Feeling the sudden increase of weight in her arms, Coppelia startled awake from her sleep instantly.
She saw at a glance that Columbina was lying entirely on top of her, her body limp and soft, her breathing slightly rapid—a look of completely exhausted energy.
Coppelia immediately sat up, gathering the other girl entirely into her embrace and letting her head rest in the crook of her arm.
"Are you alright?"
She glanced at the gray-white light filtering in from the cave entrance and immediately understood the situation.
"You didn't stay up all night, did you?"
Columbina nodded weakly, as if even the strength to speak had been drained away.
Coppelia asked no more. She quickly laid Columbina flat on the spread-out blanket, turned around, and started a fire with the fastest speed possible to cook a pot of simple vegetable soup. Once the soup boiled, she ladled out a bowl, used Cryo elemental energy to quickly cool it to a temperature just right for drinking, and then carefully supported Columbina to sit up, feeding her spoonful by spoonful.
"Do you feel a little better?"
Columbina nodded again, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something.
"Don't talk," Coppelia stopped her. "Lie down quickly and sleep immediately."
Columbina's hand, however, unconsciously touched her own abdomen.
Coppelia reacted. "I forgot you didn't eat anything all day yesterday; you definitely can't sleep on an empty stomach... Wait, I'll get some meat."
She quickly processed some minced meat, cooked it into a thicker meat soup, and fed it to Columbina. With warm and solid food in her stomach, Columbina finally lay down.
But her mind was evidently still swirling with various concepts regarding the Moon Spirit. Her body tossed and turned on the blanket for quite a while before her breathing gradually became even and long.
Coppelia stood guard by her side, letting out a slight breath of relief, but she still dared not relax completely, ensuring the other was truly asleep and wouldn't quietly climb up to fuss about again.
At this moment, she noticed that sphere of light not far from Columbina. The surface on the side closer to Columbina's body was still continuing a subtle squirming motion.
She extended a finger and gently poked the other side of the sphere of light. The touched area similarly displayed a squirming response.
To achieve this level in just one night... truly naturally gifted. A trace of admiration flitted through Coppelia's heart.
...
When Columbina woke up, the first thing she saw was Coppelia guarding her right side. On the ground beside her sat a bowl of steaming meat soup, its aroma drifting faintly towards her.
"The food is ready." Seeing her open her eyes, Coppelia handed the bowl over. "As punishment for making me worry, I sentence you to drink this entire bowl of soup. You are not allowed to say you aren't hungry."
Columbina sat up, took the bowl, drank the soup without leaving a drop, and then handed the empty bowl back.
"I'm sorry." Her voice was still somewhat low.
Coppelia put the bowl away, her tone softening a bit. "Alright, get up and move around a little. If you're still hungry, eat some more; if not, go back to sleep."
"But I'm not sleepy anymore. I want to..."
"Move around for two or three hours at most." Coppelia interrupted her, pointing outside the cave. The sky had darkened again at some point, returning to a pitch-black state. "But no longer than that. If you go another whole night without sleep, your biological clock will be completely messed up. When it gets messy beyond repair, you will suffer 'sudden death'."
She paused, her voice becoming lighter, like she was whispering. "If you die, then there is nothing left. I don't want to see you suddenly disappear from my side..."
Suddenly disappear... like Fujin and Changsheng? Columbina lowered her head, thought silently for a moment, and then answered softly, "Okay..."
She looked up. "I... am still a little hungry."
A smile appeared on Coppelia's face. "Okay. Food coming right up!" She immediately turned to ladle the soup.
Columbina lowered her head and found that sphere of light she had created by working all night beside her.
At this moment, the light of the sphere had become extremely weak. The sphere itself had also deflated, barely maintaining a spherical outline, its surface covered in wrinkles like a dehydrated fruit.
Columbina's perception probed into it. Inside, only a patch of thick Lunar Force slurry remained; all the exquisite structures had stopped functioning.
She cupped the shriveled sphere of light in her hands, thinking the energy was depleted, so she injected some fresh Lunar Force into it. But aside from the internal thick slurry being stirred a bit and rippling with a few micro-waves, nothing happened.
Coppelia came back carrying the soup. Seeing her action, she asked softly, "What happened to it?"
"It..." Columbina hugged the sphere of light tightly in her arms, her voice trembling.
It died.
She withdrew the residual Lunar Force in the sphere of light back into her body with some reluctance, then wrapped her arms around herself, shrinking her body tight.
Coppelia wanted to speak to comfort her but couldn't find the right words for a moment. She just silently handed the warm soup bowl to Columbina again.
Columbina smelled the aroma, took the bowl, and held it with both hands, but she just looked at the slightly swaying surface of the soup, losing the will to eat.
The light of the firewood illuminated the two people lying down side by side to rest.
To adjust her chaotic biological clock, Columbina obeyed Coppelia's words and lay down early. However, the scene of that light sphere 'cell' silently 'dying' still lingered in her mind, refusing to disperse. She tossed and turned on the blanket, unable to fall asleep.
In the end, she quietly climbed up, trying her best not to make any sound to disturb her companion behind her, and went alone to sit by the bonfire.
She cupped her hands loosely, and Lunar Force flowed out, molding into a sphere of light once again. But after thinking, she changed her mind, adjusting the shape of the light sphere into the form of a Moon Spirit.
The experiment on that light sphere was definitely successful. Its 'death' was perhaps only because energy wasn't replenished in time. She told herself this.
Borrowing the experience gained from last night's attempts, she began to construct various simulated organ structures inside this Moon Spirit-shaped sphere of light.
She held this new 'Moon Spirit' with both hands, moving it gently in the air, simulating the posture of flight.
The 'Moon Spirit's' two 'braids' waved in a ripple-like manner with the movement, connected firmly to the head without breaking; the head and body maintained an upright posture without collapsing; when Columbina placed her hand, condensed with Lunar Force, in different directions, its surface 'skin' produced corresponding squirming, causing the body to present a certain degree of curvature...
But that was where it ended. This 'Moon Spirit' could not make any further reactions.
It should be able to fly on its own like me... Columbina stood up, tossed the 'Moon Spirit' upward, throwing it into the air.
It did not hover or fly on its own as she expected, but instead began to fall straight down, like a lifeless stone.
Fortunately, Columbina reacted in time, using her own power to make it float again, otherwise it would have crashed onto the hard rocks of the ground.
She felt that this 'Moon Spirit' was more like a toy than a living thing. It could make passive reactions to external stimuli but could not actively perform any behavior.
It hadn't come 'alive' at all... Why? She sat back by the fire holding the 'Moon Spirit,' sinking into long contemplation.
____
New Story: Junji Ito: I Shall Smash Hellstar Remina
✅ Get immediate access to 40 early chapters for all stories.
✅ Enjoy exclusive material and special announcements!
Help us unlock these community rewards:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter for everyone
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters across ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan