That weighted gaze filled the air as if it had substance.
Thus, Brunhilde felt as though she had lost the ability to breathe.
Her body felt as though it had solidified in the invisible air, frozen and unable to move.
What was worse, the pressure from that gaze seemed to seep into her skin, penetrating her blood vessels and internal organs, as if her blood had congealed and stopped flowing, her heart ceasing to beat.
So, who was it that cast such an overwhelming pressure upon Brunhilde?
There was no need to guess—who else could it be but the master of the Qin Empire, the first ruler to declare himself Emperor—the First Emperor, Ying Zheng?
Had the First Emperor's gaze pierced through time and space, sensing the two Valkyrie sisters?
No, it wasn't just sensing—he had truly seen them, even to the point where he could directly reach them.
The reason was that they too had been transported into this side of space, cut off from the outside world, just as they had been when they encountered Xiang Yu before.
"Haaah—!"
Suddenly, as if she had been holding her breath for too long, she exhaled sharply—the oppressive gaze that had frozen her in place had finally shifted away.
Beside her, Randgriz, who had been petrified like a statue, was released from that state, nearly collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.
In fact, Randgriz had truly been on the verge of collapsing, her legs giving way—but she stiffened again as another gaze locked onto her.
It wasn't the First Emperor looking at them again—after that brief glance, he had already turned away, boarding his chariot to return to Xianyang.
If it wasn't the First Emperor's gaze, then why did it still make her uneasy, cold sweat trickling down her porcelain skin?
Because the gazes fixed upon them now weren't just one or two, but thousands—those puppet-like mechanical citizens staring with not a trace of human vitality.
Being the focus of so many eyes felt unnerving.
Fortunately, they didn't keep staring. Soon, these citizens shed their disguises, one after another transforming into black-armored soldiers.
They lined up with mechanical precision, following the First Emperor back to the city.
Just as Randgriz was about to relax, her tension spiked again—a small cavalry unit was heading straight toward them.
"Sister..."
She called out uneasily to the person she deemed most reliable.
"There's nothing to worry about. If they really meant us harm, they would've acted long ago."
Otherwise, they would've met the same fate as those who had fled toward Xianyang—cut down by the black-armored soldiers.
Of course, not everyone had been killed. Some were truly innocent, like those who had traveled from afar to witness the ceremony.
These people were simply escorted away by soldiers without any fuss.
Speaking of which, the soldiers approaching them now felt alive—real humans whose faces displayed genuine expressions.
In contrast, the mechanical puppet soldiers wore masks, their features completely concealed.
"Please."
The arriving soldiers didn't interrogate them or say much. They simply gestured toward a carriage they had brought along, inviting the sisters to board.
Once inside, the carriage followed the procession into the city.
As they passed through the gates, the two got a better look at the city's grandeur through the window.
It was vastly different from the Xianyang of the real world—most notably, it was enormous.
This version of Xianyang rivaled the scale of a 21st-century metropolis.
Given the countless cold, mechanical puppets they'd seen earlier, they had expected the city to feel lifeless. Yet, it was teeming with vitality.
The living conditions here were also incomparably better than in the outside world's Xianyang.
It resembled a rapidly developing city from the early days of the first industrial revolution—though its urban planning and infrastructure far surpassed even that era.
The closer they got to the city center, the more awestruck the sisters became.
The colossal metallic structure seemingly built into the World Tree was staggeringly massive. If it were to collapse, it could flatten the Xianyang of the outside world.
What was it for?
"Sister, where are they taking us?"
Randgriz's voice trembled with unease.
They had lost contact with the Akashic System again, meaning they couldn't escape this space or return home. That realization unsettled her deeply.
"I don't know. We'll find out when we meet the Emperor."
Everything would become clear once they stood before the First Emperor.
Still, Brunhilde never expected the historical First Emperor to be so extraordinary. And the more extraordinary he was, the more excited she grew.
From what they had witnessed so far, it was clear this Emperor possessed extraordinary abilities.
If he could become one of humanity's thirteen representatives, their chances of victory in Ragnarök would rise by another ten percent.
But is he truly willing to fight on behalf of humanity?
After all, this emperor possesses his own world. If he were to fight for humanity, this place would likely be exposed.
Would the gods allow this realm to remain under human control?
Is it necessary for him to take such a risk?
Thinking this, Brunhilde suddenly grew tense as well.
If this emperor were unwilling to face such danger, the predicament of the two sisters would become dire.
If he didn't want this place exposed, they might not be killed—if that were the intention, it would have happened already—but they could very well be imprisoned in this world, barred from returning.
This would be a serious problem, especially since it was she who had provoked the gods into initiating the battle of [Ragnarök].
If the instigator suddenly vanished, the duel would be unable to proceed.
And the humans of the outside world would likely be annihilated by the impatient gods.
"Sister?"
Randgriz noticed her sister suddenly breaking into a cold sweat, her fists clenched tightly, clearly agitated by something.
"It's nothing."
Brunhilde quickly composed herself, returning to her usual demeanor. She couldn't let her unease affect her younger sister.
In the blink of an eye, the two sisters stood before a magnificent structure.
They would ascend the grand staircase—taller than Gilgamesh's ziggurat temple—and enter the palace hall to stand before the First Emperor seated upon his throne.
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