold of Soul Flame. Only those chosen by the ring may enter. I am its appointed overseer. My name is Zhuyan."
"If you're here, it means the ring has taken a liking to you… and accepted you as its owner."
The voice echoed calmly in the air.
"In other words—you now control this space."
Ines blinked. Her eyes bulged.
Her? The owner?
She let out a slow, delighted laugh. "Heh… what luck! Looks like this ring wasn't just some shiny rock after all."
Zhuyans face was as black as ink at her comment. Where did the ring find this uncouth girl at?
She stretched her arms behind her head with a smug grin. "Guess you'd better start calling me boss."
"You—!"
The little boy's face turned an alarming shade of red, puffing up like an indignant tomato.
"What, you don't like that?" she teased. "Fine. Young Lord will do too, I guess."
He practically vibrated with outrage, his cheeks nearly matching the crimson glow in his eyes. Before he could explode, Ines gave him a once-over.
"I'll call you Little Red."
The boy froze.
His wide eyes stared at her, unblinking. He should've snapped at her, should've argued, but… it had been a long time since anyone had called him that.
That person used to say it too.
For a moment, something soft flickered behind his eyes. Distant. Grieving.
Then he blinked and shook his head hard, as if physically throwing the memory away.
Tch.
How ridiculous. Why did I think that loudmouth girl seemed familiar as that person?
Little Red crossed his arms and harrumphed, turning away with a dramatic swish.
But his ears stayed red.
Ines noticed his red ears and burst into a gleeful laugh, which only made them darken even more—if that was even possible.
"Despite being pretty," she said, grinning, "what can this place even do?"
Little Red nearly fell into the water.
"What can this place even do?" he repeated, staring at her like he'd just discovered a brand-new subspecies of idiot.
Ines cleared her throat, gave a casual cough, and rubbed her nose with the tip of her finger. "Okay, well… how am I supposed to know?"