After an unknown amount of time, when the last obvious strand of hair was cleared (gaining a total of about 5 Primogems), the yellow gear phantom had become quite solid, slowly sinking into Sandrone’s forehead and disappearing.
Almost simultaneously, Sandrone’s eyelashes fluttered, a soft groan escaped her throat, and her eyelids struggled, seemingly about to wake up.
Columbina breathed a sigh of relief, and her tense spiritual body relaxed a bit.
She squatted down, moving closer to carefully observe Sandrone’s condition.
Just then, Sandrone dizzily opened her eyes.
Her vision was blurry at first, then gradually focused…
Focused on the face right in front of him—hovering and squatting, staring down at her—pale skin, hollow and soulless purple eyes, delicate features, and that familiar Moon-White Attire.
“…”
Sandrone’s pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpricks.
In her blue eyes, which had just regained a hint of clarity, terror exploded like a tsunami.
Her brain still held the chaos from before she fainted and the discomfort of swallowing a foreign object, and now it was hit head-on by this surreal fright.
She didn’t even have time to scream; her eyes rolled back, her body stiffened, and she fainted again—this time purely out of fear.
Columbina: “…”
She maintained his squatting posture, blinked, and was a bit speechless.
Well, at least it was confirmed that he was in no immediate danger, and this fainting was purely from mental shock.
Just then, rapid but light footsteps came from outside and stopped at the door.
Followed by a polite but anxious knock: “Excuse me…
is anyone there?
I sensed…
an aura in need of help.”
It was Barbara!
She actually found this place so quickly?
Columbina was somewhat surprised by the nun’s efficiency.
But the door was locked.
Columbina looked at the door, thinking about how to open it for Barbara—he was a spiritual body now; although he could pass through walls, he couldn’t operate a physical door bolt.
Barbara waited outside for a few seconds with no response.
She seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then Columbina heard her softly chant something, her voice gentle yet possessing a strange penetrating power.
Then, Barbara pressed her hand against the door panel.
“Crack…
Thud!” Visit g.com for the full chapter.
The wooden door, which wasn’t very sturdy, along with part of the door frame, was actually pushed inward and burst open by this seemingly petite and weak nun in a way that didn’t quite fit her image!
The joints groaned under the strain, and the door panel hung crookedly on the frame.
Barbara nimbly slipped inside and reached back to close the crooked door panel as best she could.
She was currently wearing the simple white nun’s dress common in the Church of the Earth, white stockings, her beige hair tied in slightly playful twin Horsetails, wearing a small beret, and her blue eyes were full of anxiety.
She immediately saw Sandrone lying on the floor.
Columbina was right beside her, but Barbara’s gaze passed right over her; she clearly couldn’t see the Damselette in her spiritual state.
Barbara quickly knelt beside Sandrone, checked his breathing and the pulse at her neck, and breathed a sigh of relief.
She softly sang a soothing tune, her palm hovering over Sandrone’s forehead, a milky-white warm light glowing from her palm.
Under the light’s shroud, Sandrone’s brow, which had been slightly furrowed even in unconsciousness, seemed to relax, and his breathing became longer and steadier.
After completing the preliminary check and soothing, Barbara carefully picked Sandrone up, placed her on the hard wooden bed, and covered him with a thin quilt.
Only then did she quickly scan the room, which could be described as having four bare walls, a flash of pity appearing in her eyes.
She took out the small mirror from her bosom, and the mirror’s surface emitted a Glimmer.
She whispered a quick report: “Lord Moon, I have arrived.
This youth is in no immediate danger but seems to have experienced some intense spiritual shock.
I have soothed him, but he needs rest.
I…”
She glanced at the watch on her wrist, a look of difficulty appearing on her face.
“I have an Orphanage visit in a while and cannot stay long.
Do you need me to notify the medical staff of the Church of the Earth?”
Columbina transmitted a thought through the mirror: “No need.”
Barbara immediately understood, respectfully made a gesture toward the small mirror, and whispered: “As you wish.
May the new moon bless him.”
She took one last worried look at the sleeping Sandrone on the bed, then as quietly as possible pulled the broken door panel shut (though it could no longer close tightly) before hurrying away, disappearing into the dim alleyway.
Silence returned to the room.
Columbina sat quietly on the edge of Sandrone’s bed—though in reality, she was just hovering there in a sitting posture.
She looked at the sleeping face of the Damselette on the bed, which was uneasy even in slumber; long eyelashes cast faint shadows under his eyes, and his lips were slightly pursed.
She subconsciously reached out, gently poking the other’s cheek, which looked like it had little flesh.
Her finger passed through Sandrone’s skin without hindrance, touching only the void of the air.
“Tsk.”
Columbina withdrew her hand.
Her face under the diamond-shaped white eye mask showed no expression, but a faint hint of regret indeed rose in her heart.
Not being able to touch physical objects took away some of the fun. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Her gaze moved away from Sandrone as he carefully surveyed the room again.
The walls were mottled, covered with old newspapers that had long since yellowed and cracked.
The only window had a crack in the glass, barely held together with yellowing tape.
There were suspicious water stains and cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling.
Besides the bed and the table, the only furniture left was a lopsided shelf.
And now, even the thin and dilapidated door was pitifully hanging half-off the frame, with cold wind whistling in through the gaps.
This environment…
The gap between this and the Fatui high-ranking Marionette Sandrone was simply too large.
It was like…
a temporary shack for a fallen prince.
Although Sandrone’s personality never had anything to do with being a “princess.”
“I have to keep a close eye on her.”
Columbina thought.
This gear-swallowing fainting incident served as a wake-up call.
Sandrone at this point in time was too fragile and too prone to making irrational decisions due to despair and temptation.
A slight oversight, and he might really “croak.”
Then she would not only lose an important Contractor but would also feel…
well…
Regret…
Suddenly, she remembered the Teyvat Fried Egg in the System Shop.
The description said “revives from a near-death state.”
The price was…
300 Mora.
“It must…”
Columbina tilted his head slightly.
She hadn’t thought much about the price before, but now she realized the problem—this wasn’t Teyvat, so where would Mora come from?
Or perhaps, it required some form of “equivalent exchange” sacrifice?
She needed to go back to the moon to properly study the system’s functions, especially the currency exchange section.
Glancing once more at the steadily breathing Sandrone and confirming she wouldn’t wake up anytime soon, Columbina’s spiritual body, like a receding tide, silently retreated into the Silver Mirror on the table.