In the pitch-black night, two tall men in trench coats and sunglasses hovered in the air. They gazed down at the brightly lit city below, playful smiles tugging at their lips.
"What a fine city that never sleeps. A pity though—in a little while, it will become a dead city under our Lady's hand. Every soul here will serve as a sacrifice for our Lord's resurrection. But they should feel honored. After all, to take part in such a great revival is the highest privilege they could ever receive."
The man wearing white gloves spoke in a light tone, yet his words dripped with menace. Even through his sunglasses, his eyes glowed with a heat that seemed ready to burn the city to ash.
"Hahaha, don't underestimate this city. Though it wasn't renowned in the old world and only rose to prominence recently as Neon's foremost capital, long before its founding this land was a battlefield. And this city itself is the seal of that monster."
The man with black gloves chuckled, casually revealing what in the modern world would be considered an earth-shattering secret. To him, though, perhaps only his Lord truly mattered. After all, his very existence was for the sake of the Lord's resurrection.
The white-gloved man only laughed softly. "And what of it? That monster has been sealed for over two thousand years. Even if this city's destruction freed it, with its current strength it could never rival our Lord. So why worry?"
"Things may not be as simple as you think." The black-gloved man shook his head, but said no more. He simply stood tall in the cold wind, letting it whip his coat.
"You're overthinking it. If it were Huaxia's undying ones appearing, then yes, worry would be natural. But this monster has lost all freedom and power. It's destined to be nothing more than the tastiest of sacrifices."
The white-gloved man adjusted his wrist, then removed his sunglasses, replacing them with a pair of white-rimmed glasses. Pushing them up the bridge of his nose, he finally seemed satisfied.
"Speaking of sacrifices, if we could capture Huaxia's Heaven's Chosen Girl and its Valkyrie, then add Neon's princess to the offering, our Lord wouldn't just revive in full. Even the Eight Million Gods and Demons could be brought back. Then who in the world could stand against our armies?" The black-gloved man's tone carried regret, though not despair. He knew full well that if they truly attempted such a thing, the result wouldn't be their Lord's resurrection, but the combined strike of the world's hidden masters casting them into hell.
"Clicking your tongue won't change it. Better to stop dreaming. Forget the Heaven's Chosen Girl's terrifying influence—just the Valkyrie, who alone upholds all of Huaxia's martial power, rivals our Lord. Even the princess has two Kannazuki shrine maidens at her side. As long as the Ten Thousand Shrines stand, you and I could never touch her. So best to keep this as idle talk." The white-gloved man, surprisingly pragmatic this time, clearly understood it was impossible.
At that moment, a cold, commanding voice rang out: "You two—are you ready?"
Hearing it, both men instantly bowed low, speaking in the most reverent tones: "White Crane / Black Sparrow greet our Lady."
"Hmph. Don't think I didn't hear your talk just now. Let me repeat myself—if either of you dares lay a hand on them, end your own life before showing your face to me again. I will not risk provoking those who must never be provoked, especially not those two from Huaxia, before my wings are fully spread. Do you understand?"
As the words fell, their master arrived. A cascade of silver hair fell past her bare feet, her height a striking 1.75 meters. Her shimmering white locks reached nearly two meters long. Despite the chill, she wore only a thin purple gauze, covering her chest and hips while leaving large areas of fair skin exposed, a sight that stirred dangerous thoughts.
At the center of her brow glistened a drop of blood-red teardrop. Her delicate, graceful features formed a bewitching beauty, yet the icy blue of her eyes radiated a coldness that drove people to recoil instinctively.
She was a woman both breathtakingly beautiful and lethally dangerous—a paradox of harmony and contradiction, perfect yet piercing.
At the sight of her, the first thought that struck one's mind was submission; the second, falling helplessly under her allure.
While their minds reeled at her beauty, their mouths answered dutifully: "Yes, White Crane / Black Sparrow will never entertain such thoughts again. We beg our Lady's pardon."
They knew this Lady was a woman consumed by her hunger for power, who loved nothing more than to hold all things firmly in her grasp. Her word was law, her will absolute. None dared defy her.
So long as their great work and her dream remained unfinished, the two men would never risk her displeasure. Yet even if their ambitions were fulfilled, could they ever escape her charm? No one who fell under her spell ever could.
"Then… let the feast begin." Tilting her eyes toward the moon, the woman began to chant softly…
Ancient, mysterious Sanskrit rolled out like the tolling of death, counting down beneath the night sky in a place unseen by human eyes or modern devices. There, a black void three hundred meters wide silently tore open.
From it emerged a colossal blade, black as night, burning with ominous flame.
Its edge was a hundred meters wide, its length thirteen hundred. Its thinnest point was delicate as cicada wings, while its thickest matched the woman's own height.
When half its length had emerged, a chilling pulse rippled across the world, drawing countless eyes toward Tokyo…
Three minutes later, in the very heart of the city, the blade stood buried three hundred meters deep into the earth. A thousand meters of its body jutted skyward, black flames curling around its edge, its surface glowing with flickering blue runes. This wide-bladed sword became the opening act of a new age of war…
The year was 2021. Tokyo still stood—but its twenty million citizens vanished in an instant. Calamity had descended…
…
Chu Lian's eyes snapped open. She exhaled heavily and rubbed her aching temples, baffled as to why she had dreamed of such a scene.
Through the rising steam, she thought she glimpsed a faint silhouette of a woman with orange-red hair. But when she looked closer, it was gone.
"Strange… why does it feel like this has something to do with me—something happening now?" So many things had happened lately, and sometimes strange visions drifted into her mind while she dozed, vivid as dreams.
But most were too absurd. She could only dismiss them as illusions. After all, she had no prophetic powers. How could she foresee the future?
Speaking of prophecy, the night before the school trip, her true name—the one who awakened her Void powers—had already slipped into a half-slumber. It had stirred briefly upon their arrival in Neon, borrowing Inori's body to give her a warning, before falling silent again.
She had scanned it with the system: its condition was "extremely weakened, all abilities disabled." Aside from its natural ability to spiritualize, it had no power left at all.
So there was no way her true name could have influenced her dreams.
Turning, she glanced at Li Xiu'er, who had dozed off with her head on Chu Lian's shoulder, drifting peacefully in the hot spring. A smile touched Chu Lian's lips. "So easy to forget… Just a moment ago you were nearly crying over a lost towel, and now you're sleeping so soundly."
The warmth of the water lulled her too. Exhaustion from the battles, her lingering wounds, and the comfort of the spring—it all made her drowsy.
"It really is comfortable here." Stroking Li Xiu'er's damp hair, Chu Lian's heart tightened slightly. Xiu'er has a Spiritual Illusion Body—she can bring people into dreams. This dream, so false yet so real… could it truly happen? Did it already happen once before? Either way, I mustn't underestimate it. What fate awaits this city?
Her thoughts wandered, unfocused, until the cool touch of a body pressed against her back. Only then did she realize Inori had silently swum over and embraced her from behind.
"You're awake, Lian? You've been asleep for quite a while." Inori hadn't wanted to disturb her, but they had been soaking in the hot spring for nearly two hours now. It was already close to eleven. If she didn't wake her, they'd end up rushing later.
"Ah? What time is it now?" Chu Lian knew well enough that her habit of losing track of time was troublesome, but she still couldn't help asking.
"10:47." The words came suddenly from Li Xiu'er, who had just woken up. She blurted out the number without thinking, and then froze in surprise.
"How did I know that number?" She shut her eyes, murmuring: "It feels like… this was the exact time… when this city was destroyed…"
Her words carried no intent, but they struck deeply in Chu Lian's heart. She committed both the dream and that precise time firmly to memory. Perhaps, someday, it might matter.
"It's time. We should get going." Inori's eyes flickered with a faint glimmer of understanding. She grasped some of the hidden meaning, but chose not to speak it aloud. Instead, she simply said, "Everyone's waiting for us."
"Kurosaki Satsuki hasn't left, has she?" Chu Lian wondered aloud. While she had slept, had the white-haired, red-eyed girl taken the chance to escape?
"No. It seems she doesn't want to leave anymore—or at least, not now." Inori's brows curved slightly with amusement, as though she found it intriguing.
Chu Lian's thoughts turned, and she understood the reason. But understanding was one thing; voicing it was another. Sometimes, silence was best. On this, she and Inori were very much alike.
Rising to her feet, she took Li Xiu'er and Inori by the hand. "Come on. Let's go change."
The fragrance of the hot spring clung lightly to them as the girls' footsteps faded away, leaving only a delicate scent behind—whispering to the empty space that someone had once been here.