Chapter Thirty-Four: The Green Light

When the shield of white matter faded away, the two finally glimpsed the scene beyond the door. After crossing the threshold, the sidewalls of the corridor became almost transparent, allowing them to see what lay outside the tube, as if they were within a submarine tunnel in some unknown sea.

Green, glowing like phosphorescence, flowed before their eyes—like swarms of midsummer fireflies converging, or like corals dissolving in the ocean depths. The omnipresent emerald light veiled their vision, making them forget to breathe for a moment.

Every inch beyond the tube's wall was filled with luminous fluid. In this ocean within the dragon's body, one could faintly discern root-like structures resembling the tangled roots of a great tree. This intricate network seemed to extend from the tube's exterior, its form evoking in the esper's mind images of blood vessels, nerves, or other complex organic structures.

With the shallow biology he remembered from high school, he racked his brains but could not fathom what it all meant. Yet, inexplicably, the scene struck Gongsun Ce as strangely familiar.

Then the Hunter beside him spoke.

"Gongsun Ce, doesn't this green liquid look familiar to you? It's just like... that stuff we've seen several times today..."

At first, he had no idea what she meant.

It was only when he heard this that he finally identified the source of his déjà vu. An absurd yet terrifying conjecture began to take shape in his mind.

Alice's voice seemed to tremble: "...It's exactly the same as the green patterns on the bioproducts."

The horse's body, the pigeon's beak, the surface of the flesh walls—almost every bioengineered animal produced in the City of the Sky bore more or less these green markings.

People often dismissed them as the personal quirks of inscrutable scientists in lab coats, or as deliberate identifiers for bioengineered creatures. But upon seeing the innards of the Sky Dragon, all those commonplace markings suddenly carried a different meaning—

A meaning that bordered on horror.

"It's not just your imagination. Let's go, Miss Alice."

But in the end, that was all the young man said. Behind them, they found another moving platform. In silence, the two stepped onto it and began to glide forward along the nearly level track.

After a while, Alice spoke. "I think I finally understand why they said my clearance wasn't high enough."

"Will they silence us afterwards?"

"How could they! If anything, now that I know something of this magnitude, they at least owe me two promotions."

"You're rather optimistic."

Most would expect their memories to be erased or to be killed outright. Clearly, Alice trusted the authorities more than she let on.

The blue-haired woman asked anxiously, "But what about you? I can't help but feel the City of the Sky's officials will want to deal with you."

Indeed, compared to the Knights of Morton Kingdom, memory erasure or forced disappearance seemed far more in keeping with the public's image of the City of the Sky.

The young man himself was not particularly concerned.

"Someone will probably come to brief me on precautions, and then all should be fine."

"Where does your unfounded confidence come from?"

The esper spread his hands. "It's just a reasonable deduction. I don't believe the threat I'd pose if I went rogue is insignificant. Why would the City of the Sky take the risk of silencing me over a secret that anyone with a certain clearance could learn?"

"You sound as if you've been through something similar before..."

Don't give me that 'suspecting a criminal' look.

"Hardly. My mind is perfectly stable. I've never lost control since awakening my powers."

That was... the truth.

Acts of violence committed by one's own will could not be called losing control.

Alice slumped her shoulders. "I don't really understand your world. To us outsiders, espers are ticking time bombs..."

"And I know just as little about the Law of Impermanence."

He gazed out at the emerald sea beyond the tube wall, pondering inwardly: What, in the end, is the Law of Impermanence?

Is it a technique anyone can learn, or a talent only granted to some? Three years ago, he had learned that it existed to slay dragons. Yet, whether past or present, this so-called Law was used far more often in battles among humans than against dragons themselves.

Just today, he had faced three wielders of Impermanence: apart from their declarations of mental state and domain, their powers had little in common. Aside from the basics Alice had shared, his only clues came from the logic espoused by that calculating man in a suit.

Vessel, manifestation, limiting environment, and... wishes, goals, or intent.

Scenes from his nightmares flashed through his mind—he recalled the girl who had raised her sword against the evil dragon three years before, and her tearful plea.

That wish had changed the face of the world, shaking even the calamity of the underworld.

Feigning a casual recollection, he asked offhandedly, "Miss Alice, is the effect of the Law of Impermanence connected to the wielder's wish?"

Alice looked at him, puzzled. "What makes you ask that?"

To answer truthfully, he would have to mention Shiyu.

That hardly seemed wise on the eve of battle. The bespectacled youth hastily reviewed the day's experiences for a plausible excuse.

Fortunately, he was quick-witted.

"Before activating their abilities, the dragon worshippers always say something resembling a declaration. It strikes me as suspicious."

A vague answer, but a truthful one. The words themselves were real, but though it sounded straightforward, it was a half-truth only he understood. He was skirting the edge of deceit—if the Hunter accused him of lying, he could not protest.

"You noticed the activation chant? You're quite perceptive."

Luckily, the Hunter seemed unaware of his evasion.

He apologized inwardly, relieved, and replied, "Anyone would notice with declarations that dramatic."

Alice folded her arms, adopting a teacherly pose. "To sum up, your guess isn't wrong. The power of the Law of Impermanence is often tied to the wielder's own heart. Longed-for wishes, life goals, human convictions—these are common factors. But the opposite is also possible: aspects of oneself one can't face, a past one wishes to escape, weaknesses one won't acknowledge—these too are part of the mind, and can be reflected in one's Law."

"Part of the mind?"

"Exactly. The Law of Impermanence is a power of the heart—I told you that before, didn't I?"

He pondered more deeply. If he followed this line of thought, what drove the wielders they'd met today to manifest such bizarre abilities?

Takizawa Yoshihisa believed in the regeneration of necrotic life. Kaplo, the first, desired to devour. Tirloth K's ability was self-disintegration—he longed for an omnipresent body, yet was always left with an immovable core, perhaps reflecting the urge to flee... As for Alice, who had never spoken a declaration, he could only speculate from her ability: flowers blooming in shadows, movement from shadow to shadow...

This way of thinking felt like prying into others' souls. He felt a pang of guilt, as if his thoughts themselves were somehow immoral.

Gongsun Ce hastily changed the subject. "Come to think of it, Miss Alice, you've never said a declaration."

The blue-haired Hunter wagged her finger.

"That declaration is just to reinforce the impression, like when you sometimes shout the name of a move. In a sense, it strengthens the effect—but my communion isn't a destructive type, so shouting something weird has no point."

Sometimes, of course, shouting a move's name is just a way to vent or show off, but that's an unspoken secret best left unsaid.

He wanted to continue joking about move names—perhaps ask if she named all her communions herself—but decided it would be too frivolous. On the other hand, discussing details of the dragon summoning would only heighten their anxiety, as neither knew what awaited them. Perhaps the leader of the dragon worshippers had already succeeded, merely waiting for the experts to arrive so he could savor their despair; or perhaps their imagined foe had already been slain by foreign specialists, and they were walking into another trap.

Alice's silence about the coming battle must have been intentional. She didn't want to burden them with pressure, yet she was making preparations.

"Gongsun Ce, let's review our enemy's information one more time."

The esper took out his phone and read the message Mo Yuankai had sent while they rode the pigeon.

"Xu Junyi, forty years old, from the Empire—no further information available."

The portrait on screen showed a middle-aged man in sunglasses. That the dragon worshippers' leader was an Imperial citizen surprised him; he'd expected yet another wielder from the Kingdom.

But this scant intelligence was of little practical value; the Hunter probably just wanted to ready him for combat.

Faintly, in the green glow, the outline of another door appeared ahead. Their journey through the dragon's belly was almost at its next station, and none could say what awaited them beyond.

The blue-haired woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"If I hadn't met you, I'd never have come this far. Truly, this feels like a dream."

"I didn't expect I'd be underground at midnight either," he replied.

"Now that we've come this far, there's no turning back." She opened her eyes, resolute. "Be ready for battle—put everything else aside. Once we enter the next area, if you see the enemy, use your full power without hesitation. And then..."

"And then?"

Alice paused, turning her head away. "Whatever you do, don't die here."

The esper was silent for a second. "That way of talking really doesn't suit you."

"Oh, shut up! Pretend I never said it!"

"Yes, this suits you much better."

The moving platform stopped at the end of the track. Chuckling, he stepped up to the next door, conjuring a white-matter shield as before.

Alice placed her hand on his shoulder. They vanished from before the heavy door...

And when they emerged from the shadow, when the white-matter shield faded, what lay before them left Gongsun Ce in utter shock.

Suspended in midair like a celestial body was a massive, luminous green sphere.

And swirling around it were hundreds upon hundreds of dragon-like phantoms.

Countless pipes connected to the sphere, carrying green fluid in all directions. And in the center of their vision, a man in a brown coat stood with his back to them, gazing up at the giant as if worshipping a god.

At his feet, lines drawn in charcoal formed intricate patterns, like a ritual circle for some arcane ceremony. Black images climbed from the floor to the walls, extending via pipes to the sphere, leaving only a discordant blank at the core. Anyone, even without occult knowledge, could see that just a few more strokes would complete the array.

The man sighed. "I am still a step too late."

No one answered him; the battle had already begun.

The esper launched an invisible strike. The Hunter flashed behind the man, stabbing at him with a short arrow.

The leader of the dragon worshippers ignored all their attacks.

"I ask only for a fair duel."

He turned his head quietly, meeting the young man's gaze.

"Manifest, Aspect of Calamity—The Uncertain Game of Fortune and Misfortune."

The instant he spoke those words—

The two, their eyes locked, vanished simultaneously from the world.