Chapter Forty: The Calamity of Glazed Glass

Tap, tap.

Brisk footsteps echoed through the underground chamber, leather boots treading across the blood that flowed over the floor, sending up scarlet droplets.

“How laughable. You already possess the highest-level resonance source and the energy of the Rending Realm, yet you still waste your time on futile efforts... You don’t even understand the meaning of the array you drew yourself.”

Shiyu Ling stepped over the corpse of the psychic, arriving at the very center of the subterranean space.

The dragon worshipper, rendered helpless by defeat, lay on the ground, watching those boots approach step by step. He was still conscious, still able to think, but completely voiceless—arguably the world’s best listener.

“There are different kinds of dragons as well. The array you drew, you must have learned it from the lingering will of the Dragon of the Firmament... Ha! How could that possibly summon the Luminous Dragon?”

Pale, slender fingers lifted the glass bead from the wooden slat.

She examined the inferior bead with satisfaction, a smile blooming on her lips.

“I, who should have left the stage long ago, have actually made it this far. Looking back, it feels just like a dream.”

She rejoiced in her own luck.

She was satisfied by her own success.

Warm breath spilled from her lips.

Her black pupils brimmed with a love for herself.

Everything was unfolding according to her deepest wishes.

The dreams of countless people throughout history, the power humanity had always yearned for but never attained, the eternal radiance—now it was all in her grasp.

At long last, the masterpiece was complete.

For a brief instant—less than a few seconds—Shiyu Ling couldn’t help but lose herself in memory, recalling every step she had taken to reach this moment.

·

The Kingdom’s hunter, Alice Adal, had never existed from the very beginning.

That was just a convenient, useful false identity.

With the intelligence network of the authorities, she could easily keep abreast of the pursuit for Shiyu Ling.

By assuming the role of an official, she could naturally dispel suspicion from others.

If an actor’s performance is impeccable, then even a false identity can become a real “person” in the world.

She treated herself as Alice, became the Kingdom’s hunter.

Everything was viewed through Alice’s eyes; every choice was made in the hunter’s stead, every action shaped by the hunter’s character... A young hunter who, three years ago, still drifted in the grey areas—taking irregular but effective measures during missions seemed only logical, didn’t it?

Thus, she immediately reported the dragon worshippers’ plans to the Kingdom; thus, she faithfully followed orders to continue the pursuit; thus, when isolated and alone, she chose to cooperate with the psychic who’d been swept up in the chaos.

The reason was simple: that was how a Kingdom’s hunter should act.

This way, no one would suspect her motives or identity.

Even as she ventured deep into the maelstrom, no one would link Alice with Shiyu Ling.

Alice Adal was merely a hunter of the Divine Communion Realm. She had no reason to single-handedly defeat foreign experts, and it was entirely plausible that she might fall in battle against a malignant sorcerer... For her to be the first to bow out in fierce combat was only natural.

After completing her mission, Alice Adal would leave; Shiyu Ling would withdraw from the turmoil, and all would end there...

That was how it was supposed to be.

·

“Hahaha, hahaha... hahahahaha! Truly, truly, even I couldn’t have imagined it! I had already given up on this opportunity, was merely playing a part, planning to leave the stage in the subsequent battles. Who could have foreseen that with your extraordinary abilities, you’d bring Alice—who’s only at the Divine Communion Realm—down here beneath the ground! I trust you, Gong Sunce. With your strength, even in the end, you’ll surely help me once more!”

Shiyu Ling raised the still-beating heart.

Human blood dripped from her hand.

“Countless blossoms unfold, and a pale shadow topples nations.”

A refined white appeared amidst the crimson liquid.

Tender green stems sprouted from the blood, supporting yellow stamens and immaculate petals—a pure white narcissus bloomed at Shiyu Ling’s side.

“Spirit Manifestation—The Immortal Reflection in the Water Mirror, Boundless Yet Near.”

There was no longer any need to conceal her identity with illusions.

A corner of Shiyu Ling’s true inner world revealed itself.

Countless narcissus flowers emerged from the void, elegant blossoms opening in a mystical sequence, covering the charcoal scrawls and forming a pattern entirely unlike before—a new, pure diagram drawn within the dragon’s belly.

Shiyu Ling stood at the center of the array, picked up the Nether Dragon’s eye, and gently pressed it into the still heart in her palm.

The dark-haired woman released Gong Sunce’s heart.

The piece of flesh drew closer and closer to the ground—closer and closer—until, just before it could touch the earth...

It stopped falling.

The lifeless heart, in that instant, began to beat once more.

“Wonderful... Even until the end, you are helping me.”

With a delighted sigh, the psychic’s heart floated gently upward.

And then—

A pure radiance burst through the city’s surface, illuminating the space within the dragon’s belly.

The narcissus flowers turned toward the beam of light, shooting pure white power from their stamens. That energy traced countless intricate patterns on the surface of the light pillar, like some ancient script.

“Come, Luminous Dragon. Become one with me...”

She stepped forward, walking into the pillar, embracing the power before her.

“Make me a god.”

·

Boom.

A heavy, heartbeat-like sound rose from below the earth.

It woke the citizens from their sleep, bewildered the conscious. Everyone in the Skyward City heard it—the sound from beneath their feet. Speculation rippled through the crowds: was it another psychic brawl nearby? Or perhaps another experiment gone wrong?

“It can’t be an earthquake,” muttered a loitering youth on the street, prompting laughter from his friends. “No way!” “An earthquake in the sky!” “What have you been taking?” The young men laughed, lighting sparks with their powers. “Whoosh, it’s the Dragon of the Firmament burping!” “The Dragon of the Firmament’s long dead, you idiot!”

Boom.

But the racket of the youths couldn’t drown out the subterranean thunder, that drum struck by a giant mallet. Their bodies trembled, as if the blows landed on them directly.

The psychics fell silent, looking around.

Everyone on the street was ashen-faced, bodies shaking. What the youths couldn’t see was that nearly everyone in the city was reacting just the same.

“It’s not an illusion...”“You must have taken something weird.”“Hey, let’s just head home early tonight.”

They forced casual conversation, desperate to dispel their unease. The first timid youth, voice quivering, said, “...The Dragon of the Firmament is long dead, right?”

Boom-boom. Boom-boom. Boom-boom.

The sound from the depths grew louder, faster. They collapsed onto the street, teeth chattering, cold sweat pouring from every inch of their skin, nearly losing even the strength to speak. Why was this happening? The citizens realized they were afraid—so afraid they could not walk, so terrified they nearly forgot to breathe. There was no reason for this; they had seen nothing, so why such fear? Why such dread?

That timid youth’s words echoed in their minds: The Dragon of the Firmament is long dead, isn’t it?

Of course—it had long since died. Nothing should remain that could make humanity cower so. Unless—unless...

“Oooh, ah...”

On the streets, people uttered incoherent sounds, wanting to speak but unable.

They scanned their surroundings, searching for something—anything—to give them comfort: a patrol officer, a university professor, a bio-carriage, whatever. But there was nothing—only others as panicked as themselves.

Everything was plainly visible, as if it were noon.

But it was night—why was it so bright?

Slowly, people raised their heads.

The moonless night sky glowed like day.

Those standing on the dragon’s back could not comprehend what lay before their eyes. Only by breaking free from gravity’s hold, escaping the cradle of the atmosphere, and venturing into the darkness of space could one understand what had occurred.

Seconds earlier, a rift had appeared in the sky above their blue planet.

It covered nearly a seventh of the world’s surface. If a giant the size of a city peered into it, they would see glimmering lights, like a starry sky, within the crack.

A glaze-colored radiance spilled out.

The unknown rift closed, replaced by a vortex of pure light the same size.

From it, a comparatively faint pillar of light descended.

It pierced the surface of Skyward City, crashed through the border between the central and Thorn districts, blasting a ten-meter-wide circle before the startled youths.

Should it be called a miracle? No, this was a miracle in the truest sense—no one was harmed. The passersby who would have stood in the column’s path were gently moved aside by some unseen force.

“Ah...”

But no one rejoiced at their miraculous escape.

All eyes turned skyward, gazing at the heart of the vortex, at the thing that emerged from the other end of the pillar.

It was a colossal golden being.

It thrust forth its majestic head and three slender necks from the whirlpool, followed by a massive body sheathed in resplendent scales, eight hand-like claws, and a tail long and sharp as a spear.

Its form was mountainous in size, its scales more beautiful than any precious metal. The people lying on the ground looked up at this descending presence, eyes filled with unquenchable longing and, strangely, a sense of unspeakable fulfillment.

It was as though they gazed upon the embodiment of their dreams, the ultimate fulfillment of all wishes, as if every desire of all living things had crystallized into form—every wild fancy, every illusion, every longing made flesh!

What a terrible and radiant life!

“—!”

It raised its head and let out a roar that shook the world, ten transparent wings unfurling behind it, nearly blotting out the sky.

Those lost in their hallucinations were startled awake by the sound, finally realizing what was happening, their voices breaking into fragments.

“The dragon is here...”

Psychic or ordinary, all inhabitants lost the distinctions of identity and age in that moment; they wept and stumbled, screaming in terror at life’s final hour.

“The dragon calamity is here!!!”

Only a scant few sat frozen, staring at the giant dragon in the sky.

To them, the dragon’s form seemed strange—though they had never seen a dragon before, a sense of wrongness gnawed at them. Like a statue missing an arm, like a painting faded of its color, this ostensibly perfect creation seemed to lack something—what was it?

As that thought formed, the pure light engulfed everything.

Those who had no time to escape, those who fled with all their strength—everyone was swallowed by the dragon’s power, transformed into lifeless crystal.

Within the transparent world, only a single life remained.

February 13th, 9:59:34 PM.

The Luminous Calamity descended.