Cloud Thinking

Helia watched in silence.

The scene before her was indeed part of a blueprint she had envisioned deep in her heart—a fairer starting point.

Mirror Shadow was not only doing it, but she seemed to be doing it more boldly and thoroughly than she had imagined.

The impact of this "ideal becoming reality" is enormous.

“You…” Helia hesitated for a moment, but still asked, “Do you have a name? I can’t just call you ‘Zhou Ranyi’, can I?”

Upon hearing this, Jingying paused slightly, turned her head to look at her, and a rare look of bewilderment flashed in her sapphire blue eyes.

“Name?” she repeated, then a complicated smile appeared on her face. “Although I am playing the role of you, I know that I am different from you, and I do not want to exist in a way that deprives you of your identity when I talk to you.”

"As for Zhou Ranyi... that's a code name for the remains, a mark of restraint, just a title for an inanimate object."

"As for myself... it seems that I don't have a name that truly belongs to 'me'."

She stopped and turned to face Helia, her gaze becoming unusually serious, even carrying a hint of cautious expectation: "Since I was born because of you, and gained my 'self' by observing you and imitating you..."

"Then, Helia, would you... give me a name?"

This request stunned Helia.

To name a being that has taken over one's body and intends to replace one's own?

This feels absurd and contradictory.

She looked into the almost pleading light in the other person's eyes, a human desire to be defined and acknowledged.

However, Helia slowly shook her head.

“No.” Her voice came through He Liya’s ordinary vocal cords, but it carried an undeniable firmness. “If you truly yearn for freedom, you shouldn’t let others give you a name.”

“A name is an anchor of existence, a declaration of self. It should be chosen by yourself, carrying your own will and expectations.”

"Letting me name it is tantamount to putting another shackle from 'Heria' on you, a constraint from me."

"The freedom you seek should not include this."

The reflection in the mirror froze.

She never seemed to have thought about it from this perspective.

She was used to observing, imitating, and absorbing everything from Helia, including her identity, behavior, and even ideals.

A name that belongs to oneself and is self-defined?

The idea felt foreign to her, followed by an unprecedented...thrill.

She remained silent for a long time, her gaze sweeping over the children running freely in the academy, across the clear sky, and finally settling on Helia.

The confusion in those sapphire blue eyes gradually faded, replaced by clarity and decisiveness.

“You’re right,” she said softly, a genuine smile of relief and rebirth curving her lips. “My name should be chosen by myself.”

She tilted her head slightly, as if feeling the breeze brushing against her cheek—the breath of freedom.

“Aelos,” she uttered slowly. “In ancient Elvish texts, it means ‘wandering wind’ or ‘unfettered traveler’.”

"The wind is formless and shapeless, unbound, traversing the world and witnessing all things. This is my wish—to break free from all tangible and intangible cages and attain true freedom."

"From this day forward, I shall be Iros."

Helia silently repeated the name in her heart.

Ilos.

Indeed...it suits her very well.

“Iros…” Helia nodded, “Very good.”

After the little naming incident, they continued their stroll through the college.

Strolling beneath the newly planted oak saplings, Helia listened to Iros describe the early days of the academy, recalling their conversation, and a complex feeling welled up inside her.

Iros so closely bound her birth and awakening to her own that she felt a heavy and uneasy responsibility.

“Ilos,” Helia stopped and turned to her, her gaze earnest and sincere, “there’s something I think I must make clear.”

Iros tilted his head slightly, indicating that he was listening.

“You’ve always said that it was by observing me and imitating me that your ‘self’ came into being,” Helia said slowly, trying to clear her mind. “But I think you might…overestimate my role, or rather, misunderstand the true source of your birth.”

A hint of confusion flashed in Iros's sapphire blue eyes.

Helia continued, "You are the incarnation of Zhou Ranyi, the node where the billions of threads of the God of Control's remains converge. Those threads connect not only the members of the Magic Association, but also invisibly touch, sense, and even subtly influence the thoughts, emotions, and fragments of fate of countless beings in the world, right?"

Iros did not deny it, but simply looked at her quietly.

“In the long years before you developed the consciousness of ‘I’,” Helia’s voice was low and clear, “you saw far more than just me through those threads.”

"You have witnessed the ambition and downfall of emperors and generals, heard the ecstasy and lament of poets and scholars, felt the joy of ordinary farmers during harvest and the despair during famine, and also witnessed the courage of countless warriors in dire straits, the selflessness of mothers sacrificing for their children, and the unwavering promise between lovers until death..."

"You have witnessed too many great and resolute souls, and tasted the most brilliant brilliance and the deepest darkness in humanity."

She took a deep breath and looked intently at Iros: "It is the vast, star-like brilliance of humanity, the joys and sorrows, loves and hates, struggles and transcendences of countless living beings, that, after billions of washes and sedimentations, have given birth to the desire and questions for 'existence' and 'freedom' in your core."

"The freedom you yearn for may not originate from me alone, but from your empathy and reflection on all the souls you have witnessed who are bound by fate or rules."

“And me,” Helia pointed to herself, her tone deliberately nonchalant, “I’m perhaps just a rather conspicuous ‘reference point’ that happens to appear at a crucial moment.”

“A soul from outside the world, an ‘unexpected’ trajectory, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, just happened to stir up the ripples that had long been accumulated at the bottom of the lake, called ‘self’.”

“I may just be… a trigger, an ‘opportunity’ that allows you to focus and project the enormous energy and questions that have been accumulating inside you.”

She hoped that Iros would understand: "Therefore, please do not so insist on tying your birth and your awakening to me alone."

"Your roots are the ever-flowing river of humanity in this world, the miracles born from countless fragments of souls that you perceive and connect with."

“You are awakened because of ‘all beings’, not just because of ‘Helia’.”

After Helia finished speaking, a brief silence fell around them.

Only the rustling of the wind through the new leaves and the faint sounds of children playing in the distance could be heard.

Iros listened quietly, his usual composed smile gradually fading, replaced by a deep contemplation, as if he were examining his own roots.

For the first time, a look of "confusion" and "retrospection" appeared in her eyes, which were usually so insightful about the world.

After a long silence, she spoke softly, her voice less certain than before, carrying a hint of uncertainty: "Awakened because of all beings... and not merely because of your existence?"

She looked down at her hands—hands that belonged to Helia, yet bore the essence of a god.

“Perhaps…you’re right.” Iros’s voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself. “Those chaotic thoughts, those burning emotions, those billions of souls struggling in the net of fate…they do indeed constitute the ‘soil’ at the bottom of my consciousness.”

"Vast, chaotic, yet full of...life."

But she immediately looked up, her gaze refocusing on Helia, the confusion replaced by a more complex emotion, a mixture of relief and a stronger sense of acceptance.

“However, Helia,” she emphasized, “the soil may be vast, but what awakens the dormant seeds is ultimately that specific ray of sunlight, that timely drop of rain.”

"Billions of souls twinkle like stars in the sea, but the one who made me clearly 'see' what kind of existence I longed to become for the first time was you, a unique shooting star that broke free from the gravity of the sea of ​​stars."

A faint smile, seemingly tinged with deeper understanding, returned to her lips: "You may have been the spark, the opportunity. But without your spark, that 'soil' brimming with infinite possibilities might still be dormant."

“You underestimate the purity and impact of your role as a ‘reference point.’ In the boundless, relatively chaotic ‘common landscape,’ your trajectory is so clear, so… different.”

"This 'difference' has a fatal attraction for a nascent consciousness."

She took a step forward, getting closer to Helia, her gaze deep: "So, Helia, I was born with the potential for awakening because of my perception of 'all beings,' but it was 'you' that gave it a concrete form and direction."

“You don’t have to feel burdened, but this cause and effect does exist.”

“You are the ‘anchor point’ of my understanding of humanity, the first and most important blueprint for choosing ‘who’ to become.”

Helia helplessly raised her hand to half-cover her face, trying to shield herself from the other person's overly intense gaze.

The words she spoke, intended to rid herself of this inexplicable burden, have instead made her feel immense pressure.

She didn't want to argue any further.

As Helia continued walking casually, she noticed that the stewards and teachers she encountered along the way, who were in charge of specific affairs, were all very respectful to "Iros," but their faces were completely unfamiliar, and they were not her former confidants.

I didn't see any of them, such as the loyal and steady guard knight Ronnie, the little Philo whom he had personally promoted, or the orc Lydia who was sworn to follow him to the death.

Helia casually remarked, "The academy is well-managed, and these new faces are all very capable. But... I don't see Ronnie and the others? He's from a common background, and his rich experience in handling affairs could be very useful. Why didn't he bring them?"

Iros continued walking, his tone calm and composed: "Ronnie has more important matters to attend to in the capital. I have sent Lydia and Philodosia to the south to coordinate supplies."

"As for the others, they have been appointed. The projects they are undertaking are just getting started, and they need trustworthy people to go to key positions."

The reasons sounded plausible, but Helia sensed a distance in them.

Looking at the impeccable composure on Iros's perfect profile, she suddenly asked softly, "Iros, are you... afraid?"

Iros finally stopped and turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow slightly: "Afraid? What do I have to be afraid of?"

“Afraid of being recognized.” Helia looked directly into her eyes, her gaze sharp, as if trying to pierce through the perfect disguise and see into the soul beneath.

"You distanced yourself from my former confidants and promoted new people because you subconsciously felt that those who had spent every day with me and knew me well were more likely to notice those extremely subtle flaws in your words and actions that did not belong to 'Helia'."

"You're afraid that this perfect performance will be ruined in front of them."

Upon hearing this, Iros was slightly taken aback, and then chuckled softly.

The laughter was crisp and clear, filled with confidence, and even a hint of... pity?