Aster Midsummer

Densely packed swarms of white bees shifted and swirled through the air, their collective buzzing clattering crisply like vibrating iron plates. Forming shapes like giant palms, the white bees plunged into the temple ruins in search of any living creature. The moment Xilutaiya spotted them from afar, she sprinted, intending to flee the ruins. Yet swarms were now drifting not only behind her but also ahead, though the group in front was smaller. More swarms rose from the woods surrounding the temple, encircling the entire complex. Realizing the danger, Xilutaiya had no choice but to retreat step by step until she backed up against the central fountain. *This is bad,* she thought. Her current swordsmanship had little lethal effect on swarms. The only thing capable of harming these white bees was likely the Monstrous Black Cat. Giving Xilutaiya no time to ponder, the bees vibrated their wings. As if sounding a charge, the jade-white bees swept down like dive-bombers. Along their path, stone pillars and walls were stripped of an entire layer, ground into fine stone dust. Facing the swarm about to engulf her, Xilutaiya’s eyes flashed with light, and the black card upon her soul's Fate Board blazed in tandem. Pitch-black radiance spilled forth as countless twisted filaments rose from the card. The static black cat stepped out once more, its lemon-yellow eyes wide with fury. It arched its back, bristling with fur, and hissed menacingly. *"Hiss—"* Manifesting from illusion into reality, the black cat interposed itself before the swarm. Swallowed by the white bees, it dissolved into a pervasive, swirling black mist that spread like an abyss, turning to engulf the attacking Withered White Bees in return. Black and white mist clashed and tore at each other. Countless jade-white bees tumbled from the sky, writhing on the ground as black spots bloomed across them, their bodies unnaturally mutating before they perished. Though the Withered White Bees were dying in droves, the black mist in the air was being rapidly depleted. Not knowing whether the Monstrous Black Cat could completely wipe out the swarm, Xilutaiya cast her gaze around and ultimately chose the pool behind her, leaping into the water. Ice-cold, clear water instantly soaked her through. The seemingly shallow basin gave way beneath her like a bottomless abyss, pulling her down as the light above the surface receded farther and farther away. Xilutaiya did not recall ever learning to swim, nor did she seem to have any experience in this life, yet she felt no distress in the water. Instead, a profound clarity washed over her—a lucidity bordering on excessive. It was as if her entire being had been laid bare. Every thought and notion became crystalline, and countless memories surfaced simultaneously. At that moment, she could even recall the names of her kindergarten classmates, a single lunch eaten back then, the games the teacher had played with them, and the exact taste and texture of the first time she had eaten ice cream that afternoon. Everything that had once grown hazy became vividly clear, reaching further back and tracing through her past cognition. *Is this the power of the 'Radiant Moon'?* Concentrating around her, the Radiant Moon attribute within the pure water converged upon her, cloaking her entire body in a faint halo. Her snow-silver hair, in particular, floated in the water like flowing moonlight. As if a switch had suddenly flipped, her consciousness entered a dream in an instant, stepping fully lucid into the dreamscape. * * * "Tiya~" "Xilutaiya." "Miss Xilutaiya." She snapped her eyes open to find herself standing in a sea of blossoms. Overhead, the sun shone brightly in an azure sky as clean and radiant as a jewel. The sheer purity of it made her life in Burnt Stone City feel, by comparison, like living in a world smothered in coal dust. *Where is this?* She was about to ponder the question when the answer slipped from her lips unbidden: "This is Mother's garden." Looking around, she saw purple blossoms blooming amidst lush green grass. These flowers bore the pure bluish-violet hue of the twilight sky, known as asters. Layer upon layer, the asters bloomed beneath the brilliant blue sky, swaying gently in the breeze. Their fragrance had once lulled her to sleep during childhood naps, shielding her fragile younger self among the clusters. Following the faint impressions in her memory, she lifted her dainty dress and ran through the sea of flowers. The dazzling sunlight made distant shapes difficult to discern back then. Her steps bounded from the green lawn onto white marble paving stones, finding a path that wound through the blossoms. Ahead stood a white circular pavilion, and inside sat a serene figure with her back turned. Oblivious to everything else, she dashed forward. Along the way, maids in black-and-white uniforms bowed low, their bodies forming a protective railing to keep the little princess from tumbling. Calling out to her mother, she opened her arms and hurried eagerly toward that back, bursting into the pavilion and wrapping both arms around the warm figure. "What is it, Little Tiya~?" came her mother's soft, gentle voice. Dressed in an elegant gown of white with deep purple accents, her face appeared through a hazy halo of light. She possessed the same snow-silver hair and the same dreamlike, flawless beauty, but held an air of dignified composure that Xilutaiya had not yet acquired. "I..." Xilutaiya could not hear what she had said back then—likely something inconsequential. Her mother gently stroked her hair before pulling her into an embrace. "Did Yilixiya pick on you again? Aren't you two best friends?" she teased gently, soothing the young Xilutaiya. "But I can't beat her in a fight." That reply remained vivid in her memory. "Why must you fight? It isn't ladylike to get into scuffles, you know~" Her mother laughed, lightly pinching Xilutaiya's cheek. "Still, you have power that Yilixiya doesn't." "Look~" With that, her mother twisted her wrist within her snow-white sleeve. A silver rose materialized, then shifted to a bluish-purple, before transforming into a spinning windmill, a dainty rattle, scattering butterflies, and white doves soaring into the sky. "The moon is the embodiment of dreams, holding infinite possibilities. While it may not be as magnificent as the sun, it can grant you power that shifts at your whim." Taking Xilutaiya's little hand, her mother took a single step forward, and the two of them traversed the folds of space as if folding cloth, arriving in the very heart of the sea of flowers where asters bloomed across the fields. "Does Xilutaiya like painting?" Her mother looked up at the firmament. With a gentle flick of her wrist, all the asters in the sea took flight, countless petals rising into the air and drifting toward the heavens. "I like watching Mother paint," the young Xilutaiya answered. "Then you must learn to paint too." Her mother turned back with a smile. Behind her, the countless asters shattered across the sky, dissolving into an extraordinary purple that seemed to dye the entire firmament, flowing across the celestial river. Then, Xilutaiya witnessed a breathtaking spectacle: the entire sky became a canvas upon which lifelike asters were traced out. Outlined with golden threads of sunlight and filled with soft, tranquil violet, the flowers gradually filled her field of view. In the end, blooming golden asters clustered around the sun at the center of the canvas, forming an awe-inspiring, magnificent scroll painting of a grand era. Finally, the grand scroll veiling the sky descended slowly, shrinking until it unfurled before Xilutaiya. [Aster Midsummer] (Seventh Order · Emerald Honey · Blazing Sun · Radiant Moon) *"Condensing sunlight, capturing midsummer, and dyeing the firmament—a miraculous grand scroll of a golden age that possesses unimaginable magical power, capable of altering climates, shifting seasons, and creating vast lands of flower seas."* "Now, have you learned it, Xilutaiya?" Her mother lightly tapped the young girl's nose, waking her from that distant dream.