Premonition

In the pitch-black night, two tall men wearing trench coats and sunglasses hovered in mid-air, looking down at the brightly lit city below, with a playful smile on their lips.

"What a wonderful city that never sleeps, though it's a pity that soon it will become a dead city in the hands of my mistress. Everyone will become a sacrifice for my lord's resurrection. However, I think they should feel proud; after all, being directly involved in such a great event is an immense honor for them."

The man with white gloves spoke these chilling words in a light tone, his gaze from behind his sunglasses emanating a scorching light, as if he wanted to burn the city to the ground.

"Hahaha, don't underestimate this city. Although it wasn't well-known in the previous world and only became prominent in modern times as the number one metropolis of Neon, it was a battlefield before its founding. This city is the seal for that monster."

The man wearing black gloves chuckled as he spoke of this earth-shattering secret as if it were nothing. Perhaps in his eyes, only his master mattered because his existence was solely to bring about his master's resurrection.

The man with white gloves laughed dismissively: "So what if that's the case? The monster has been sealed for over two thousand years. Even if it breaks free due to the destruction of the city, with its current strength, it certainly won't be a match for my master, so why worry?"

"Things might not be as simple as you think." The man with black gloves shook his head but said nothing more. Instead, he stood tall in mid-air, letting the cold wind blow the hem of his coat.

"To me, you're just overthinking. If the undead of China appeared, we'd have reason to worry. But this monster has lost all freedom and power; it's destined to be just the most exquisite sacrifice."

The man in white gloves raised his hand and clenched his wrist, then, seemingly uncomfortable, took off his sunglasses and replaced them with white-framed glasses, adjusting them on his nose to his satisfaction before lowering his hand.

"Speaking of sacrifices, if we could capture that Chinese prodigy and the Valkyrie and offer the Neon Princess as a sacrifice, then not only could my lord be resurrected in full strength, but even the eight million gods and demons could be revived. Then, who could stand against our army?" The black-gloved man spoke with some regret but without sorrow, knowing that if they did so, the next moment would see the world's hidden masters jointly striking them down to hell.

"Tsk, tsk, that's something to only think about. Never mind how terrifying that prodigy's power is; just the Valkyrie, who single-handedly supports China's might, is not weaker than my lord. Even the princess has two Miko from the Kamiwazumi Shrine assisting her. Before the collapse of the Ten Thousand Shrines, it was impossible for us to succeed, so let's just think about it…" The man with white gloves unexpectedly showed understanding, aware that it was impossible.

Just then, a cold and elegant voice called out: "Are you two ready?"

Upon hearing this voice, both men immediately bowed half their bodies, speaking in the most reverent tones: "The White Crane/Black Sparrow welcomes the arrival of the mistress."

"Hmph, don't think I didn't hear your conversation. Let me say this again: if anyone dares think of them, take your own life. Don't appear before me. I don't want to provoke those in this world who should never be provoked, especially those two from China. Understood?"

As the words fell, the owner of the voice arrived. A head of flowing white hair fell from her bare feet, her 175 cm tall figure draped in two meters of silver-white hair. In this cold weather, she wore only a thin blue veil, covering her thighs and chest, leaving patches of jade-white skin to provoke fantasies.

A blood-red teardrop marked her brow, her delicate and gentle features forming an alluring face, but her ice-blue eyes emitted a coldness that made people want to keep their distance.

She was a strikingly beautiful yet dangerously alluring woman, a unity of contradictions and harmony, perfect yet piercing.

Upon seeing her, the first thought in the mind was to submit, the second was to be captivated by her charm.

With thoughts of their mistress's incomparable beauty, they dutifully responded: "The White Crane/Black Sparrow will never think such thoughts again. We beg your forgiveness, Mistress."

They knew this mistress was a woman with an intense craving for power and loved to control everything in her grasp, allowing no one to defy her.

So, until their grand ambition and dreams were complete, they wouldn't dare defy her wishes. But even if their dreams were fulfilled, could they escape her? No one enthralled by her charm could.

"Then let the feast begin…" Glancing sideways at the moon in the sky, the woman softly chanted...

Mysterious and ancient Sanskrit-like chants echoed, like a countdown to death in the night sky, in a place unseen by modern technology or the human eye, where a 300-meter diameter black hole silently opened.

A pitch-black greatsword, emitting ominous flames, slowly emerged.

The sword was 100 meters wide, 1,300 meters long, with the thinnest part as delicate as a cicada's wing, the thickest just matching the height of the woman.

As the sword emerged halfway, a cold wave pulsed, drawing the eyes of the world toward this spot…

Three minutes later, in the heart of Tokyo, a greatsword pierced 300 meters into the ground, with the remaining 1,000 meters of the blade visible above, black flames flickering, and dark blue runes flashing on the blade, marking the beginning of a great conflict of this era…

In 2021, Tokyo remained unscathed, but within the city, over 20 million people vanished simultaneously as a catastrophe descended…

Opening her eyes, Chu Lian exhaled and rubbed her aching forehead, puzzled why she had dreamed of such a scene.

Through the misty steam, she seemed to catch a glimpse of a faint figure with orange-red hair flashing by. Upon closer inspection, the figure was gone.

"Strange, why do I feel this is related to me and now?" Recently, many strange scenarios have floated through her mind like dreams whenever she lightly slept.

But since most of these scenarios were absurd, she dismissed them as bizarre dreams. After all, she lacked prophetic abilities, so how could she foresee future events?

Speaking of foresight, the night before the school trip, Mana Ouma, who helped her awaken the Void Power, had fallen into a half-slumber, only awakening briefly upon arriving in Neon, borrowing Inori's body to give her a glimpse of the future before returning to rest.

She had scanned with the system and found Mana Ouma's status to be "extremely weak, all abilities forbidden." Apart from the innate soul transformation ability, she had no other powers.

Mana Ouma, weakened to this extent, had no power to influence her dreams.

Reflecting on this, Chu Lian glanced at Li Xiuer, leaning against her shoulder and dozing off comfortably in the hot spring, with a smile: "So easy to forget. She was almost in tears over losing her towel, yet she's sleeping soundly now."

Chu Lian could sleep because of the exhausting battles draining her energy, her injuries needing rest, and the hot spring's comfort lulling her to sleep.

"It really is comfortable here." As she stroked Li Xiuer's hair, Chu Lian felt a slight heaviness in her heart. "Xiuer has the Phantom Spirit Body, capable of bringing people into dreams. Whether this dream is real or not, whether it ever happened, I can't tell. But it mustn't be underestimated. What will happen to this city in the future?"

Lost in thought, she didn't notice Inori swimming over in the water until a cool body embraced her from behind, snapping her back to reality.

"You're awake, Lian. You've slept for quite some time." Inori hadn't intended to disturb her, but two hours had passed since they entered the hot spring, and it was nearing 11:00. If she didn't wake her, they'd soon be in a rush.

"Ah? What time is it?" Chu Lian knew her tendency to lose track of time was frustrating, but she still asked.

"Ten forty-seven." Li Xiuer, who had been asleep, suddenly woke and blurted out a number, then looked stunned.

"How did I know that number?" She closed her eyes, murmuring, "It seems like, at this time, this city was destroyed…"

Though said without intent, her words struck a chord with Chu Lian, who deeply imprinted this dream and time in her mind, perhaps it would be useful in the future.

"It's time. We need to get going." Inori's eyes flashed with understanding, grasping some key points but not revealing them. She nodded, "Everyone's waiting for us."

"Kurosaki Satsuki hasn't left, has she?" Chu Lian was curious if the white-haired, red-eyed girl had slipped away while she slept.

"No, she doesn't want to leave, at least not now." Inori's eyebrows twitched with amusement, clearly intrigued.

Chu Lian quickly deduced the reason but felt some things were better left unsaid. In this, she was quite similar to Inori.

Standing up, she took Li Xiu'er and Inori's hands and said, "Let's go change clothes…"

As the scent of perfume drifted and the girls' footsteps faded away, a faint fragrance lingered, a testament to their presence there.