Reincarnated In a Cthulhu World And Everyone Is Obsessed With Me - Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Embrace – Butterfly Typhoon.

The digitized traces Limbo left on the Guide had not yet faded; Xia’s collarbone shimmered with a transparent, eerie crystal luster. It looked as if the space meant for flesh and bone had been converted into parsable data crystals.

The only good news was that the digitization wasn’t spreading.

Sheikh extended a wisp of gentle mental power, swaying it within the Guide’s “sea of heart,” and waited patiently. Eventually, another wisp of mental power—thin and scarred, yet brilliant—leapt out and boldly wrapped around Sheikh’s wrist.

Sheikh let out a soft laugh. He didn’t pull back. The Guide’s power flowed over his skin like a snake-like stream of liquid light.

“Do you want to start tonight?” Sheikh whispered, his voice filled with a rare, indulgent tenderness.

Xia Mingyu woke up within his mental landscape. His underwater palace was a ruin, flooded by pitch-black seawater mixed with blood. He thought he was dead. Why else would he be wandering here?

Just as he thought he was doomed to eternity in this ghost-stricken place, a light appeared above the sea. It was warm, holy, and safe. Like a beacon of life, it called to him.

He reached out.

In the mental vision, he became a light, fragile butterfly—scarred and flying low. He found himself in a vast, open meadow under a blue sky. It was peaceful, but a bit lonely. He landed on a small wildflower.

From that flower, his senses began to extend, soaking up the inexhaustible power of this territory. He was just a tiny butterfly, but he felt that his wings could stir a small typhoon, possessing the power to bring either destruction or rebirth to this land.

The owner of this place was generous and silent, offering a sincere heart of kindness. Before drifting into a deep sleep, Xia thought: Next time, I’ll plant some flowers here for the owner.

“Don’t touch it yet.”

A strange male voice broke through the haze. The voice was cold like winter tides and metal, reminiscent of the blizzard in the Ruin… the avalanche.

Memory flooded back: the gamble with Limbo, the jump from the cliff. Fear spiked. Am I back in Limbo’s hands?

Before his conscious mind could finish the thought, his body reacted. Xia Mingyu lunged, wrapping his arms around the person’s neck—crossing his wrists and tightening—a standard killing chokehold.

But because the heavy chains were gone, this lethal move ended up feeling like a sudden, desperate embrace.

Sheikh’s semi-long hair brushed against Xia’s forearms; the texture was smooth and cool. Their breaths mingled in the close proximity. Both of them froze.

Xia’s long, curled hair spilled across the bed, a few strands falling into Sheikh’s palm. Sheikh’s fingers curled slightly, but he restrained himself and let go of the hair.

Xia’s face was inches away—tense, fierce, fragile, and beautiful. Sheikh didn’t pull away. He noticed the Guide’s tightly pressed lips; he looked terrified.

Sheikh looked away and said softly, “I am not Limbo.”

Xia was still dazed. “…What?”

Footsteps approached the door, and it swung open. “Natha—”

Gustav stopped mid-sentence. Seeing the two entangled on the bed, his eyes nearly sparked with shock. You little brat, didn’t you say you wouldn’t take advantage of him while he’s down?!

“Sorry to disturb you.”

BANG! The door slammed shut with violent force.

Gustav’s muffled roar echoed through the wall: “Seriously… who does that kind of thing with the door open?!”

Xia Mingyu’s brain hadn’t caught up yet. Which thing? Killing? Then I’ll make sure to close the door next time.

The man in his arms moved slightly. Xia let go. “Was that… Gustav?”

“Yes.” Sheikh stood up and walked to the table, drinking a glass of cold water to chill his rising pulse. He poured another glass of warm water. “Would you like some water?”

“Yes… thank you.” Xia took the glass, feeling a bit sheepish. “Sorry. I overreacted just now.”

“It’s fine,” Sheikh said. He understood. No one comes out of captivity with stable emotions. “Did you save me?”

“Your eyes… what happened to them?”

The two questions collided in the silence. Sheikh smiled softly. “Yes, I saved you.”

“Thank you,” Xia said, though his tone was hard to read—somewhere between relief and loss. He paused. “Have you seen me before?”

“I have.” Sheikh took the empty glass. A gentle smile touched his voice. “We’ll talk about that later. You need rest.”

Xia was a bit muddled, like a rose that had lost its thorns and poison for a moment. He lacked his usual calculating caution, appearing unusually harmless.

Sheikh looked at the bruises on Xia’s neck. “Let me loosen the collars for you. Don’t hide.”

Xia lifted his chin slightly, but lacking the courage to offer a vulnerable spot to a stranger, his hand rose instinctively to guard himself. Sheikh proactively placed his own wrist into Xia’s hand, letting him sense every movement.

“Does this make you feel safer?” Sheikh reached for the lock at Xia’s Adam’s apple.

Xia gave a faint “Mm.” The slight vibration of his throat traveled through the metal strap to Sheikh’s fingers. Sheikh paused for a fraction of a second, heart skipping.

“Thank you.”

Sheikh didn’t reply. He left the room quietly and closed the door.

Only when the door was shut did Sheikh lean against it, his legs feeling a bit weak. Luckily, Xia couldn’t see. He couldn’t see the flush on Sheikh’s ears or his rare loss of composure.

It was… too much.

Sheikh had opened his mental landscape to another person for the first time. Because no one had ever been there, he had never bothered to “decorate” it. But now that a little butterfly had flown in, he realized his heart was a bit too empty and dull.

A real butterfly, Xia.

A bizarre beauty, a light freedom.

A mere flap of those wings had triggered a typhoon in his heart.