# Chapter 2: Terms and Conditions
The next morning, Lian woke up hoping it was all a vivid, stress-induced nightmare. But as she reached for her toothbrush, a sharp, uninvited commentary echoed in her skull.
"Stop staring at yourself. That nest on your head isn't going to fix itself by magic."
Lian jumped, dropping her toothbrush into the sink with a metallic clatter. "You! You're still here!"
"Regrettably," Kai's voice was as cold as ice water. "And you're projecting your morning grogginess into my head. Do me a favor and drink some caffeine. My brain feels like it's wading through swamp mud because of you."
Lian gripped the edge of the sink. "Listen, Kai. If we're stuck like this, we need rules. You can't just barge into my head whenever you feel like insulting me."
A cold, dismissive chuckle vibrated in her mind. "Rules? Little girl, do you think I enjoy being in this cramped space you call a mind? If there are to be rules, I will be the one setting them."
Suddenly, flashes of images flooded Lian's mind—an obsidian desk, a panoramic window overlooking the clouds, and a hand wearing a watch that probably cost more than her apartment building.
"Rule number one," Kai commanded. "Do not try to find me. Rule number two: when I am in business meetings, you will suppress your trivial emotions. I do not wish to feel a sudden craving for cheap pizza while I am signing billion-dollar contracts."
"Billion-dollar contracts?" Lian muttered, stunned. "Fine, Mr. Billionaire. But what about my life? What if I'm... in the bathroom? Or on a date?"
An awkward silence followed. Lian felt a wave of intense annoyance from Kai.
"Disgusting," he muttered. "I will mute the senses during those moments. The bond is still weak; we can only see what the other sees if we focus intensely. But be warned... if you are in genuine danger, the bond will snap open. Our bodies will instinctively try to protect each other."
Lian started preparing a simple piece of toast, but suddenly, a bitter, intense taste filled her mouth. It wasn't her dry bread; it was the taste of strong black coffee and expensive tobacco.
"Oh my God!" she coughed. "I can taste what you're drinking!"
"Dammit!" Kai's voice came with the sound of glass shattering in the distance. "And I just tasted that cardboard you're chewing on! Is that bread or recycled packaging?"
Lian started laughing despite her anger. "This is what normal people eat, Kai."
"I will kill whoever invented this bond," Kai growled. "Listen, I'm closing the connection from my side. Do not speak to me unless it is a matter of life or death. Understood?"
"Perfectly," Lian said, feeling a small sense of victory.
But as he withdrew, a sudden, painful emptiness bloomed in her chest. It felt like a fuse being pulled from a bomb. She sat down, realizing her life now had a silent, arrogant, and invisible partner.
As she prepared to leave for another day of job hunting, her phone rang. An unknown number.
"Hello?"
"Is this Lian Vance?" a sharp, professional female voice asked. "You've been shortlisted for a Personal Assistant position at Chronos International. The interview is at 10:00 AM."
Lian's heart stopped. Chronos International? The largest empire on the continent. "But I didn't apply there..."
The line went dead.
In that moment, the violet spark flickered in her eye again. She heard a faint whisper—Kai talking to himself in his distant world:
"Let's see how you handle my world, little girl."