Chapter 102: First Formation

"I need to rest and start crafting the communication jade I wanted to make," Axe cut him off without mercy.

Lupine fell silent for once.

After receiving the weapon manual, the first thing that caught Axe’s eye was not a spirit machete or a sword.

Surprisingly, his gaze had locked onto the jade communication artifact.

They were short on ways to contact each other.

Axe wanted an artifact that could work no matter if they were in the Monalis Celestia or inside the Lost Realm.

But Lupine had already told him it was not that easy to break the space rules.

So Axe settled for the next best thing—communication without any pack marks, and at least within the same realm.

If the communication jade didn’t react, he would naturally know the other person had entered the Lost Realm.

And he had made quite a bit of progress already.

With the metal essence already living inside him, he even forged several small weapons—spikes, needles—each engraved with his own soul power.

Lupine was very satisfied with that, so he stopped scolding Axe once in a while.

Nox, however, was still deeply concerned.

His inscription work refused to go well.

His concentration was fragile.

His mind kept drifting back to the soft moans and groans he had overheard from Moon that night.

And the thought of Ugo walking into the Starlily Sanctuary with Moon made his chest tighten until it hurt.

In the end, he forced himself to think one cold, bitter sentence:

’I am a widow with no mate at all.’

Nox took a deep breath and concentrated again.

This time the line moved smoother.

A thin black stroke appeared on the jade surface—straight and clean for almost half a finger’s length—before it trembled and broke once more.

Nox stared at the short line.

Then he let out a long, tired breath.

"At least... a line."

Axe walked over, still wiping sweat from his face.

"Finally. I was starting to think that plate hated you."

"Shut up," Nox mumbled.

Then, quieter, almost hesitant, "Urm... Axe, do you think—"

"I don’t think anything."

Axe cut him off immediately. This was almost the hundredth time he had heard those same words.

He grumbled, "Nox, you need to patch your heart. You know very well Moon is destined to be shared. You can’t just keep him to yourself. We will not agree. No matter if it’s for love or need, we need him."

Nox’s hand dropped.

He rubbed his finger slowly along the unfinished lines of the plate.

Axe exhaled and looked at Lupine for help.

"Ahem! Ahem! Well... he is right. Ahahaha. Your mate... you need to share."

"I didn’t say I wanted to keep him for myself," Nox said, voice aggrieved and a little broken.

"I just want him to look at me a little."

"Fuck it off, Nox." Axe’s tone turned sharp.

"He’s busy cultivating over there, not doing nonsense. He has more work than you."

Nox’s eyes welled up.

"Cultivating? Dual cultivating and such?"

"..."

"..."

Silence fell.

Lupine and Axe looked at each other.

"Let’s just leave him alone," Lupine whispered.

"Yeah. Let’s just forget he is here," Axe said, nodding.

In this matter, they both agreed completely. They turned and went back to their own work.

Nox sat there alone, heart burdened even more than before.

From afar, Axe’s voice floated over again.

"Nox. The more you stay stuck here, the more they can do without you. You need to finish the work and hurry up there."

Nox’s hand paused.

Then, suddenly, he felt something click inside him—like a small enlightenment.

He took a deep, steady breath.

’Right, he need to finish and be someone worthy to be beside him. maybe one day he will look at him and moan for him. only for him.’

This time the lines flowed from his fingertip without hesitation.

A complete diagram formed, connecting node after node.

The air around him turned volatile and stubborn, filled with purpose.

The rune glowed.

The inscription danced across the jade surface.

His jaw clenched hard.

His eyes narrowed into thin slits.

He didn’t even notice when Lupine and Axe came back and stood watching him in great awe.

After a long moment, cold sweat broke out across Nox’s back and forehead.

His face turned pale as shit.

Lupine stepped forward, ready to stop him from burning more soul power.

But Axe shook his head firmly.

"Let him finish. It’s fine as long as he can still breathe. He will revive."

So another few suffocating moments passed.

At the end, the plate flared with bright golden light and dropped to the ground.

Nox dropped with it.

He was too exhausted to even sit up.

Lupine looked down at the finished plate. A wide, satisfied smile spread across his face.

He immediately sent a voice transmission.

"Mooney, come to the palace. The formation plate is ready."

A scream immediately echoed from the other side.

"Aaaahhhhh—Master! Save me! I can’t go back to my body! The fish here is scary!"

Lupine froze.

He heard the voice once.

Then twice.

He couldn’t believe his own ears.

"Can Moon scream? Has he ever screamed?" he asked Axe.

Axe scratched his chin, thinking.

"I don’t know. He’s usually so aloof and omnipotent."

"Maybe not that much of omnipotent," Lupine reminded him.

"He even cries like a girl." ℴ

Axe chuckled low.

"Hm... when he cries, he looks really good."

Another panicked scream tore through the transmission.

"Damn it, Master—help me—ahhhhhhhh! Don’t bite there!"

Lupine sighed heavily.

"Relax. Close your eyes. Don’t care about the others or the fish. Just relax and think of nothingness. Think you are not there."

He kept guiding, tossing out one calm, almost hallucinating instruction after another.

Finally, after more coaxing, he heard Moon’s sharp curse and a long, relieved breath—like someone who had just been released from a tightly sealed bottle.

A few moments later, Moon’s body materialized inside the Lupine Palace.

The moment his gaze fell on Nox’s limp body sprawled on the platform, his whole body stiffened.

"What happened to him?"