Second Lead Syndrome (1-187) | ✓

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Author's note: This chapter is the longest I have ever written for this book.

I'll update earlier than usual, so you guys have time to digest the looooong chapter. It is close to 4k words, so yep.

It didn't work no matter how I wanted to shorten or split the chapter, so...read this on a slow day y'all.

Cecil couldn’t see anything in the fog, and she panted, closing her eyes. If her eyes were no use to her now, relying on her senses was the only thing she could do now. She furrowed her eyebrows, trying to sense her environment.

[ Cecil Lan, once again, your death will be imminent as you will not be able to survive the impact of this fall.
Once again, the Transmigration World System is not responsible for your death.
Once again, if you die in this world, you will not be allowed to reincarnate as you have not completed your primary objectives in this world. ]

“You do not need to remind me! I am sick and tired of falling through the air!"

[ Good luck, Cecil Lan~ ]

“...”

Once again, the system heartlessly tossed her aside to her own fate and Cecil lost count of the number of times she had fallen through the air.

At this rate, she would be a master of falling through the air, and she could even perform acrobatics. 

Though it felt like ages, only a second or two had passed, and the frown on Cecil’s face eased up when she felt the familiar sense of earthy elements around her. 

It meant that she could control them.

“Cecil Lan!” 

Cecil gasped, hearing Xue call out to her in the fog above her. She snapped open her eyes, glancing up as she squinted her eyes. She widened her eyes, incredulous, seeing a silhouette above her, their hand reaching out to her. 

“Xu-Xue?!” 

“Take my hand!” 

She didn’t hesitate, unsheathing her dagger and making it into a vine, throwing it at Xue. In her panic, she forgot to call back her thorns and she was startled when she heard a pained grunt from Xue as he grabbed her vine. 

Cecil gasped in realisation.

“Oh my god, Xue, I’m so sorry!” Cecil hurried to call back her thorns. “I forgot to put away the thorns on my--”

Cecil felt herself being pulled harshly, her words cut off and a second later, she found herself in the warm embrace of a man. She slowly put away her dagger, blinking in surprise as Xue tightened his arms around her, combing through her hair gently with his uninjured band.

The thorns only hurt him a little, a tiny amount of blood spilling out from his hand.

“We were...so scared,” Xue muttered lowly, unintentionally speaking out for the soul fragments in his mind. “I was scared.” 

Indeed, just like Xue, they were terrified out of their minds. 

Cecil smiled faintly.

Even she herself was terrified, and Cecil was sure she wouldn’t get lucky this time and she would definitely die.

However, now that Xue was here, she felt...safe.

Even though they were still falling through the air, and they were still falling to their deaths, the two of them found comfort in each other’s warmth. Despite the fog still around them, and they were unable to see one another clearly, it was still comforting, especially for Xue.