Humanity suffered unprecedented devastation in the Galactic War, with staggering casualties.
The White Tower was established in its aftermath, and the survivors, changed by their genes, differentiated into sentinels and guides.
But the differentiation was imbalanced.
Guides were extremely rare. Thousands of powerful sentinels, unable to receive soothing, suffered sensory overload and faced death in painful, frenzied episodes.
The Tower had a strict hierarchy and rampant discrimination.
Unfortunately, Chi Xiao, whose background was already poor, differentiated as a low-grade D-rank guide.
His soothing ability was weak, and his mental sea was shallow.
Even though guides were scarce in the Tower, he still occupied the very bottom of the food chain.
And yet Chi Xiao had a face so captivating it was without equal.
Countless S-rank sentinels secretly and greedily fixed their eyes on Chi Xiao, even as they looked down on him with disdain.
They used their extremely sharp hearing to pick up the sound of Chi Xiao's breathing;
They yearned to glimpse a corner of the face hidden behind that veil.
They could barely control their frenzied curiosity about Chi Xiao's spirit form.
Perhaps a little gray mouse?
Or a scrawny spotted hare.
Too bad he was only D-rank.
The lowest grade.
They were tormented again and again by the dissonance between their haughty contempt and fervent desire.
Until one day, the Tower's undefeated, universally renowned SS-rank sentinel, Jiang Fu, found a guide with nearly 99% compatibility.
Everyone guessed it had to be the legendary top-tier double-S guide who had never shown himself.
Amid the rolling flames of battle, beneath the broken walls,
countless tentacles slowly lifted a pure-white fox at the very center.
Everyone present was unable to lift their heads, open their eyes, or breathe. It felt as if an invisible hand had clamped around their throats.
A powerful wave of mental energy instantly swept over and crushed every sentinel present.
Special-class guide Chi Xiao hooked a finger under Jiang Fu's chin, his tail lightly teasing the tentacles wrapped around Jiang Fu's entire body.
His cool voice was quiet, yet every sentinel with their head bowed heard it clearly.
"All right," he said with a smile, granting them permission. "Breathe."
1. Contains some original worldbuilding.
2. Sentinel-guide setting.
3. Sentinels' spirit forms are tentacles, while guides' are white foxes.
Theme: Only by relying on yourself can you take control of your life.
