Lanqi's Lord of the Black Sun Trial Card

Purgatory City Pasqual. Along a corridor on the foundation level of a pitch-black floating structure, floral patterns of Demon Realm vegetation shifted across the carpet from time to time, swallowing every footstep. Sparse lights flickered and died along either side. As beams of illumination swept past, the golden veins inlaid into the marble floor tiles welled up in brilliant, mystical splendor. Every few paces, portraits and mirrors alternated along the walls. This was the innermost hub of Purgatory Corridor Academy, near the Inverted Mirror Corridor that supported the building's base. "Lanqi, don't you want to sleep a little longer?" Talia's telepathic voice sounded in his ear. She had returned to his body early that morning. Xigelei was still fast asleep in the quarters Lysandra had arranged for them in the academy's lounge area, and Hyperion hadn't woken yet either, having been escorted back to her room by Boss Cat's psychokinesis magic. Lanqi alone had risen earliest. After less than four hours of sleep, he was already up and preparing for another day of work. Talia was accustomed to early mornings. Worried about Lanqi, she had tagged along. During any of his excursions, as his natal card, she could remain by his side without hindrance; even in a Shadow World, a magic card bound to his soul could accompany him inside. "It's fine. We have just over five days left in the Purgatory Corridor. I'm afraid other urgent matters might crop up, so it's best to finish what's important before it becomes urgent." Lanqi recited his school's motto in his heart. At that moment, a palm-sized gray kitten was tucked into his coat pocket, and he held a multi-tiered bento box in his hand. Crafted from premium cherry wood with clear, natural grain, it had been treated with traditional Demon Realm lacquering techniques and inscribed with heat-retention magic. The top lid fit snugly against the body. Divided into four tiers of modest capacity, it could hold main dishes, sides, and desserts separately. He might have to spend most of the day in this central hub of the academy, far from both the classroom and dormitory areas, so Lanqi had simply brought lunch ahead of time from the Demon King's Bestowed Restaurant. "All right, but make sure you get enough rest," Talia urged. Right now, they were essentially two souls sharing one body. Lanqi's body was also hers, and taking good care of it was crucial. "Understood, Mama Tata," Lanqi replied tersely, just like brushing off his mother. To continue advancing the Shadow World, he naturally had to follow up on the first quest objective and seek out the gift Caliera had left behind in the Purgatory Corridor. He came to a halt before a warded door. This was a shortcut to the sub-level corridor. The ancient demon incantations carved into the door prevented ordinary demons from passing through to reach the Inverted Mirror Corridor. Purgatory Corridor Academy had been erected directly above the Lands of Purgatory, connecting to them from underneath. The Inverted Mirror Corridor served as the magic-conducting pillar linking the school above to the purgatorial depths below, transmitting and siphoning energy from the inferno so the academy enjoyed an inexhaustible power supply. Because the depths of purgatory linked by the Inverted Mirror Corridor were the heart of the entire academy, even successive headmasters were barred from entering. Only those granted the highest level of authorization from Demon King City had any chance of opening the door. Lately, faculty and students near the Inverted Mirror Corridor had repeatedly lapsed into unconsciousness, so the surrounding perimeter had been cordoned off. In truth, this was caused by Caliera's mana. Anyone lacking resistance to the Fallen Land of Gentle Slumber was prone to collapsing into a deep sleep simply by walking near. Lanqi gave the door a gentle push. A rumbling echo resonated through the Inverted Mirror Corridor, accompanied by a waft of candle-like incense. Stepping into the vast transition hall, he saw inverted statues several meters high looming like a dark forest on either side of the walkway. Silvery light flickered to life in response. Lanqi glanced down at the gray kitten in his pocket. Ever since he took it back from Lysandra this morning, it hadn't made a sound. It uttered neither demon speech nor cat meows. At that moment, Tamisha was also gazing around at the scenery in the corridor. It seemed entirely unaffected by the mana of the Fallen Land of Gentle Slumber. Perhaps sensing Caliera's familiar presence, the gray kitten actually appeared quite curious about what sort of place this was. As they ventured into this peculiar corridor, what first met their eyes were countless glittering, refracting optical gratings. Prisms of varying shapes and sizes were densely embedded across the walls, floor, and ceiling, and the temperature dropped several degrees below that outside. They were crystal clear like diamonds, some tinted in milky white or soft pastels. A faint rainbow-hued frost mist hung in the air, scattering the lamplight into hallucinatory beams through refraction and reflection. As they advanced, the shifting angles of light caused shadows to flow and transform, converging and parting across the smooth stone floor, making them feel as if they were wading through a river of stars. The winding corridor seemed endless, flanked by arches and alcoves that created distinct visual layers. Lingering for a brief moment to admire this wondrous inverted hall gave the illusion that time and space were stretching into infinity, as if stepping into an alternate dimension. "This corridor doesn't seem very welcoming. I can't sense any direction." Lanqi stopped—not entirely to appreciate the view, but because he felt as though he had walked in a circle. Neither space nor time seemed to exist within the Inverted Mirror Corridor. Getting lost here wasn't a matter of physical disorientation; he had likely fallen into a recurring loop. Though Lanqi marveled at the masterwork of Tiberius the Inverted Lord, the ancient demonic craftsman, his urgent priority was to navigate this mirror maze and reach the spot where Caliera's mana was strongest: the legendary central energy chamber of Purgatory Corridor Academy. According to the background of this Shadow World, the Caliera mana on his person had likely been left behind years ago, whereas the access permissions here had been set by Caliera only recently. It was entirely natural that the key wouldn't match. Lanqi looked down at the kitten in his pocket. As another beneficiary of Caliera's mana, if the key wasn't on him, it had to be with the little gray cat. For now, Lanqi couldn't fathom why Caliera had guided the kitten to meet him. Yet given how reliable Caliera was, this little cat's purpose was almost certainly far greater than merely unlocking a door. "Tamisha, can you tell which direction we should go?" Lanqi asked softly. "..." Tamisha glanced at him but didn't respond. This phantom demon of Caliera's kin was presumably the demon who had saved her yesterday. She could guess that Caliera had left some treasure here, and that this phantom demon desperately wanted it. Since Caliera had given her the key instead of handing it to him directly, it meant Caliera wanted her to decide whether to open it. "The little one doesn't seem to trust you. She's observing you," Talia commented in Lanqi's mind. It wasn't necessarily distrust; the kitten simply didn't understand Lanqi at all yet. After all, they had known each other for barely a few hours, yet he was already asking her to unlock a treasure Caliera had left behind. "This is just like a little gray cat I met while feeding strays by the city walls of the South Vantina Domain. When we first met, she was utterly wary, totally aloof, and looked impossible to tame," Lanqi murmured, reminiscing. Talia thought about it for a second. *South Vantina Domain... city walls... utterly wary... totally aloof...* "Are you talking about me?! You're the gray cat! Your whole family is gray cats!" Talia retorted the moment she realized who he meant. Back then, when Lanqi said he was feeding cats by the city wall, he had counted her among them! "So if it were you, how would one quickly earn your trust?" Lanqi consulted Talia. Tamisha was somewhat withdrawn and never spoke. Communicating with her in the usual ways yielded nothing. Even though Hyperion had grown much closer to her along the journey, Tamisha hadn't uttered a single syllable to her either. "Well... you can't speedrun it. If you spend enough time with her, maybe she'll open her heart eventually... But isn't it just earning the trust of the little cat in front of you? I'll help you." With those words, Talia materialized with immense confidence. The ethereal, gray-haired witch set foot into the corridor. "Tamisha, I'm right here," she said gently, leaning down toward the gray kitten in Lanqi's pocket. Now that Caliera herself had shown up, wouldn't the problem be resolved in an instant? "..." The little gray cat stared at Talia, looking thoroughly puzzled. Yesterday, it seemed she had seen Caliera too. Yet that Caliera was bizarrely weak, unable even to defeat Melogas. "Why don't we have something to eat first? Otherwise, if we fall asleep in the Inverted Mirror Corridor later, we might go hungry for a long time." Talia's gaze darted toward the four-tiered lunch box in Lanqi's hand. Though she didn't know the exact names of the dishes, what Lanqi had ordered seemed to include charcoal-grilled potato croquettes and smoked eel, with sauces resembling smoked onion puree and a clear eel broth, garnished with fresh dill. There was also a dark chocolate custard soufflé—a fluffy, warm dark chocolate soufflé paired with crystalline custard cream, promising a delightful interplay of hot and cold, rich yet light. Just thinking about it made Talia swallow hard. When Talia took Xigelei out for late-night snacks at the Demon King's Bestowed Restaurant last night, these limited-edition dishes had already sold out, only returning to the menu today. Who knew what sort of mental interference might arise in an area saturated with the combined mana of both the Inverted Lord and the Lord of the Fallen? Lanqi could probably withstand it. Tamisha, on the other hand, was another story. When it came to befriending children, offering good food was an ageless, foolproof tactic. "..." The little gray cat turned its head away in disappointment. Its favorable impression plummeted. It could tell at a single glance that this Caliera was an imposter. While this fake Caliera didn't seem wicked, the kitten detested demons who approached out of unprompted goodwill to look after her. She didn't need pity from other demons; she could take care of herself just fine and wasn't the least bit lonely. "Uh..." Talia looked up at Lanqi in bewilderment. Lanqi spread his hands. Having been raised by Caliera for nearly three years, Tamisha likely possessed a unique method of sensing her. No matter how much Talia resembled Caliera right now, Tamisha could still perceive the fundamental difference. "Sorry, Lanqi..." Talia murmured dejectedly, feeling deflated. It seemed she had only made things worse. Hyperion and Xigelei had been separated from Caliera for so long that minor discrepancies were enough to fool them completely. But to Tamisha, who had stayed by Caliera's side until recently, the ruse fell flat. "Don't worry, Master. Leave it to me," Lanqi consoled her. After Talia's attempt, he had begun to grasp how to handle Tamisha. "Mm, do your best." Talia kept her head down, unwilling to meet Lanqi's eyes, then nodded and vanished on the spot, returning to his body. When she was happy, Lanqi always loved saying infuriating things; yet when she was down, he would turn remarkably gentle. It left her afraid to look him in the eye. She couldn't understand why she felt this way either. Without a word, Lanqi sat down on the floor of the Inverted Mirror Corridor, setting the lunch box beside his hand. The gray kitten in his pocket took the cue and hopped down onto the ground an inch away. She looked at this phantom demon in confusion. "I'm so exhausted and sleepy. Tamisha, would you mind waiting here while I rest a bit?" Lanqi leaned against a mirror, tilting his head to ask the kitten. His eyes were steeped in fatigue. What had seemed like high spirits earlier was merely forced; after wandering around the corridor, weariness naturally overtook him. Tamisha still gave no answer, merely watching him. Lanqi took her silence as agreement. A chilling draft permeated the frigid corridor. And just like that, Lanqi slumped over. Fast asleep. The little gray cat crouched beside him. Seeing him laid out flat like a board. Motionless. Like a frozen corpse. She hesitated for a moment, then crept forward slowly, extending a paw to check the breath at his nose. Confirming he was still alive, she breathed an inward sigh of relief. This phantom demon had to be genuinely exhausted to lapse into a coma-like sleep in the blink of an eye. Seeing him shiver slightly from the cold, Tamisha hesitated for another half-minute, then hopped onto his chest and curled up. She was, after all, a warm little furball that could keep him from catching a chill. Consider it repayment for him lending a hand yesterday. "..." Though Lanqi had fallen asleep, Talia remained conscious. Talia couldn't tell just how tired Lanqi really was; he had genuinely drifted off. By rights, Lanqi's willpower was superhuman. Back in the City of Flowers, a single movement from her would knock him out for ages, yet now in this Shadow World, after a fierce battle between her and the Profane Lord, Lanqi had gotten back to work after only a few hours of sleep. After Lanqi dozed for a dozen minutes or so— "*Whew.*" He regained consciousness, seemingly refreshed, and propped himself up from the ground. Tamisha nimbly hopped off him. She distanced herself once more. "Thank you, Tamisha," Lanqi said, realizing where the warmth on his chest had come from. Tamisha still didn't reply. "I'm starving, but I think I caught a chill. I don't have any strength left." Lanqi slumped against the wall, eyelids drooping halfway, looking completely limp. "Tamisha, you should go. Go find Big Sister Hyperion. I don't think I can look after you anymore." He looked as if he were about to doze off again. "..." The little gray cat froze in indecision for a long time. She looked at this phantom demon who had appeared so dazzling before other demons, yet now seemed so lonely and fragile, hollow and exhausted, hiding here in a pathetic heap. An inexplicable sensation stirred in her heart. It was as if she were seeing herself. Perhaps that was why she had been willing to approach him earlier. After dozens of seconds, a bewildering glow erupted from the motionless kitten. When it faded, the figure of a gray-haired child stood quietly in its place. Tamisha looked barely three or four years old in human form. Her skin was fair and translucent like finely sculpted porcelain, but her gaze was cold and distant. The little demon girl wore a puffy cloth dress. Though exquisitely adorable like a porcelain doll, tempting anyone to draw close, one dared not casually disturb her contemplation. She didn't know psychokinesis magic yet, so she couldn't fetch food with cat paws. She had no choice but to revert to a form better suited for movement. Tamisha crouched beside the lunch box, opened it, and scooped up a small bite of the prepared food with an utensil, holding it to Lanqi's lips. "Tamisha..." Lanqi looked slightly surprised at being fed, yet he gratefully opened his mouth and let her feed him. Talia: "??" *Are you serious, Lanqi? You're actually making a child take care of you?!* She was dumbfounded. When she saw Lanqi lying flat earlier, she genuinely thought he was exhausted and had decided to slack off. Who would have guessed he was playing on Tamisha's sympathy? "Children like her have strong pride. The more you treat her like a kid, the less she'll listen to you. But if you act like a child and treat her like an adult, she'll be willing to interact with you," Lanqi explained to Talia. Tamisha had grown up solitary; she disliked being cared for and didn't trust others easily. Yet she was used to taking care of herself, so she knew how to do everything. As long as she felt that the person before her was an outcast of her own kind, seeing her own reflection in him, she would find an opening to lower her guard. "Seems you have quite the knack for parenting. We can exchange notes when we have the chance," Talia said, suddenly realizing she and Lanqi shared an unexpected common topic. "Of course. The Protos Empire of the Northern Continent once hailed me as the Emperor of the Educational Realm." Lanqi was exceptionally confident on this front. He hadn't anticipated sharing such a conversational hobby with Talia either. They had simply never discussed it before. Lanqi ceased bantering with Talia and turned his gaze back to Tamisha. "Thank you, Tamisha," Lanqi said, looking as though he were seeing an old friend. In human form, Tamisha's eyes carried the aloof presence of the Mist Lord, while her features reflected the gentle lines of the True Night Lord. She was unmistakably their daughter. "Did you know my parents?" Tamisha spoke for the very first time, asking Lanqi a question. "How did you know?" Lanqi asked while chewing his food. "The look in your eyes gave it away when you saw me just now," Tamisha replied. She patiently waited for him to finish chewing before offering another spoonful to his lips. "Your parents were dear friends of mine. They were truly magnificent great demons," Lanqi told her earnestly. Without demons like the Mist Lord and the True Night Lord, today's peace would never have existed. The end of the Blood Moon Ruined World had been forged through countless small sacrifices, flowing ceaselessly like time itself—raindrops gathering into streams, rivers, and lakes, stretching toward the horizon and beyond. "What's so magnificent about them? They still abandoned my sister and me and left," Tamisha muttered matter-of-factly. Her tone held a childish resentment toward the Mist Lord and True Night Lord. "..." Lanqi abruptly stopped chewing, his eyes glazing over in confusion. He leaned against the wall, momentarily lost in thought. "Lanqi..." Talia understood that this was entirely Caliera's doing. Caliera would never tell Tamisha that her parents were dead. Caliera would only say they had embarked on a distant journey. Tamisha had naively believed it, turning that bitter mixture of resentment and love into the daily motivation to see them again. Lanqi had just heard those innocent, pure words straight from Tamisha's lips. Talia couldn't begin to fathom what he was feeling right now. It wasn't until Tamisha brought another spoonful to his lips that color returned to Lanqi's eyes, and he opened his mouth. In the quiet corridor, the small demon figure fed the sitting demon, neither uttering another word. "Thank you for looking after me," Lanqi said after finishing, tilting his head toward Tamisha. "..." Tamisha nodded and packed away the lunch box. Like a gray-haired demonic porcelain doll, she waited for him in silence. "Tamisha, to be honest, I have a terrible sense of direction. Could you lead the way and help me explore this corridor?" Lanqi pressed against the wall, stood up, and asked her. "Honestly, Lanqi, that's enough," Talia remarked. She had been worried about his mood, but hearing him coax the child put her at ease. From eight-hundred-year-old great demons down to three-year-old toddlers, everyone fell into his routine. This fellow's resilience was unmatched; he was an eternal optimist. "Follow me." Tamisha took Lanqi's fingers and walked forward. A small hand holding a larger one. As they moved, multiple reflections of Lanqi and Tamisha flickered across the prisms like a kaleidoscope. The prisms lining the corridor never repeated, and the path grew increasingly steep. Accompanied by subtle sensations of ascending and plunging, they climbed spiraling staircases studded with magic crystals every few meters. Finally, all sound was completely shut out, revealing a brand-new chamber. Before them stood a door several meters tall, forged from ancient anti-magic steel. Its exterior was covered in countless layers of incantations that flared and dimmed in rhythmic cycles, like breathing. The moment Tamisha led Lanqi to the door, a brilliant light suddenly flared across its surface. It dissolved into countless gears that swirled and danced through the air before the dazzling starlight vanished into thick darkness. The door to the deepest recesses of Purgatory Corridor Academy swung open. "It feels like we're deep underground in purgatory," Talia communicated mentally. Given the tangled space of the Inverted Mirror Corridor, she couldn't tell how many meters underground they were, but they had likely penetrated the depths of purgatory itself. "This must be the central hub, capable of taking direct control of Purgatory Corridor Academy's power source." Lanqi hadn't been able to visit this place during his previous stint as acting headmaster. Only after becoming the genuine headmaster was he privileged to see this hidden chamber. It felt like finding the final area tucked deep inside the starting map, accessible only at the very end of the journey. With these thoughts in mind, Lanqi let Tamisha lead him through layered barriers and protective doors of anti-magic steel, walking into the heart of the central room. The rumble of heavy machinery and the hum of mana conduits were the only sounds within. The defensive barrier outside reached the Ninth Tier. Even the Profane Lord, Melogas, could never have breached this sanctuary by force. And the one who had erected this restriction was clearly not Caliera, but a far more ancient great demon: Tiberius the Inverted Lord. "Do we keep going?" Tamisha stopped abruptly, turning around to ask Lanqi in her childish voice. Ahead lay a door that resembled a dark waterfall. Everything beyond was steeped in the unknown. "Yes. Tamisha, could you wait by my side for a bit? I'll probably be leaving later," Lanqi replied, gazing at the small figure. Hearing this, Tamisha stepped through the illusory waterfall door as it opened automatically. Silence enveloped them as they traversed the streamlined passage and illusory corridor within the hub. After a long trek, light reappeared, and they found themselves standing inside a circular, enclosed chamber. It was a small, transparent room seemingly enveloped by an eternal starry night, illuminated only by sparse starlight that provided just enough clarity to see what lay ahead. The actual space within the hub felt worlds apart from the exterior. The hallucinatory walls swallowed nearly all light and echoes, leaving not even a whisper of breath to be heard. There was only oppressive stillness and bottomless starlight. In the center of the room, several pillar-like beams of anti-magic steel connected to a translucent barrier, the demonic runes on the steel columns flickering with faint blue pinpricks of light. At the center of the steel columns, a mirror-like mechanical magical artifact was bound by dense chains of mana. It resembled a mirror, yet possessed the form of a six-sided cube. The space within each mirrored facet warped, as though countless twisted souls were swirling within, while multiple layers of barriers drifted into visibility around it. At a single glance, one could tell it was an extraordinary magical artifact. A taboo relic capable of overturning the fundamental laws of the world. "Lanqi, wait!" Talia called out at once. Lanqi gently pulled Tamisha's hand, stopping her from getting closer. A trace of gold tinged Lanqi's green eyes as mana circulated within them, while Talia focused all her efforts on appraising the artifact. [Mirror of Tiberius] [Category: Magical Artifact] [Quality: Red Legendary (Damaged)] [Affinity: Divination / Illusion] [Tier: 9] [Effect: Can be activated once by consuming one Ninth-Tier Great Demon Soul Imprint, manifesting the user's future within the current timeline. There is a chance of instant death when paying the activation cost. Due to damage, it requires energy drawn from the Lands of Purgatory and the Demon Ancestral Land to function.] [Current Remaining Uses: 3] [Description: To you who know nothing of eternity, the time has come to reveal the answer. Plunge into the spiral that reaches toward illusion, and wager your everything upon me...] The appraisal results Talia slowly uncovered filtered into Lanqi's mind. His expression grew increasingly astonished. The only legendary-grade magical artifact he had encountered before was in the City of Flowers, Palieu—the grimoire known as *Palroni's Record of Resentment*. He hadn't expected to encounter another Red Legendary item here, in a Shadow World set tens of thousands of years in the past. Lanqi scrutinized the Mirror of Tiberius. Tiberius was the demon craftsman who had built Purgatory Corridor Academy—the Inverted Lord. And this artifact hidden at the academy's deepest point was evidently the crowning masterpiece of Tiberius's life. "What kind of bizarre magical artifact is this?" Talia muttered. Even in her era, she had never heard of a divination artifact of this caliber. Setting aside its usage requirements, the negative effect of "instant death" alone made Talia never want to touch it. Shattering a soul imprint inflicted irreversible damage; even a Ninth-Tier great demon would fall into extreme frailty in the short term, suffering permanent loss of strength thereafter. The price of glimpsing the future was a gamble against destiny, wagering one's very soul. "It fits the Inverted Lord's trial perfectly, doesn't it?" Lanqi remarked. He remembered clearly that the Great Demon Trial on the sixth sub-level of Herrom Prison—the Inverted Path of Rebirth—required transcending life and death, conquering all fear of death to pass. The Inverted Lord showed no favor to cowards; he favored only those willing to stake their lives. "Has someone already paid the activation cost this many times?" Talia noticed that the artifact could be activated three times without paying a price. That meant someone had sacrificed three Great Demon Marks and gambled with their life three times before they arrived, securing three activations. "..." Lanqi remained silent. The answer to who could pay Ninth-Tier Great Demon Marks on his behalf was glaringly obvious. "..." "Before Caliera died, she used it once herself, and left the remaining three chances to you...?" Talia realized the truth after listening to Lanqi's thoughts, calculating that this was the only explanation. Caliera had been a seven-imprint great demon. She had to leave three imprints to pass down a new Great Demon Trial for future generations, and maintaining the status of a great demon required keeping at least three. Yet she had long ceased to fear death, having already surrendered her soul to her friends. In her final moments, she had sacrificed everything remaining of her life to charge the Mirror of Tiberius four times, before perishing completely and transforming into the Fallen Land of Gentle Slumber. "I believe so," Lanqi said, his voice flat and detached. Even Talia, dwelling within his heart, could not read his thoughts. "What on earth did Caliera see?" Talia wondered. Caliera must have seen Lanclos's potential end. Even so, Caliera had passed the opportunity to Lanclos. She hadn't made the choice for him. "We'll know once we use the Mirror of Tiberius." Lanqi exhaled in relief, offering a serene smile toward the mirror. He was intensely curious to learn why all of this had happened. And what it was all for. "Tamisha, could you wait for me here? Don't go near the mirror. The other three tiers of the lunch box are untouched; you can eat all of them, don't worry about me." Lanqi crouched down and spoke gently to Tamisha. "Okay," Tamisha nodded. "Be careful." She seemed to have deduced something as well. "See you soon," Lanqi said, giving her a reassuring wave. He turned and walked toward the abyss-like, deep-purple mirrored artifact. The air around the mirror's rim rippled with faint distortions of void energy, and mana began to dance across the tranquil glass. When Lanqi pressed his hand against the mirror, he discovered it could be passed through. Stepping forward, his figure crossed the surface, merging entirely into the void draped in deep-purple radiance. In an instant, Lanqi and Talia felt as though they were plummeting from a sea of stars, experiencing a weightless sensation as flashes of light and color intertwined into warped panoramas. Eventually, their descent slowed and shifted into an ascent. The pressure on their bodies mounted, and a dazzling white light burst from the exit, enveloping them in a flash. *!* Whether his consciousness had suddenly accelerated or the white light had surged toward him all at once, everything coalesced into legible script that flooded his mind. [Inverted Future Illusion] [Activation Successful] [Remaining Uses: 2] [Name: Lanclos St. Anastasius] [Current Status: Tier 9 (Peak)] [Affinities: Sealing / Light] [Spells: Undying Eternal Punishment, Chimeric Decree, Radiant Corona, Eternal Destruction, Indestructible Glazed Body... Final Land of Gentle Slumber.] [Accessories: Horning Empire Proving Grounds Military Dog Tag, Broken Blade of the Defeated, Nameless Ring, Wanderer's Pocket Watch, Witch's Warm Companionship, Grete Stone Crest... Holy Polant Silver Mask.] [Character Attributes Recorded] [Divination Result: Impending Death] [Starting Point: Demon Realm, Purgatory City Pasqual, Outskirts, Purgatory Corridor Academy] [Remaining Lifespan: 5 days, 13 hours, 21 minutes] As the text flooded his consciousness, Lanqi felt a wave of dizziness. He gripped his forehead and shook his head violently. When he opened his eyes again, he found himself seated in the Headmaster's Office of Purgatory Corridor Academy. "This is..." His eyes swept in astonishment across the scene outside the window. A bitter chill swept scattered snowflakes across the skies of Pasqual in the Demon Realm, while morning light filtered like a pale white veil into the office. The silhouette of Purgatory City looked hazy and mysterious beneath the morning mist. The desk, the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the dark brown decor were all intimately familiar. Yet what drew his attention wasn't the office furnishings. It was the reflection in the window pane nearby: a face adorned with a silver-white mask, welded to his flesh like a brand, leaving only cool, emerald-green eyes clearly visible behind it. He raised a hand to touch the mask. The reflection in the glass mirrored the movement perfectly. The legendary magical artifact, the Mirror of Tiberius, seemed as though it had never existed. He was back in the Headmaster's Office. Or rather, this was the simulated illusion created by the Mirror of Tiberius. Within this illusion, he would experience the future. The next instant, fresh translucent demonic script drifted into his field of vision: [December 25, Year 614 of the Holy Polant Theocracy.] [Twelve years after the northern Polant Empire entered the war, the tyrannical regime of the southern Horning Empire completely collapsed, and the dawn of peace once more returned to the Seville Continent.] [You, through your disregard for life and limb and relentless striving, secured the Polant Empire's final glory and reversed the fate of its people. The resolute will of the entire Polant Empire turned the tide of defeat across the northern continent. The empire staged its final elegy, its final performance, its final defiance, and its final brilliance. You attained victory.] [In the blink of an eye, the headquarters of Iron Fortress Oberon will host the fourth anniversary celebration of the Seville Continent's peaceful renaissance in two weeks.] [People celebrate and rejoice over the hard-won peace, holding fast to their visions of happiness, eagerly awaiting the golden age ahead.] [You have walked a long and arduous path. You care nothing for whether your past deeds are known, sinking deeper and deeper into the serene embrace of slumber.] [...] [Sensing the approach of your destiny at Purgatory Corridor Academy, you awaken.] [In these final few days, the curtain on your life is about to fall.] [Whenever you think of the story's end, you are reminded of its beginning.] [Ending your life as headmaster of this Purgatory Corridor brings things full circle. You are deeply grateful to Caliera for fulfilling your original wish.] [Yet a faint restlessness stirs within your heart.] As Lanqi read to this point, the information paused, followed by four choices: [What will you choose to do next?] [A. Remain where you are] [B. Go to Demon King City] [C. Return to the Theocracy] [D. Intervene personally]