In January and February, it was the dead of winter. Although it wasn't cold enough to snow at St. Freya High School, it was still somewhat chilly, and there would even be occasional light rain...
Theresa walked alone on a path in St. Freya High School. After smiling and greeting a few scattered students who passed by, she reached up with her small hand and tightened the black scarf around her neck, as if she were a bit cold...
"Phew~" Theresa gently exhaled a puff of white breath, the warm air turning into a white mist in the cold... "My body doesn't feel the cold, so why do I still feel chilly?..."
A chilly wind blew through Theresa's snow-white hair, causing the hem of her gold-trimmed nun's habit to sway slightly... She lowered her head, staring blankly at her own small, warm hands.
"It's a bit cold..." Theresa withdrew her small hand and sighed softly. The cold winter always reminded her of 'that person'... She remembered that 'that person' had gone out during winter as well... If she hadn't been so weak from childbirth back then, would she have been able to defeat the Second Herrscher with the Holy Relic [Abyss Flower]?
"I didn't expect there to be a vending machine here..." Theresa stopped and looked at the automatic drink vending machine by the side of the road... She remembered that this was a proposal Himeko had submitted for her approval... It seemed to be working out quite well~
She breathed on her hands, took a few coins from the pocket of her large nun's habit, inserted them into the coin slot of the vending machine, and pressed the button for hot milk...
"Buzz!~ Clank!" The machine trembled slightly, followed by the sound of something heavy falling. Theresa squatted down with some effort, reached her small hand into the retrieval slot, and pulled out a can of hot milk. The milk, heated by the machine, was very warm.
"So warm~ Hehe..." Theresa held the milk in her palm, feeling as if she were enveloped in happiness...
At that moment... something strange happened! Not far from Theresa, in the St. Freya High School's public restroom (the women's), a golden pillar of light suddenly, without any warning, pierced through the roof and shot into the sky. The golden pillar seemed to support heaven and earth, connecting the sky and the ground. Even though it was daytime... the golden pillar was as dazzling as a light in the dark of night...
"Clank!~" The hot milk in Theresa's hand fell to the ground... Wh-what was going on?! Theresa was so stunned she didn't even notice the milk she had dropped...
"Look! There's a golden pillar of light over the restroom! Is someone in there?"
"What on earth happened at the restroom?! How could a golden pillar of light suddenly appear?!."
"Could it be some new, weird invention from those geeks in the academy?! But why in the restroom?"
"That's why I said it... Otaku are disgusting!~"
"..." Standing there stunned, Theresa clearly heard the various discussions of the passing students, as well as the curious gazes they occasionally shot her way, as if wanting to ask her what that golden light was...
'Wait!...' Theresa was startled. Wasn't the underground research lab located beneath the public restroom?! In that case... the one who caused this scene was...
"Li Xuan!!" Principal Theresa murmured in grief and indignation... She turned and ran back the way she came. There were clearly so many lead plates and obsidian fragments around the lab... how could such an exaggerated pillar of golden light still appear?!
"I'm afraid I might make a bit of a commotion." Li Xuan's words to her from before suddenly popped into her head.
Was this what he meant by 'a bit of a commotion'?! ... This was more than a bit big, it was way over the top! She could already picture herself painstakingly trying to calm down the academy staff...
"Aahh!!." So the question was, how was she going to cover this up?! Theresa thought, her face grimacing, as she ran towards the underground lab.
...................
"The golden light has finally appeared..." Li Xuan knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the golden light blooming from the Gate of Vows. The golden light was far more dazzling than the purple light, even making his eyes sore and watery. He was forced to close his eyes, but his heart was pounding with excitement.
The next moment, an ancient and timeless aura, filled with the endless majesty of an emperor, emanated from the golden pillar of light of the Gate of Vows. The dust on the laboratory floor was swept away by a silent force, as if welcoming the return of a king.
"This is..." Li Xuan endured the dazzling golden light and looked at the Gate of Vows. Vaguely visible within the light was the silhouette of a sword...
"..." With just a single glance, countless fragments of light and shadow suddenly appeared in Li Xuan's mind... a monstrous fire, a beast in the flames, humans fallen on the ground... lightning, icicles, and fire appearing from thin air... and... a colossal beastly shadow that seemed to blot out the sky, with its enormous maw that looked as if it could devour the world...
"Ugh... what was that..." Li Xuan shook his head violently to clear it. What he had just seen was as illusory as a dream...
"...." Although Li Xuan's head ached a little, he gritted his teeth and gripped the longsword within the golden pillar of light...
When he grasped the longsword with a pommel shaped like a crown... a vast amount of information flowed from the blade into his mind...
Five-star weapon [Xuanyuan Sword] (Replica)... A legendary divine weapon containing infinite power, the golden sword with the strongest [Dominion] ability... A replica of a super divine weapon left behind by the humans of the previous era of the Honkai world. It possesses the characteristics of being indestructible and sharp... The power of the origin seems to be sealed within the sword (currently unusable)...
"Xuan, Xuanyuan Sword?!" Li Xuan said, losing his voice as he looked at the longsword in his hand, which was forged entirely of what looked like gold. As a true native of the Divine Land of Huaxia, he understood the significance of this sword all too well...
In the dim laboratory, the Xuanyuan Sword's golden blade emitted a faint golden glow. The gray gem between the hilt and the blade flashed with a hint of tri-colored light... Complex patterns were engraved on the golden blade, exuding an ancient and timeless aura.
As Li Xuan stared at the golden longsword [Xuanyuan Sword] in his hand... deep within his body, the power named 'Miracle' that Seele had entrusted to him began to stir restlessly...
(End of Chapter)