A New Ability: "I Said, Let There Be Light"

The blood moon hung high. A blighted wind swept across the wasteland. Deep rumbles shook the earth as a bloated white giant, clutching a mysterious black baton, roamed the ruins. Like a ghost wandering this crimson expanse, it seemed to be searching for something. With eyes that flared crimson from time to time, the vengeful monster prowled far and wide, hunting for that abominable "flea." Suddenly, a small moving black dot appeared in the distance, startlingly conspicuous against the dead silence of the wasteland. Is... that... him? After a moment's crude thought, it was seized by wild ecstasy. Found... you... at last! Yet in the blink of an eye, the black dot charged straight toward it at blinding speed. Step, step, stamp—! Swift footfalls rang out crisp and clear across the rubble. A familiar face gradually drifted into the monster's murky vision. The human carried a long, clinking mechanical spear behind his back. The monster's eyes bulged as it gnashed its teeth. —He didn't run, but was running straight toward it instead? A flea that knew only how to dodge and roll, utterly devoid of direct combat strength... How dared he! The next instant, the "flea" hoisted the spear. "I'm back!" he declared. "Take this!" The monster widened its eyes, staring right at the spear. Yet from that sharp spearhead came not the slightest sign of a thrust. The very next moment, the spearhead jerked— The flashlight strapped beneath it clicked on with a blinding, piercing glare. Beneath the crimson moon on the dim wasteland, a striking pillar of light pierced straight through the dark— Stabbing right into the monster's wide-open eyes. "???" "ROOOAAAR!" Blinded by pure white glare, the monster bellowed in fury, forced to squeeze its eyes shut. Then— A deafening boom sounded like a cannon shot! The spear-gun jolted violently. From the barrel beneath the spearhead, a high-powered blast erupted, billowing thick yellow smoke. Several pustules burst on impact. Jolted by agony, the monster staggered, nearly collapsing to the ground. Before the bloated beast could recover from the dizzying barrage, swift footfalls reached its ears once more. He had arrived. Raising his spear-gun, Bai Zhou charged straight at the creature. Step, stamp, stamp, stamp—! Minor ritual: "Strength Augmentation," activated. Minor ritual: "Physical Agility," activated. Minor ritual: "Master Leaper," activated. Half the spirituality throughout his body ignited. Secret art mark, engage. Brimming with vigor, Bai Zhou surged with raw power. With a burst from his legs, he sprang high into the air. His nimble silhouette, spear-gun raised high in a cleaving stance, overlapped with the crimson moon overhead. Moon Cinder... Sacred Vow... Slash! Slash, slash, slash, slash! Cleaving pustules! Carving through blubber! Severing bone! Shattering viscera! Flames ignited along the spear, first crimson, then shifting to white. A bizarre white blaze, radiating an invincible, awe-inspiring majesty and a brilliance like a miniature sun— Exploded from the spearhead and rolled across the monster's body, engulfing it in a roaring inferno. "ROOOAAAR!" Wreathed in fire, the giant monster wailed and thrashed in fury. Bai Zhou sprang backward, cautiously observing the hulking silhouette from a distance. Scorching, resplendent white flames fully enveloped its bloated, hideous bulk, burning away the foul-smelling tumors and pustules. One by one, the growths and boils were incinerated to ash; layer after layer of thick fat was rendered away. The swollen, corpulent frame gradually shrank under the fire. "Is it almost done...?" Bai Zhou muttered, his eyes fixed on the burning giant. "Urrgh..." The monster's shrieks, which had echoed across the wasteland, slowly grew faint. Its murky eyes, illuminated by the firelight, seemed to turn clearer. The flames upon its flesh no longer felt scalding. The brilliant radiance no longer seemed blinding. Instead, it felt warm, bright... "Ah..." Amidst the fire, a look of sudden realization dawned on the giant's face, as if it had remembered something. Then, before Bai Zhou's bewildered gaze, it spoke in halting, broken words: "Thank... you...!" "...What?" Bai Zhou blinked in confusion. The next instant, the line of dying words above the bloated giant's head flared into trembling light. [So dark, so dark...] The words shattered. Horizontals, verticals, slashes, and dots—the fragmented strokes rushed toward Bai Zhou in a torrent, vivid scenes flashing before his eyes in rapid succession. This was... Bai Zhou froze. How could this hideous, wretched, cunningly bloated monster be... ... Her name was Laia, a little girl who loved pretty things and was terrified of the dark. Because she was timid and afraid of the dark, she became better than anyone at making things shine. Luminescent magic, purifying magic. She was an eccentric who knew only that single type of spellcraft. That way, she never had to fear the dark again. Though she possessed not an ounce of combat prowess, that sole magic she possessed was beyond anyone's match. Thus, adventuring parties competed to recruit her. She left her hometown and made quite a name for herself in Sky City. Yet she remained that same timid girl who feared the dark and loved pretty dresses. Her skirts were always embroidered with jewel-like starlight. At the center of her hem sat a white satin ribbon—lively, pure, like her personal signature. Everyone looked after her, always keeping her at the safe rear of the team... Yet the more they did so, the more this girl—who could "only glow" like a little candle—grew despondent over her own uselessness. —Until that day. A strange virus swept across the world. Everyone was turned into walking corpses; a boundless horde of the undead marched straight toward the foot of Sky City from afar. Timid as she was, she chose to leave Sky City—a supposed unfallen fortress—and stepped onto the front lines to defend the hometown sitting beneath its walls. Before the battle began, she gave a wooden rocking horse to a little boy from her town. "We will win." "We definitely will." She stroked the boy's head, her voice gentle. ... The war erupted. Her hometown, a place bathed in golden sunshine in her memories, was swallowed by bloody smoke. They were far more terrifying than anyone had imagined. An overwhelming tide of corpses devoured everything. Warriors fell one after another around her; the starlight upon Laia's dress faded to dimness. Despair engulfed the battlefield. Soon, all that remained was the endless sound of gnawing zombies... and faint, scattered resistance. ...Timid Laia heard her own teeth chattering. Yet a child's wail pierced through the chaos, pinning down her every impulse to flee. When she opened her eyes again, golden flames burned within those beautiful pupils. This world needed light. Shoving aside the crumbling bricks before her, heedless of the filthy gore staining her hem, Laia stumbled into the open center of the battlefield. Raising her slender arms high, the girl hoisted the fallen war banner. "Shine!" A girl who knew only one spell in her life, teasingly called "Laia of Light" by those around her, poured all her will, all her hope, and all her courage—along with a hatred of the darkness deep in her marrow—into that single action— "Light is here—!" "Hope is here—!" No longer a gentle purifying glow, a pillar of pure, blazing white light shot into the heavens. Like a spear of judgment hurled by a god, the pure, domineering column of light shattered the overcast sky. A colossal phantom of a banner materialized across the firmament, fluttering proudly. —A platinum war flag woven purely of burning light shone across the sky! Light poured down like a bursting dam. Countless surging torrents of light, bearing a sacred hum, judged the horde of corpses, reducing them to drifting ash across the earth. ...How could one describe what the soldiers saw in that moment? Perhaps it was the beacon of hope rising up in their most desperate hour. Tattered skirts embroidered with starlight billowed wildly in the surging light. A girl so slender she seemed ready to blow away in the wind raised her arm high, waving the burning banner of light and declaring victory. It was nothing short of a miracle. Not a single soldier would ever forget that sight for the rest of their days. Courage ignited by this divine sign instantly swept across the crumbling battle line. "Follow the banner! Follow... Laia of Light!" The commander's roar erupted like thunder, thick with do-or-die fervor. No words were needed. Battered shields were raised once more; notched blades reflected the holy light. The soldiers bellowed and roared, launching a counteroffensive beneath the sacred banner. For they believed without a shadow of doubt— Hope was with them. The gods were with them. ... That first battle against the horde ended in miraculous victory. Yet during the third war against the undead that followed, this "Laia of Light," the symbol of miracles, was ultimately swallowed by the endless tide alongside her most loyal followers. In the final instant before she was entirely lost, her instinct to cherish beauty drove the trembling girl to reach for her waist. —To where the most dazzling part of her starlight gown had been, her beloved white ribbon. Yet what her fingertips grazed was no longer the soft, smooth silk of memory... It was slick, cold, putrid grease—horrific, repulsive pustules. Her pure golden hair, once bright as the dawn, turned into bloated tumors. The last glimmer of light that belonged to "Laia" was utterly extinguished before the terrifying truth she could feel with her own hands. The most timid girl met the most tragic end. The girl who loved pretty things the most turned into the most hideous, terrifying monster. The girl who feared the dark the most walked into the deepest, blackest eternal night. "So dark... so dark..." Until countless years later, a youth arrived. Only when a pure white flame flared to life was the heavy, icy darkness parted just a little... ... Those wars were never recorded in history. That civilization had quietly perished countless eras ago. The tale of "Laia" was merely a tiny ripple in the shifting tides of history, buried at last in the forgotten depths. Yet that "miracle" had left behind faint traces in the river of time. Someone had painted that unforgettable scene onto a mural, which was unearthed by people several civilizations later. Ignorant of her true story, they could only guess from the painting. Yet those still-primitive people discovered that when they prayed to the mural, it emitted a faint glow. Like a divine miracle. And so, piecing together traces of the story, they wove this banner-bearing "holy maiden" into their myths. The girl who could "only glow," who was like a tiny candle and always felt useless— was placed upon an altar of worship. People called her... The Goddess of Light! The Goddess of Light—Aglaia. ... Hum... Amidst the roaring white flames, the hazy silhouette of a girl slowly coalesced. She wore a dress shining like stars, composed and graceful. Gently lifting her skirts, she dipped into a slight curtsy. "Good day, Adventurer." She spoke to Bai Zhou, her voice crisp and sweet. "Thank you for letting me see the light once more." "—May the light forever comfort your trembling soul." Then, before a deeply conflicted Bai Zhou could say a word, her figure vanished into thin air. Turning into a wisp of light, she plunged straight into him. "This is..." This was the first time Bai Zhou had received a gift from fulfilling a dying wish since awakening his Fate Principle. Back when he was an ordinary person, he could receive only material items as gifts. Yet this time... That wisp of pure white light passed through his body, straight into the depths of his Fate Principle. And then— It plunged directly into the pitch-black Sea of Ignorance. The roaring rumble of a boiling sea reached Bai Zhou's ears. A pure white script mark was branded onto the surface of the Sea of Ignorance. This mark looked very similar to the secret art marks branded upon a Fate Principle, yet held many differences. At the very least, a Destined's secret art mark was never branded onto the Sea of Ignorance... Crow had explicitly explained to Bai Zhou that the Sea of Ignorance was merely the "stupidity" and "ordinariness" of an unawakened Fate Principle, the most useless thing within the Fate Principle space. Powerful Destined could even evaporate the Sea of Ignorance completely... "What is it?" Bai Zhou stared at the mysterious, ancient script mark. Even though it was unfamiliar and exceedingly complex, an understanding of its meaning seemed to dawn naturally within his heart. —As if he had been born fluent in this tongue, almost by instinct. The next second, Bai Zhou opened his eyes upon the blighted wasteland. He parted his lips and began to chant. The moment the words left his mouth, they carried a mysterious, indistinct cadence—seemingly innate, yet bearing a weighty majesty that commanded the world. Time itself seemed to freeze. Bai Zhou distinctly felt his Sea of Ignorance tremor as something spilled out from its depths, diffusing toward every corner of the world. In that instant, he understood with absolute clarity the meaning of the words he had chanted—the incantation itself. He had said— "Light." And in the very next heartbeat, boundless light detonated outward with him at the epicenter, submerging the heavens and the earth. ... A long while later. The blood moon cast its crimson glow across the ground. A mournful wind swirled across the weary wasteland, sweeping past crumbled walls. All around was quiet. A small earthen mound now stood there. Bai Zhou had dug the grave with his own hands, gathering handfuls of the burnt ashes to bury within. Then, ripping half the fabric from his white shirt, he folded an awkward-looking white bow. The soft, white ribbon was placed gently before the mound, pinned down with a small stone. It fluttered in the breeze, like a butterfly preparing to take flight. "Here rests the light, not the ash." Bai Zhou stood before the little mound, his feelings a complex tangle. Never could he have imagined that the bloated monster had such an origin. Yet he knew the monster and the girl were by no means the same. The true Laia had perished long ago. Perhaps it was only when the fire burned away that the girl truly returned for a fleeting breath. —In truth, there was never any Goddess of Light named Aglaia. There had only ever been a little girl who loved pretty things and feared the dark. Shifting his gaze upward, Bai Zhou looked at the makeshift headstone he had crafted from half a piece of ancient wood. [Laia] The uneven characters were carved upon it. This was the only thing Bai Zhou, the sole witness from a later age, could do for her. Beneath it was an inscription: [There is no long night beneath the earth, for the light is forever by her side.]