The next day, Nic went to a very quiet forest area.
"Sigh... Zeta, activate God of Weather specifically for the entire Eastern area."
[ Activated ]
The entire Eastern Nation immediately became cloudy in an instant, and rain slowly began to fall.
All Eastern residents were a bit horrified because the weather suddenly turned cloudy just as reported by Rainzy's media account, which predicted a storm would appear.
Nic immediately added a storm with heavy rain and strong winds, accompanied by booming thunder echoing everywhere.
All Eastern residents were terrified, their minds chaotic with thoughts of all the things that could happen.
Meanwhile, in a secret place—the residence of all the Guardians of the Natural Tree of Heaven—everyone gathered there for shelter, even Sakura was there.
"Sakura, are you sure about staying here with us? Even Aisteria didn't come here," Willee said.
Sakura patted Willee's head while smiling. "I am the Leader of the Natural Tree of Heaven. I will stay here with you until the storm subsides."
Then someone arrived. "Who said I wouldn't come?" It was Aisteria's voice.
She arrived with Chira.
Sakura smiled. "Wow? That's unusual. You rarely want to gather like this."
Aisteria chuckled softly. "I just felt it was safer here than staying in Shin territory..."
Casandra clapped her hands. "Finally, we can gather like the old days."
They held hands and hoped this storm was a phenomenon that would help them.
Back to Nic, his eyes seemed to have a lightning effect. "Intensify the thunder in the Kyushin area and create a tornado over the river that stays in that one spot!"
[ As commanded, Master Nic. ]
And in Kyushin territory, the storm was devastating. Thunder roared repeatedly, and a tornado suddenly appeared, staying still at the Kyushin border, sucking up the river and everything around it.
Residents of Kyu and Shin panicked and started fleeing their areas, afraid of getting hit.
Meanwhile, Kyu Kazumi and Shin Meilin approached the border to watch, jaws dropped.
"What the hell is that..." Kyu Kazumi stared silently at the massive tornado before her eyes, accompanied by heavy rain and the sound of thunder.
Shin Meilin did the same, biting her lip because this was truly dangerous.
Then the Kyu and Shin officials ordered all residents to evacuate while special forces stood guard to ensure no residents were left behind.
But suddenly, a truly massive bolt of lightning struck the tornado with a booming explosion so loud it shocked everyone.
The tornado vanished, but what followed shocked them even more... Kyu Kazumi dropped her katana, and Shin Meilin stared wide-eyed at what they saw.
The officials trembled.
An anomaly had appeared.
The figure stood tall in the middle of the border, as if nature itself trembled at its arrival. Its body was perfectly split into two opposing sides, yet both carried the scent of silent death.
On the left side, the body fused with a rotting Cherry Blossom. The skin was cracked like old bark, filled with dark red roots crawling out of the flesh, as if a human body were forced to become soil for a dying tree. Withered sakura petals stuck to the arm, falling slowly every time it moved, dropping silently like abandoned memories of the past. Its pink color had turned into a dull maroon—beautiful, yet tragic. An iron gauntlet wrapped around the hand, full of scratches and dark stains, symbolizing violence born from uncontrolled human emotions.
On the right side, the body was wrapped by slowly dying Wisteria. Blackish-purple vines dangled from the shoulder to the arm, winding tightly as if holding back something that wanted to burst out. The flowers hung limply, almost black, dripping withered flakes every time the storm wind touched them. In that right hand, it held a katana—the blade calm, clean, yet radiating a cold threat. Not bloodstained, but clearly created to sever something deeper than flesh: lies, arrogance, and human self-justification.
The face... was not a human face.
A cracked white mask covered the head—expressionless, mouthless. Fine cracks spread from the forehead to the jaw, like old porcelain on the verge of shattering. From within the dark eye sockets, there was only a dim red light—not anger, not killing intent, but the gaze of an observer who had seen too much. The gaze didn't judge, yet it made anyone who looked into it feel judged by themselves.
The robe was made of fabric resembling tree bark and root fibers, torn and dangling irregularly. It didn't flutter majestically—instead, it was heavy, wet, as if absorbing the sins around it.
Anomaly: The Witness had arrived.
"I am an Anomaly... and a witness to the changes in the rotten nature of humans," said The Witness, Nic's third form.
The officials shuddered seeing it. "W-what kind of figure is that-!!"
Kyu Kazumi picked up her katana again. "This is a threat... HEY, FALL BACK! I WILL FIGHT IT!"
The cowardly Kyu officials chose to retreat but still ordered the special forces to help Kazumi.
Shin Meilin, seeing this, also moved forward but was held back by her officials.
"Let them be, Meilin. They act tough and think they can fight it," said a Shin official, supported by his special forces.
Shin Meilin gritted her teeth in annoyance. She watched Kazumi advance with her troops, but in an instant, all the katanas of the Kyu forces shattered into pieces, leaving only the hilts.
"I-impossible...." Meilin said, shocked.
Kyu Kazumi froze and fell as she saw her katana instantly destroyed. She looked at the anomaly figure, whose sharp red gaze was directed at her while aiming the iron fist at Kazumi.
Kazumi realized that fist should belong to Meilin, but why was it on the Cherry Blossom side, which represented Kyu territory... while the katana was on the Wisteria side?
"Who are you... what do you want!?" Kazumi said, standing up again.
The Witness stared at her sharply. "Being divided makes you weak."
Then The Witness began to move very quickly toward the Shin side, using the katana to destroy several Shin structures.
Shin Meilin, seeing this, immediately chased after him to stop him. Her special forces joined in but were helpless against The Witness.
With a single slash of the katana, they were all laid out flat. Even Meilin was struck by her own iron fist.
"You cannot defeat me with only one side," The Witness said coldly.
The storm grew more intense, The Witness's attacks became more brutal, and the Kyushin border area was completely devastated. They started to panic because they couldn't hold him back at all.
The booming thunder made the atmosphere even more terrifying, and The Witness stood before one of the Shin officials, ready to slash him.
Meilin, struggling to get up from under the debris of a wall, looked like she would be too late to save him. "UGHHH, DON'T KILL HIM!!!"
Even though she hated the officials, Meilin didn't want to see them die.
But The Witness didn't care and was about to slash him when a figure as fast as the wind appeared, pulling the Shin official away, saving him from The Witness's blade.
"I'm nicknamed 'fast as the wind' for a reason," Kyu Kazumi said, wearing a red headband.
The official, seeing he was saved by the Kyu Phenomenon, was shocked and confused. "Kyu Phenomenon... why did you—"
"TO HELL WITH YOU, SHIN OFFICIAL! YOU POWER-HUNGRY ELDERS ARE THE ONES WHO CAUSED THAT WEIRD FIGURE TO APPEAR! DO YOU STILL NOT REALIZE THAT FIGURE'S WEIRD APPEARANCE SYMBOLIZES OUR DESTROYED TERRITORY? YOU IDIOT!" Kazumi shouted, venting her emotions.
The Shin official just fell silent.
Meilin, seeing this, smiled and stood up. "That's right... you changed our traditions... you changed us... until the sacred customs of this territory vanished and turned into nothing but your treasure of power..."
Meilin approached Kazumi.
"Looks like it's time we work together, Shinmei..." Kazumi said, looking at her emotionally.
"Right, Kyumi... we must defeat that weird figure for the well-being of our territory," Meilin said, equally moved.
The special forces from Kyu and Shin watching this wondered, "Is this the right thing to do...? Won't we get punished?"
Kyu Kazumi grabbed the collar of her special forces soldier. "WAKE UP! WE MUST UNITE TO DEFEAT THAT FIGURE! YOU'RE STILL THINKING ABOUT PUNISHMENT? I WILL PUNISH YOU IF YOU DON'T WANT TO COOPERATE."
Here, Kyu Kazumi's special forces immediately submitted. They were also shocked that Kyu Kazumi, who was usually calm and cold, suddenly burned with such fire.
Meanwhile, on the Shin forces' side, they trembled and wondered if they should confirm with Meilin again; they were afraid.
"Please... this time we must unite, this is for your sake too... we shouldn't keep going on like this. Drop your egos and make peace with them..." Meilin said, tearing up.
The chests of the Shin special forces trembled. They saw Meilin, who always exploded with anger, suddenly being very gentle.
Even her official was shocked; the Shin Meilin he knew was hard, just as he had taught her.
Seeing this side of her, which was new to them, made them spirited to help Meilin and agree to cooperate to defeat The Witness.
The Witness spread both arms, raising the katana and the iron fist. "That is how it should be... come, destroy me, the symbol of your ugliness."
Shin Meilin and Kyu Kazumi stood side by side, ready with their respective weapons.
"SHINMEI! LET'S GO!" Kazumi shouted.
"I'M READY, KYUMI!" Meilin shouted.
"ATTACKKKKK!!!!" shouted all the troops.
To be continued...