The Shadow Meets the Original

"Leave the fragment behind!" "You can't escape!" In another urban scene, Felix was sprinting for her life. Chasing close behind her were over a dozen sorcerers—body sorcerers and gun sorcerers alike, all of them Sanctuary sorcerers she couldn't hope to beat. She hadn't picked up a sword in ages, leaving her swordsmanship completely useless. Meanwhile, her primary disciplines of wind sorcery and poison sorcery depended heavily on sorcery spirits. Under the oppressive suppression of the mysterious chains, she couldn't compete with body sorcerers or gun sorcerers at all! Yet she wasn't entirely without advantages. Her wind sorcery miracle, "Cat's Grace," was a pure physical enhancement miracle with zero visible effects, boosting her movement speed and agility far beyond other sorcerers. It allowed her to dart and weave effortlessly among the urban buildings. It was precisely for this reason that she had managed to snatch a Holy Grail Fragment by surprise, planning to grab it and run, then slip into the teleportation portal the moment it appeared. She hadn't expected that snatching a Holy Grail Fragment wouldn't claim it immediately; one had to stand motionless on the spot for five seconds before the fragment was officially attributed to you, at which point the portal leading to another scene would open. Consequently, after Felix grabbed the fragment, most sorcerers in the area chased after her, refusing to give her even a five-second breather! *Smack!* Felix suddenly whipped a stone backward. Its speed, accuracy, and ferocity left no doubt it could bash someone's head bloody, yet the pursuing sorcerer parried it with ease. This was her only offensive method at the moment: reinforcing a stone's throwing power with invisible wind sorcery. Still, it hit with even less force than a bullet. Furthermore, Felix had never studied firearm mechanics, so she couldn't manifest a gun even if she wanted to. *Do I really have to give up?* Felix thought. As a newcomer who had just stepped into the Sanctuary realm, failing was only natural, and no one would blame her. But the Holy Grail Fragments were tied to the ultimate goal of shattering the sky curtain; she truly couldn't bear to fail. Although she had plenty of grievances with the Sword Princess and the Witch, seeing how much they missed Yaxiu made Felix willing to work toward his return. *Mainly, I want to see blood flow like a river. I just want to see how they split Yaxiu between them—cut him top to bottom, or split him left to right?* Besides... Felix glanced down at the command crest on the back of her hand. It already bore four stars, meaning she was now at the "Prime Minister" rank alongside Daidalos. She had no idea why Yaxiu's trust level in her kept climbing, but as the command crest upgraded, she gradually discovered that Yaxiu seemed to possess some unique uses. Near Yaxiu, she would naturally relax, her exhaustion melting away completely. Venting her frustrations to the slumbering Yaxiu had become her best way to unwind over the past month. Even helping him bathe had turned into an enjoyable pastime. At first, she suspected the command crest had an aphrodisiac effect, but when she probed Daidalos about it, Daidalos said she felt no such draw. As for the Sword Princess and the Witch, Felix didn't even bother asking; she was utterly certain the way those two acted had nothing to do with any crest. While using Yaxiu as an emotional trash bin to blow off steam felt great, it inevitably stirred Felix's curiosity about him. She wanted to know why two such brilliant sorcerers like the Sword Princess and the Witch loved this man, why the Four Pillar Gods favored him so much, and why Yaxiu kept increasing his trust level in her... In the end, she too hoped Yaxiu would return soon. That said, she was almost at her wit's end. The other sorcerers were gradually closing the net, and the miracles she could use were almost all geared toward enhancement and disruption. At best, she could act as support. Worse yet, she had been separated from the cult's primary combatants— Right then, a figure suddenly appeared on the rooftop ahead—evidently another sorcerer who had joined the fray mid-battle. Out of reflex, Felix whipped a pebble at them. Even if it didn't drive them back, she could at least exploit the opening while they parried to slip past. *Smack!* "Ow!" The figure clutched their forehead and crouched down. "That hurts!" *It actually hit?* Felix blinked in surprise. Without attacking further, she leaped straight past, but an axe-wielding sorcerer sprang up from the edge of the roof. "Still trying to run?" Felix took several steps back, only to find sorcerers appearing from all directions. She was surrounded. "Hand over the fragment!" a body sorcerer roared, charging forward. A gun sorcerer leveled their barrel, though whether they were aiming at Felix or the others was anyone's guess. Seeing the situation was hopeless, Felix had no interest in putting up a desperate last stand. She pulled out the glowing sphere of the fragment and tossed it away, letting out a sigh. "Yaxiu, I did my best." *Thwack.* The moment the glowing fragment was tossed, someone caught it—the figure who had just been hit in the forehead had stood back up. Before Felix could say a word, the person lunged forward, tackling Felix into a roll to the side just as a barrage of gunfire swept past where they had stood. At the same time, the spear sorcerer closest to them thrust forward. With the other person sprawled over her, Felix couldn't even dodge, left with nothing to do but brace for the spear to skewer them both! *Clang!* The path of the spear was deflected by a slash of a sword. The spear sorcerer's throat was slit, and he collapsed to the ground, full of indignation. Felix was yanked roughly to her feet, hearing the person before her ask excitedly, "Do you know Yaxiu?" But when they looked at each other clearly, both froze. The same warm golden hair. The same emerald green eyes. Aside from their different clothing, they could hardly find any difference between them. "You look so familiar," Feili tilted her head in innocent confusion. "Have we met somewhere before...?" Countless thoughts flashed through Felix's mind, but the situation gave her no time to get distracted. "Behind you!" *Clang!* Feili swung her sword to parry the strike from behind, shielding Felix as they ducked toward the rooftop stairwell. "Since you know Yaxiu, we must be on the same side, right?" Feili said firmly. "Don't worry, I'll protect you!" Felix blinked. "You're... good with a sword?" "Of course! My swordsmanship is amazing. Yaxiu said I'm already qualified to fight alongside him!" Feili said seriously. "By the way, are you very close with Yaxiu? Could you be... the Sword Princess or the Witch?" "I'm not." Felix denied it first, then asked, "Are you very close with him?" "...More than friends, probably?" Feili paused, her tone growing confident. "Yes, definitely more than friends!" Felix was silent for a moment. Then, she placed a hand against Feili's back, casting "Cat's Grace" and several other enhancement miracles on her. "Then let's team up for now and take them down." "Okay! Stay behind me, I'll protect you!" At this point, Feili suddenly giggled. "Heehee, it feels like I've become an older sister and gained a little sister." *** "...Therefore, Lady Sword Princess, please make sure not to condense a Holy Grail." Sonia sheathed her sword and looked at the young Star-Flicking warrior before her. The warrior spoke with confidence: "The Fortress Legion, Gryphon Company, and Star-Flicking Guard have all entered the Kingdom of Dreams. In accordance with the Starry Decree, our orders are to purge all participants. Our primary targets for elimination are demons, but our core objective is to prevent sorcerers from condensing a Rainbow Holy Grail. "Please keep any collected Holy Grail Fragments. Once the Kingdom of Heaven in Dreams dissipates, you can naturally bring them out and exchange them for rewards at the Throne Room. The more Holy Grail Fragments we gather, the greater the contribution to the Starry realm's cause." After being separated from the others, Sonia had entered this free-for-all and crossed paths with this Star-Flicking warrior, who recognized the famed red-haired Sword Princess. Since Sonia's public status was that of a Sanctuary sorcerer, the warrior naturally found nothing strange about her presence here and willingly disclosed the Starry military's main mission. If other sorcerers fought to condense the Rainbow Holy Grail, and demons sought to condense the Colorless Holy Grail, the Starry military's goal was to prevent anyone from condensing either. The Rainbow Holy Grail, needless to say, would cause the Cage of All Stars to collapse. As for the Colorless Holy Grail, though it would prevent the Prime Angel's prison break, it would also usurp the Prime Angel's legacy. As long as no Holy Grail was condensed, the Prime Angel's scheme would naturally fall through, and the legacy of its rainbow imaginary wings would belong entirely to the Divine Lord of Stars! Of course, this Star-Flicking warrior was oblivious to these secrets; Sonia had deduced them based on the orders they had received. "I understand," Sonia nodded slightly. "One more thing. Although everyone is scattered after finishing the first battle, if two people carrying Holy Grail Fragments enter a portal together, they can enter the next battle as a team." The Star-Flicking warrior paused. "Lady Sword Princess, you already have multiple fragments, don't you?" One from the initial battle, one from this battle, and three dropped from other sorcerers—Sonia now held five fragments. "That's right." Catching the admiration in the Star-Flicking warrior's eyes, Sonia smiled faintly. "Then let's team up for the next battle." "It would be an honor!" Overwhelmed with excitement, the Star-Flicking warrior took the lead. "The further we go, the easier it will be to meet up with others from the Starry legions. When that time comes, we can easily wipe out sorcerers from other countries and ensure no one disrupts the Divine Lord's grand plan—" "Watch out!" Before the Star-Flicking warrior could react, his head flew skyward. When he returned to reality, he would only blame himself for his slow reflexes, unable to spot the enemy even with the Sword Princess's warning. Sonia flicked the blood from her blade, sheathed it, and briskly stepped into the portal. Main mission updated: besides demons, Starry sorcerers were now kill-on-sight as well. They sought to prevent the condensing of a Holy Grail, but Sonia needed to condense the Rainbow Holy Grail; their stances were irreconcilable. Even if she were reported, she had nothing to fear. After all, she had received no official orders. Even if someone discovered she was condensing the Rainbow Holy Grail, the House of Nobles had no grounds to sanction a Sanctuary sorcerer—and besides, it was hard to say whether she would even remain in the Starry Country by then. She arrived at the third scene, a desolate wasteland that looked like the Senluo wasteland Yaxiu had mentioned. There was nothing more to say. Sonia lowered her stance and darted like a cheetah toward the sorcerers spawning in from other directions. Barely anyone could withstand a single blow from her sharp sword; even gun sorcerers couldn't slow her advance. In the midst of her slaughter, she noticed someone on the opposite side massacring sorcerers just as fiercely, their speed not lagging behind hers in the slightest. When she finished off the last sorcerer on her side, the killing on the other side ceased as well. A flimsy wooden fence happened to stand between them. Even without a sound, both realized their final opponent stood on the other side of the fence. Sonia quieted her breathing and crept toward the fence. Just as she closed within half a meter, a gleam of sword light thrust through the wooden slats! *Clang!* Sonia deflected it backhand and stabbed in return. Separated by the wooden fence, the two dashed along its length, slashing and trading blows until the fence was severed in two, neither gaining the upper hand! *Clang!* As they broke past the end of the fence, both instinctively closed in to clash, their two swords pressing against each other without obstruction! Yet in the next second, both leaped back in unison, staring at each other in utter shock. The same red hair. The same eyes. Both of them swordsmen. Sonia stared blankly at the girl, completely stunned. "You are..." Niya looked closely at Sonia—at her smoother, more supple skin, her sleeker and softer hair, her lovelier, more elegant clothes... She had no scars on her face, no scars on her body; she could look in the mirror with pride when she bathed... She was still a student, so she surely had many wonderful friends and enjoyed a rose-tinted youth every day. She had a mutual lover, so she must be dreaming about their future together, steeped in sweet happiness each day... Niya recalled once more the backward glance Yaxiu had cast earlier. She had thought she had moved past it, but looking at this more perfect version of herself, the cruel truth was laid bare before her once again: Yaxiu had secretly hoped the Sword Princess would descend into her body. Sonia watched as the red-haired young woman quietly lowered her head, eyes cast toward the ground. Taking a shallow, steadying breath to calm her mind, Sonia spoke softly: "Hello. It's nice to meet you. I am—" "I know. You're the Sword Princess." Niya lifted her head, her deep blood-red eyes peering through bangs of red hair. "At first, I thought I would merely dislike you. But I was wrong." "I hate you." The moment the words left her lips, Niya swung her sword at the Sword Princess, feral and violent as a crimson wolf starved for blood.