Nana lowered her head before redoing her disguise technique and slowly got up with her pillow and got up onto the bed with Yuki. Yuki did not say a word as she laid down and closed her eyes. But before Yuki closed her eyes she whispered: “From now on, if you feel insecure, you can just sleep here.”

“Mm….” Nana felt tears slowly dripping down her face as she closed her eyes. Her life had not been easy. She grew up in a small village. Everyone who lived in it was dragonkin. They lived peaceful lives. There was no such thing as evil in her village.

That was until one day human cultivars showed up. That was when her happy life was destroyed. She had been out picking wild vegetables with her elder sister when the village was attacked. Her sister had told her to run for it. While she did not understand what was going on she did as her sister said. But that was the last time she ever heard from her sister. No, it was the last time she had seen anyone from her clan again. After hiding for three days in a small burrow that she had stumbled upon, she returned to find her village burnt to the ground.

There was nothing left of her village. Only the sword she found which was too heavy for her at that time. She had only been five years of age when it all happened. Nana took the sword, the last memento of her clan, and wandered into the forest. Because she was a dragonkin, her strength was on par with a rank two demonic beast at the age of five. Now she could fight head to head with a rank three demonic beast.

She could only guess that her clan knew this day would soon come. As dragonkin, they were all born as a rank 1 first fate star. This meant they were all cultivators from the first day they were born. Because of this, due to her clan always wanting to be prepared for the worst, each child was taught how to hide their true form and appear to be human. Nana had never thought that she would ever have to use this technique, but now she was glad she had learned it.

She had only heard about the recruitment of a sect by chance. But she never expected to run into someone like her. While Yuki’s scent was much different, she knew for a fact that Yuki was not human. She would never force Yuki to reveal her true form. This was why she stopped Yuki earlier. But this did not mean she would not reveal herself. She wanted Yuki, who was like her, to know she was not alone.

Nana rolled over towards Yuki, who she thought was asleep, and wondered just how this girl could be so defenseless around her. “What if I was your enemy?”

Yuki’s eyes slowly opened. She was only half asleep as this was how she was used to sleeping. She turned her head and looked Nana in the eyes as she said: “It’s not that I am defenseless. It's because you trusted me by revealing your true form. I do not normally speak much because it's hard for me to convey emotions, and it is quite bothersome, but I will say this. For you to need to hide your race and even speak as little as I do, you have gone through things just as much as I have. We are two broken people.

“You do not have my full trust, which is why I am not able to sleep deeply, but as long as you never break what trust I have for you now, I think the two of us can grow more powerful and one day deal with the issues holding us back.” Yuki did not even blink as she spoke. She could only say these words and be upfront about what she was thinking. Whether Nana disliked what she had to say or not was up to her.

“I… I see…” Nana stared at Yuki for a long time before raising her hand and extending her pinky. “I will promise here now to never betray you, so please….” Tears began to form in Nana’s eyes as she lowered her head slightly. “Let me stay by your side….”

Nana felt lonely. She was not an emotionless doll like Yuki. She wanted companionship but was scared others would discover her. She did not wish to lose everything she had gained so far. But now that she has met someone similar to her. Someone else who hid their identity. She took the risk to reveal herself. Now she was glad she did. She might not have Yuk’s complete trust, but she, for now, had someone who she could be her true self around.

Yuki looked at the crying girl curling up into a ball and sighed slightly. She reached out and patted the girl’s head. Her expressionless face seemed to soften ever so slightly, but unless you looked hard, you would not have been able to tell.

Not long after Yuki began petting her head, Nana fell into a deep sleep. One of the deepest sleeps she had had in a long time. Yuki felt slightly envious of this girl as she slowly sat up and began cultivating. Any chance of her sleeping tonight went out the window. So she did not wish to waste time just lying there.

Early the next morning, Nana woke up to find herself hugging Yuki’s thigh while Yuki was in the middle of cultivation. She slowly released the thin leg that did not feel like it had much meat on it and looked up at the black haired girl with a curious gaze. Calm and composed. Always looking as if the world around her had nothing to do with her. She hoped one day, she could get Yuki to open up to her and tell her about her past and how she came to be in the same state she was in now. But first, she too, needed to tell Yuki about herself as well.