A slaughter—or perhaps, a coronation.
Looking down, there were silver apprentices adrift upon the sea of fog, golden travelers trekking across the storm-swept continent, and rainbow explorers weaving through the ethereal rifts... They were the humble masses, capable only of craning their necks to gaze up at greatness. Their eyes sparkled like starlight, laying a tapestry of glorious brilliance for this ascension.
Looking up, there were the arrogant gods lurking in the shadows. Contemptuous, envious, dripping with malice, and brimming with murderous intent, they too could do nothing but watch. Above the shadows stood five great beings amid the clouds, their downward gazes transforming into tempestuous storms, matching the ruthless cruelty of this slaughter.
Where everyone's gaze converged was the peak of Ruby Mountain. That figure so intimately familiar to Igola stood on the far side of the summit. Because he was viewed from behind, Igola could not see his expression, nor could he make out who stood before him, catching only the faint silhouette of light and shadow.
By now, Igola was no longer surprised by Yaxiu surfing the waves of the era, nor did he feel annoyed; his heart held only deep anticipation. He harbored a faint realization that this scene was not the final curtain of a catastrophe, but the beginning of something truly magnificent.
When Yaxiu raised his blade and slashed at the light and shadow, the entire Void Realm seemed to be drawn in by him. It was as though he were wielding a paintbrush, coating the world in his own color.
From the lowly sorcerers to the gods above, everyone could only watch helplessly as he committed this atrocity, painting over the light and shadow with a new hue. Then, like a droplet of thick ink falling onto a canvas, the new color rapidly bloomed outward, bleeding down into the rainbow airspace, the golden continent, and the silver sea, while creeping upward into the shadows and the clouds.
Time was about to accelerate.
Most striking of all was that above the clouds, in the high expanse where even the great beings were forced to look up, at that empty, uncharted pinnacle, the new color was brewing and coalescing.
Every sorcerer bore witness to this historic moment. An era that had endured for 1,668 years came to an end at this very instant, and the entire world would be profoundly upended by it.
The ages were shifting; the old and the new were about to trade places.
This was a slaughter that sorcerers were bound to remember, a coronation initiated by the Void Realm itself.
Igola could almost hear the rumble of the wheels of history rolling forward, or perhaps the winds of the era turning the windmills.
From this day forward, the unbearable vacancy of the Throne of Heaven was declared over. Someone would stand upon its summit.
At that moment, Igola saw Yaxiu draw a chalice brimming with wine from the fading light and shadow. Yaxiu turned toward him, raising the chalice in a subtle salute before throwing his head back. As the chalice tilted, just as he was about to drain it in one gulp and complete the final rite of coronation and slaughter—
What would happen next?
*
*Knock, knock!*
The rapping on the door startled Igola awake. He jerked his head up, only to find that he had fallen asleep sitting on the toilet, his head resting against Yaxiu's waist. In front of him, Harvey was resting his eyes beside the sink.
Yaxiu supported the Swindler's head with one hand while cupping the back of Harvey's neck with the other, keeping the two groggy men from collapsing.
*Knock, knock!*
A woman's voice called from outside. "Are you guests all right in there? Do you need help? Hello?"
Igola asked, "How long has it been?"
"Forty-five minutes," Yaxiu answered.
"Then it should be fine now," Igola said, standing up. "Let's go."
The three slid open the restroom door and stepped out. The female conductor froze in utter disbelief as three grown men emerged together from the tiny restroom, stammering, "G-guests, what were you three doing in there?"
"Exactly what you're thinking," Yaxiu replied.
The conductor's face flushed crimson. Her eyes darted back and forth between the three of them. "B-but that's against the rules! And the restroom is so cramped, it's easy to bump into things. Please don't..."
"I know, but the cravings hit hard and we couldn't help it, so we huddled in the restroom for a smoke," Yaxiu said, spreading his hands apologetically. "I'm terribly sorry for causing trouble."
"Ah, smoking?"
"Yeah, what else could it be?"
The conductor looked torn between disappointment and relief. "Smoking is strictly prohibited on the train. We're still two hours away from Jialesi South Station, so please hold off until you disembark. Besides, smoking in the restroom will set off the smoke detector."
"Understood, understood. We know we were wrong, so we made sure not a wisp of smoke escaped," Yaxiu said, pressing his palms together. "Thank you for understanding."
"Well, please return to your compartment. I need to tidy up the restroom a bit," the conductor said. "Children use this restroom, so I must make sure there are no strange smells or filth inside."
Yaxiu smiled with complete confidence. "Don't worry, nothing leaked out at all. Whatever there was got flushed away. We're very clean."
"Let's go."
After they left, the conductor stepped inside and took a deep breath. She paid special attention to the trash can, finding nothing out of the ordinary—which was extraordinary in itself. There wasn't a single cigarette butt or speck of ash. Who did they think they were fooling, a Lalafell?!
Then she took a closer look, piecing together the scene from the handprints left behind: one person had been sitting on the toilet, one leaning against the sink, and a third standing between them... *Oh my goodness!*
Yaxiu and his companions picked a quiet corner in a sparsely populated carriage and sat down. Igola, sitting by the window, drew the curtain and scanned for any activity behind the train beneath the starlit sky. "They shouldn't have caught up. They must still think we're hiding in that forest."
"Hmm, intriguing," Harvey remarked. "This seems to be the first time we've ever successfully escaped. I'm almost not used to it."
"Indeed," Yaxiu agreed. "It's been twenty-four hours since we arrived in the Starry Country, and I actually have the freedom to use the restroom—without even having my personal liberty restricted. It feels like a violation of my professional standards."
"If you're eager for it, I can fit you with a shock collar. Adding a tail isn't out of the question either, so don't be shy," Igola said coldly. "What kind of profession requires the 'standard' of getting arrested the moment you enter a new country? We are still wanted men, so take this seriously!"
This crossing had been unlike any of their previous ones.
When they first arrived in the Gospel Country, they were immediately drugged and abducted by an ambushing Annan, entirely powerless to resist. When they first arrived in Senluo, they materialized smack in the headquarters of the Calamitous Fire Sanctuary, unable to flee and forced to serve as the sanctuary's last straw.
Yet this time, when Yaxiu and the others crossed over to the Starry Country, there was neither an ambush nor enemy territory. Instead, they had landed in the middle of a deserted wilderness. That reception couldn't really be called great—it was a flat zero at best—but considering their past crossings had ranked between 'hell' and 'turned into a Lalafell before going to hell,' fate giving them a slightly lighter lashing was enough to make them profoundly grateful.
However, that gratitude had lasted a mere thirty minutes before a sorcerer unit riding gryphons materialized before their eyes. Yaxiu had been cooking at the time, and both his frying pan and stove were directly overturned by a lightning miracle. Yet rather than getting upset, he had felt a wave of relief.
*Now that feels right!*
How could they possibly cross into a new world without triggering a chase sequence?
It was like hearing the first shoe drop from upstairs: now that the other shoe had finally dropped, he could finally rest easy!
Chapter 756