Descent of the Alien Star

Engulfed in endless darkness, Xilutaiya's body writhed in agony. Her snow-silver hair grew tangled, losing its original softness. Deep within her soul, upon her Fate Board, the twisted thick mist seeped in bit by bit, invading her Destiny Card, [Gardening Apprentice Maiden]. The maiden depicted on the card remained deep in slumber, but the cornflowers beside her began to wither and droop one by one. The verdant meadow slowly rotted away, turning pitch-black. A frown creased the sleeping maiden's face. As the cornflowers fell, the distant night sky in the background of the card emerged. The black mist continued to spread, causing the maiden on the card to sink slowly into an impure sea of black mire. The night sky turned even darker, as though it, too, was plunging into an eternal night. Just as everything was about to sink into the boundless dark, a tiny shooting star streaked across the infinite night sky in the background and crashed into the darkness once more. This time, it did not fade as it usually had. Instead, upon touching the twisted black mist, it erupted with brilliant light, instantly illuminating the entire card. Then another silver shooting star flashed into being, leaping out from the pitch-black sky and trailing a long tail as it plunged into the darkness once again. Another flash erupted, its brilliance scattering the black mist. More silver shooting stars arrived in succession. As if they had finally located their coordinates, they descended upon this narrow expanse, steadily dispersing the black mist that stained the face of the Destiny Card. Throughout this process, the entire Destiny Card seemed to be reshuffled, undergoing a wondrous transformation. The pitch-black earth turned back into an unadorned meadow, scattered cornflowers reappeared beside the sleeping maiden, and above her head was a sky full of resplendent silver stars showering down. [Gardening Apprentice Maiden] (First-Order Emerald Honey) → [Maiden Beneath the Starry Sky] (First-Order Alien Star) Talent—Stars [Unknown Grade]: You are favored by the stars. When you increase your attribute rank, you simultaneously increase your hidden [Alien Star] rank. (Upon activation, you can temporarily convert your attribute to 'Alien Star.') ... Afterward, not only was the Destiny Card cleansed, but even the corrupting black mist clinging to her [Breathing Method] was driven away by the radiant power of the 'Alien Star,' returning it to pure clarity. Amidst the soil and weeds, the area previously engulfed and smothered by the black mist churned violently. Terrified caterwauls and screeches echoed from within, the sounds rapidly distorting. Then, in an instant, the black mist abruptly lost its cohesion, drifting down from the air like water vapor. It tainted the surrounding turf and trees, sending up wisps of pale smoke. In the center of the clearing, Xilutaiya slowly woke. In disbelief, she stared at her hands, then gently touched her face to confirm that she was still alive and completely normal. Slowly pushing herself up, Xilutaiya got to her feet and leaned against a twisted tree trunk to calm her racing thoughts. She closed her eyes and felt out her body. The pain was gone, and that bizarre sense of distortion had been completely banished. Though she felt a little weak, everything was fine. Just then, she suddenly noticed something seemingly invisible before her. Reaching out to touch it, information instantly flowed into her mind, allowing her to 'see' clearly what lay in front of her. Consumable Card [Monstrous Black Cat] (First-Order Distortion): A distorted black cat monster capable of turning its body into black mist to erode and attack. Currently sealed by you. (Uses remaining: 1/1) *A large black cat creeps out of the narrow burrow behind it, its body bent forward and back arched, fur bristling like a hedgehog's quills, lemon-yellow eyes glaring fiercely.* Compared to the black cat Xilutaiya had just faced, the one on the card felt somewhat weaker, likely because it had expended a great deal of power during the confrontation. Seeing the number marked below, Xilutaiya realized that the card would shatter and vanish after a single use. Though it could only be used once, it was still a life-saving measure. She meant to put the card away, but the moment the thought crossed her mind, the card dissolved in her grasp. Looking again, she found it had appeared upon her Fate Board, taking the place previously occupied by [Bloom Art]. Although she could not borrow its power as she had with [Bloom Art], the advantage was that she could activate the card at any moment, as naturally as using one of her own abilities. It was only then that Xilutaiya finally discovered the greatest change in herself: the transformation of her Destiny Card. "It went straight from 'Emerald Honey' to 'Alien Star'? This..." She had no idea why such a change had occurred, ultimately chalking it up to that mysterious [Stars] talent. *In other words, I'm originally one of the 'Alien Stars' myself. That's why I could resist the Distortion, and even purify and seal it in return.* *They say outsiders come with no good intentions... turns out I'm the outsider after all,* the girl muttered wryly to herself. Still, Alien Stars differed from one another. This world had suffered three impacts from Alien Stars. The first brought spores from beyond, giving rise to the primordial 'Mycelium.' The second impact ignited the vault of the sea, raising the Blazing Sun and the Phantom Moon. The third impact brought an end to the era of the seven dragons' rule, causing the dragons of law who mastered the seven great attributes—[Blazing Sun], [Sleeping Winter], [Dead Cinder], [Radiant Moon], [Mist Shadow], [Nightmare], and [Alien Star]—to fall one after another. The Star Dragon who summoned the Alien Star was sealed by the other six dragons in unison and degraded into a giant serpent, condemned for eternity to bear the final seven continents upon its back, drifting forward across the boundless Twilight Sea until the world's ultimate end. ... After resting for a while, Xilutaiya got to her feet once more and headed toward the burrow where the monstrous black cat had lived. Bending down, she carefully crawled inside. Searching through it, she discovered a few gold coins, silver coins, and some weapons left as spoils of war. *This sword seems pretty good,* Xilutaiya thought, examining the short sword she had just uncovered. [Black Steel Short Sword] (Exceptional): A black steel short sword forged by a master artisan. The blade is incorporated with black steel ingots, while the hilt and crossguard are crafted from slightly inferior refined iron. Rewrapping the hilt with thin cord for a better grip, Xilutaiya took hold of the sword and gave it a practice swing. Compared to an iron sword, black steel was noticeably heavier. Had she not learned the Breathing Method, she probably would not have been comfortable using it, but for her current self, it felt just right. Afterward, she turned up an unsealed bottle of fire oil, two rusted steel daggers, and a silver spearhead. The material of the spearhead seemed no worse than black steel, but without a shaft, she had no way to use it. Binding these items together with a tattered leather strap she had also scavenged, Xilutaiya carried them in hand. The benefit of this arrangement was that if she encountered an enemy, she could drop them at any moment during combat to shed weight without restricting her movements. The drawback was that it took more effort to carry than a backpack. Still, safety came first, and these things were not terribly heavy anyway. Ready once more, the girl set off toward the grayish-white world. At this point, only one last colored bubble remained before the mountain summit. Once she reached the peak, she would likely be able to confirm her bearings, get an excellent vantage point to observe this world, and search for a way out. — Attribute [Alien Star]: (Glimpses and revelations from an alien world; ineffable knowledge and phenomena)