"Tilaral."
After he sat down, the Sublimator introduced himself. "That's my last na. You can just call Tilaral. As you can see, I work in this aquarium and, incidentally, improve myself."
"Ah, Huai Shi." Huai Shi shook his hand again. "Dongxia Man."
"Are you here for travel?"
"Sort of," Huai Shi patted the backpack beside him and shrugged. "Budget travel."
"This might be a bit presumptuous, but could I ask you to take a look at this..."
Without waiting for Huai Shi to ask, Tilaral pulled out a brochure from his bag and handed it over with both hands.
"Coral reef... conservation project?"
Huai Shi raised an eyebrow curiously, looking at the back of the brochure. The producer was the Southeast Asia Marine Conservation Association, and Tilaral's na was also listed among the honorary vice-presidents.
The brochure described the impact of climate change on Indonesia's local coral communities.
"The number has decreased from over a thousand species to less than seven hundred."
After Huai Shi finished reading, Tilaral spoke earnestly, "If this continues, and if left unmanaged, I'm afraid the local coral populations will face complete extinction. Since the ecological pollution in Australia, the portion of coral samples we've painstakingly tried to preserve is also in a perilous state."
He sounded like an enthusiastic salesman. Once he started, he endlessly discussed the local marine pollution, its impact, and the asures and rescue operations they had undertaken over the years.
This was completely beyond Huai Shi's expectations. He didn't know why Tilaral was telling him all this.
When Tilaral finally paused, his throat dry, he picked up his coffee cup only to find it empty. He put the cup down with an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, I get a bit carried away when it cos to these matters."
"Ah, no worries. Actually, I haven't paid much attention to these issues either," Huai Shi said, scratching his head.
He detected no malice from Tilaral. The excitent and passion Tilaral showed while speaking were unmistakably genuine. This man was indeed sincerely devoted to protecting the local marine environnt, a devotion that was genuinely rare.
Moreover, while Tilaral was going on, Huai Shi had managed to eat his way through all the food offerings at the coffee shop.
Hmm, half full.
"But..." Huai Shi scratched his head. "Are you telling all this because you need my help too? If that's the case, I might not be of any assistance."
He had only a little over four thousand on him, hardly enough to get to Antarctica, let alone protect Indonesia's marine environnt.
"No, no, no." Upon hearing Huai Shi might offer money, Tilaral quickly waved his hand in refusal. "We have formal fundraising events aid at the public and sponsors. We don't need private donations like that. It's illegal and improper—I an, if soone tried to persuade you to do that, you should firmly refuse and report it to the police."
"Ah?" Huai Shi was surprised.
Then, Tilaral took an invitation and a small coral badge from his bag and pushed them across the table.
"Thank you for your willingness to learn about our cause. Could I invite you to join us?"
Fearing Huai Shi might misunderstand, Tilaral spoke quickly, "mbers of the Marine Conservation Association have no obligations or restrictions, nor do they require mbership fees or extra contributions. What I an is, if you're interested, you could join. We regularly organize diving trips and various events, though participation isn't mandatory."
"Uh..." Huai Shi was puzzled. "So what exactly do you want to do?"
"To be honest, we need to raise our international influence. If you could pay more attention to Indonesia's marine environnt in the future and speak a few words on its behalf, that would be sufficient."
Tilaral sighed helplessly. "The Australian fishing fleets get worse every year, not to ntion the pollution discharges from their industrial areas. We can only seek international sympathy and support."
"I don't understand much, but all I have to do is say a few words in support of you, right?"
Huai Shi didn't see that as a problem. In fact, what surprised him more was Tilaral spending so much ti on such a trivial matter.
"That would be really great." Tilaral watched Huai Shi accept the small badge, nodding with satisfaction. "After all, many foreign Sublimators don't care much about the environnt. Do you need any help? If you don't mind, I can find you a rather good guide."
"No, that's alright," Huai Shi gestured, declining.
Even though Tilaral wouldn't mind spending a little money—judging by his tone, he likely had a stake in the aquarium and was filthy rich, part of the nouveau riche class.
But that would lose Raven's original intent.
He wanted to try living in Current Circumstances using his own Ability, without relying on others' help or the power of the extraordinary.
Whether it was busking with a violin or buying a food cart to push all the way to Canberra, he was trying to return to a normal life.
"Yes, that's exactly my profound intention, you've understood it!" a certain black-hearted woman boasted proudly, without a hint of modesty. Her tone then shifted subtly, "But there's no need to try too hard."
"Hmm?" Huai Shi was puzzled.
"Haven't you seen for yourself?" Raven said. "Ultimately, isn't the life of a Sublimator and the life of an ordinary person just parts of your own life? These are all part of your life's journey; there's no need to forcibly separate them.
"The one before you has blended them well, hasn't he?
"You don't have to be obsessed with fighting and killing. As a normal Sublimator, can't you also create your own career and have your own life?
"You just helped him out. If you have any questions, you can definitely ask him for advice."
"..." Huai Shi was silent for a long ti.
Tilaral noted the change in his expression and stopped talking, instead watching him with curiosity. He didn't understand what this remarkably young Sublimator was hesitating over.
"It's like this." After thinking for a mont, Huai Shi began, "In your opinion, Mr. Tilaral, what is the life of a Sublimator like?"
"Hmm?" Tilaral seed at a loss.
"I an—" Huai Shi paused, then asked gently, "What is a normal life for a Sublimator?"
"...I see. I understand now." After a long period of thought, Tilaral nodded seriously, grasping the young man's confusion. He offered a smile and said, "Mr. Huai Shi, how do you view 'Sublimation'?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you think Sublimation is a good thing?" Tilaral asked seriously. "It indeed brings Power, but it also brings danger, doesn't it? How do you view the Sublimation of your own nature?"
"To be honest, I haven't thought about it," Huai Shi confessed, shaking his head with embarrassnt. "But I feel that it may be a turning point in my life. I consider it my good luck."
"Luck, huh? Many people think that way, while others consider it a Curse from the devil," Tilaral nodded in agreent. "But to , Sublimation isn't about being granted Power; rather, it's about Power choosing us."
"What do you an?"
"It's a Talent, Mr. Huai Shi, a Talent capable of compensating for deficiencies and granting you the ability to achieve your dreams." Tilaral raised his hand, ordered another coffee, and after organizing his thoughts, continued, "I am the son of a fisherman. I have six older brothers and one younger brother. To be frank, my childhood wasn't joyful. This might be one reason I Sublimated, but I don't harbor any resentnt towards my family.
"My parents worked hard just to provide for us, so I had no right to demand more—no TV, no gas, and no mobile phone.
"The only place I could truly relax was in the sea.
"Often, when I felt pain, I would go diving. Swimming freely in the sea, observing the dazzling schools of fish and the corals, the world under the sea was so serene and vast. Just by gazing at it, one could feel a sense of bliss," he said. "I yearned to beco a part of it.
"Until one day, while I was diving, I ventured into dangerously deep waters. By the ti I felt myself suffocating, it was already too late. At that most desperate mont, I saw a huge whale. A White Whale."
With a smile, Tilaral said, "It didn't save ; it didn't even notice . It simply didn't care about a human struggling for life. It rose from the deep like a mountain, bringing with it a tide-like song. Its white body was lonely and massive. It ascended, singing to itself, as it passed through a forest-like cluster of corals and disappeared into the depths of the sea. To be honest, I was stunned at that mont."
Rembering the past, he said seriously, "I even forgot that I was drowning, that I was about to die. Because it was so beautiful, like a bubble in eternal ti—it made feel that seeing such a scene was worth it, even if it ant dying.
"By the ti I ca to, my father had pulled onto the boat. He hit roughly, telling I had nearly died, and warned never to get on his boat again, not to beco a fisherman like him. He wanted to go back to my studies and prepare for my exams.
"But I knew then that I was different."
"I had witnessed the beauty of this world," he said.
"After I graduated from university and t my forr teacher, I learned I had beco a Sublimator. After so events, I beca a Sharkman. I gained this Talent to embrace the sea."
Tilaral intertwined his fingers and looked at him seriously. "I believe this was Fate's blessing to , giving the opportunity to fulfill my dreams. Now that I have achieved my dreams, I can swim with them in the sea, and I must also protect their world from being destroyed by human greed.
"This is my life.
"The life of a Sublimator doesn't differ from that of an ordinary person, Mr. Huai Shi."
Gazing into Huai Shi's eyes, he articulated slowly, "What's key is what kind of person you want to beco, young Sublimator?
"You're confused about your life and everything you possess, aren't you?
"The impact of Sublimation on you is too overwhelming, so vast that you're lost in it, unsure of where to go. You feel as if you're drifting off the ground, floating towards places unknown. This isn't because the world has forsaken you, but because you haven't yet found where you belong."
He lifted his hand, pointing towards Huai Shi, and spoke earnestly, "So, you shouldn't learn from others. You should ask yourself."
"—Mr. Huai Shi, where do you really want to go?"
Huai Shi was stunned for a long mont, as if a profound truth had dawned on him. He slapped his thigh abruptly.
At last, he found the answer.
"I don't know either," he answered resoundingly.
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