The 'cloudbeast' picks up a white piece, drops it on the board, then leaps onto the incense burner, looking at Wang with a meow. This is his new weiqi partner, formerly the container for his weiqi stones. Though now in beast form, it is well-versed at the game after spectating matches for centuries. However... After a few turns, Wang captures a major piece and secures a victory. The 'cloudbeast' immediately jumps down from the burner, crashing onto the board and sending the stones flying everywhere. Wang rarely bothers trying to handle it. Once it is done venting its anger, it picks up the pieces before finding a suitable napping spot—as a mere container, it is only natural for it to act like this. ...... Yet, it is the only source of noise in the room. The cloudbeast falls asleep on Wang's lap, and only silence is left, a silence he is more than familiar with. All is silent, as if imprisoned in the old temple. With the board before him and the container beside, he finds himself stricken with countless sorrows and worries. In his heart there is only the occasional pain from the crystals, that turn into clock hands moving in slow motion. The 'cloudbeast' rolls over and stretches inside the sleeve of Wang's robe, using his hand as a pillow as it returns to its dreams. He had given life to the container and stones, but how they perceive the realm could not be any more different. Perhaps its life on the sidelines as an outside observer has granted it a sort of optimism. While even the most careful of strategists can find themselves lost in a labyrinth, one can save oneself from such a fate with an outsider's view of the situation. It has still managed to find this solitary stone, ever since Wang replaced Sui. Was it because the container would lose any significance and struggle to take form without him? Or is it only by leaving the stones inside the container that he can calm himself down and stay composed? The stone stays silent as the container warms his cold hand. The warmth is its answer: he was never alone. Not only it, but everything in his room on Rhodes Island also serves as a constant reminder: Yi personally placed the potted plant on his desk, Dusk painted the ever-shifting patterns on the curtains, the burner was Nian's work, the incense within chosen by Fāng, and the box of food next to it was full of tangerine cakes made by Yu... After centuries of solitude, his siblings and even his own creation implore him to change. This match, he gladly concedes. His hand, now warm from the 'cloudbeast' earlier, reaches out to open the box of food, and he takes out a cake. He eats most of it and gives the rest to the 'cloudbeast' still fast asleep on his lap. It opens its eyes and sniffs the pastry before it, before giving the treat a cautious lick. It then buries its head in Wang's palm, eating it all and leaving no crumbs behind. Wang has never shown any kindness to geists, but when this abandoned waregeist returned to his side, all his thoughts and plots turned only to sighs, and he has never managed to shake off or escape from this 'helpless' thing since. With a soft sigh, he leaves his hand on the now-snoring 'cloudbeast' as he returns his gaze to the board, beginning his endless plotting.