The subway shuttled through the pitch-black tunnel, the wagons inside flickering between light and shadow. Glints and shadows flitted by, the roaring noise pounding the eardrums, and the face of every passenger changed under the shroud of light and shadow.
Suddenly, Ke Mingye heard a faint, indistinct laughter in the darkness.
He was startled at first, then he moved his head towards the source of the sound, glancing sideways at the window behind him with peripheral vision. He saw... there was a figure laughing. In his eyes was a boy.
The boy was naked, enveloped in a faint halo. He held a pale green fire in both hands, positioned right where his heart should be. It looked as though his heart had been replaced by this fire.
The pale green fire flickered tentatively, and Ke Mingye's heartbeat also quickened.
