[ he doesn't have to do anything, hongn lu thinks. no oaths, nothing but his own nature. but is a man not bound to his nature? or is that cage just another name for freedom?

ah, hong lu thinks. that's lovely. for a moment, that cyan eye continues to gleam.

and then - hong lu smiles. he leans back. he folds back into the neat of box of his existence. he closes the loop with a single, cyan knot. ]

I want to see your magic, Doctor Daan. Can you cast it on me? And does it only affect my skin? I want to become a dog, you see.