When Luo Binghe wakes, he immediately reaches for the memory. He reinforced it as much as possible in sleep, strengthening it against erasure, and now he goes over the details gingerly, as though testing whether an injured limb can hold weight.

He cannot be entirely sure. Aornis can alter memory. She could have given him a false memory of a small victory, to lure him into an unearned sense of security; the entire dream could be fabricated. He holds to one small piece of evidence: he still remembers the flash of Shen Yuan's face before death, dawning realization quickly transmuting to horror.

Though she used it fleetingly to taunt him, Aornis would not want him to keep that memory. She struck it from his mind for a reason, and it is infinitely clear to him why. As he holds the image in his mind, every bit of rage he's felt for the past several months rises up at once, a burning, choking feeling in his throat. His hands shake with the urge to put them round Aornis' neck.

His memory of her features is crystal clear. His mind's defenses are built solidly around her shape. She's admitted she is no match for him physically, and now he is able to neutralize at least one of her formidable powers. Nothing can stop him now from taking the life Aornis forfeited when she dared touch Shen Yuan.