The m light streamed through the wooden shutters, casting warm golden rays across the small home. Outside, birds chirped, and the st of damp earth drifted in from the open window, a lingering trace of st night’s rain.

  Inside, Feiyin sat cross-legged on a thick woven rug, his small hands pressed against the soft fibers as he waited. His mother had told him to stay put, promising something “very special” for their lesson today.

  His curiosity burned.

  Mei Liao finally returned, carrying a rge, leather-bound book, the cover decorated with delicate gold patterns. Feiyin’s amethyst-grey eyes widened as she settled beside him, the book resting across her p.

  “What’s that?” he asked, scooting closer.

  “A picture book,” Mei Liao said, smiling. “Ohat will teach you about the world we live in.”

  Feiyin’s small firaced the edges of the cover, his brows furrowing slightly. “Why do I o learn about the world?”

  Mei Liao chuckled, ruffling his hair. “Because, little ohe world is big—far bigger than our vilge. If you don’t uand it, how will you ever find your p it?”

  Feiyin thought about that. It made sense.

  He nodded solemnly, giving her his full attention. “Okay. Teach me.”

  His mother’s lips curled in amusement. “So serious,” she murmured before opening the book.

  The first page was an illustration of a massive blue and green sphere—the pself. Beh it, elegant script spelled out a name.

  Terra.

  “This,” Mei Liao said, “is the world we live on. It’s called Terra, home to many different people and creatures.”

  Feiyin stared at the image, then at his mother. “It’s round?”

  Mei Liao blinked. “…Yes?”

  Feiyin’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Then why doesn’t everything fall off?”

  His mother paused, lips parting slightly, befhing softly. “That is a very good question.” She patted his head. “One we will e back to aime.”

  Feiyin’s lips pressed together in dissatisfa, but he accepted the answer… for now.

  Mei Liao flipped to the page, which showed a vast ndmass divided into many regions, some covered in mountains, others in forests, deserts, or icy tundras.

  “This is the Magno ti,” she expined. “It’s where we live.”

  Feiyin’s firaced the lines of the map. “Where?”

  Mei Liao poio a smaller regiohe ter, painted in deep blue. “Here. This is the Azure Cloud Kingdom.”

  His small face sched in thought. “So… we live in Azure Cloud, on Magno, on Terra?”

  Mei Liao smiled. “That’s right.”

  Feiyin nodded, satisfied. “That’s a lot of names.”

  She ughed. “And you’ll learn even more, little one.”

  The page showed figures of different shapes and sizes, eae carefully painted with distinct features.

  Feiyin’s eyes sparkled with fasation.

  “There are many races that live on Terra,” Mei Liao said, turning the page so he could see better. “Let’s start with the ones most simir to us.”

  She tapped a picture of a tall figure with light skin and brown hair, dressed in a tunid carrying a sword.

  “This is a Human,” she said. “Just like us.”

  Feiyin studied the picture for a moment, then poio his own hair and his mother’s darker plexion. “But we don’t look the same.”

  Mei Liao’s smile softened. “Not all humans look alike, Feiyin. Just like some people have bck hair like me, and some have grey like your father, humans look different depending ohey’re from.”

  Feiyin hummed in thought, his fingers lightly tapping his in a gesture he had picked up from watg his father.

  “What about them?” He poio a figure with long, pointed ears, dressed in flowing robes with leaves embroidered into the fabric.

  “These are Elves,” Mei Liao expined. “They live in accordah nature, their bodies and spirits ected to the elements around them.”

  Feiyin’s eyes gleamed. “What does that mean?”

  “It means they ge,” Mei Liao said, tapping the page. “Elves who live in the forests grow attuo the trees, their senses sharper in the wild. Those who live he sea move like the waves, graceful and unyielding. Every Elf is shaped by the world around them.”

  Feiyin’s brows furrowed. “So… if an Elf lived in the desert, would they turn into sand?”

  Mei Liao snorted. “Not quite, little one.”

  Feiyin grinned, satisfied with his joke, before turning his attention to the image—a figure with curved horns, dark crimson skin, and pierg golden eyes.

  “And them?”

  “These are Demons,” Mei Liao said. “They are strong and resilient, with many different forms.”

  Feiyin tilted his head. “They don’t all look like this?”

  “No,” Mei Liao expined. “Some have blue skin, some bck, some even pale like humans. Some have tails, some don’t.”

  Feiyin squi the picture, then looked at his mother. “Are they nice?”

  Mei Liao chuckled. “Some are. Some aren’t. Just like humans.”

  Feiyin wasirely vinced, but he moved on, pointi at a massive figure with thick muscles, stone-colored skin, and broad shoulders.

  “This one is so big!”

  Mei Liao nodded. “That’s a Giant. They are very strong and grow even bigger than this picture shows.”

  Feiyin stared, impressed. “Bigger than Daddy?”

  Mei Liao smirked. “Much bigger.”

  Feiyin gasped. “Bigger than the house?”

  “Bigger than some mountains.”

  His jaw dropped, his tiny hands gripping the book in awe.

  But before Mei Liao could turn the page, he poi the st picture—a figure with human-like features but animal ears and a long, furred tail.

  “They’re fuzzy,” he said, tilting his head.

  Mei Liao smiled. “These are the Beastmen. Some look like wolves, some like cats, some like birds. They are just like humans, but with features of animals.”

  Feiyin grinned. “They look fun.”

  Mei Liao ughed. “They be.”

  Feiyin stared at the page a little longer, his small fingers brushing over the pictures. So many different kinds of people. So many different pces. His mind buzzed with possibilities, with questions, with an eagerness he could barely tain.

  Finally, Feiyin looked up at her, his gaze sharp. “Mommy.”

  “Yes, my love?”

  He hesitated for a sed, then asked, “Are we the only ones here?”

  Mei Liao blinked, caught off guard by the weight of his question. “…What do you mean?”

  Feiyin’s small fingers pressed against the book. “If there are so many pces, so many people… then there must be more beyond what we know. More than just this kingdom. More thahis world.”

  Mei Liao’s breath hitched slightly. He wasn’t just learning. He was thinking beyond what was in front of him.

  She brushed her fihrough his hair, a soft sigh esg her lips. “You’re right,” she admitted. “There is more. More than I teach you in a day. But one day, you’ll see it for yourself.”

  Feiyin beamed at her. “Promise?”

  Her smile softened. “I promise.”

  And as he drifted into sleep, visions of vast nds, t mountains, and strange new people filled his mind.

  For the first time, he uood—

  The world was far bigger than he had ever imagined.