Chapter Four: Two Zhou Jibais

“Three years. At first, only seconds before matches. Lately, entire games.” Zhou placed his phone on the table. Its gallery was filled with hand-drawn maps: suspension rails, warp wells, Arclight's district borders, even interior routes through Iron Veil's base. “After last night, an hour disappeared from my dream. I woke with blue luminescent sand on my soles.” He raised one shoe. Shen Yan had seen that sand beside Arclight's arena. “Did you come to warn me?” Shen Yan asked. “I came to see whether you're still you. After the final three years ago, you looked at me differently. It was as if someone behind your eyes had memorized me.”