Amid the dark mountain forest, voices clamored. In the smoldering embers of a dying fire, a man used a large tree branch to beat and clear an empty patch of ground.
Suddenly, he spotted a figure lying face-down ahead.
“What’s wrong with you?” Dropping his branch, he and two others hurried over upon hearing the sound, lifting the man by his shoulders.
In the darkness, they saw a large, red-hot charcoal glowing beneath his torso, still burning at high temperatures under the ashes, with only a light cover of ash concealing it.
“Are you okay?” A nearby man crouched down, pulling up the thin, burn-pierced shirt of the middle-aged man. He examined his skin, where relatively mild burn marks could be seen.
“Not too serious,” he observed, glancing back at the charcoal embedded with a wooden spike.
“It’s fine,” the man replied. “I just stepped on a rolling stone and fell. Thank goodness.“
Before this man—whose eyes gleamed with a silver-white halo—a large lump of charcoal rapidly ignited into flames in the wind.
“Hey, give me a hand. There might be more of these things nearby. Let’s clean them up again. Be careful, and if you find any, it’s best to pile them together. “
“You should go get your wound looked at. Skin burns are no small matter. “
This person, supported by others, walked off into the distance. Right now, any casualties or injuries are dangerous; no one takes such things lightly.
……
Inside a manor-like building, the place was bustling with people.
The boy with a clean face and curly hair, beside the luxurious round table, glanced toward the empty chair that belonged to Veronica•Augustus.
Noah Yvens couldn’t understand why his cousin hadn’t shown up at the family meeting. The situation was probably very dangerous elsewhere now.
In the basement, the white-haired old Negus•Augustus, holding a candle, faced the pitch-black, massive brass machine amidst the dim light and shadow. He felt deep sorrow in his heart.
“The internal system has been burnt out. Everything is finished. “
“Don’t be so sad, Grandfather. ” Veronica•Augustus, standing nearby, looked at the several hand-pulled trolleys connected by wires, the ancient machine whose angle had shifted as it was lifted slightly off the ground, and all the blackened, burnt hauling tools scattered across the floor, damaged by the spreading electric current.
“Maybe it can still be fixed. “
“It’s hard, too hard. “
……
In the south of the Stedfen-Lion Empire, within the various settlements and refugee camps, the clamoring crowd was abuzz with discussions.
People standing and arguing at the street corners, along with those who were using iron buckets to light campfires against the walls, looked up as an airplane roared overhead and descended toward the city.
“Did something else happen?“
“Not sure. Probably related to the thing in the eyes.“
No one could explain what the strange phenomenon in the sky earlier meant, nor what the glowing dots accompanied by the unusual arc of lightning were—or what the halos appearing in their eyes signified.
Although it didn’t seem harmful for now, and even appeared to invigorate the blood and energy in the body, a great many people worried that abnormalities might occur later. It was clearly similar to the halos in the eyes of the Demon-Blood Warriors.
Before long, many uniformed soldiers of the Hsiungshih Legion ran past.
“Breaking news! The following is the latest information from our Prime Minister’s office in the city of Kruun.“
“Whoa.” The crowd here erupted in an incredulous clamor.
Someone ran past carrying a loudspeaker.
Among the several runners who stopped were two who called out to this group of people:
“Friends! The new halos born in our eyes are the Silver-Glare Pupil Rings forged for us by Chairman Yang Buchen himself within the clouds above the central geographical region of the world, using thunder and lightning.“
With a burst of uproar, everyone present wore expressions of utter disbelief.
“We will soon set up a Mortev-brand Tiveji machine on the square on Third Avenue to broadcast the waiting footage of Chairman Yang Buchen’s return from Talco.“
“Whoa!” The crowd erupted into excitement.
……
Outside Talco’s World Ark headquarters, a pitch-black halo drifted, dim and distorted.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, we have found a black wooden staff.“
The personnel-sized wooden staff, whose surface had been scorched, was delivered into the hands of Serac in· Hazel, who sat on a wooden chair in front of the crowd of silhouettes.
The middle-aged crown prince held it and glanced at it. Suddenly, the prince’s brows twitched slightly as he looked up into the sky. Strange, faint, and foul clouds appeared on the horizon, then quickly dissipated.
Behind him, the crowd was, one after another, boarding vehicles under the protection of the Demon-Blood Warriors. A lieutenant general approached Crown Prince Sarichin and said,
“Your Highness, a message has arrived from Hazel Palace. “
No newly established dedicated line was used, meaning this letter is very important.
Sarizi Yin·Hazel swept his gaze towards the Lieutenant General, who then stepped aside and backed away. A lady ran over from behind and handed him a letter.
Hazel took the letter, shook it open, glanced at it a few times, then looked up and said:
“The World Ark’s Chairman Yang Buchen is forging Pupil Rings for every Grainwood Person within the clouds. Now he is about to begin his return journey. According to a report from Krune Intelligence, the location has been confirmed as Talco. “
A slight, stiff flicker crossed the face of the Lieutenant General, whose hand had not yet withdrawn from delivering the letter.
“Then we… I’ll go find the people now… “
“Everyone here tonight will be evacuated first. “
Serazin·Hazel stood up.
“Re-deploy personnel from other nearby areas to replace all workers within the city today. “
“Yes, Your Highness. “
……
In the pitch-black night.
Four birds took flight again, carrying the carriage towards distant Hevenzhiker Talco.
On the ground more than twenty kilometers behind them, a tireless truck cab lay abandoned by the roadside.
Suddenly, a little bird landed on the door frame of the truck.
Seeing that the windows and windshield were all shattered, and the interior was a chaotic mess swept through by the wind, it paused for two seconds. After confirming that the truck had no tires and no one was around, it glanced at the sky, spread its wings, and flew off, disappearing into the distance.
……
“Hey! Where the hell did all those radios that were by the wall get moved to? “
“Oh dear, oh dear, ” the landlady hurriedly rushed downstairs, only to see several members of the patrol team in external hire uniforms already inside the restaurant, having entered through the door that a few people sleeping on the floor downstairs had opened.
A young patrolman said, “I saw them last time I passed by. Now they’re just a pile of scrap metal. “
The landlady hurried over and asked, “Why do you suddenly need those? “
“There’s big news tonight. Hey, hey, what about the thing in your eye? “
“What? ” The landlady panicked.
“Nothing, ” the slightly plumper patrolman said, gesturing to the person beside him, “Register her first. “
The two people still asleep on the surrounding floor sat up, twisting their heads to look at the landlady’s silhouette.
Suddenly, a loud, joyful sound rang out from the shop across the street.
A few people ran over, carrying a pile of rusty radios of various sizes.
The landlady asked with some confusion, “What exactly are you going to do with all this? “
Handing one of the radios to a man who had raised his hand to take it after opening the door, this person then said to the restaurant owner, “Among you, whoever knows how to tune frequencies, take charge of keeping one safe. There will be news broadcasts about the physical changes happening to every Grainwood person, as well as an announcement about the celebration. “
“Huh? ” The boss woman looked at him strangely. The man’s gaze softened as he gave a slight nod to her in return, then led his people away.
As orders were distributed.
Amid all kinds of tense and busy activity, radio stations on various bands began broadcasting news about Chairman Yang Buchen of the World Ark shattering the thunder in the sky, forging the silver halo in the eye that extends life.
— “Our camera crew has already arrived at the outskirts of Talco City to record this moment for us all. “
— “…According to the schedule, the earliest today, our Chairman will return to Talco City. “
— “Dear listeners, we now have a set of images from Talco. I will broadcast a live description of them to everyone listening by the radio. “
“Oh dear, if only we had a television set, ” muttered the people inside the room by the doorway, buzzing with excitement and sighs as the wind blew through.
…
Milena and her companions, who had moved outside the city, covered their mouths with their little hands, tears streaming down their faces as they watched the screen ahead.
Inside a TV set that had been moved to the edge of a fire zone where sparks flew wildly under Mars’ light, a beautiful, unfamiliar woman from the Twin Lions Republic was clearly and articulately broadcasting a recorded emergency news report.
“So, it turns out Chairman Yang was behind this. ” Beside a cluster of figures gathered opposite the televiewer, the old farmer, with a faint glow in his eyes, murmured almost unconsciously.
After understanding its purpose, he instinctively wiped his own dry, shriveled skin, his heart seeming to surge with a rough, hopeful feeling that this body could still live on for a very, very long time.
On the televiewer, a voice came through from the black-and-white screen.
— “Latest news: Chairman Yang will return to Tarko City after concluding his itinerary. “
Suddenly, a few people seemed to sense something and lifted their heads.
A faint light seemed to have just gathered and streamed toward the distant city.
……
On a tall, flat rooftop somewhere remote in Tal Khor, people with cameras and telescopes set up yawned and looked towards the distant darkness of the city, where flames burned in the distance.
“What can you see from this far away? “
“Don’t talk. It was attacked inside tonight; this is also for everyone’s safety. “
The men and women in thick, long trench coats listened and nodded in agreement.
The full moon hung low.
Across the land, many who had heard the news began to take action.
With aircraft and some Fogfolk who voluntarily joined the effort cooperating, a small number of Tivi machines had already been delivered by postal workers to cities with larger populations.
At the Prime Minister’s office, a new reel of footage was finished recording.
Colonel Brownlion packed his belongings and glanced at Iskra, who had been placed by medical staff on a cotton sheet on the floor beside him.
“Returning to report your mission is not the correct choice. “
The Prime Minister’s voice came, and the Brown Lion Colonel turned back, saying:
“I will leave completely after this operation. You may announce my death. “
Ferdihirsch’s eyes twitched. He glanced at the two people still packing up the equipment, waved them out, and then said, “Take off your mask. “
Time ticked by, second after second.
A new gust of wind, carrying a chill, swept across the deep night’s mountain ranges and land, over countless cities and villages.
Only the intelligence reported back to the nations via Talco, and the high-ranking officials who knew some of the truth, were left in a state of tense, suspenseful waiting.
Outside these tightly confined buildings.
In gathering places of countless people, cheers rose up from beyond songs and dances.
Many remembered the afternoon’s propaganda. This time, they genuinely wanted to watch the “Mist Maiden and the Colored Glaze Cup ” dance drama. With a mix of professionals and amateurs, they began to perform on the spot, in front of little stages and in campfire clearings.
Outside the city, accompanied by the sound of radios, some who had been tasked with observing the city from mountaintops with binoculars suddenly seemed to see a flickering, moonlit-like wave converge on a certain place within the city.
“Huh? ” A former citizen of White Violet City in the Grand Duchy, a refugee who had purchased a long-focus telescope with his own money, stood up and scratched his head.
Did he see that wrong? It was so far away; it must have been a mistake.
But still a little suspicious, he looked down at the telescope in his hand.
How could a hero appear from inside a truck?
……
Inside the city of Talko.
Many figures were busy in the darkness; they, too, were waiting.
The flames of burning buildings shone like two beacons. Some discarded tarps lay scattered on the ground, and some workers who had already finished their shifts began to mill about in confusion, shouting as they gathered together, intending to withdraw from the city.
A strong gust of wind swept through.
It blew across the sky and poured into the streets and alleys.
Rumble, bang!
One after another, the wooden windows along the street were blown open with loud bangs, making it sound as if the entire street was panting urgently.
The strong wind tugged at the tarps and rolled farther away. Occasionally, a window that someone hadn’t latched shut would burst open, the sound of shattering glass sharp and brief in the wind, instantly swallowed by the howling, cold gale.
“What is that? ” Some pointed toward the strange clouds in the sky, where the moon cast its slanting shadows.
The power lines between two buildings were pulled taut, whistling mournfully. A few newly installed arc lights swayed violently, their beams jumping back and forth across the street in the early morning. One moment, they illuminated a face as sharp as a knife and flushed with blood; the next, the wind pushed the light back into darkness.
Passing a truck with a punctured tire, Yang Zicang, clad in a long black coat, made his way through the dilapidated city streets.
Who am I, really?
In the city, maintenance workers connected broken cables in the wind.
“My God, it’s the White Violet Hero! “
“Sir! “
“President Buchen! ” the people hanging on the telephone poles and tall buildings shouted joyfully.
I need to go somewhere. Where to?
“Consultant Yang! ” A person ran over from the side of the street, but he nearly stumbled because the wind had loosened his shoelaces.
This person, squatting half-crouched on the ground while tying his shoelaces, looked up and shouted, “Consultant Sir, are you returning to the hotel now! “
Yang Zicang slowly turned his head to look.
As the wind rolling in from the sky tugged at his clothes, silvery particles of grit fell from the air.
{A new influence is taking shape. }
Walking steadily amidst the strong wind on the street, Yang Zicang headed calmly towards the other end of the ancient city.
People who had heard the news shouted loudly, passing this piece of information along.
The lenses of many cameras began to search and lock onto that tall, leisurely stepping figure amidst the sounds echoing from the desolate city.
“Wow, it really is our hero sir from behind! “
Wearing a long checkered linen dress, the female reporter focusedly bent down, staring at the images inside this specialized camera screen—a human figure like a tiny black dot captured on the long thoroughfare.
Suddenly she heard a crackling sound; looking up, she saw that one person’s videotape nearby had been overexposed due to the novice operator’s unsteady hand.
She seemed to sense something and looked up; strange, scale-like ripples appeared in the clouds in the sky.
Yang Zicang walked briskly along the main street, as some memories began to surface in his mind.
“What time is it? ” a worker shouted from the surrounding street to his colleague.
“Skyolnuh’s memory of world time only lasts until June. “
Yang Zicang continued forward. This time, as he took steady steps, the street buildings on both sides flashed past with trailing afterimages.
“And I’ve recovered one month. “
Accompanied by the small orb of light, Yang Zicang stepped up to the door of the house beside the World Ark’s flat ground. Several unfamiliar Demon-Blood Warriors there turned their heads as if suddenly snapping back to reality.
The little elven reporter in the black dress emerged from the doorway.
She held out the dim, pitch-black circular key dangling from her small hands.
Yang Zicang took the round-headed key that fell before him.
On its circular handle, the key bore engravings of wheat ears and a four-checkered knight clan flag, with the word “Costella Hotel ” carved in an arc below.
A crimson thunderbolt roared across the sky.
Then, the Demon-Blood Warriors saw the figure vanish into the darkness of the room in the next instant.
“Chairman Yang Buchen is back! “
These people shouted.
Amid the fine, dense thunder, some strange scents spread in the wind, and the people on the ground felt a trace of unusual panic and unease.
……
On the first floor of the empty Costella Hotel.
On the television screen at the counter, images were still broadcasting nearly in real time, aimed at the dark, sinking cityscape.
Yang Zicang, holding the key, stepped onto the fourth floor landing.
On the crimson carpet adorned with gold patterns in the middle of the hallway, Xueli raised her arm and said:
“According to the East Domitor Agreement on Foreign Tourism and Accommodation, you are now eligible for a stay in the Presidential Suite of Feirshou Hotel. Please follow me.“
She smiled and turned sideways, almost gesturing for him to follow, and walked ahead toward the end of the passageway.
Yang Zicang looked up to spot the arched staircase in the distance—its walls now gone—with a carpet stretching upward along the steps.
The doorway framed by the upper arch, two metal-armored mouse statues—each holding a knight’s silver with red streamers—stood guard on either side.
Yang Zicang approached a brief, three-to-four-step landing. Awaiting him there was Mus—the lobby manager—along with Coco Lang—the bar manager, the latter wearing a colorful parrot perched above her hair. Both fixed their gazes on Yang Buchen.
“We welcome the guest who is to take the Feirshou Hotel Presidential Suite.“
Yang Zicang slipped his key-holding hand into the pocket of his black trench coat—his favourite jacket back in his high school days—as his eyes fell on the simple, intricately lacquered wooden door ahead.
“Sorry, but I have no intention of staying in the Presidential Suite.“
The three managers standing before the door stirred in subtle, hesitant unison. The two rat-like statues cast puzzled looks before removing their helmets, letting out small squeaks.
Their gazes all turned to the young human, whose body still exuded a faint veil of morning mist, his face bearing the uncompromised texture of youthful muscle—marks that two decades had left behind.
Yang Zicang held out the attery, dark–toned circular key as he handed it over.
“I wish, as a server, to invite the ‘Muto Era’ to check into the Presidential Suite of the Feirshou Hotel. “
Manager Mus’s gaze fell upon the key engraved with the Knight clan’s crest that lay before him.
“An era is noble. You must attend to them closely, never leaving their side, in order to keep them settled here peacefully. “
Yang Zicang sank into thought for a moment, his expression contemplative.
“Is there another way? “
“Mm. ” Coco Lang thought for a moment, then looked up to meet his gaze.
“If you are willing to part with your Radiance to accompany them in residence, it would be equivalent to your personal presence. “
“But you will then need to find another method to re-gather a source of power. “
“Of course that’s fine, ” Yang Zicang replied without much hesitation, giving the key in his hand a slight toss.
“As you wish, esteemed guest. ” Manager Mus straightened his back further until his heels touched the corner of the wall.
Manager Sherry accepted the key with both hands.
“I will register it for you right away. “
……
All across the world, in countless places, at that very moment, it felt as if a dark cloud of some layer of reality had suddenly compressed toward a single point.
A full moon hung in the sky, and the night air above bustling locales regained its clarity.
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