The Wind Rises

"Gunfire." Harvey immediately stood up, pulled a coffin from his spatial card, and woke Alice up... "Infighting? An invasion?" Igola frowned slightly. "Unless they're specifically here to rescue us, this will only delay our escape. As long as that ringleader takes the time to question us about the technical system of the Blood Moon Gospel, it would be easy for the three of us Sanctuary Sorcerers to find an opportunity to slip away. But if this commotion keeps her too busy to deal with us, or if she forgets us, or even dies outright, we'll be locked in here indefinitely." Yaxiu muttered, "Locked in here indefinitely..." "Scared?" "I was just wondering, if we have to live here for several years, how are we going to divide our territories?" Yaxiu asked. "Into thirds, or fourths?" "There are only three of us, why would we—" Midway through his sentence, Igola caught Alice staring at him and instantly shut his mouth. "If we're going to stay here for a long time, I'd like a research area," Harvey said earnestly. "Besides, Alice's regular maintenance and modifications will require space." "Even if we gave you the space, where would you get materials?" Harvey looked somewhat bewildered. "Aren't we all materials?" For a moment, Igola didn't know whether to first retort, 'Not us, just you,' or 'Why would you harvest materials from living people?!' Every time Igola thought he had figured out Harvey's bottom line, he would discover that Harvey had silently broken through to new heights—forever young, forever moved to tears. "In that case, I need a bathtub," Yaxiu raised his hand. "Going without a bath is unbearable." Igola couldn't hold back anymore. "Even if you had the space, where would you get a bathtub?" Yaxiu pointed at the coffin. Harvey pondered for a moment. "That could work. As long as it's dried afterward, Alice won't mind." Igola suddenly felt terribly out of place. "Are you two serious?!" "If we're locked in here for days, Igola, will you take a bath or not?" "Of course I'll... take one!" The corner of Igola's mouth twitched as he resignedly joined the discussion. "In that case, I propose hanging a curtain to protect personal privacy!" "No," Yaxiu, Harvey, and Alice objected in unison. "Why? You can discuss all those ridiculous ideas, but you unanimously shoot down my completely normal proposal?" "Because there won't be any room left—with both a bathtub and a research area," Yaxiu spread his hands. "We'll definitely have to squeeze together to sleep, maybe even share a blanket. And you still want a curtain?" "Come to think of it, we're all capable of flight. We don't have to confine ourselves to the small floor," Yaxiu said, standing up and patting the padded wall. "For instance, we could mount furniture all along this wall, and then—" *Boom!* With a dull detonation, the padded wall violently shattered. Yaxiu stepped back half a pace and raised a hand against the dust, spotting a figure emerging from the hole in the wall. Startled, he immediately drew Honeyed Words and Daggered Heart and fell in beside the others. Igola and Harvey were equally on high alert. Alice hugged Harvey from behind, and the Ghost King Shackles around Harvey's wrists glowed with green light, clearly ready for them to fuse together. Igola slipped behind Yaxiu, lips slightly parted as a Mind Shriek gathered power in his throat. Their tension was entirely justified, for the intruder looked utterly bizarre. He wore a grotesque, sharp raven mask, a cloak that looked as if it were woven from hair, and a necklace strung with fingernails. Beneath it was a black-and-red coat reeking of heavy blood, while a chained belt held hand axes, daggers, darts, ropes, and various other tools. His black steel boots were bristling with spikes. An appearance like this wouldn't even pass censorship in a Gospel film. Even in Blood Moon, it would be considered aggressively postmodern—a champion-tier look guaranteed to lock down first place in a Blood Moon Trial. "Is the First Gospel here?" A deep voice came from behind the raven mask. Yaxiu asked, "What business do you have with him?" "I heard from Calamitous Fire believers that the Calamitous Fire Temple summoned the First Gospel, who can host any grand law, but was ambushed by the vile Four Pillar cultists and unfortunately defeated. Fearing yet coveting the First Gospel's formidable power, the Four Pillar Cult captured the First Gospel to use his might to conquer Senluo," Black Crow said. "First, I wanted to come see what the First Gospel is truly capable of, preferably to test my skills against him." Yaxiu glanced at the gaping hole behind the man. "I don't think there's any such thing as a First Gospel in this world..." "Second, I am here to rescue the First Gospel, and will commit the full strength of my cult to protect the First Gospel from the Four Pillar Cult's harassment." Black Crow looked at him. "Are you the First Gospel?" "I can be," Yaxiu said with utter conviction. "Let's go." Black Crow leaped down cleanly, and Yaxiu and the others jumped after him. Although the third floor was somewhat high, they unfurled their void wings to briefly hover and landed safely. There was hardly anyone around. There seemed to be no patrols here; even with Black Crow making such a massive racket, nobody came to check. Bonfires burned in the camp not far away, the air filled with laughter and joyful clamor. Just looking from a distance gave Yaxiu an urge to join in. Unfazed, Black Crow led them through the shadows between buildings, cutting along the edge of the camp. As they drew closer to the center, Yaxiu and the others finally saw how manic the cultists were—dancing, coupling, brawling, self-mutilating. Everyone was shouting, clamoring, weeping, and laughing wildly. The area around the bonfires was like a vortex, sweeping everyone in. No wonder there were no patrols and no one had come to inspect the noise—everyone here was occupied! "Hey!" A tug from Igola snapped Yaxiu back to reality; only then did he realize he had drifted toward the center without noticing, and cold sweat broke out across his skin. Black Crow glanced at him and warned, "If you aren't cultists, do not approach a cultist worship ritual." *Worship?* Watching those people indulging themselves in reckless, unending pleasure, Yaxiu couldn't connect it to anything resembling "worship" or "propriety." Suddenly, his eyes narrowed as he peered intently toward the bonfires. Igola almost wanted to slap him and hastily dragged him along. "You still dare to gawk?!" "Right, right." Yaxiu withdrew his gaze. Just a moment ago, he had spotted someone standing quietly beside a bonfire—so quiet as to be completely out of place with her surroundings. Although curious, now was clearly not the time to indulge it. Before long, Black Crow led them to the edge of the camp and stepped into an abandoned building. "We will wait here until dawn before leaving. If the Four Pillar Cult pursues us, we must hold out here until daylight." "Why?" Igola asked, puzzled. "Are there guards outside? But with our strength, ordinary guards wouldn't—" "No. No camp posts guards at night," Black Crow shook his head. "In the darkness outside, there is no one." "Then why can't we leave right away?" "Because," Black Crow sat down by the doorway and said, spacing out every word: "In the darkness outside, there is *no one*." ...... ... Beside the bonfires, the revelry was gradually winding down. Silver Lantern stood amidst the collapsed crowds, her tranquil demeanor resembling an enchanting lotus blooming in troubled times. A squirrel poked its head out of her round hat, only to be promptly shoved back down by the flame white tiger. "With this, your worldline and mine are completely different now." Beside her, the quiet girl gazed at the bonfires just as she did, remarking, "In the end, I never broke away from the Four Pillar Cult, and I never activated that backup plan." "I wish things had gone as smoothly for me as they did for you," Silver Lantern sighed. "Perhaps I should have spared the Calamitous Fire Temple, or even found a way to let them flourish once more. A pity..." "Isn't this fine too?" the quiet girl chuckled. "Since you've already learned from me what kind of future awaits if the primary plan succeeds, going to see the sights of the backup plan for yourself will let you unlock two endings, won't it?" "That makes sense." Silver Lantern couldn't help glancing at her. "The way you think is truly similar to mine—unlike the other 'me's from different worldlines brought by the Illusion Mirror Dragon. I originally thought the Illusion Mirror Dragon merely fabricated and projected a 'me from another worldline' based on different choices I made, with differences that were nothing more than shallow labels. Yet you feel so real to me, as though... I truly spent many years living on another worldline." "You feel I'm real only because you see your own reflection in me," the quiet girl smiled. "Following that logic, do you find the people around you to be fake?" "Indeed." "So, are you really going to use that thing?" The quiet girl looked around. "Eighty percent of the people here are sorcerers, and the Four Pillar Cult's elites in the Calamitous Fire Zone are all gathered here. If you do this, Mercury Trojan will despise you to death." "It's not like I'm staying in the Four Pillar Cult anyway. If she has the guts, she can come after me." As she spoke, Silver Lantern produced a crystal skull key from her robes. Infusing sorcery power into the key, she pushed it forward as though sliding it into an actual keyhole, then turned it clockwise. A crisp *click* sounded through space, followed by circuit-like trails of light spreading across the air, eventually coalescing into a light screen. This was Silver Lantern's greatest harvest over the years—a legacy from the Grey Fox Divine Era! One of the auxiliary cultivation tools utilized by sorcerers in that glorious era! [Respected user, welcome to the Dragon Blood Cultivation System!] [Unregistered user detected. Would you like to log in now? As a guest, you may only select one type of primary dragon blood. Remaining uses for this system: 1/3.] [...User data collected!] [...Surrounding environmental data collected!] [Please select the dragon blood factor you wish to condense: 1. Silver Dragon Blood, 2. Gold Dragon Blood (Locked), 3. Prismatic Dragon Blood (Locked), 4...] [Silver Dragon Blood selected!] [Please designate the harvest area for life energy. Note: It is recommended to use Fishcleaver Dragons, foxlantern dragons, or other Void Realm creatures as life energy sources.] A map of the surroundings appeared on the light screen along with a movable, resizable red circle. Silver Lantern expanded the red circle until it encompassed the entire hospital camp, then selected confirm. [Base life energy required for 1 drop of Silver Dragon Blood: 100 units. Current life energy within the harvest area: 54,111,300 units. Total Silver Dragon Blood that can be condensed: 541,113 drops.] [Warning: Energy from certain life units detected resembling intelligent lifeforms. Proceed?] [Confirmed. The Dragon Blood Cultivation System will perform three safety checks.] [...No official citizens detected.] [...No official citizens detected.] [...No official citizens detected.] [Cultivation commencing. Please remain still while the system condenses and replaces your blood.] A wind rose. The wind caressed the nape of a cultist's neck, stripping away all the energy in his body and leaving behind only a withered husk and a feeble soul. A new vortex appeared—silent, gentle, cruel. One by one, cultists closed their eyes in exhaustion; one by one, sorcerers collapsed in the Void Realm. Everything they possessed turned into silver energy, converging around Silver Lantern. The vortex grew larger and larger, spreading beyond the bonfires to the dwellings and the kitchens, reaching all the way to the edge of the camp, until the largest camp in the Calamitous Fire Zone was captive to the vortex. "A death toll of this scale would easily rank in the top ten even in my history," the quiet girl remarked with a sigh. "Snuffing out so many lives in one breath is rare indeed." "Compared to the eternity of the Void Realm, the fleeting moment of reality is merely an illusion," Silver Lantern said. "Death is not falling into eternal sleep; it is waking from a dream." "Since they are returning to their homeland," Silver Lantern smiled faintly, "they might as well leave everything to me."